Naps - and how when I have to do the school runs

[small1]

Hi,
my lo is now 5.5 mths.  Luckily she is very laid back and a very good baby but I really need to get her into some sort of routine which somehow ties around the school runs.  Can anyone give me advice who also has older children?

Typical day at the moment:
7am wake
return from school run 9:10 then settle and hopefully sleep which is likely 30 mins
afternoon nap likely 1:30 if I am lucky I can settle her into an hour, if I am unlucky again it will be 30 mins
off on the school run again at 3pm getting home around 3:45pm
and that will be it. 

I tried a few times (but not for a while) putting her down around 4pm but with her siblings home from school she just doesn't want it and I can't try for more than 20 mins incase the others get into trouble.

Not surprisingly she is very tired by bedtime, but goes down easy at 6 - 6:30pm which at least means I have some time with my other two, and she is a very good sleeper at night.

Can anyone suggest what I should try to aim for that fits in with the school runs, but won't interfere with the early bedtime?  Or should I just persevere with trying to extend the lunchtime nap?

Many thanks
Ali

[Tweakster]

Hi there, bumping this up for you.  It's hard when you have two, I am struggling with napping and routines for 1 :-S

If she is still sleeping great at night then she may have just adjusted herself to the routine and smaller amount of day sleep.  Not all LO's need the average amount of day and night sleep.  Some can manage nicely on less. 

If nights start going wonky and/or she gets cranky during the day then you might have to adjust some.

Let's see what the others have to say :-)

[anna*]

((((hugs)))) I do agree with PP if she is sleeping well at night, she's obviously not doing too badly - but, it is very little for a 5.5month old and I'm worrying that the overtiredness is going to build up and cause more problems.

At 5.5 months the average awake time is about 2hrs - 2hrs15mins. That is after a good night or a long nap. So after her morning nap (which is short), could you put her down much sooner for her next nap? So if she wakes at 9.45am, do another nap at 11.30am? I know it sounds really early but if she sleeps til 1, she should still be ready to take another cat nap on the school run?

What do you think, worth a try?

[small1]

Many thanks I will give it a go.  This weekend with dh around I managed to get her to take a short late nap, but it sure takes time to get her to go.  I may even walk on the school run today! (along a busy A road so not the safest with a 4 yo and a 6yo).
Thanks