Navigating Naps that Happen Off Schedule
Do you have multiple children? Do you have preschool pick up right in the middle of your baby’s nap time? Are you visiting family or celebrating a special event? If you tend to have an off schedule, this blog post is for YOU!
If you know you are going to have a busy day and are on the go with your baby, my advice is to always try and stick as close to your baby’s regular sleep schedule as possible. For example, if you are following wake times but are out and about, try to have your baby take his/her nap at that time even if it is in a stroller or carrier!
If you know in advance that you are going to have an off schedule day(s), try to set a new routine, for example, if you have school pick up at the same time every day, try and set your baby’s schedule around that pick up time.
This blog discusses naps on the go/manipulating the schedule for one-off days.
It is more difficult when you are having an unplanned off schedule day.
How to handle naps that happen off schedule:
When handling naps that happen off schedule, I suggest looking at your baby’s entire day! His or her day can be broken down into “awake time” or “sleep time.”
Start with logging your baby’s sleep to get an idea of how much sleep your baby is getting and needing (logging sleep freebie here). Then look at your baby’s total wake time, if your baby is 4 months old, he or she may have a total wake time of 8-9 hours!
His or schedule may be: 2/2.25/2.25/2
Sample schedule:
7am Out of Crib
9:15-1030 nap 1
12:45-2:00 nap 2
4:15-5 nap 3
7:00 pm bedtime.
If your baby ends up falling asleep for his second nap earlier, you’ll want to adjust the next wake time to ensure you are sticking with the same total wake time.
For example:
7am Out of Crib
9:15-1030 nap 1
12:00-1:30 nap 2
4:15-5:00pm nap 3 ** (you’ll want to add that 45 mins missed into the schedule)
7:00 pm bedtime
(you could also split it among other wake times, like 30 mins before nap 3 and 15 mins before bedtime).
As for an older child who is on one nap, you’d want to also follow total wake time. For example, if you have a 28 month old child who is on 1 nap, following wake times 6 hours / 5 hours (total wake time of 11 hours)
Example schedule:
7am OOC
1:00pm-3:00pm nap 1
8:00pm bedtime
If they SKIP their nap completely, you would do a 6:00pm bedtime.
7:00am OOC
NO NAP
6:00pm bedtime (7:00am to 6:00pm = 11 hours of total wake time).
A pro tip that I often use is to structure sleep around your baby’s feedings! For example, a newborn eats every ~2/3 hours during the day and then sleeps in between. So if you have an off schedule day, make sure to focus on getting the feedings in every 2/3 hours!
Struggling with multiple off days and need help getting back on track? Check out the schedules and transitions package!
