Do You Fit In With Baby Or Does Baby Fit In With You?

[fionas]

I'm just curious about what other parents do. Most of the time I'm pretty happy with the way DD and I do things but occasionally I feel a teensy bit silly too.

DD is now 17 months old and gets up at around 7.30am, has her milk and then has her breakfast about an hour later. Sometime between 9.30-10.30 she goes back down for her nap of the day and it's a long one - usually a minimum of 3 hours, sometimes longer.

I actually like the fact that she goes back to bed so early in the day because I'm not a morning person at all and there is nowhere I want to go at 9am anyway.

But by about 11.30, midday, it would be good for me to be able to go out rather than wait until she wakes up and then give us both lunch which often means that we're not out until 2pm or later.

I COULD wake her up but that seems a bit mean when she obviously needs to sleep longer.

As I said, I know I'm really lucky that she sleeps so long but just wonder what other parents do around their baby's sleep times. Do you wait until they wake up or d'you just wake them up and cut short their sleep if there's something you want to do?

[~Trish~]

I usually work around DS2's naps which he has twice a day still. I only wake him up if absolutely necessary (like having to pick DS1 up from kinder). It really doesn't bother me too much, but sometimes it can be a pain!

[Arimeh]

I try to do it around nap times (for DS) cos he's hard to live with at the best of times!!! lol

With DD - she sleeps wherever and doesn't get cranky if her naps are cut short - so she fits in with us.

[tan32]

While the kids were at school and kindy i would have to wake Lachlan constantly to drop off or pick one of them up. I would try to put him in his car seat and hope he would stay asleep. However now that it is school holidays I leave him to sleep.
This year we wont have kindy as both older ones will be at a school. I will let Lachlan sleep and go out when he wakes unless of course it is for an appointment. He is tending to only have one sleep a day and if he doesnt get it man is he grumpy in the evening.

[KimmyF]

For me it kind of depends if what i need to do is urgent etc. DS has two sleeps but his afternoon one is usually the longest so i usually go out in the morning and try and make sure i amhome by 2pm but if I need to be out in the afternoon for something important than i do it. Where possible i try and work around DS but sometimes he needs to work around hs mummy lol i try not to feel guilty when that does happen as it so rare anyway.

[Indadhanu]

Well Jazz is a lot younger but generally we fit with her unless its something like a drs appointment. I used to wake her, but discovered its not worth dealing with a cranky baby for the rest of the day (and oh boy does she get cranky!!!!!!!). If shes asleep she stays asleep until shes ready!!!

[Junglemum]

I often wake DD if i have to be somewhere, but let me tell you it is better for everyone invloved if she gets to wake up on her own!
So i try and work around her sleep as much as i can, it's not always possible but certianly makes my life much easier!

[SamiH]

# 1 - worked around them, I had nothing else to do!
#2 - preferred she had at least an hour and if we had to be somewhere - go
#3 - lucky he is relatively happy-go-lucky - now I have school runs etc - he has just had to sleep around it, or in the car - or get woken up - and then back to sleep - so no routine really with him at all I will often pull him out of the cot to pop him in the car - he does wake - but usually happy - I know, I am lucky - phew!

[Macca79]

I work around my son. I believe its not possible to get him to work around me as he is still getting to know himself and his own wants and needs. It works great for us.

[Beach Mama]

I work around Izzy's nap. She only has one a day, smack bang in the middle of the day and it's a PITA to be honest at times, I either have to do things all in the morning or wait til the arvo like I am today. Having said that she won't sleep well in the car and if she has a 10 min nap in there she thinks thats it for the day and is then feral at night. I'd rather work around it than have her feral! If we have something important on then she just has to be woken or I try to wear her out faster and put her down earlier. James goes with the flow and just sleeps wherever right now and I'm hoping it will stay that way for a while!

[Visitor8]

I work around the baby where possible. I wont wake unless there is no other option.

[Rouge]

I can't say I did one or the other. With DD we worked around her, but if we had to go out, we had to go out. BUT with DS due to DD's kinder/school he had to fit in with our routine. And its worked pretty well. I think its all relative. I think its also important to have a little bit of a shuffle from a routine every now and again so not to have problems adjusting to change (but this is MHO I know plenty of others who disagree with their own children).

[Ozziehoffy]

Oskar used to work around me when he was younger and sleeping at least 2 times a day cos he'd just go to sleep in his pram or whatever. Then I think when he was around the 12ish months he was only having one sleep a day and it was usually by around 11:30 and he would sleep a couple of hours, which like you was great but a PITA at the same time cos I couldn't go out until the arvo!! Now, I go out in the morning and try to make sure I'm home by 2 so he can have a sleep in his bed. Sometimes he'll go to sleep in his pram but not often now and sometimes if he's really tired he'll go to sleep in the car. So, these days I work around him so he has proper sleeps and it will be good when the baby comes hopefully he'll stay in his sleeping pattern for me

[Lolli]

Hi

Up until about 4 months of age, my little man worked himself around me- slept int he pram/car/ onthe floor at mum's group. And I was very proud and thought that was my doing and the way it should be, thank you very much...

Boy did I get a shock ds now won't sleep anywhwere except his cot, at his regular nap time- 9:30 and 2pm. I definatley work around him. Some days I wish I had a baby that just slept anywhere, but tbh it's nice having a routine. And ds is very very grumpy if he is tired and a very bad sleeper if he is overtired.

I had a friend say the other day that when she has a baby, it will just have to work around her because her life is just not changing.... it took all my energy not to laugh

[DoubleK]

when dd was a baby, i worked around her...
as she got older, her routine has been all over the place anyways, so we just go with the flow...

these days, she doesn't nap at all anyways, so i am *trying* to get us into some sort of routine for when the bub comes... i do have a feeling that with 2.. its not going to be as easy as it is with just a newborn!

[amberj]

I'm so glad to read all these posts- I definately work around DS's schedule, which can be hard because he still sleeps 3 times a day with only 2 hours in between each nap! But he won't sleep in his pram or on me....only in his cot or sometimes in a quiet room at a friend's place. Its a PITA often, but easier than him being grumpy butt. I thought maybe I was being a bad mum, somehow not teaching him to be flexible or something, but I am glad to see that it largely seems to be the reality of living with a baby!

[alioops]

I have a rule - They fall asleep where i want them to wake up. Usually I keep driving around or put the a/c on and leave the garage door open so they get a/c when they are asleep. We have bought a capsule for this bub to reduce the sleep disturbance seeing as Sarah will start preschool soon enough.

[indie24]

I tend to work around DD unless I am feeling housebound and need to get out, which isn't too often. At this stage I am lucky in that she will sleep in the car for long trips or her pram for short periods of time