best solution for Elem school pickup vs. 2yo's naptime

[WatchingThemGrow]

DD just started K. We live at the edge of the walk zone, so no handy school bus... She's out at 2:30, and our walk is 20ish minutes (I'm slow getting the double stroller up the hill.) We have to leave around 2pm to get drinks, snacks, shoes, toys, etc for the 1 hour (round trip) in the stroller. Besides the fact that an hour isn't long enough for his nap (usually sleeps 1:30-4 or longer)

On Monday, DS1 (3.5) fell asleep in the stroller, but DS2 (26 mos) did not sleep a wink. He slept when we got home (3ish) until DH woke him up for dinner at 5pm. Yesterday, we were doing errands, so we picked her up in the car. Lots of time waiting in line, etc. and he waited until we were home to sleep. Again, he slept 3ish-5, but this time when he woke up he was hysterical.

Today I fed the boys lunch at 11:45 and put him down at 12:00. He is quiet, so I'm assuming he'll sleep 12-2. Do you think this is the best time to let the toddler nap with this mid-nap mandatory pickup time? I wish there was a good carpool option, but then again I like meeting the other parents, seeing the classmates, saying hi to my old coworker/teacher friends, etc.

If you have a napper and a school-age kid, how do you make it work? Is there ANY way to make him sleep in the stroller? I tried reclining the seat and covering him with the shade, but it didn't work.

[crayonblue]

I have no idea but I feel your pain!!!!!!!!! We are in the same predicament with an 18 month old who desperately needs naps but I have to leave the house at 2:00 (1:00 on Thursdays) to pick up DD. The only solution I can come up with is to talk to the neighbors and see if someone would like for me to walk their kids to school and they would walk DD home. Otherwise, the no nap or interrupted nap-time is going to be very painful!

[Mommy Of A Little Angel]

I have been putting DD2 down around 11:30 so we can get out the door on time. Our walk is only 10 minutes so it's a bit easier but there are days she takes a long nap and wakes up like a bear! Those walks are not so fun! Do you have a neighbor who can alternate with you? You cane take them in the mornings and they can do pick up? I just started doing this and it works great because DD2 actually tends to sleep in in the mornings and I don't have to get her out of bed early!

[WatchingThemGrow]

One neighbor stays to chat/play as her DS is in 3rd gr. (and she bikes with her 3yo in the trailer) Another brings her DD home in a pickup so grandma can keep her while mom goes back to work. Another 2 goes to aftercare, and one stays to be a safety patrol. Oh, there is the Burmese family who lives across the street - who doesn't use the carseats I've given them and lets the 2yo jump around the van while mom drives down the street - eek. Sadly, our neighbors are friendly, but we don't really "know" each other as there is a good bit of turnover.

Crud, time to get the stroller out of the van and wake him up to walk now.

[YouAreTheFocus]

I think the earlier nap time is your best option. My toddler is about the same age as yours, and on days he is home he goes down between 11:30 & 12. Can you shift your morning schedule a bit, to make everything happen a little earlier? Like do lunch at 11? Then while he's sleeping have everything ready to go, get him/wake him and slip him in the stroller, he can relax/finish waking up on the ride over. I've noticed w/ mine that he'll be initially cranky if I have to wake him, but if he goes right into the car/stroller it smoothes things over.

[georgiegirl]

Ugh. I'm lucky that DD doesn't get out until 3:40. However every other Wednesday, it's 1:40, which is right in the middle of nap time. "fortunately" DS woke up at 4am this morning, so he was napping at 10am. I'd just try to nap them earlier.

[vdrake71]

During the winter, we were lucky to have a neighbor pick up my son so I did not have to take the newborn out in the snow. Right now, I put my daughter to sleep as soon as we drop the boys off in the morning (~9:00). For her afternoon nap, I try to put her to sleep as early as possible, but sometimes that does not work.

I believe that some kids can sleep in the stroller and some kids do not. I do not think that my kids ever slept in a stroller.

If you can not work it out with a neighbor for pick up, you might want to see if the school offers some after school care.

[amldaley]

12-2 sounds like the best plan. Are the boys getting up early with DD in the morning or sleeping in? Perhaps getting them up a smidge earlier will encourage earlier napping and then a slightly earlier bedtime? Just move the whole schedule to the left?

[nfowife]

That stinks. I have felt your pain with a 2:30 pick up in the past. For a while it worked best for me to pay the $$ for after care, which was only for 45 minutes at DD's preschool but those 45 minutes did make a difference for us, so it was worth the small cost to me.
My kids ride the bus now so I only have to walk to the top of my driveway and I can leave baby sleeping in her bed if she's still asleep now, and it's at 3:30 that they come home.

I'd look into:
-offering to pick up a neighbor's kid in exchange for them listening in on your baby monitor and a key to your house if need be.
-after care
-a grandma type in your neighborhood you can pay to either come sit at your house for an hour or who will listen in on the monitor and have access to the house if needed. Or a college student.

[GoBlue]

I think that you've heard some great ideas (I think aftercare would probably work the best), but I just have to say that a small child should NEVER be left alone asleep in the house with a next door neighbor listening in on the baby monitor. There could be a fire, or your kiddo could quietly climb out of the crib and do a million things to hurt him/herself. Listening in from your kitchen? Great. Listening in from their kitchen? No way.