Baby naps when you have a toddler too

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Baby naps when you have a toddler too

By Foodnerd81 Apr 20, 2016

My second baby is a much better sleeper than my first was at this age. I know this and appreciate it.

However, baby is 4 months old, toddler is 2.5 years, and my current major struggle is getting the baby to nap while not ignoring the toddler for hours at a time. It must be the 4 month sleep regression, but seriously I don't know what to do. She falls asleep nursing and I can transfer her, but then she wakes up five minutes later.

How do people who are home alone with two or more kids do it? I've tried letting her fuss or cry for a bit and while she used to sometimes put herself to sleep, now she just gets more upset. We have the swaddle and white noise going. I just feel so fried trying balance both of them all the time (which, I know is the story of your life with kids!).

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15 comments

winniebee
hostess / wonderful grape / 20803 posts

Apr 20, 2016

This was an incredibly hard stage for us. I gave my older a TV show when I had to get the baby down for a nap. Which meant the toddler watched like 4 shows a day. It was short lived, but a crappy stage. We also were out and about a lot at that age, since the baby took short naps, even at home. So I tried to have him nap in the ergo or car, or wherever we were. Hang in there!
Truth Bombs
grapefruit / 4321 posts

Apr 20, 2016

Baby wearing, or going for a drive (my baby will *usually* stay asleep in the car seat if I carry him in and put it in a quite place).
Foodnerd81
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts

Apr 20, 2016

@winniebee: @Truth Bombs: I should have mentioned, she USED to sleep in the carrier so in the afternoon I would just go out to the park with them both and she would nap in the carrier. Not so much lately. Yesterday she was awake from 2 until bedtime at 8. After carrier and stroller nap attempts, and coming home and nursing and rocking in the swaddle. Luckily my sister was here to help with the toddler but even then, she starts behaving worse when I spend less time with her.

And she's already watching so much tv. It takes longer than an entire half hour episode. Ugh.
Foodnerd81
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts

Apr 20, 2016

Also she's been awake since 6:45, it's now 9:45. Tried nursing to sleep while DH was still home, rocking to sleep while toddler watched a show, DH tried while I chugged my Luke warm coffee... Gave up and she is just chilling in her bouncy seat but is totally overtired. I'm overtired.
Truth Bombs
grapefruit / 4321 posts

Apr 20, 2016

@Foodnerd81: Ugh, I'm sorry! 4 months is so brutal. My baby turned 5 months today and I'm expecting it to magically improve his sleep Any chance of putting your LO in a part time preschool or MDO program so that at least a few mornings a week you and the baby can get some rest? And the toddler gets play time and interaction with other kids.
Foodnerd81
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts

Apr 20, 2016

@Truth Bombs: she has one 2 hour drop off program (not this week because it's school vacation). There really aren't many options nearby for her age though, it's annoying! It's like, this isn't my first rodeo, I know sleep regressions happen and they are phases, but at the same time, what the hell do I do? She has to sleep at some point! And I have to actually watch my toddler, Daniel tiger can only do so much. Not to mention that once in a while I want to actually DO something besides sit in my dim bedroom with white noise blaring nursing a baby who keeps pulling off my breast... Can you tell I'm not getting a lot of sleep at night either??
Truth Bombs
grapefruit / 4321 posts

Apr 20, 2016

@Foodnerd81: I wish I could give you a hug a giant bottle of wine. This morning at 6am the baby kept twisting and pulling at my breast instead of nursing like a normal person so we could finish up and I could get ready for work and rush out the door. I was just so over it after being up with him all night.
oliviaoblivia
pineapple / 12793 posts

Apr 20, 2016

I've been lucky that the little girls both like(d) swing, stroller, car, carrier naps.
Little sister wasn't a crib napper until she was 6/7 months old. Baby sister takes her naps wherever we are, her naps tend to be a little scattered because of our schedule but she manages it without being cranky.
Can you do stroller naps for her while you are at the park with big sister?
Charm54
cantaloupe / 6885 posts

Apr 20, 2016

4 months kind of sucked - I would feed her to sleep, dd1 would come in and wake her up right in the middle...ugh. At 5.5 I slept trained so that dd2 could fall asleep on her own. That was a GAME CHANGER. Now I just have to rock her for a minute, put her down and walk out. I can then play with dd1 (or if I'm lucky it's time for dd1 to nap too and I get the elusive double nap!!). Dd2 also naps well when we are out and about in the car seat, stroller or whatever.

Anyway - not a lot of advice, besides for that it does get better !! At 6.5 months now we have a good routine down and it is pretty (relatively) easy.
snowjewelz
wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts

Apr 20, 2016

I am so sorry! I just want to give you a great big hug.

I woulds till re-try stroller/carrier naps on and off; I find that they are so fickle and changes their minds quite often!
Foodnerd81
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts

Apr 20, 2016

@snowjewelz: @oliviaoblivia: I will definitely keep trying the stroller or carrier naps, hopefully once we get through this sleep regression she will go back to it, especially now that it's getting nicer out and staying light out later. I just really hate getting to the park then having to make the toddler leave because baby sister won't sleep.

@Charm54: we do need to teacher to fall asleep other own. She still seems too young now (though we did sleep training younger than this with big sis)

Doing ok now. Toddler is going down for nap and nursing baby to sleep laying down. Maybe we will all snooze.
Anagram
eggplant / 11716 posts

Apr 20, 2016

@Foodnerd81: it's only another month or two until the baby is on a solid 3 nap schedule, at the same times every day. One of those naps can be during your toddler's nap, so that only leaves 2 naps a day that you have to get creative with the toddler to leave you alone while you are putting the other one to sleep.

For us, 1 nap a day is a tv show or Ipad, but I really limit that, so that's all--and I pick the late afternoon nap because in that 30 minute show, I put the baby for the last nap, feed her, AND prep dinner.

For the morning nap, I have to break out a new and exciting activity Every.single.day. It's the only thing that keeps her out of the room long enough while I get the baby to sleep.

Painting, new markers, window markers on the sliding glass door, new stickers, scissors and paper. I mean, basically I leave my toddler unattended with a million methods to destroy the house in my absence, but so far it's been fine (she did cut a hole in my favorite gap shirt and she did paint the curtain once--but the paint was washable, so...oh well).

And also, I let the baby cry more. If she doesn't go to sleep quickly after eating, I leave her and let her cry a few minutes, then go back in and pat and replace paci after she's tired herself out crying. Basically, each kid gets way less attention.
Mama Bird
pomegranate / 3127 posts

Apr 20, 2016

This is tough! At that age I usually tried hard to get them both outside so baby could nap in the stroller. I also tried to get the toddler to understand that if he doesn't wake baby up, we can play whatever he wants, but if he makes a racket she'll cry and I can't play with him. He's older than your LO, but getting him to stay quiet is still hit and miss.
Foodnerd81
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts

Apr 20, 2016

@Mama Bird: I feel bad because sometimes she actually is being really good and quiet. But she's 2.5 and can only be patient for so long and the baby can take so long.

@Anagram: yeah I could not leave her unsupervised with markers! But you are right that we will be getting on a schedule soon enough.
Anagram
eggplant / 11716 posts

Apr 21, 2016

@Foodnerd81: The Crayola washable markers are truly totally washable. We also have color wonder--but the regular washable markers wash off the walls, hardwoods, curtains, tables. I haven't met a material that it hasn't washed off yet--just telling you for future reference, not particularly for this thread.

Same for the washable Crayola paint--totally washed off the curtains with just a wet cloth.

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