getting #2 down for naps

PAmiler82

We've had to unswaddle Lizzy b/c she is a champion roller, but now she needs some extra help falling asleep.  I remember this problem with Drew and I did a lot of back rubbing and shushing to help him relax and drift off to sleep.  I tried hard to calm him w/o picking him up b/c it's important to me to help them learn to fall asleep on their own.

Anyway - now that Lizzy needs this help I'm feeling stuck.  It takes at least 10-15 minutes to get her down (when swaddled she was falling asleep on her own).  Because of the nature of our house I have to either a) put Drew in his room where he can play safely but is right across the hall and he's uber loud and yells "Hi MOMMY" every 15 seconds which keeps her up or b) have him downstairs where I don't feel as confident that he's safe. 

This has led to horrible napping (which leads to horrible night sleep) and a seriously frustrated momma.  What would you do?  I fear this is just how life's going to be until she gets a little older and can calm herself better.

 p.s. she uses a paci but knocks it out of her mouth constantly now that her arms are free.

laura1

What we have done is put DS in a pack and play or the "super yard" with his toys and with Sesame Street on the TV.  He loves it.  He is actually disappointed now that DD only takes one nap.  We would say - it is time for DD to go down for a nap, and he would say "Watch Elmo now?"  

I actually would put DD down, then go take my shower for the day, all while DS was watching Sesame.   It is really the only TV he watches, so I didn't worry about it too much!  And he was confined to the pnp, so he wasn't roaming around the house.

Now that DD doesn't take an am nap, one of them goes in the pnp, the other goes in the super yard to watch Sesame while I shower.  I can't put them together or they fight over toys, etc.  One day I came down to find DS sitting on DD...Now they get separated while I leave the room. 

Good luck  

BrittKav

When we got rid of DD's swaddle, we started using a blanket. It's crocheted with lots of big holes, so I'm not worried about suffocation risks. It needs to cover her whole body and be touching the sides of her face for her to feel secure, but with it she's able to go to sleep on her own.