Family events interfering with naptime

kleigh926 · May 2014

I just put DD down for her morning nap. She hasn't been consistently taking a morning nap lately, probably because she sleeps 12-13 hours at night and then doesn't need a nap 2 hours later every day. My family is having a Memorial Day picnic for lunch, and the plan was to go for lunch and stay till around 2:00 so that then DD could come home and get her afternoon nap.

I'm sure the days of 2 naps will not last that much longer. Even if she naps this morning and it all works out, I think there's a good chance that by the next holiday she'll be down to one afternoon nap. So what do you do about lunch/afternoon family gatherings? I would feel bad skipping them due to nap time, but DD won't sleep anywhere except her own crib so napping at someone else's house won't work, and she can't go a whole day without napping. Have you found that family and friends are understanding of this? I don't feel that it's my place to suggest getting together for supper instead of lunch when we've been doing lunch for as long as I can remember, but I'm sad about missing summer holiday picnics for the forseeable future too.

kleigh926 · May 2014

That's the way I'm leaning too, DC. I can't justify making her skip napping for a day because of an optional event. She can manage well with only 1 nap (obviously, since she does that on her own sometimes) but not napping at all won't be fun for anyone. We are hardly ever out past 7:30 or 7:45 as well since that's bed time, and the absolute latest I will push that is 8:30, and that's rare.

mishka29 · May 2014

LO is a short napper so we will try to time our going or leaving so she can sleep on the car. We are on a pretty set schedule for bedtime and there are only a handful of times it's been missed. This weekend we were at a wedding out of town so she did get to break curfew. My sisters kids were up to 10 on Friday and 12 on Saturday. They never stopped dancing. I wished DH wasn't such a tyrant and let LO stay a little long so she could play too.

SummerLove21 · May 2014

If it's us and we aren't somewhere where DS can nap, we will maybe push the nap out by an hour or two so we can spend a little bit of time at the event, and then leave early. But I would only suggest that if you think your LO could handle it. Sometimes we just say we can't, or we offer to host the event at our house so we can still do naps/bedtime. Like DC said, no one has to deal with their sleep-related meltdowns but you, so you have to make the best decision for your family and everyone else can suck it. :-)

jbatch · May 2014

I just move the nap.. Or skip it if I have to. I will skip late at night things though. If it's just going to keep us out a little late I will do it but if it's past about 9 I will either skip or leave early. But I guess it's different since my lo's naps have always been random but bedtime has always been pretty consistent.

kelly321 · May 2014

With DH's family we're always invited from about noon to 6pm ish. Sometimes the girls sleep in the car on the way there (1hr drive) and then get cranky early because they napped shorter than usual. Sometimes after lunch we put them in the stroller and go for a walk and they'll sleep in the stroller. Anymore it's nbd if DD1 skips her nap, but DD2 still needs hers. She's been at one nap since she was about 9 months old.

jesuisfatiguee · May 2014

DC2London said:

We also don't go to events in the evening after bedtime. Our kids are in for the night at 7 p.m. or earlier. We have made exceptions but those are very, very rare.

This is the one I am a big stickler about, and people just don't seem to understand.

DublinMama · May 2014

We lucked out and got a "sleep anywhere kid." He'll sleep in anyone's pack n play in anyone's house. Which is ironic, because we don't have family close enough around for that to be as helpful as it could be lol. So if we're going to family functions we are there for a few days and DS sort of recognizes that things are going to be a little different.

I've never seen a day where DS went with no nap, and I don't want to. I've seen what he's like on a short one, and it's an Exorcist like experience. So if there was absolutely no chance DS could nap, we would be skipping the event all together. Like @DC2London said, it's always no big deal to the people not dealing with the basket case child.

kleigh926 · May 2014

I am soooo hoping that baby boy will be a "nap anywhere" kid. Because if I have two that won't nap away from home, I'm afraid I'll never leave the house. DD won't even sleep in the car anymore. It's extremely limiting.

jesuisfatiguee · May 2014

Mmmmm… Gerry's bum...

DublinMama · May 2014

DC2London said:

If only Drea were here. I'm pretty sure Gerry himself is the Drea bat signal.
That's a lot of cultural references crammed into one little sentence...
I have had some wines.

)

We should pour one out for Drea.

tamarar5 · May 2014

We haven't been sticklers about Es Neptune this weekend and let's just say bedtime has been a disaster all weekend. And we haven't hardly gone or done anything!

DublinMama · May 2014

DC2London said:

TamaraR4 said:

We haven't been sticklers about Es Neptune this weekend and let's just say bedtime has been a disaster all weekend. And we haven't hardly gone or done anything!

It is very important to reign in one's toddler's Neptunes.

I've heard toddler Uranus is even harder to control.

I'm sorry....I just couldn't not...because I'm 11.

kleigh926 · May 2014

@dublinmama hahahahaha

)

TarheelMama202 · May 2014

DS did not nap on Saturday. We went to a sprayground that morning, hopped in the car, then headed over to a birthday party that afternoon. Typically, he will take a little nighty in the car and then sack out once we're home for good. NOPE. NOT HAPPENING.

It was a terrifying experience, one that I hope to never re-live. DH referred to him as Damien throughout dinner. You know, the kid from The Omen.

cinnasugar · May 2014

1. Does anyone else think it's funny that Tamara is the book editor and always has the autocorrect issues?

2. Drea - we miss you!

3. @kleigh - It sucks to miss events. For family things, can one of you go while the other stays home? If we do that enough with family, they tend to get the idea and start to ask us the kids' nap schedule. Obviously you can't ask everyone to accommodate your schedule though. We are lucky that DS will often sleep in a PNP or in the car on the way home from stuff like that. It will get easier when she drops to one nap, I promise. Of course, then you'll have the second but your second WILL be one of those kids who can sleep anywhere, because I think it is a rule that second babies have to be that way because of all the neglecting we do with second babies. At least that was our experience

mediaperuana · May 2014

we're pretty strict about naptime--we make occasional exceptions, but for the most part, we prioritize naptime (and bedtime!) over social events. JJ will nap in the car, but getting him to nap at someone else's house is almost impossible. for this reason, we've been hosting most of the holidays since JJ arrived. it's extra work, but i think it's worth it to get his nap in and get him to bed (more or less) on time.

tamarar5 · May 2014

Aaaaaand auto correct strikes again.

)

Obviously I meant nap time, and my phone hates me. We had a great, active weekend and unfortunately got bit in the butt by the awful car nap all three days.

Saturday, we got an unexpected refund from the escrow account and we decided to go out of town and do some much-needed baby shopping. We found E a swim suit and sandals, C got sandals and new sunglasses (because she's a klutz and has already broken 4 pairs), and I *finally* got some swaddle blankets and sleepers for baby #3.

Sunday we were pretty quiet in the morning, but when E flat out refused to nap, we went to the lake.

Monday, we had every intention of staying home and unburrying my house after plumbing apocalypse 2014, but a family in it town had a pressure washer up on Craigslist for free, so we picked it up. Then we went to the mall, intending to find DH some sandals but he didn't like anything.

So that was our anti-nap weekend! But I've lucked out this morning. It's 8:33 am and BOTH kids are still sleeping!!!!

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