Episode 91: Successful Naps on the Go

Disclaimer: Transcripts were generated automatically and may contain inaccuracies and errors.

Welcome to the kid’s sleep show, where we help tired parents from around the world to get their children to fall asleep independently, sleep through the night and build healthy sleep habits for life. I’m your host, Courtney Zentz. Now let’s sleep together. Hello, and welcome back to another episode. My name is Courtney Zentz, the founder of tiny transitions. And I work as a child sleep coach here in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and around the world with tired families to build healthy sleep habits in their homes. And I have an amazing team of sleep consultants called the slumber squad who support you in all different parts of the world and in English and Spanish as well. So what are we going to dive into today, we are going to chat all about the nap on the go. I think there’s a lot of stress and anxiety for parents with children of all ages that if they have a day where they plan to be out and about, they don’t want the nap schedule to be off or a child’s sleep to be impacted. We all know the stress of trying to balance a birthday party with a sibling, a trip to the zoo, or Sunday night dinner at grandma’s house. And I want to make sure that you realize sleep coaching. And the ability for your child to be a good sleeper at any age, takes balance, a car nap on the go, perhaps bringing a sleeping bag so that they can catch some Zs at grandma’s house in the middle of the day. Or even things like wearing a baby while you walk around a farmers market or a local festival. All of those things are still realities in your day, you do not have to be a prisoner in your own home for the sake of maintaining naps. But there are a couple of different boundaries that you want to make sure that you have in place. Because everything as I mentioned is balanced. I typically look at an 8020 type role where 80% of the naps you want happening in the same inconsistent space, because let’s face it, your child’s going to sleep better. The other 20% is fair game. And I want you to live a fun and balanced life with your family. just recognizing that the times in which the naps are not in that normal space, they just may not be getting into the deepest and most restorative sleep. So a 45-minute nap in the car and a 45-minute nap in a crib are going to be very different in not only the quality of the sleep but usually the duration as well. So how do you manage naps when you’re on the go with your little one. But you still want to protect not only the total duration of sleep that a baby needs in the day. But you also want to ensure that they settle well and easily for bedtime and sleep through the night because that’s what every parent is looking for. They get rest and the baby gets rest so that you all feel at your best. So today, I’m going to cover the four main things you need to be thinking about when you’re going to have a weekend that’s quite busy. First, consider their schedule, it’s often that the first nap of the day is actually the longest for many children. So what I would consider is that you do the first nap of the day planning-wise at home in the crib. That way you’re starting the day off on a really strong foot, you’ve got a nice, independent, and consolidated nap in the crib or sleep space. And you can know that based on the first nap, which is generally consistent timing-wise, the timing of the second nap. And that would be when I would suggest you do your nap on the go. Maybe it’s just a quick trip to target. Maybe you’re going to the zoo for the day, whatever the reason that you’re going to be out and about, consider the timing and the duration in which you’re going to be out to see if you’re going to need to plan for that nap to be on the go. Or if you’re just going to be out and back in time for all of the naps to be at home. If you are going to be out and about and plan to be on the go for the day. preparation is key. You don’t want to be stuck without the right resources or sleep spaces in order for your child to get a good nap. So whether that’s going to be something in the stroller, something in a baby carrier, something in a sleeping bag or a nap net for a toddler, you just want to make sure that you’re prepared to have that nap happen on the go. I see a lot of parents in New Jersey where we go to the boardwalk. And they will be walking a baby in a stroller. And they’ll actually have the stroller covered with a blanket because potentially baby is likely sleeping. But they don’t realize that when you cover a stroller like that, you’re essentially creating a hot box for your child, especially in the summer, and the temperature rises very rapidly to almost 100 degrees within an hour of a child being in that type of environment. Number one, they’re not going to sleep well and number two, it is actually quite a safety hazard. So I know that a lot of parents utilize strollers for naps. Just something I wanted to point out as a bit of caution. Now, if you’re going to prepare for those naps on the go, make sure you also have adequate milk and snacks, make sure that you haven’t changed a diaper, and also always a change of clothes because you never know if there’s going to be a blowout during that excursion. And you want to make sure that you’re setting yourself up, remember to bring the baby carrier. And also remember to potentially bring anything that you might need should the baby fall asleep while you’re holding them. So what I mean by that is sometimes people have a pop-up chair with an umbrella on it, or maybe you’re going to the beach for the day, and you’re going to need an umbrella. So that baby has a little bit of shade that they can use in their nap and making sure that they take the nap, I’ve seen a lot more pop-up tents and things like that you can use out at a barbecue. And that way, you can also go ahead with just the traditional cuddle nap. And there’s nothing wrong with that you find a bench under a tree and you hold that little one for their sweet nap, I miss those days. And I do think of them often my little ones do not nap anymore. But if there is a rare occasion where they’re sick, and they fall asleep on me, I definitely hold on to it as much as I can. The next thing you want to look at is the trade-offs. Sometimes you have to make a trade-off with balancing your child’s nap and doing all those fun things that we get excited to do on the weekends. So if you’re going to be out and about but you also recognize that there are the demands of a child who naps a certain time of the day, how can you structure the day around it, sometimes it may mean that you have to leave the party early or get to the party a little bit later. But you know what, that’s going to be better than having a child crying, who’s freaking out the whole time. So sometimes it does mean there’s going to be flexibility in the day, I often have parents who are on one nap a day, but may want to take a trip somewhere that is a little bit longer in the car. On those days, I actually tell parents let them take a nap around 10 o’clock in the morning because the drive if you’re leaving at 8, am is potentially going to allow them to sleep. And then in the afternoon, try to do some aspect of a supportive nap, whether you’re still in the car, or whether you are at the destination and are going to be able to do something else supported to give them a little bit of a snooze or a break. And the reason that I do that is that it also provides the ability to get out of the car, right, so you’re going to have a nice nap. And then you’ll probably stop for a potty break. And then you’ll have a little bit of some fun in the car. And then you’ll start from lunch. And then you’ll have a little bit of fun in the car, maybe they’ll take a nap, right. And by that point, you’re at your destination. So you have a well-balanced child who’s also eaten regularly depending on their age, and they get their feeling rested and refreshed, ready to go into bedtime. So sometimes you do have to make sacrifices, I have skipped plenty of one-year-old birthday parties because my child’s nap falls during the time of the party. And I’m sorry, I’m not sacrificing that I’m a little bit stricter with the sleep guidelines, obviously given the day job as a sleep consultant. But I do recognize that there’s balance, Every family has to decide what things are a priority, and then shift those priorities to make sure that they’re setting their little one up for success. Your child has certain awake windows. And if you don’t follow those, they’re going to trigger adrenaline and cortisol, their bodies are going to become stimulated and they’re going to not only take a poor nap, they’re going to take a short nap, which is going to cause them to have a bad rest of the day, a rough bedtime multiple night wakings and early morning wakings that can cause future sleep challenges that spiral very quickly into needing me as a sleep coach to fix your family’s problems. And we don’t want to get you there. So what you want to make sure is that first, you’re prepared with your timing, first nap of the day, do that in the crib, if it’s possible, to make sure that you’re prepared for being on the go with your little one from a sleep space standpoint. Three, make sure that you are balancing the day and sacrificing where you have to prioritize your child’s sleep and to relax. I see so many parents that stress out about trying to be perfect every day. one bad day or off day of naps isn’t gonna throw all of your progress that you’ve made with sleep coaching out the window, you have a baby who sleeps well, you have trained them to sleep well. And you have the ability for them to have a day where they’re out and about. So it may not be the best day asleep, you may have to deal with the repercussions and you know what you’ve learned and you probably won’t do it again, if it does totally go awry. I know there’s plenty of situations where I’ve had beautiful days out and some days not so much. And I think it all comes with the balancing grace as parents that we need to give ourselves as we try to enjoy family time and the reality that we have a child who needs sleep and that should be our priority.

I hope everybody has a beautiful day. Thank you so much for tuning in. Again. My name is Courtney Zentz Bye for now. Hold on one more thing before you go. As a valued listener of the kid’s sleep show. I want to help you build a great sleep are not just in the times you’re listening to the show. But all day every day. Every week of the year. I have a new Facebook group called slumber Made Simple. It’s a place to gather with other parents looking for sleep. Support laughs and the latest in sleep research, to build a family that is rested and at its best day in and day out. If you want to be part of the community where you can get free sleep support, weekly training sessions, unbelievable content and so much more.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai – transcriptions are not 100% accurate.