Question about naps with # 2 if you are strict with # 1

caymanbride

DC # 2 will be born right around Aidan's 2nd birthday, either a week or two before or a day or two after, depending on if I have placenta previa again or not. 

 Anyways, I am assuming Aidan will still be on the nap schedule that he is on now, which is napping around 12 everyday (sometimes a little later) for anywhere from 1.5-2.5 hours. That's great -- he's always been on a good sleep schedule. Part of this is that we've always made sure to be home for naps and bedtime once he was older and stopped falling asleep in the stroller/car/etc...He's now strictly a crib sleeper, has been for many, many months, and he's a champ at it. 

 Once # 2 is 6 months or so, and is into a routine/schedule, I assume he/she will be napping 2-3 times a day at that age. If Aidan is still napping, too, it will seem like the whole of my day, someone will be napping! This will surely prevent any kind of daytime activities because we'll always have to be home for someone's nap! With Aidan, he's always been a good sleeper who needs his sleep, and it's never been worth it to us to mess with that.

So, my question is this -- if you were pretty 'strict' about # 1's nap/sleeping, were you that way with # 2? Or did # 2 just naturally become more flexible, and sleep more places? TIA!

iowagirl73

DS2 is still pretty young so I don't know how it will end up being, but depending on what is going on with DS1 I will have to go with his schedule.  Ex. If I have to take DS1 to daycare, then DS2 will have to nap on the go, be woken up early, of take his nap later.  BFF says her subsequent children she feels were shorted on naps due to her other kids activities (she has 3 kids).

HappyTXChick

Yes, we are pretty strict about DS's napping schedule.  ANd he is a great sleeper b/c of it, he still takes a min of 2 hr nap each day.

With #2, in the very beginning infants nap off and on all day.  Not really on a set schedule.  So this part was easy.  We woudl just go and do whatever we wanted and she would nap in her carrier as she pleased.

Around 5 mos or so she started falling into more of a distinct nap routine, and not wanting to fall asleep in her carrier.  She is taking 2 naps per day now.  She takes her first nap early, then we are able to coordinate her 2nd nap and DS's nap.  So it still works out great. 

Don't worry, you will be able to do this too.  Just take it one phase at a time.  Yes, we are at home a little more b/c we have both of DD's naps to work around (her early nap and then their combined naps), but I still prefer this because it is so nice that they are ON a routine and very predictable.

Good luck!

Cyrbia

We're slowly starting to see a routine with DC2. Her 3rd nap of the day tends to be while I cook and eat dinner (we eat really early, like 5pm for DC1's sake).

It is hard to get out of the house so DD sleeps in her pack n play in the morning and we put the monitor out and play in the backyard while she sleeps most of the time. If we go out, she does sleep in her car seat but only off and on.

I have found that I'm a lot less "strict" about nap times with my 2nd child. With my first I did everything I could to keep it consistant and he's been sttn since he was 2 months old...DD still doesn't sttn.