Toddler and Baby with Opposite Naptimes--do You Ever Get Out of the House?

hello G..i have to be honest.i stayed home alot because i didn't want my kids nap times to be taken away.i guess i was a very boring person to be around back then,but i thought their naps were more important.if i really wanted to do something,i would ask my mom to watch them for me.
hope that's helped alittle bit.
take care and god bless!
D.

I had this same issue with my two kids. One was 3 and the baby was about 8 months. I started making the baby wait till it was noon and then but them both to nap at the same time. IF you can do this, and stick to it. You will be able to work around both thier nap. Even some quiete time for yourself.

hi G.!

your posting made me laugh; i'm in exactly the same boat. my nearly-3 yr old Wild Man will nap, IF all the planets aling, around 2; my daughter, 13 mos, naps at 930 and usually again around 3. so yea, getting out is always depriving someone of a much needed nap, and me of even more of my slim portion of sanity.

i got into a bad habit of doing driving naps w them because my son would get so nutty in the afternoon if the baby distracted him or whatever else kept him too wired to nap, and then he would also sometimes fall asleep on the couch, relegating me and the baby to the bedroom for 2 hours, in our 1 bedroom apartment! so if i threw them both in the car at 2, they would nap as long as i kept driving. $50 a week in gas!

so i bought a wonderful side-by-side double stroler by Baby Planet, with fully reclining seats. it is VERY heavy with both kids in it (they weigh 35 and 23 lbs respectively) BUT, again, if i get them out to play at lunch time to the playground or the book store for a good long time, i can put them in this stroller and walk VERY slowly for at least 90 minutes, gab on my cell w a headset, and get a major workout all at the same time. the stroller cost $300 but was well worth it in gas alone.

the only other thing i would say is, no one's going to perish from a missed nap. in an ideal world they would nap together, which i can maybe once a month get them to do again w a big lunch time workout outdoors, and then i (you) can also take a nap or just have some peace and quiet. but tht rarely rarely rarely happens. i do think i will have better luck when the local pool opens for the summer; i would suggest that to you. give them a big breakfast, a small snack, go for a long swim or play in the sprinklers at the playground INSTEAD of lunch, then when they're really spent, give another small snack or even much deserved ice cream, and try to nap them, that should work!

good luck!

I had a similar situation a few years back and what I did was to let the baby take his morning nap around 9:30-10am but cut it short - only an hour. This way, both the baby and your two year will be ready to sleep a longer nap in the earlier part of the afternoon, around 1:30. First, get your two year old to sleep for the nap since it is a bit later than she is used to and then get the baby to sleep as he will be pretty tired at this point. Give it a few weeks for everyone to adjust to this new schedule. The good thing about it is that you'll have the late afternoon to have some fun with everyone well rested. Good luck.

I have two boys that are 13 months apart. The ages that you are in now are by far the most difficult. I just tried to remember that new experiences also create new connections in the brain and lead to higher levels of learning. Making time to spend one on one time outside of the house helps but if that isn't possible I would sacrifice nap time once in a while. Try to schedule Dr. apts in the early morning or after all nap times though. Trust me it does get a lot easier. Especially once their developmental stages get more compatable. My boys are 3 and 4 now and this has been by far my favorite stage with them, independantly and together. You will also find how quickly the younger one learns by mimicking the older sibling. It is the most amazing experience ever!

Hi,
I have the exact same child situation that you do. 2yr old boy and 6 month old girl. I am also a stay at home mom. i've tried to get my 6 mo old on a 9, 1, and 4 nap schedule then down for the night at 7. I make sure she is up by seven in the morning and down by nine. I try to follow the 2hr rule, but sometimes i push it to three so that they both go down at 1 together. As soon as my 6mo old wakes up in the morning, i have my toddler ready and we go out for an hour or so. In the afternoons, i try to get outside with my toddler in the backyard while 6mo sleeps again. I also have help two mornings a week so i can take my toddler to a class while the baby sleeps. It's hard, but try to move your morning nap a bit earlier and get them both down at the same time. Good luck!

He's old enough to start fitting your schedule, so decide what you want that to be and go with it...I would suggest adjusting him to your daughters naptime that way you get that ever so needed mommy catch up time...you could probably give him a cat nap to start changing your routine...put him down for his nap and go get everything packed and ready to run your errands then wake him up 15-20 minutes later and go...this way he's a little refreshed and will hang on til later and you can all get out...like everything else be consistent with your timing and make it home for naptime and in no time at all they'll be on the same schedule...I have 5 little ones(4 in 4 years)and they all napped at the same time(2 still do), I don't bend on naps...we go out and do errands and play groups in the morning and we are always home in time to sleep and re-charge...and if we do miss for a special reason I make sure that there is nothing going on the next day so they can have a down day and get back on track...good luck...it can be done, give it a week or so!

My first two kids were 12 months and 8 days apart. I had the same problem with their naps when they got a little older. You either never get out of the house or you have to let the younger child sleep in the car for one of their naps and wake them up when you get there. I felt bad, but sometimes you just have to get things done.
T.

I totally get this, I have three boys 4, 3 and 6 months and this was my situation when the two oldest were younger. What I did was move my older child's nap up about 20 minutes every week until the older one's nap was at the same time's as the baby's. It worked great and I had them both asleep (at the time) at 2 PM and they were good for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. That would allow you to get out between the morning and afternoon nap which is what I used to do. Plus you have time to clean up and get dinner ready. Now with the baby, I worked his naptime up the same way so that his afternoon nap is at 2 so that he naps the same time as my middle one. Good luck!

I have the same age children. And sometimes I do not leave the house just so they get their naps...But somedays I do. I usually leave around the time of my little one's naptime. She will usually take a quick nap in the car and then a longer afternoon nap later when my 2 year old does.

I know it is a challenge but sometimes I just need to get out!
And soon they will both be on one nap a day so it will get easier!

i have 3 children, a 2.5 yr old boy and a set of 20 month old twins. they all share a bedroom and they all take a nap at the same time. i felt the same way when my twins were still taking a morning nap, it was hard to get out of the house. for a while, i was keeping my older one up later in the afternoon to coincide with the twins afternoon nap. you might have to do it in stages. once the baby is taking 1 nap a day-about 18 months-ish then you can transition that nap time back to after lunch 12:30-1:00-ish. i often hear the kids taking/laughing/jumping for more than an hour, but eventually eveyrone falls asleep and i get a block of time all to myself! your 2 yr old might be able to handle the nap skip better. if you really need to get out, try doing it at the toddlers nap time-he even might fall asleep in the car. it is hard and no, you won't get out as much as you'd like but good luck! A.

I would suggest going out in the morning while the toddler is awake and pleasant and (if he won't sleep) sacrificing the baby's morning nap. Maybe both baby & toddler will take an early nap together at noon? Just a thought. Good luck!

Sounds like you are feeling isolated a bit by your situation.

Can you invite some friends over for a short playdate so that you get some people time?

The fun thing about children as they grow is that the nap times, schedules and routines change. Sometimes, seemingly daily.

I remember feeling, when my son was 2 that I would never be able to leave the house because of the napping schedule. He's 3 now and gave up his naps shortly after he turned 2 1/2.

Wish I had some magic formula for you. But the best I can do is send you some support on going with the flow, keep experimenting with different things and take each day on it's own.

Peace
L. :)

I would go out in the car for a drive for BRUNCH time

say at about 11am, and drive around time they fall asleep
do this everyday for about a week and your kids will have a new double nap time.

it helps them relax and reset their internal clock,

When they fall asleep just sit in the car for the hour,or SO

and bring a book.

Good luck

M

Have you tried napping together? Re-adjust your 2 yr olds nap. You will have to be diligent as she is smart and sassy(I have one of those too, mine is 11). I have found that with those sassy girls, you kinda' have to outsmart them to their
benefit. Play up the fact that she is a big girl and must nap like mommy naps and lay down with her and your 6 month old. Even if the baby is sleeping and she may not be, within a week or 2, she will know that this is quiet time and slowly start to adjust to a mid morning nap like her brother. Or you could try it the other way...keep baby up until noon and have them nap together at 12. Whichever you find easier. I'd prefer talking Miss Sassy into some quiet time in the morning, you get down time too and all of you are refreshed for an afternoon of errands or whatever it is you need to do.
Good Luck!

I'm in the same situation. SAHM with a 2-1/2 year old daughter (also smart, sassy, and spirited) and a soon-to-be one year old son. My son usually goes for a nap at 10:30 and my daughter doesn't nap till about 2pm. I do sometimes sacrifice someone's nap, leaving them quite cranky. How I wish they would nap at the same time!I would love to get my daughter down earlier but she just won't have it. Some days she doesn't nap but is required to take a rest in her crib, which at least gives me a little break.

Good luck! I hope you find something that works for you.

C.

Hi,

I don't have an older child, but a 6 month old. I just do what I need to do, and she sleeps in the car. I try to go in between the naps, if possible. I would try it one day and see what happens, him sleeping in the car, is not that bad. I would rather have the 2 year old sleep, and put him in the swing, exsauser or something and you get a break. Take care and good luck.

I would go out during the time that the younger one napped. My younger one would sleep nicely in the car. During this time, I would give my older one her sippy cup and go to the drive-thru at the bank and get gas at a full service station
.
Although this was tricky at times, I would park the stroller in my backyard. My little one would nap outside while my older daughter went on the swings.

On occasion, I would ask a relative to come by and sit in the house and watch TV while the baby napped. Then, I'd go out with the older one.

Those days were definitely challenging. I didn't get much done around the house back then!

Kristen Colello
Mom and Parent Educator

I am a sahm to 3 children and I had to work my older ones nap around the baby. When the baby went down for afternoon nap that is when I put my older one down. It did mean keeping the older one up past his usual naptime, and sometimes putting him down a tad bit earlier. He didn't realize it was at varied times, and then ALL got a break. Good Luck!

This is actually good and bad - bad for the reason you state above and good because it gives you a lot of one on one time with each child. As the baby gets older he will most likely just take one nap a day - at that point try to run your errands in the am so that he is tired when you get home. Then maybe the two children will sleep at the same time. I went through the same thing with my sons and now on the weekends we ALL take a nap togehter - it is so nice :)