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Two Under 2
erbear
member
how do you handle
erbear
member
in Two Under 2
older kid when putting younger to sleep for naps. DD2 naps 3 times a day, DD1 only once. Today was my first day home with them both (I'm a teacher) and I couldn't put DD2 down because it takes 10-15 minutes and DD1 would not stay somewhere else or be quiet in the room. DD2 won't sleep anywhere but her room. It was really frustrating!
What do you do?
"Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you've got about a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies. God damn it, you've got to be kind."
- Kurt Vonnegut
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Re: how do you handle
Can you put your older child in her crib for the 15 min it takes you to get your little one down?
I can't wait to have this problem...my DD will only sleep while being held and takes 20-60 min of soothing to even get to sleep, so I've just had to hire an army of help which is costing a freakin' fortune, and DD sleeps on me for several hours a day (and won't sleep in a stroller or car seat at this point).
No, but DD1 is going through a massive Mommy phase and insisted on being in the room...she wouldn't go anywhere else without screaming hysterically.
My dad suggested that but I'm afraid to make her crib a place where she has to go to be away from us. She loves her crib right now and is an awesome sleeper, so I don't want to make a negative association with it.
You can try to make it a funner place for that 10-15 minutes while you're with your other child. I do this with DD sometimes if I need to bring her with me.
Normally I leave DD in the baby-proofed living room, but if I need to have a shower or something while she's awake, I don't like leaving her down there for that long. So, I put toys and books in her crib and explain that I'll be right back. She still sleeps as well as always, she doesn't expect toys when she goes in there for a nap or bedtime. It works for us.
We put a pack and play in the living room in front of the TV and I turn on Sesame Street. It is the only time DS gets to watch TV and he knows that when it is time for DD's nap, he goes in the pnp to watch Elmo. I put a whole bunch of toys in there, too, and a few months ago, he barely watched the TV, just played. Now, he is really into the tv.
My 2 share a room, so I never put him in his crib. However, before DD was born, that is where I would put him when I showered. He is a HUGE pacifier addict, but only gets to use them in the crib. So he LOVED going in his crib during my shower so he could play with toys and use his binky more!
It is SO hard trying to establish a new routine with 2. You are just starting to get into it, so cut yourself some slack. You will figure out what works for you guys soon enough and everything will get easier! Probably sooner than you think, too. Good luck!!
I read a tip once about having a special basket of toys that only comes out when you need to be one-on-one with the baby. In this instance it was used for when the mama had to nurse. Whenever she nursed, she pulled out special toys for the older child so they could be left alone to nurse. When nursing was over, the special toys were put away so they stayed "special."
This might be another option to keep your DD distracted while you put the other down for a nap.
Also, DS never watched TV/movies until DD was born, but now it's about the only way I can get things accomplished. I don't like that he started watching movies, but I can turn something on and he will sit perfectly still in front of it for at least the first 30-45 minutes...if not longer.