My 9.5-week-old daughter’s lunchtime nap is now disturbed by nursery runs
Since my 3-year-old son has been back at nursery, the midday nap for my daughter has gone wrong. He has to be collected at 12.30 so I have to leave at 12.15. My daughter is tired at 12.00 so I put her to sleep in her car seat ready to put in the car. She sleeps fine until I take her out of the car at 12.30 to collect my son. I have tried putting the car seat in the buggy and just carrying it but she always wakes up and will not go back to sleep. I know it is because she has come into her light sleep but these are the times I have to collect him. When we get home I try to settle her in a dark room either in her cot or remaining in the car seat but she then cries on and off until 2pm. She is then overtired for the remainder of the afternoon. She will not sleep after her 2pm bottle either. Before my son went back to school she was sleeping brilliantly at lunchtime. What can I do before it begins to affect her routine? Should I try to keep her awake until 12.45 when I get home? Her 2pm bottle will then be late.
At present she naps at 9-9.45am, 12-12.35pm and 4-4.30pm. She settles at 7pm.
She feeds at 7am 3ozs, 10.45am 5.5ozs, 2.15pm 4.4ozs, 5pm 3ozs, 6.15pm 2ozs and 11pm 3ozs. She weighs 11lbs.
It must be frustrating to have lost this lunchtime nap but at her age her cycles are changing. This change has coincided with your son’s return to nursery.
When you return home, presumably around 12.45pm offer her a small feed of around 2ozs. This may help her be settled back into her cot. Her afternoon feed could be moved onto 2.30/2.45pm if she is not so hungry before this and may be slightly smaller due to the earlier amount.
You could try hanging a blanket over the car seat when she first settles to sleep and see if this will encourage her to stay asleep for longer.
If her sleep is still not so long as you would like, try putting her down a little earlier in the afternoon, or going for a walk around 3.30pm and see if she can have nearer to an hour. This should then see her through to bath and bedtime.