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Ugh, it's so tough when they're that age. Our church is small enough that if there's a grumpy baby, the nursery person takes care of them and cuddles them, everyone understands. Unless they're really all out crying, then somebody will go into the service to get momma. When they're little like that, I usually take them to nursery for Sunday School and then reevaluate how they're doing at the short break between Sunday School hour and the main assembly. If they need to be with me, I'll bring them into the service and try to keep them quiet and if that's not working, I'll go stand in the back and rock them to sleep, if that's the problem. Not sure if that helps you, but it's what works for me.

Before we had LO, our mentors told us that Sunday would quickly become the worst day of the week after having children. They were kind of right It's tough, but we just do it. Usually LO skips her morning nap. We feel that attending is an act of obedience and that messing up her schedule for one day is more than worth it. And even though I spend a lot of Sundays in the nursing moms' room or walking the halls, I'm still hearing snippets of the sermon or having really encouraging conversations with other parents in the same season of life. Church really isn't about me anyway. And, DH usually hears the sermon, so he makes the effort to relay the message or tell the most important points to listen for if I download the sermon later.

@Mrs. Pen: Yeah, that is such a TOUGH age for that kind of stuff. But, this too shall pass. Mine are 2 and 4 now and the 2-year-old generally loves playing in nursery with the other little girls (in a 2 year span, we had 5 baby girls born in our tiny church, NO boys- it's gonna be fun in a few years) and my 4-year-old is learning to sit through the service, with the help of his toy bag. But I remember that 12 month period. Why, oh, WHY must church be at THAT time of day?!

@Mrs. Pen: Oh yes, how well I know this process! We live almost 20 miles from town (where church is, lol) and try to get out the door at least 30 minutes early. And even at the ages they are, they're both fast asleep in their car seats by the time we get home and it's just so fun to try to get them to their beds for naps without the-world-is-ending whining and crying.

Mass times at our new church are at 9 am (DS's normal morning nap time) and 11:30 am (the kids' normal lunchtime) so it's not convenient. If DS gets up early enolugh, I'll put him down for a 30 minute nap before we leave for 9 am mass; otherwise, I just give him an early lunch and put him down at 11:00 for nap. We also don't have a nursery at our church, so we all go in the family room instead. The kids can wander around, have snacks, etc.. without bothering the larger congregation, and we are with them the whole time, if either of them get cranky.

I feel lucky that LO is either sleeps through or is happy being held and listening to music. I have been taking the kids by myself so the older two know they have to behave or else:)

ETA: Does your church have a Saturday night mass that might work better