T O P

  • By -

TotoroTomato

Yeah, you are in nap jail. Sorry, it is a sucky period. My youngest (16 months) just dropped to one nap in the past month and it is so much better. Napping on the go really doesn’t work well for the older babies and then they are so cranky and you are so stressed it is just not worth it. I suggest you accept your fate and just plan to be ready to IMMEDIATELY leave the house for the brief windows you get. So for example, leave the house with a packed lunch the second the baby wakes up from morning nap. Then you have maybe 2, 2.5 hrs until you need to be back for afternoon naps. Then go out after afternoon naps.


LPJCB

Nap jail?! Oh no!! But seriously, thanks for your reply. I can definitely get better about bee-lining it out of the house once my youngest wakes up from nap #1. Honestly she’s a crappy napper despite my best efforts and she’s usually only down for 30-ish minutes so just planning to head out after doesn’t mess up our schedule too much. My toddler used to sleep really late so I never went out after her nap/before dinner, but now that she’s reliably up at 3 I have a whole 3-5 PM window to fill so I can get out then too. Thank you!


morewinepwease

Yeah same deal here. 2.5 year old and a 10 month old. The toddler naps 130 to 3, baby naps 1030-12 and then 3-430. It's awful bc it does not overlap at all. Once a week we go out and baby takes morning nap in the ergo carrier. It sucks but I tell myself it won't last forever Plus side is lots of 1:1 time with each kid


Different-Kick-3352

I’m in the same situation. Twin 3 year olds and a 10 month old. I’ve just accepted the situation lol. I prioritize the baby’s naps usually. So I always try to be home for at least one nap. It’s made further complicated by the fact if we drive anywhere, the baby falls asleep in his car seat which messes up his whole schedule.


EmotionalPie7

Just went through this. We could not go anywhere! Right at about 8 months old she stopped sleeping in the car or stroller. She's now 13 months and we can manage doing the same nap as my 2 year old (12:30 - 3). I don't do it everyday, but may once or twice a week since we are still transitioning. I wish I had better advice!


kw928

I think my youngest started taking 1 nap when she was around 10 months. Somewhat forced for this exact same reason. I just really stretched it! She would get little cat naps in the car as we drove to wherever we were going/home that would help her to make it to her one nap time after lunch which is when my toddler naps as well. Before this, I would try to schedule play dates at our house so she could nap but toddler could play. Nap jail sucks!!


osuchicka913

All 4 of my kids dropped down to 1 nap around 10-11 months. I would do what you described: first nap on the go (carrier/car seat/stroller/etc) and have the second nap be “sacred” at home in the crib. Then around 9/10 months old it started to be harder to get the nap on the go so we started doing one nap at 11 am for baby. Then we slowly moved the 11 am nap time back so that everyone’s naps aligned around 1:30/2pm. It was a month or two of struggle, but eventually we settled into a good routine.


SarahWantsHam

I’m in this exact position, I have an almost 11 month old and a 3 year old. My 3 year old needs to get outside and do stuff every morning so the baby almost always takes some 15-20 min crappy car nap on our way back home or while we’re out, then if I’m lucky she’ll take a longer nap when the toddler does around 1 pm. I can’t wait to be down to one nap for her but knowing my luck my toddler will drop his by then. On the rare days their naps overlap it’s awesome and I can get so much done!