https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 28 May 2026 13:09:36 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-kids-with-two-different-nap-schedules#post-2478810 Mon, 29 Feb 2016 16:01:30 +0000 AggieDaze 2478810@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@aprild: Did you consider pushing LO1's nap later? 12:30 seems so early for us as LO1 doesn't typically go down for nap until 1:30 at home, sometimes 2 depending on his AM wake time. He naps from 1-3 at daycare. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-kids-with-two-different-nap-schedules#post-2435647 Mon, 25 Jan 2016 02:07:28 +0000 Foodnerd81 2435647@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@aprild: your Lo's friends will probably start dropping their naps around the same time too, and their moms can be less flexible. I am lucky- almost all of our play date friends have started having be babies too. So play dates have been really difficult to plan but we are all in the same boat at least. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-kids-with-two-different-nap-schedules#post-2435636 Mon, 25 Jan 2016 00:12:40 +0000 daniellemybelle 2435636@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I just have to say I loooooove reading about all of you who have successfully achieved the double nap! That is so awesome, and my dream for a future LO #2! (Hopefully LO #1 is still napping then!) </p> <p>I don't have two LOs so forgive me for trying to advise on something I don't know personally! But will LO #2 nap in the car seat if you are in the car? Maybe you could do a car nap from 9-10 and then do the second nap for both at 1. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-kids-with-two-different-nap-schedules#post-2435619 Sun, 24 Jan 2016 22:51:06 +0000 Mrs. Sunshine 2435619@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I forced things so that they nap together. I don't usually let my youngest sleep longer than an hour for her first nap (she usually goes down around 9). Then nap is at 1. I get a good solid double nap about 5 out of 7 days a week. Double naps is what keeps my family alive lol </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-kids-with-two-different-nap-schedules#post-2435614 Sun, 24 Jan 2016 22:41:56 +0000 gingerbebe 2435614@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would try to wake up the baby half an hour earlier so that they go down at 9am and are up by 1030am. Then I would push the older child's nap until 1pm, which seems feasible since he's been fighting naps anyway. That should give you a 2.5 hour window for playdate and lunch before the older kid needs a nap. Baby's PM nap would then get bumped up to 2:30pm.</p> <p>If need be, I would cut the baby's nap short and wake them at 10am on a playdate day and then they should be ready to go down even earlier for the PM nap (say 2pm) and you might benefit from a double nap for at least an hour. Or you can wake the baby an hour early on a playdate day and have them go down by 830am and have a full nap until 10am. Then they would be ready to go down for a PM nap a 2pm. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-kids-with-two-different-nap-schedules#post-2435557 Sun, 24 Jan 2016 21:24:28 +0000 cat620 2435557@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@gingerbebe: My oldest is two and half, but I think he will drop his nap soon. He's already started skipping it regularly, and he's always been a child who didn't seem to need as much sleep as others his age. My youngest is almost 6 months, and he naps in the morning for about an hour and a half and in the afternoon for about 2 hours. </p> <p>I think once my oldest son gives up his nap for good, I won't need to worry about syncing up their naps, and we'll have a nice window of time in the afternoon to go out. But I'm not sure about playdates with my oldest son's friends, since their moms like to get together around 10. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-kids-with-two-different-nap-schedules#post-2435556 Sun, 24 Jan 2016 21:24:01 +0000 MrsSRS 2435556@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>That's tough! I manipulated my 7mo's schedule to get a double afternoon nap. DD wakes up at about 6 and naps at 8 for an hour or two, then a other nap at 1. DS naps from 12:30-2:30 so I have an overlap. Then sometimes DD needs a 3pm catnap to get to her 6:30 bedtime. She's essentially on a 2-3-4 schedule, but I tweak it to get a double nap. We just lost the ease of napping on the go too. :crying: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-kids-with-two-different-nap-schedules#post-2435554 Sun, 24 Jan 2016 21:21:47 +0000 cat620 2435554@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@keepcalmcarrie: I think my oldest son is going to drop his nap soon, because he sometimes skips it and seems fine. He's also started fighting naptime, so for me, it's not worth the struggle of forcing him to sleep. I think my biggest issue after he drops the nap will be playdates, since my oldest son's friends all still nap around lunchtime. I don't like missing playdates, because I need the adult interaction as a SAHM! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-kids-with-two-different-nap-schedules#post-2435552 Sun, 24 Jan 2016 21:15:24 +0000 gingerbebe 2435552@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@aprild: how old our your kids and how long is the youngest napping for each nap? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-kids-with-two-different-nap-schedules#post-2435534 Sun, 24 Jan 2016 21:03:09 +0000 keepcalmcarrie 2435534@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>As soon as I got LO2 on any semblance of a schedule, I basically insisted on a double nap (they are 22 months apart). So LO1 naps around 1 (he's very flexible and can nap anywhere between noon and 2, but in a normal day it's at 1). LO1 at 6 months dropped his late day catnap around 4, and I had him nap at 9 am and 1 pm. Now at 12 months he still has that schedule, and most days it works like a charm. He wakes up around 7, ready for his nap at 9 (sometimes he plays around in his crib for up to 30 minutes, but if he's not already awake I always get him up by 10:30 regardless of when he falls asleep). Then he goes down at 1, up around 3, and back in bed around 7. I do miss a lot of mid morning play dates with LO1s older friends, but I know LO2 will drop this 9 am nap in the next few months (if not on his own by 16 months I will force it) and just move to a 12:30 or so nap, along with LO1 for as long as I can keep him napping. I'm not die-hard about a strict schedule, but a double nap is my #1 priority as a SAHM. If a double nap is not that important to you I wouldn't tinker and would just try to continue getting LO2 to nap on the go (if they are truly exhausted they will sleep) so you can get out and about. But a staggered nap schedule wouldn't work for me ;) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-kids-with-two-different-nap-schedules#post-2435531 Sun, 24 Jan 2016 21:00:59 +0000 skipra 2435531@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@aprild: it is tough at that age! I think my younger one was closer to a year before I could consistently get the nap schedule down. At that age we either made sure to drive far enough for a decent car nap or had playdates at our house and had the older kids play away from the baby. I still think it's a life saver to get the second nap aligned with your older lo. Good luck! It is a challenge! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-kids-with-two-different-nap-schedules#post-2435521 Sun, 24 Jan 2016 20:55:26 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2435521@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Honestly wait it out. Soon the baby will be able to go a bit later or the older child can be pushed later. We would do the younger one with a morning nap and then push the oldest a bit later. So like 9:30-10 for the first nap (usually short) and then both nap at like 1 or 1:30 </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-kids-with-two-different-nap-schedules#post-2435520 Sun, 24 Jan 2016 20:55:12 +0000 Mrs. Champagne 2435520@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MamaBehr: my friend with three (4th on the way) did the same thing. </p> <p>Let the youngest maybe have a small cat nap and then she napped in the afternoon with the big kids. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-kids-with-two-different-nap-schedules#post-2435512 Sun, 24 Jan 2016 20:49:41 +0000 cat620 2435512@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@skipra: It would be really hard for me to delay the nap, since my son is almost 6 months old. He's still pretty young and can't stay up long without needing sleep. He used to be better about napping on the go, but now he is more alert and interested in what's going on, so he won't sleep as long as he needs to. I guess we'll just have to hope he starts sleeping on the go better, because I don't want to sit at home all day due to naptime. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-kids-with-two-different-nap-schedules#post-2435474 Sun, 24 Jan 2016 20:07:56 +0000 skipra 2435474@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I worked hard to get LO2 to nap at the same time. He always woke by 6 and would be ready for a nap at 8:30 or 9 and it was just a short one. Then we could do 10 am playdates and get back home for lunch and nap for both of them around 1. This way they can go to bed and wake up earlier. Maybe a better alternative for you would be to delay the morning nap so it somewhat overlaps your old lo's naps or just have the morning nap happen on the go, in the car or stroller? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-kids-with-two-different-nap-schedules#post-2435467 Sun, 24 Jan 2016 19:57:22 +0000 MamaBehr 2435467@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm not going to lie, I have always forced my youngest to skip that morning nap and rest (though hopefully sleep) when the toddler is down. My sanity of getting two hours a day to myself was worth it. </p> <p>Now, with my two oldest in preschool and school I'm going to have to manipulate naps a lot when my youngest is actually on a schedule. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-kids-with-two-different-nap-schedules#post-2435458 Sun, 24 Jan 2016 19:44:30 +0000 Foodnerd81 2435458@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@aprild: I'm sure I'm going to be in this situation soon and I'm not looking forward to it! My toddler has been acting like she's going to drop her nap soon so that would be one small silver lining. I really hope I can line up naps like mrs. Lion. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-kids-with-two-different-nap-schedules#post-2435423 Sun, 24 Jan 2016 19:07:04 +0000 Rockies11 2435423@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I do the carrier during playdates, and she tends to sleep in the car there and back. Not ideal! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-kids-with-two-different-nap-schedules#post-2435415 Sun, 24 Jan 2016 18:57:45 +0000 Mrs. Lion 2435415@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@aprild: We had this problem as well. Playdates would have been really hard, as was preschool drop off for my oldest. We just decided it was worth the sacrifice to let her get up at 6 every day. It works well for us because our son is up by then usually too. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-kids-with-two-different-nap-schedules#post-2435406 Sun, 24 Jan 2016 18:43:35 +0000 cat620 2435406@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Lion: I think my baby would have to be up at 5:30 to want to nap at 8. What time does yours wake up?</p> <p>The other problem I'm having is my friends mostly have one child each (my older son's age, since I met them when he was a baby). They want to schedule playdates before their kids take an afternoon nap, so we end up seeing each other usually around 9:30/10 in the morning, which is right when my youngest typically has his first nap. When he misses this nap, he gets overtired and cranky the rest of the day. I'm starting to get frustrated and feel like I either have to miss the playdates or deal with a cranky baby. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-kids-with-two-different-nap-schedules#post-2435404 Sun, 24 Jan 2016 18:36:32 +0000 Mrs. Lion 2435404@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Hmm that's tough. I actually manipulated the baby's sleep so that she got up earlier, and in turn napped earlier. So she naps at 8 and we go out between the end of that nap and lunch. I also pushed my toddlers nap back just a bit so they both nap at 1 in the afternoon. Double naps were definitely worth the maneuvering! Haha </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/2-kids-with-two-different-nap-schedules#post-2435401 Sun, 24 Jan 2016 18:32:01 +0000 cat620 2435401@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If you have 2 kids with two different nap schedules, when do you go out with them?</p> <p>For example: my older son naps once a day around 12:30, but my younger son is on a two nap a day schedule and naps at 9:30 and again at 3. No matter what time of day we go out, it seems like someone is going to miss a nap. My youngest used to be good about napping in his stroller/carseat, but as he gets older, he's more aware of his surroundings and will refuse to nap unless we are home. So I'm wondering what others do in this situation. </p>