Napping in the car

BADASBKRCK · January 2015

So my MIL watches the baby twice a week. I go over after work, eat dinner and then head home with DD. Almost every time she falls asleep on the ride home. I used to love it but now we are sleep training and this short nap 2hours before bedtime is making things difficult. Any ideas on how to keep her awake during a 20 minute drive? Tonight I tried talking the whole time and that didn't work.

Holljade · January 2015

I would suggest pushing bed time back- any way you can do that?

edoliesmom · January 2015

BADASBKRCK said:

So my MIL watches the baby twice a week. I go over after work, eat dinner and then head home with DD. Almost every time she falls asleep on the ride home. I used to love it but now we are sleep training and this short nap 2hours before bedtime is making things difficult. Any ideas on how to keep her awake during a 20 minute drive? Tonight I tried talking the whole time and that didn't work.

Maybe give her a stimulating toy? Noisy/musical and/or with lights?

BADASBKRCK · January 2015

Holljade said:
I would suggest pushing bed time back- any way you can do that?

Bedtime is already 10pm and that works perfectly for the other 5 days a week.

BADASBKRCK · January 2015

edoliesmom said:

Maybe give her a stimulating toy? Noisy/musical and/or with lights?

That may work.I will give it a shot

Holljade · January 2015

BADASBKRCK said:

Holljade said:
I would suggest pushing bed time back- any way you can do that?
Bedtime is already 10pm and that works perfectly for the other 5 days a week.

Oh damn- didn't realize it was that late.

smushi · January 2015

10pm? That seems really late. If she's sleeping naturally during drive time, maybe her wake up time should be pushed back/bedtime pushed up. IE, we do 7pm bedtime. Often LO sneaks an extra cat nap from 5 to 6 or 4 to 6 and this never bothers his 7pm bedtime. He sleeps usually til 6am. LOs this age need a LOT of sleep.

zazu13 · January 2015

What is her nap schedule? 10 seems unusually late for this age.

BADASBKRCK · January 2015

It is late but it works for us and her. She sleeps from 10 to 9:30 perfectly...except for those two days a week when getting her back to sleep before 11 is a struggle.

Holljade · January 2015

I don't think 10 is really THAT late- DDs was 11pm for awhile- they are still babies!

OP I feel like bc you have two days that are different than the rest you may need to shift for those two days and kept baby up an extra 20 mins or whatever, if you're not able to keep her up in the car.

Or just keep sleep training at the same time and hope it ends up working out.

BADASBKRCK · January 2015

I could just make her bedtime 11 on those particular nights

Holljade · January 2015

Can we also discuss that when babies sleep through the night and they go to bed later they wake up later in the AM- that was a big deal for me as I am not a morning person.

It was awesome when I was a SAHM!

BADASBKRCK · January 2015

DH and I have our schedules worked out so he has 3 days off, I have 2, and the other 2 days belong to mil. so basically sleeping until 930 works for us and the baby!

Talltrees82 · January 2015

I would also suggest a stimulating toy in the car. Or possibly leaving MIL's earlier (however hard it would be to pass up that dinner! Lucky you!)

JWest07 · January 2015

I have no advice, but I love it when families find "unconventional" (for lack of a better word) schedules that work for them. I think its great that your LO goes to bed that late and sleeps in for you. I'd love it if there was some way my LO could stay up later so I could see a I little more of him on my work days.

If you don't mind my asking, what do you and your H do that allows you to work those schedules?

BADASBKRCK · January 2015

I work at a motorcycle shop so I get a Sunday and weekday off. My husband works at an answering service and works 4 10 hour days. Its nice because we don't pay for child care but it also means we only see each other for 30 mins a day

Manda+panda · January 2015

I work 2 to 1030p, DH works 930p to 6 am. I get home at 11, so for two hours, his sister watches DD.

Her bedtime is 1230 am. We are completely unconventional. She wakes up at 1130. This schedule works for now, but I know eventually things will have to change.

Currently, I'm just happy she's back on this schedule. For a month, she would not sleep until 3 am. I wasn't thrilled. My days off, I would get her on her normal schedule. Then, she wouldn't nap for DH, so I would get home, then she would nap.

How long, how often, and at what times does she nap? Maybe you can evaluate the nap situation she has with your MIL.

DH would notice DD getting cranky, and do his best to make her happy. He was over stimulating her when she was tired, and she wouldn't sleep. Maybe something similar is going on with your DD?

BADASBKRCK · January 2015

Actually my MIL is better at getting DD to nap than we are! Lol... Its the car ride that does it. She always falls asleep in the car if the drive is more than 10 minutes. Its really nice to hear that others have totally unconventional bedtimes.

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Napping in the car

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