Differing Nap Schedules Means We Never Leave the House? Suggestions Please!

Two suggestions ... one is to let her take either her morning nap or afternoon nap while you run errands, as others have suggested.

The other option is to start working on moving her nap time closer to his, and vice versa, to get them napping at the same time. Start laying her down in the morning closer and closer to noon and start laying him down closer and closer to 11am ish. till they meet in the middle :) or just start working her nap up to noon like his. Keep her up for about 15 minutes more every few days till you get them closer together for nap time. You can also start laying him down 15 minutes earlier till they are both going down at the same time. I hope that made sense LOL

Good luck :)

Mine are 3, 2 and 7 months. The 3 and 2-year-old don't nap anymore, and the baby naps in his carseat, so we have TOTAL mobility right now! :)
The two older ones go to bed by 9pm and get up around 8am. The baby falls asleep around 10 or 11pm and gets up at 8am. My daughter, at 8 months, went to a one nap schedule from 2-4. I was always home by then, though, so I was tied down a bit.
But, your kids nap!!! That is wonderful. If all three are up I cannot shower. Sometimes it takes 3 days to get one. Yuck! If the baby is asleep I can try a quick shower while the older two play in the bathroom. Or, if just two of the 3 kids are up, I try to shower. Most days it's impossible. I don't have any time to myself, and I wish I had a better answer for you. I guess I know what you are going through, though!

I would def get into the habit of letting the youngest sleep wherever you happen to be. In the car or stroller. When you have an older child you have other things to be doing and sitting in all day while they nap just isn't an option

have you try to move the little baby nap erlier so that way the afternoon nap will be earlier too and both kids sleeps at the same time.

Wake your baby up when your 2 1/2 year old wakes up. Then put the baby down around 10 for an hour nap. Then when your son goes down for his afternoon nap put the baby down also. It may take a few days for your baby to get this schedule down, but it will happen. If you have any errands to run then do them in the morning during the baby's morning nap. She can sleep while you run errands. Either in the car seat or stroller. I did this with my two when they were young. We had a double stroller and sometimes they were both asleep. But most of the time just my youngest. By the time your daughter is a year, you can wean her off the morning naps and reschedule your sons to a little earlier and they can still nap together. Hope this helps. Good luck and God Bless.

My son is a random napper - usually napping for 1/2 hour every 2 hours....there have been a few instances where he'll nap for an hour or more. That being said, he's six months old and my daughter is 2.5 and doesn't nap on weekends anymore (still does at daycare). We never let naps preclude us from going places. I think at 8 months your daughter can still nap in her carseat/baby carrier/stroller. And your son will fall asleep if he's tired enough in the car as well. However, some people are not comfortable doing this - my sister in law and brother let naptime rule their day so they stayed home a lot. With me, I just go with the flow and it has worked out well for us.

As far as showering, I either do it once both kids are in bed at night or after my six month old goes to sleep, I put on a cartoon for my daughter and take a bath with the door open so she can come to me if she needs me. However, I fully trust her even if I were to step into the shower - not to get into anything (nothing for her to get into/hurt herself on).

If you are set on sticking with nap schedules, I suggest trying to do stuff before 9 am (which can be hard) or after 4pm.

I have two thoughts (and I think the other Moms have give some good advice so far, too).

1. As already mentioned, I'd work around your older child's schedule and let your younger get accustomed to sleeping in the car/stroller, etc. so you're not stuck at home.

2. Have you considered preschool a few days a week for your 2.5 year-old? I have a friend who did it 1 day a week initially and is up to 3 now (her daughter is almost 4). It gives her time to get errands accomplished, helps her daughter acclimate to different learning/social environments, and lets her bond with her now 1 year old son one-on-one.

Good luck.

I know it seems like forever while you're going through it, but that baby will be on one nap in as soon as three or four months. My son should have moved to one nap at 10 months of age, though I kept trying for two, and my daughter was around 15 months when she went to one nap. At that point they can easily synchronize for you. Before that, you could leave the house between 10am and Noon, the most likely time for toddler activities and playgroups, and even push it to 1pm from time to time. Big brother's nap might move to 1pm pretty easily, and Little sister's nap in the afternoon might move earlier from being worn out at activities, giving you some time to yourself around 2. A lot of infant schedules include naps at 9am and 1pm, so she might move that later one to 1 or 2pm for you without any trouble. Good luck!!

It's relatively easy to haul a baby around in their carrier car seat and go ahead and do your stuff. I would be home for the bigger kids nap time so he doesn't get the idea it's more fun to stay awake. Your little one is going to move towards the one nap a day in the not too distant future. It won't be long until you'll have more free time in the mornings.

I usually would keep one up a little longer until their afternoon naps matched up. Can your toddler be stretched until 2:30 and your baby be bumped up from 3:30 to 2:30? It's not ideal, but it can work. Also, sometimes the baby has to miss a nap to go to playgroup, etc. I usually make this exception once a week, since that won't totally screw up a nap schedule. Good luck!

I will tell you what I did and it worked great for me. My older daughter would wake up around 7 every morning so while my infant would sleep in later than that I would wake her up at this time too. She was then ready for her morning nap two hours later at 9:00. I would let her nap for 1 hour and if she was still asleep I would wake her up so we could go do...whatever. My older daughter always napped at 1:00 so I would feed my 2 1/2 year old lunch at 12:00, nurse my infant to sleep around 12:30. Then put the toddler down at 1:00. so then they were napping together. It was so nice to get that long break in the day. Then they both went to bed at 8:00. Once my younger daughter gave up the morning nap it got even easier. Now my younger one will sleep in until 8 or 8:30 and they both still nap together at 1:00. perfect for me :)

For showers I would always try to get up and take one 30m before hubby left for work. Then, I'd go back to sleep.

For naps, if your infant is still in an infant carrier, I would try to leave the house a bit before 9 to run errands, then she can sleep in the carrier in the car/store, etc. I used to do this. My son would get on the bus for K at 845. Baby and I would be out the door at 9 for errands. Once she moved out of the infant seat. I would always take her in a stroller that reclines and then take my time on errands when she did fall asleep.

I would also try to move your son's nap time back to about 2:00pm. That will give your a bit of breathing room, if your son is adjustable to it. My 3y old naps at daycare from around 130-2 to 330ish.

Good luck
M.

Good

Depending how how your kids nap... ie: my kids would ONLY nap, if at home and in their crib/bed. They did not nap well, nor continuously, if on the road or in a stroller. This was not a "nap" for them.. just a transient nap. Thus, they were still tired/fussy because it was not a nap nap.

Try adapting your baby's nap times... to be the same time as your older child. The afternoon nap that is. Try making that one at the same time for both children.

For me, when I had my 2nd child... I would have both my kids nap in the afternoon, at the SAME time. It worked for me and them. They "knew" that it was done at the same time.

But yes, beyond that.... I adjusted my daily schedule according to my kids nap times. If not, if they skipped naps... it either (1) made them a tired/fussy mess and they did NOT sleep well at night either because they were just too over-tired by then (2) or, it screwed up their nap needs, and it made it harder (for them & me) to then get them BACK into their usual nap times/routines. And, once a child's nap times are screwed up or just willy-nilly and not consistent... it will actually be VERY hard... to get the child back into a nap routine, or to even nap. So consistency is real important.

All the best,
Susan

I agree-you might have to let your youngest one nap in the car or stroller if you need to go out and run errands, etc. I did the same thing with my boys and my little one would always sleep so well in the car. He would not even wake up when I would transfer him into the stroller. As for his second nap, I would make a point to be home so BOTH boys would sleep at the same time. Ahh, those were the days! (Actually, both boys are sleeping right now! I am beside myself-they just don't do this anymore!)

I also take a shower before everyone wakes up in the morning. This way, I can feel refreshed, get dressed, and maybe even have a cup of coffee before my day really begins.

Good luck!

what I used to do first of all, was my husband did NOT leave the house until I had a shower. That was a MUST for me. I feel disgusting if I don't have a shower. but, if I ever needed one and i was by myself, I would put the baby in an exersaucer in the bathroom doorway (bathroom is very small), so she could see me, and I could get a shower.

My younger one also sleeps very well on the go. I had her doing this from day 1! I always tell new moms now that "they" say you should be home for naptime and blah blah blah, but that's only if you never want to leave the house and get anything done! I mean when they are small, they are awake for like two hours before nap time again... so you have two hours to feed and dress the baby, get somewhere, get something done and back home again. it doesn't work!
Alot of times, I plan something so we will be in the car at naptime. i've actually taken my sleeping daughter out of the car, shopped at the store, paid, put her back in the car, took her home, out of the car, and back in the house... all without waking up!!!

also, my house was a mess when my kids were that young. they are only small for such a short period of time, don't worry about the housework too much! They will be in school and you will have plenty of time before you know it. Good luck!