How to nap outside of crib??

unaveragejane · July 2014

I hesitate to even ask about this b/c it seems like such a silly "problem" but here goes. DS1 is two years old, and the only place he will nap is in his crib (and on rare occasion, his car seat). When we visit friends or family for the day, he doesn't nap at all and by 2:30 or 3:00 is a cranky, exhausted mess. I have tried getting him to nap with me in bed or on the sofa, but it just doesn't happen. He will sit up, play, talk, etc for 30 minutes or more until I finally give up and put him in his crib. If we're out, we get in the car and head home. I'd like to be able to have some flexibility with our schedule, especially since some of DH's family members are starting to ridicule me for being so nap-schedule-bound. Is it possible to teach him how to nap in other surroundings, or should I just be happy that he takes good naps in his crib? A friend of mine suggested getting him a toddler air-mattress for naps. Has anyone tried them?

JENandJEH · July 2014

If we're going to be away from home during nap and there is a room I can put him in, I just take our pack n play. He will sleep in that as long as I bring his sound machine with us.

Honestly, I feel like this stage is such a blip in time when you think about it and probably within the next year to year and a half, he'll be flexible enough that if you need/want to skip nap one day, he'll be able to with no issues. Can family and friends not come to you some so that you can still visit with them but he can still get a nap in his crib? I tend to be a big stickler for naps because I know my kid and know that if he doesn't nap, he's a beast to deal with and won't sleep well at night either. With our oldest, family gave me a hard time about it but I really could have cared less..my kid, my rules/crazy habits.

ashiscute · July 2014

LalaMama81 said:

Until 2 or so I'd take the pnp. Then we just hoped for car naps or we skipped it. We definitely didn't leave a family function. If we're somewhere like the zoo or pool, we usually try to leave in time for a nap.

this. My kids nap better in their cribs at home so that's what we try to do. I go out in the morning and come home for naps. If I have to be out the nap is skipped.

TiffanyBerry · July 2014

Let all the ridicule-ers be the one to keep him in the afternoon/evening/night when he doesn't have a nap.

I got some flack too for being so bound to DD's schedule. Know what? That's just the way she is. She'd sleep in her bed, in the same dark room, with the same routine, or she wouldn't sleep. Period. You can't force a human to sleep (short of torture or pharmaceuticals, which are obviously the wrong choice), so there wasn't a whole lot I *could* do.

We worked around her nap schedule. Then the days went well for us. If it was SUPER important, we'd skip a nap that day, and I would go into it knowing it would be a difficult second half of the day.

yeah. · July 2014

mine never napped outside their cribs. It was a pain but I worked around their schedule as much as possible. Once they got older, they were more flexible.

SunAndRain · July 2014

Do what makes YOUR day go more smoothly. If that means that you have to be home to put LO down for a nap because he refuses to sleep elsewhere, then so be it. Overtired babies are bad for parents' health!

People will judge no matter what you do; if not for this then for something else. Just stare them head on and say, "it is what it is" and move on. You don't owe them an explanation nor an apology. In fact, I often make a hasty exit saying, "DD is about to melt so we're going to head out before that happens." No one wants to be around a cranky child and people are appreciative that I leave with her BEFORE she melts down! Because, truly, if they gave me flack I'd sit my happy but down on their couch and let DD have at it. And them I would go run and errand and thank them for baby sitting

unaveragejane · July 2014

Well, I guess we will be staying crib-bound for a while longer. (He completely rejected the PNP after his first birthday.) There's definitely no question of letting him be babysat by the relatives who question our schedule. I don't trust them to watch him for 15 minutes if we're not at my house. Nothing in their houses is toddler-proofed AT ALL, but since all the other grandkids, neices, and nephews have survived (with just a few stitches and trips to the ER), they must know better than a FTM.

cedenton · July 2014

Mine is the same way and we just plan around naps. I tried skipping nap once to hang out with friends whose child (the same age) naps much later or not at all. While he was fine and not all that cranky, he had a night terror after going to bed. I've read they are associated with lack of sleep so I will not be doing that again.

greyt00 · July 2014

We plan around naps. I can tell my family is a little annoyed that I have been so insistent about the mid-day/afternoon nap on special occasions. It annoys me because when my nephew was little (he was the first grandchild), everything revolved around him. I remember it being a little bit of a planning nuisance (I never said anything to my parents or sister about it), but I understood. Now it's my turn and I feel like they have forgotten already! Anyway, I second the idea that you do it your way. Put on the thick skin and do what you need to do. We skipped the Easter egg hunt at my sister's house last year so they could nap. We did a hunt at my house the next day.

As far as naps outside the crib, I have no idea. I basically avoided being gone during naptime and after moving to a toddler bed, DS1 naps were mostly sunk. DS2 so far is a little bit better sleeper and has a more cooperative personality so I hope he will be better. But he's still in a crib and will stay in there as long as possible. If we had to be gone I'd take a pack n play and hope it worked.... but we are getting rid of that thing in a few months.

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