How to keep a toddler quiet enough for newborn to sleep?

ToxityRue

So I'll have 2 under 2 in about 2 months, and I'm thinking the biggest challenge would be keeping DD quiet enough for a newborn to sleep... I remember having to creep around the house on tiptoes when she was a napping newborn.

I'm watching her dance in circles singing something at the top of her lungs as I type this... How the heck would it be possible for ANYONE to sleep through that???

 Did your newborn just kinda adjust to the noise and sleep through it? Anytime DD screeches, I feel LO jump in my belly... I don't want to be one of those moms that's constantly shushing their tot when they're not really being bad. In fact, I refuse to be that mom. We've always let DD dance, sing, play, talk, and just do her thing.

 Also, the way DD wakes us up in the morning is by slamming our door open and yelling out "HEY!" at the top of her lungs, then proceeding to yank and pull on one of us till we get up with her. How's that gonna work if the baby is sleeping in a bassinet next to the bed?

celiabwatson

A couple thoughts:

1 - My children share a room and both wake at night/early morning at various times. Neither of them have ever woken the other with their crying, except in the rare circumstance that the other is waking up a little already and then can't get back to sleep.

2 - For a long time we put the baby to bed before the toddler. I would tell him "Shhh, baby is sleeping" right before we went in the room for his bedtime (we did stories etc out in the living room and just went in to get in bed and I lay with him for a bit). He would repeat "Shhh, baby is sleeping and tiptoe in to her crib and peek at her. He sometimes said it again, but then anything after that was in a normal/loud tone. He does not completely understand being quiet yet. However, as long as there was enough lag between bedtimes it didn't normally wake her. If she went down closer to his bedtime and wasn't all the way asleep it sometimes did.

3 - If my son is high energy/loud while baby is napping I take him and the baby monitor out in the yard so he can be loud and it's ok. If we can't go outside I just have him as far from the bedroom as makes sense.

4 - We have a white noise machine in their room and that helps. We had it when my son napped as well and we aren't extra quiet for him either. 

Hope that helps. I try to let my kids be kids as much as possible as well. 

delg23

white noise machine & the baby either learns to sleep through it or wakes up. I'll admit it sucks sometimes. It was easier at first and has been hard lately. I can't find the adapter to the baby monitor but I need to find that so we can go outside! I find my babies nap is best while my toddler is napping. One of his three naps is during that time.

mrsseguin

I had the same concerns before #2 came along.  DD just got used to it being loud and could really sleep through more than I thought she would.  We had DS play with quiet toys or watch tv while putting DD to sleep.  We also have a fan in DD's room for white noise.  She is a really good sleeper and we definitely don't tip toe around the house like we did when DS was a baby.

memali26

My girls tend to sleep through the other's noises. They don't share a room, but their beds are on opposite sides of the same wall due to the layout of our house. DD2's crying has never woken DD1, and DD1's singing (aka screaming ) and dancing around in dress up shoes on hardwood floors very rarely wakes DD2. I just make sure DD1 stays in her room or the living room/kitchen and away from DD2's door and it's usually fine.

As for your toddler waking the baby in the mornings in your room, you might just have to work with your toddler on a different wake up routine.  

ToxityRue

Well DD LOVES to play outside so I'm thinking that might be my saving grace during LO's naps - just pop some batteries in the monitor. Our house is quite small so I don't think relocating her in the house would do much good.

I'm hoping since LO has had to listen to his sister tromp around screaming for months, by the time he comes out he'll be accustomed to her noisiness.

etude de la vie

iPad and white noise machine. If I closed the door she would just pound the door yelling "mama"  so I ended up handing her the iPad (on mute) in the hallway and rock/nurse baby asleep with the door open. 

We also would practice shhing and whispering whenever we saw a door closed in the house.  

Daisy22

I was never quiet even for ds1 especially during naps. I had both boys napping the first 8 wks in the living room in the PNP with the tv going and ds2 had ds1 running around. After that they went into their cribs for naps. They have also always had white noise machines. Now ds1 and ds2 share a room and even if one wakes up early they never wake the other. With ds2 it was also a little different that we had to get out of the house so most morning naps for him were in the stroller, baby carrier or car. Afternoon naps were always at home.

roundtheworldgirl

Newborns, at least my newborns, can sleep pretty soundly.  If DD wakes the baby in the beginning, he/she will adjust pretty quickly.   My daughters have shared a room since they were 5 months and 17 months, and they woke/wake each other sometimes, but not all the time.  Also, do you have a white noise machine?  We have two.  One for the nursery, and one for whichever room DD2 naps in.  They do a good job of blocking out the noise.  I don't shush my daughter either - probably because it just plain wouldn't work.  She'd look at me, laugh, and proceed to do whatever she was doing.

bellelamb

Newborns are used to loud noises from inside of you are never quite around them sleeping they won't "learn" it needs to be silent to sleep. My lo sleeps though my toddlers playing and temper tantrums  very well.  Now I wish the toddler would sleep though the baby crying