Napping away from home?

[sadiebean]

Merry Christmas all!
I'm looking for some input here. My son Luca is 7 months, never a great napper, but much better after using Tracy's methods. Still, he hasn't successfully napped in a bed/crib outside his own since he was very little. Though inconvenient, this makes sense to me.

Right now, our daytime visits to others' homes are usually kept to about 2-3 hours not including travel which is at least 25min one way no because of where we live. (I have no friends or family closer than that.) And even then we are definitely increasing his awake time past what it would otherwise be -- something that makes me feel guilty and anxious, and that I avoid doing.

Also, his grandmother would like him to nap at her house so as to extend our visits/allow her to watch him for several hours. She does not drive, so having her come here and watch him (oh, it would be a dream  :roll: ...) is not an option. I am willing to make a concerted effort try to teach him to sleep at her house (both to please her, and to get some time off!) but I know this may not work until he is older. And him not napping is not ok with me. I don't think it's fair to him.

In your opinion, am I being overprotective about his sleep?? Since I don't have much access to in-home help during the day, this means I am pretty much stuck at home all day until he is older. So if I am being silly and missing out on a great daytime care opportunity, I'd like to know before it is too late! :wink: 

Can you share with me how your babies do, and if you have any strategies for naps away from home??

Thanks!!
Ann

[tylersmommy]

Frustrating, isn't it? When we lived in Washington DC, we had the same problem. It took FOREVER to get anywhere, and you never really knew how long it would take! When Tyler was younger, he got pretty good at napping away from home. The key for us was having a solid nap routine that was fairly portable and sticking with it. We did the same thing every single time (and still do...he's 2 now!)...take him to his room, dim lights, change diaper, swaddle (now we wrap his legs in his blanky), give him paci, and cuddle. Another thing that helped was taking him into his sleep place a little early for quiet play. He was always pretty observant, so if we just tried to put him in a new room to sleep without giving him a chance to look around first, he'd get overstimulated looking around. And yes, I would cheat sometimes by rocking him longer than usual to make sure he'd conk out. I didn't do it often, so he never became dependent on being rocked to sleep and I didn't undo all our hard work.

I also took advantage of the well-timed car nap on occasion. That would give us some more time out and about as well. HTH!

[Taylor's Mommy]

Hi Ann,

First, I think it is wonderful that you care so much about your ds and his routine.  I too sometimes feel like a captive to Taylor's routine, but in the long run I know it is what's best for her and even for us!

So, being scared about not napping other places is normal, but I think it can be done.  Totally agree with Tylersmom.  Transfer your nap routine at home to grandma's, and even bring his favorite blanket or a noise machine if he uses it.  Anything that is going to make it feel more like home for him will help.  i would say that now's as good a time as any to start!  You may find that for the first couple of times, he may take a short nap because he may stir at the end of the sleep cycle, slightly wake up and think, "where am I?'.  But after a couple of times at grandma's he will get used to it and will proabbly sleep just as well.

You owe it to yourself to give it a try. 
I am a WAHM and take Taylor over to Grandma's house on Tuesday afternoons so I can get some uninterrupted work done and she sleeps in the portacrib.  at first she took a few 45 minute naps and even slept on Grandma a few times  :roll: but now sleeps like a champ there.  In fact on Christmas day she slept for almost 2 hours there!

Good luck and let us know your decision please!

[sadiebean]

Thank you for your suggestions!

I have decided to discuss setting up a room for Luca at my mother-in-laws house (quite a luxury, huh? I am so lucky as I know she wants this even more than I do, and has the room for this!) Never thought of it before, but Luca too is so very observant that the lack of black out shades and a known (memorized!) environment is all it takes for him to balk.

An upfront investment of time and a little money for a crib, white noise, and some joint visits, will hopefully set us up well for some time off AND for the ability to do side work when I'm ready.

Thanks for confirming I'm not crazy AND that it can be done. I am very hopeful (and excited! imagine... some time off during the day...  )
Happy New Year!
Ann