Getting your baby to take daytime naps while out managing appointments, running errands, traveling, or being on-the-go can seem daunting. But with some planning, right tools and expert tips, it is possible to help your little one get the rest they need, even when you're out and about.
Importance of Naps on the Go
Getting out of the house with your baby to see family members, friends, and change up your routine is vital for mothers' mental health. The monotony of being stuck at home all day with an infant day after day can lead to boredom, isolation, and increased risk for postpartum depression. Yes, it can be the most wonderful time, but being housebound can still be hard. When babies can nap successfully out of the home, in a portable crib, in arms, a stroller or a car seat, it gives mothers a much-needed break and change of scenery. There is nothing wrong with a car ride, car nap, stroller nap or contact naps occasionally when needed. A well rested baby is a happy baby!
Attending outdoor fitness classes for Moms with a baby can be incredibly valuable. These situations provide women with social interaction, fresh air, and exercise enable mothers to relax, destress, and take care of themselves. Mothers need this time to recharge so they have the energy and joy to continue taking great care of their little ones. Being confined at home until baby's next nap makes self-care and fun very difficult. Naps on the go benefit both baby and moms greatly. One 2017 study provided support for the effectiveness of exercise in reducing postpartum depressive symptoms.
In this article, I'll provide tips to set you and your baby up for nap time success while on the go. You'll learn strategies for planning for the nap, getting your baby to sleep in their stroller or car seat, respecting their sleep cycles, and dealing with short naps. With a little practice, your baby can get rejuvenating daytime sleep no matter where you are!
The Challenge of Naps On the Go
MINDSET
Often parents who have worked so hard to have amazing baby nap schedules can be very nervous about disrupting their little one's sleep environment or sleep schedule. It can truly be anxiety provoking. We all know that babies and toddlers thrive on consistent nap schedules. However, running errands, appointments, and activities are bound to interrupt the perfect schedule during the day. The first thing to conquer is your mindset and understanding of great sleep. Don't fall into “all or nothing thinking,” which is the idea that if you have one nap a little off schedule or shorter, that it will derail or ruin your entire day.
You're a skilled parent, you can protect that next nap, get your baby enough sleep and preserve your schedule for the rest of the day.
What we tell ourselves about parenting can dramatically affect how we feel each day. The most important thing is that we feel good and are emotionally regulated as this affects our children. I've found when I'm feeling anxious, affirmations are incredibly helpful at reigning in any bad thoughts.
Here are a few I like to use when I'm feeling anxious about parenting.
"I make good decisions for my family."
"My family's health and well being is centered around me. I need to fuel my needs."
“This nap may be short, but the next one will be at home and complete. I’m an important person too.”
Now that we've talked about thoughts, let's talk about other limiting beliefs one might have that keeps them napping at home and provide ideas and tips on how to manage this!
QUALITY OF SLEEP
Another challenge is the internet idea that motion naps "aren't as good" as "naps in the crib." I’m not sure this is true. I like to think differently on this and view a shorter motion nap with the idea that some sleep at the right time is better than no sleep. Couple that thought with "I'm an important person too." In a perfect world, sure your baby would be able to sleep soundly in a dark, cool room for all naps of the day. Realistically though that could cause a mother a lot of anxiety trying to have the perfect sleep environment and be extremely isolating.
Some sleep is always better than no sleep.
You getting out and filling up your connection bucket is a huge part of you being able to be a present, content parent. I have yet to find research showing that the quality of naps in motion, a stroller or car seat, are not as restorative or as good sleep as naps in a crib. However, one thing that can happen with older kids is they are more aware of their environment. This sometimes leads to the nap not being as long when on the go compared to in the crib in a dark room. Outside, they may surface after one sleep cycle and be interested in what's going on around them and not relax back into the next cycle. You might not get a full nap but rather a short nap.
UNFAMILIAR ENVIRONMENT
Napping in unfamiliar, noisy, or bright environments can be difficult because they are distracting. This is true for babies but also adults! I've spoken with many new parents who want to avoid using black out curtains with their babies because they don't want to "train" them to have to have dark environment. How sensitive a human is to light is not something you can train. It's a sensitivity that's inherent. A great nap will have minimal visual or auditory interruptions. So it's still overall a good idea to use dark out curtains to minimize distractions for those naps that will happen in the nursery, since they are the majority. They are also helpful in the summer months for bright mornings and evenings. My favorite dark out curtains are SleepOut Curtains which have travel or permanent options. Use my code helpingbabiessleep for 10% off.
Setting Up For Nap Success
In The Helping Babies Sleep Method we generally don't teach "fixed schedules" until kids are consistently on 1 nap. We teach a rolling schedule where you predict your next nap time based on when the baby wakes up from a current nap. Age-appropriate wake windows are key to easy nap put downs. You can grab our awake time chart here.
These awake times allow your baby to have enough sleep pressure to ease into sleep without too much effort. In well rested babies, you'll usually have a very similar daily flow from day to day, but you'll have the parenting tools to know how to handle short naps or disrupted naps. When my kids were young, I used to say "mornings are for me, afternoons are for you." Meaning I would plan to run errands, attend a fitness class or book appointments in the morning. This way I could adjust the first nap to accommodate my plans, while knowing that I had the afternoon nap to protect my child's sleep.
Ideas on how to do this:
1. When your baby wakes up for the day, predict out when the next nap will be and compare that to where you need to be at what time.
2. Plan how you can have a nap on the go to make that appointment or fitness class happen. This might look like planning to drive around for 30 minutes so that baby gets 30 minute nap in before the doctor's office.
Scenario 1 : You have a 4 month old who has an awake window of 1 hour 45 minutes.
They wake up at 6:30 am, and you want to attend a 10:30 am outdoor stroller fitness class. Let's brainstorm what you could do to protect your baby's sleep.
6:30 am - wake up and feed
Awake time ~ 1.5 hours.
8:00 am - Nap for 45 min to 1 hour.
9:00 am - Wake up
Awake time ~ 1 hour 45 minutes.
10/10:30 am - Feeding time
10:45 am - Nap 2 - likely 45 minutes.
This actually works out perfectly. You can plan to arrive early to your class location, at 10:00 say and get your feeding done. Then you have some time to burp and get baby into the stroller comfortably. You might walk around for 10 minutes before the start of class. The good thing about motion is that it can help facilitate sleep and you can sometimes put kids down slightly before their full awake window has expired. You may want to have a bit of white noise which can help block out environmental sounds that could be distracting.
I have a lot to say about the use and misuse of portable white noise machine, which you can read about here. You may also try and diminish the bright light but bringing up the car seat/stroller shade.
Scenario #2: You have a doctors appointment at 9:00 am and have a 3 month old.
6:30 am - Wake up and feed
Awake time of 1:10
7:40 am - Nap time of 1 to 1.5 hours
9:00 am - Wake Up
So in this scenario, you'll have to wake your baby up a bit early to get to the appointment. You could consider having this morning nap in the car seat so you don't have to wake them up from the crib to transfer them into the sleep and keep them sleeping until you arrive at your appointment. Or you could do the nap in the crib and just wake them up early, losing a bit of sleep, to get to the appointment. You know what would work best for your baby. The good news is that you have at least 4 more naps in this single day to recoup some of that lost first nap sleep.
Scenario #3 : Nap Time and Appointment Time Collide -
It could happen that your doctors appointment falls exactly at nap time in the doctors office. While not ideal, you will manage. Your baby might be a bit fussy but babies 3 months and less might contact nap and pass out anyways. As they get older and more aware of their surroundings this happens less. They'll likely wait until they are in the car seat on their way home to fall asleep. If that happens, just stay in motion for 45 minutes to get one sleep cycle in. Trying to transfer to the crib can work in the early months but after 4 months the changes of having a successful nap transfer decrease!
Dealing with Short Naps
- If baby is only napping 15-30 minutes on the go, first try extending the nap by providing motion for 10+ more minutes in stroller/carrier after they fall asleep.If the extension just not working with motion, you could consider providing a contact nap in a carrier to make sleep happen.
- Now is NOT the time to be working on great sleep associations.
- Try to get naps early in baby's awake window before they become overtired and resist sleep.
- Watch for yawning and eye rubbing.
- Assess elements of the nap environment and troubleshoot.
- For example, block light with blanket, move further from crowds, or try nursing instead of stroller that day.
To wrap up, while napping on the go takes forethought and practice, it is doable with the right strategies and helps you avoid nap jail!
- Plan ahead with the timing to maximize the next wake window.
- Choose suitable nap locations in advance when possible.
- Employ tactics like motion, white noise and darkness to help your baby sleep in stimulating environments.
- Respect baby's sleep needs and cycles.
- Troubleshoot short naps by adjusting your approach.
With time, you and baby will become pros at happy naps on the go!
