Power nap in car messed up nap today!

[jenroux]

Hi

First off I just want to say that my LO (4.5 m) is a great sleeper and I attribute that to all the advice I've read in BW and here on the forum. Don't get me wrong we've had our "issues" but I've usually been able to find an answer here or in Tracy's books and resolve them.

Today was a bit of a disaster and I can't seem to find any answers on the board. We went out for A time to a music group and on the short journey home she had a 10min powernap. She was still sleepy (but awake) when I got her upstairs but then had to change a (very!) dirty nappy. By the time I'd gotten her into her cot she was wide awake and grumbling. The rest of her "nap" time was spent with me trying to settle her. Varying from mild grumblings to a few 5 mins drift-offs to shrieks of protest in no particular order. Sometime inbetween I'd also given her a bottle of expressed milk mixed with water (thinking she was thirsty from all the crying).

Eventually we reached E time (or close enough) so I fed her. She stayed awake for a very short while but then I put her back down to bed. We both needed our rest by this stage!

So my question is how are people dealing with unscheduled powernaps? Do you try stick to routine as usual or do you somehow compensate?

Thanks
Jen

PS my LO is predominantly angel with a healthy dose of spirited thrown in. She is mostly very easy going but can get revved up and really determined when she wants to be.

[KathrynK]

hi Jen

it's very very common for these kind of unscheduled naps to throw your day off- if I am ever travelling near nap time I have to try everything to make sure dd doesn't fall asleep or we get exactly the same. for example, now she is older she is on one nap a day- last week we were travelling near nap time and she fell asleep in the car for 3 minutes- and completely refused any kind of nap the entire rest of the day. Grrr. In her mind she's had her nap, it's done, and nothing is going to get her back to sleep when we get home. Sounds like your dd is just the same.
I guess the advice would be either- try everything in your power to make sure she doesn't fall asleep, or, if she does, then you'll have to kind of go with the flow for the rest of the day- keep her up for a while before trying for a proper nap, but not as long as you would if she'd had a decent long nap, and watch her cues to see when she's getting tired. It's really hard, I know.
hope this helps a bit xx

[jenroux]

Thanks KathrynK! I guess we'll just have to go with the flow if it happens again. It really wasn't worth the long struggle to try and get her to take her nap! 

[elmarie]

Hi Jenroux-welcome to the board 

Moving this over to the naps board for more advice..

[deckchariot]

when my dd falls asleep in the car, she will NEVER finish her nap once we get home.  I usually just try to keep the A time then VERY low key and shorten it by about 30 min or so from what I'd usually do.  My best bet is to try to keep her up on the way home!