moms of a toddler and infant...how do you do naps?!

[dukie41181]

We have a 2 year old (as in just turned 2) and a 4 month old. The 2 year old naps from approximately 1-5. I had just been making the little one nap at the same time which works ok but I think she'll sleep more soundly if I can get her a nap when her behavior tells me she's sleepy. The problem is then what do I do with my 2 year old while I'm trying to get the baby a nap (minimum 30 min)? My 2 year old is quite spirited and energetic so it makes me nervous to leave her unattended where I can't see her. We don't have a TV near the bedrooms so that's not an option for us and our bedrooms are upstairs so I can't put out a snack to occupy her either. How do you do it?!

[newg]

I let DD2 sleep in the swing/bouncer downstairs 'till she was about 4/5 months old and DD1 and I would play quiet games/watch tv while she slept.

Now DD2 usually takes a nap in the morning, an afternoon nap and sometimes a short catnap in the late afternoon/early evening. DD1 sleeps from 1-3. DD just turned 3. I will have her come upstairs with me and let her play in her room while I put DD2 down, or I will turn on a show downstairs and just run DD2 up quickly and lay her down (changing her diaper and putting her in her sleepsack while still downstairs)

Now, I just take DD2 into her room and lay her down, turn on her stars and music, and walk out.....so it's 5-10 min. tops and then I'm out of her room.

What do you need to do to get your LO ready for a nap? Could you put a tv in your bedroom so your DD1 could watch a show/movie?

[daisymommy]

I would do one of two things.
(1) Totally baby proof her room--secure furniture to walls, all outlets covered, only safe toys, etc. and then put her in her room either with a gate in the doorway, or if she is too loud with it open, then shut the door, and put a door knob cover on the inside so she cannot get escape. Pull out some fun toys for her to play with, maybe give her a dry snack (like Cheerios) in a Snacktrap, and leave her be while you put the baby to sleep.

(2) If you don't think she could escape a Pack-n-Play, put her in it with some special toys reserved for baby's nap time, and a dry snack.

Thankfully, at 4 months your baby should be falling into a nap routine about this time (if not now, then within the next month for sure). Then you can sync the two naps together. At that age they generally go down for a nap 2 hours after waking up, and then nap again at 12:00/1:00, again between 3-5. So you could put your toddler down for the afternoon nap then (baby first, then toddler).

Weissbluth's book Healthy Sleep habits, Happy Child was very helpful to me in setting up sleep routines for my kids (not schedules! I am not a scheduler; but I like to know *in general* when the optimum biological sleep times & patterns are depending upon age. It certainly made my life easier.

Good Luck!

[WatchingThemGrow]

I would do one of two things.
(1) Totally baby proof her room--secure furniture to walls, all outlets covered, only safe toys, etc. and then put her in her room either with a gate in the doorway, or if she is too loud with it open, then shut the door, and put a door knob cover on the inside so she cannot get escape. Pull out some fun toys for her to play with, maybe give her a dry snack (like Cheerios) in a Snacktrap, and leave her be while you put the baby to sleep.

(2) If you don't think she could escape a Pack-n-Play, put her in it with some special toys reserved for baby's nap time, and a dry snack.

Thankfully, at 4 months your baby should be falling into a nap routine about this time (if not now, then within the next month for sure). Then you can sync the two naps together. At that age they generally go down for a nap 2 hours after waking up, and then nap again at 12:00/1:00, again between 3-5. So you could put your toddler down for the afternoon nap then (baby first, then toddler).

Weissbluth's book Healthy Sleep habits, Happy Child was very helpful to me in setting up sleep routines for my kids (not schedules! I am not a scheduler; but I like to know *in general* when the optimum biological sleep times & patterns are depending upon age. It certainly made my life easier.

Good Luck!
Yep! All that!

[longtallsally05]

(1) Totally baby proof her room--secure furniture to walls, all outlets covered, only safe toys, etc. and then put her in her room either with a gate in the doorway, or if she is too loud with it open, then shut the door, and put a door knob cover on the inside so she cannot get escape. Pull out some fun toys for her to play with, maybe give her a dry snack (like Cheerios) in a Snacktrap, and leave her be while you put the baby to sleep.

I am a big fan of using baby gates. Think of her room as one gigantic crib; she'll be fine in there after you baby-proof it. You will find the gate useful for a long time. I still have a gate on my DD's room and she's five years old; the purpose is to keep two year-old DS from having acess to tiny choker toys. I like this gate, as it is easy for DD to open, but impossible for DS:

http://www.amazon.com/First-Years-Hands-Free-Styles/dp/B000058CC7/ref=sr_1_3?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1299266812&sr=1-3

[septmama2b]

My boys are 15 months apart, and most of my house is baby proofed. Upstairs we have baby gates on the toddler's bedroom and the play room. Both are safe to leave the kids in, when DS was little and took a longer nap routine I left the toddler in the play room with his favorite toys that he could only have when his little brother was out of the room. Now I love having the area gated, I can leave the kids in the play room or their room, and be right within earshot putting laundry away.

The bigger challenge is getting their naps to synch up. I spent months in a nap trap with the little taking 2 a day and the big taking one. We had a tough time leaving the house.

[Tinochka]

My boys are 16 months apart and I had hard time last year. My oldest one is a good sleeper, the second one... is another story. We were not able to put him down for one month, he was screaming days and nights. We finally figure out what was wrong, then still he was not sleeping well. Then it was summer, but I felt myself trapped in the house, because of the different nap schedules... One day I gave up and decided to follow my old son nap time, because I couldn't messed up with the second's nap schedule, because we didn't have one! I started to go to a park, had a nice double stroller and if the second one was crying, walked around, but played with a first one... One day, when we came home, I decided to put the oldest one to bed first (we were a little bit late) and deal with the second one later. After 5 min. run to the garage, thinking that the youngest is crying just to find out that he is quietly sleeping in his car seat. I left him there, laid down with an open door to a garage (the same level)... So, the whole summer my second one was sleeping in the garage and I had a break, was able to nap myself. Eventually, I started to put him to crib, but with a white noise, so if one of them will wake up, then the second one will not. I found that routine and some sense of schedule is the key.
Good luck! Things will get better