Hellobee Boards

I used to always feed DS to sleep, with white noise blaring and DD sitting on the floor next to me, until DS was about 3-4 months old. At that point, I switched over to rocking him to sleep. I would put DD in her room with an activity (books, puzzles, etc...) and then go rock DS. I put a door handle guard (the kind that keeps kids from opening the door) on the outside of DS's door so DD couldn't open it. At first, she would try to open the door while I was rocking DS, and sometimes she would wander off to play until I came and sometimes she would cry until I opened the door. Eventually, she realized that when I was rocking DS she couldn't come in, and now she hangs out in her room by herself until I'm done. As long as I have the white noise, DS doesn't really notice if DD is making noise.

Getting DS on a nap schedules was easier for us, since we had no weekly activities. Usually we'd go out for a walk or running errands during DS's morning nap, and he would sleep in the carrier or carseat. We were home every afternoon, so the kids had their afternoon naps together, in their beds. DS's third nap was usually around 4, so DD would hang out in her room while I put DS to bed, and then we'd make dinner together.

It depends on her mood. She'll play quietly if she's in a calm mood. If she's being wild, I stick her in front of the TV! So it depends on the day. Just make sure to teach the baby to fall asleep on his own so you can be in and out quickly!

I didn't have this issue with day time sleep since I work and the kids were in day care. However my DH was never home for bed time so I used the TV to keep my DD (who was 3) occupied while I nursed DS to sleep. It sounds like you may need to just get your LO more accustomed to being alone for short periods of time. Maybe if there is a new DVD to be excited about?

I also have a 12 week old and 2.5 yo! For me it's a reverse problem as the DD baby distracts my DS toddler from sleeping. It's just taken time for him to get used to her and some days he just passes out from exhaustion.

When she's sleeping and he's awake, he just wakes her up sometimes. I don't have her sleeping in a quiet room or anything. She is used to the noise unless it's really loud.