[cantwait2bmommy]

Ava will be home two weeks tomorrow and we had a difficult time initially with her sleep schedule. However, after reading "Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child" I realized that she needed more sleep and getting her to sleep is now much, much easier.

But, I am wondering if she wakes up then 1 - 1.5 hours later goes back to sleep then within a couple of hours naps again then has about 3-4 hours before her final nap then within a couple hours goes down for the night, how do I take her out, have playdates and socialize with her? Which takes priority for you, the sleep schedule or socializing?

We have a friends and family that are a bit of a drive away (30 min to an hour) and we were really looking forward to seeing them regularly. Does sleeping time in the stroller or in the car count as a nap or does it just screw up the sleep schedule? Please tell me how to juggle all this. I am a first time mom and clueless, but really looking forward to being out and about with my little angel.

TIA!
Chris & Ava Leigh

[DPline]

Just my opinion, but I think it really comes down to your daughter. Will she nap well in the car or stroller and get the sleep she needs? If she falls asleep in the car seat on the way home from a friends house, can you get her into bed without waking her up so she can finish her nap?

My daughter was/is the poster child for 'sleep begats sleep,' and for the first year she was home, we scheduled our lives around her nap schedule. Nothing, but nothing, took precedence over her nap schedule, for everyone's sanity. My boys didn't need this regemented a schedule and a short nap in the car or the stroller now and again didn't throw them off like it did her. She did fall asleep in the car from time to time on the way home from somewhere and I could transfer her. But I did plan my time so that she would fall asleep (which she typically did in the car) at her regular nap time.

Not a great answer, but really you need to see what works for her in my opinion.

Good luck!

[luv2teach2]

Get a pack n play and leave it in your car Also, she can always sleep in the car.

[cbmstephanie]

Maria's schedule definately takes precedence over just about every other thing in our life. We do however sometimes have to have her to sleep in the car when we are traveling somewhere over her scheduled nap time. We haven't really had a problem with that. It is a balancing act to plan your day around the naps and still get the things done that you need to get done.

[ERAmy]

Shes 6 months old and doesnt really need major socialization right now imo. More importantly I would think is continuing working on her attaching to you as shes only been home 2 weeks.
I would see people around her sleep schedule. Or even better, have them come to you. Its much easier I would think for her to have people come to her new surroundings vs. constantly throwing new places in.

[afl]

Definitely for me, the sleep/nap schedule takes precendence. It's definitely true I don't always get to do things I want or see people, but that's just part of having a child. If it's something special, I'll sacrifice her nap, but for the most part, my life revolves around her schedule. And forget being able to go out to dinner at a normal hour as that gets us home too late.

I found that if DD falls asleep in the car, even for 5 minutes, that's the end of that nap. She doesn't transfer(never did). So, I try not to have her out at naptime or she loses out on that sleep.

[RGirl]

I think it depends on your child, and it will probably change as she gets older as well. When my daughter was first home (at about 6 and 1/2 months old), I didn't do anything to interrupt her nap routine - simply because she had never had one before, and I was trying to really get her into the routine.

I am a little more flexible now (she is almost a year old), but I can't be too flexible - she absolutely does not sleep on the go - has never fallen asleep in a car, a plane, a stroller. Never (not even on the 18+-hour trip home from Guatemala). She is old enough now, though, that if we need to (like on Christmas or when we had to go shopping in a nearby town), she can skip her morning nap. It is not ideal, but she does okay.

I think you have to read your child for what will work. Your daughter has been home such a short time - if it were me, I would probably hold off on a lot of traveling and visiting. But that is just me; we all have to make the decision that are right for our own children and us.

[JillnChris]

This is a big struggle for me too. Eva is a big sleeper and is only ever awake for about 2 - 3 hours at a time, and alot of that time is taken up just by changing and eating! Whenever we do get out of the house I sometimes plan it so that she is napping in the car and that gives us more time. She usually does fine with this, but she is a really good sleeper so I know it will not mess up her schedule for the next day. Usually if she falls asleep in the car on the way home she will not wake up when I take her and put her into her crib.
I know what you mean though. I really have to PLAN out my day even if it is just going to the store!

[jules17]

I am in the camp that *usually* schedules everything around naptime and our sons' schedules. There have been a few exceptions, but for the most part, we're home for naps.

When both boys came home, people came to us. I didn't deviate from that much. Then I could put our sons down and still visit/socialize.

Good luck!

[b-ron]

My sister-in-law gave me the book "Becoming Babywise" by Gary Ezzo when I had my first child. It helped me SOOO much in understanding how a child needs sleep - how to teach them to fall asleep, etc.
I didnt stick to everything in the book - but, I could pick and choose what fit our family best.
All 3 of my kids are great sleepers - they go to bed easily without much "aid" from me. That is a wonderful thing!

[gwenrenee007]

Personally, for me it is schedule, schedule, did I mention schedule! My dd will NOT sleep in the car and if she does she has a way of knowing if we are 5 minutes away and that is usually when she falls asleep. Every once in a while I will do things that are not in her usual schedule such as, missing a nap or staying out late, but I usually pay for it big time for at least a day or two. On Christmas eve she only had one nap and was a grump all day Christmas day AND the day after so to me it is worth it to keep her schedule when I can.

I think most children strive/thrive on schedule , but you can change it up a bit. If you dd will sleep in the car (a lot of kids fall asleep in car VERY easily) and you are going somewhere then I don't think it is a big deal for her to sleep in the car. It is also good to get her used to sleeping at other peoples houses like in a pack n play like someone mentioned. My dd will not sleep at anyone else's house and it can be a real inconvience sometimes.

[jerseytoo]

Sleep is soooo important for a baby and I also personally found that keeping to a schedule made things much easier. I also think attaching at this time is extemely important. This means spending lots and lots and lots of time with mom and everyone else needs to understand this. Soon enough she'll be sleeping less and you will have much more time to get out and about. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying don't socialize but I believe in giving your daughter time to adapt to her home environment.

I did, and still do schedule travel time to fit in with my daughters nap time. She is 3 now so she takes one mid day nap so if I'm going any distance I try to schedule the car ride for mid day.

[Wonk]

We do push the schedule around as necessary. Having said that, we have let her sleep in the car and have even sat in the car for two hours when she needed a sleep and we needed to visit people (one of us was in the car, one was in the house). Sleep is sleep but longer sleep is better than shorter sleep. The other thing we realized was that our kiddo needed way more sleep than we were originally giving her. She needs 12 hrs at night (at 16 mo) plus two naps, about 45 min in the morning and up to two hours in the afternoon. So your world does shrink down a bit when going out at night is cut way back. But that is what happens with a little one.

[kacmom1]

You have had your daughter for such a short time that it's really hard right now for you to know much about her schedule. At each age, children need different amounts of sleep. Until about 15 months, my kids all took two naps a day. Around 15 months, they gave up their morning naps and took one afternoon nap. Once you get to that time, you will find that there is more time for you to visit friends, run errands...

I was lucky, my kids were all good sleepers. They would sleep anywhere....in the car, in the stroller, on the beach, at a friends house. So, we were pretty able to be on the go with a baby. We just kept the pack and play in the truck if needed.

I;m sure before long you will see exactly how much sleep your baby needs and how she reacts to a missed nap or too little sleep. You can then start to make your plans around that. Some kids are not too happy to miss some sleep...others can deal with it!

Good luck!