How do you deal with younger LO naps??

bluejayway

I am losing my mind. Up until recently, DD2 was in that breastfeeding and sleeping anywhere stage. I could feed her on the couch while I was watching older DD play and such, then put DD2 in her crib or car seat when she fell asleep. But now, at almost 5 months, she is so distracted, she will only sleep in the car, or in a dark quiet room after she has fallen asleep while BFing. Obviously, this is a huge challenge, as my older DD needs to be cared for and watched. I cannot sit in a dark room for hours on end trying to get DD2 napped. Also, she will not let me set her down anymore without waking up.

DD1 was like this, but with just one kid, I could let her nap on me. The only way I can deal with this is to go for a drive somewhere and let DD2 nap on the way (however she inevitably wakes up whenever we get somewhere).

I'm just curious how you deal with naptimes with your younger LO. Especially if your younger one is still quite little. Thanks. 

celiabwatson

Interestingly I read this as I was dealing with my younger one's nap...

Anyway, mine also reached a point where she has trouble falling asleep because she gets distracted. She doesn't nurse to sleep (though we do frequently nurse right before going to sleep, she just doesn't fall asleep there) but enjoys being rocked/swayed/bounced/held to sleep. Until 5 months or so that was great because I could essentially follow my son around and hold her and she would fall asleep and I could go put her down. Now she struggles against me, looks around, cranes her neck etc and it's very difficult to get her to sleep.

Luckily it's coincided with an age when her naps are somewhat predictable and there are only 2 of them most days. For her first nap it's usually pretty early in the morning and my son isn't quite as energetic/into everything as he is later in the day. I try to put her down by 9. I either give my son breakfast, let him sit on the couch with my iphone or encourage some sort of independent play (like the train table). Then I stand in the dark hallway and rock her. I can hear him and see him if I move slightly but the hallway is boring. 

Her afternoon nap lines up with a time when he's typically already sleeping so I can focus on getting her to sleep. They do share a room though so it was important from day one to practice being able to put her down and have her stay asleep. Luckily she did that pretty well from the beginning but I'm sure there are some great tips out there (maybe No Cry Sleep Solution?) for helping babies be better at that. 

silkyhorse

I have no advice, but I am already dreading when we get to this point

bluejayway

Yeah, I really felt like she was a good sleeper, but I guess she was just a "newborn," period. I'm to that point where I have just given up.  I'm just like, "Well, she'll fall asleep when she's tired." But, by that point, she's also ridiculously fussy and cranky and I am near tears. I'd like to have a better routine, but I'm not going to let her CIO at this age. Exasperating as it is.

mrsseguin

We had a lot of sleep issues with DS, so with DD we always put her down for naps/bed in her crib from day one.  We never went in unless she was crying.  If she was fussy, we would leave her.  When feeding her before nap and bed, we'd set DS up with something to preoccupy him.  It took maybe 15 minutes to get DD to nap/go to bed.  We also tried as soon as we could to get DD down to one nap a day.  By around 10 months she had the same nap schedule as DS.  It's great now.  I'd try only giving her something special (and quiet) that she can play with while you put #2 to sleep.

kcisthebombdotcom

My DD still takes her morning nap in the ergo while we're out with my older child. I would try that for one of her naps so you can get out of the house for a bit.

In terms of the other nap, we practiced putting LO in the crib sleepy but awake from birth. If baby fussed, we gave her a few minutes to soothe herself to sleep. If she didn't stop fussing within a few minutes or if the fussing turned into full blown crying, of course I'd pick baby up and provide comfort but would repeat the process as soon as she calmed down and would repeat it until she fell asleep. She picked up pretty quickly to fall asleep on her own.