Napping Two Kids

Use a fan in the hallway. This is what we do to keep the kids from waking eachother up. Works perfect!

I am not really suggesting you start this bad habit but it does work for me. During the day I drive my 2 year old to sleep. The 4 month old usually falls asleep also which is great. I try to plan a morning activity so we just take the long way home but I am have been known to just load them up and drive to sleep. I also use it at night if my husband isn't home to help. My 2 year old needs someone to be with him until he falls asleep and he is in a toddler bed. Thanks for bringing up the topic I am curious to read suggestions. Luckily gas has gone down.

What is the possibility of your husband taking the baby to another room, outside, or something to entertain him while you put the girl down? That might solve the problem of the baby distracting her. Then you could put the baby down for his nap after she's asleep.
I'm not sure... having never experienced or known anyone who nursed two different aged children together, but it seems like there might be some rivalry on your daughter's part (the baby is getting something that was formerly reserved just for her). You might want to consider that possibility while figuring out how to resolve the napping problem too.

The only way I was able to get a regular nap schedule was to use the tv. I have always said I wouldn't use the tv as a babysitter, and if you can find a better way, that is great. I felt I had tried everything. My 2 year old just couldn't stay quite when I was putting my new one to nap and it wouldn't work the other way either. I finally relented because I feel well rested kids are more important. I let mt 2 year old watch one video (usually about 25 minutes of something pre-recorded from PBS) while I put the little one down for a nap. Then I could work on getting the older one down. My oldest is now 3 1/2 and he is getting better at entertaining himself so we use it less often. I know it is not ideal but I was at a loss for how to do it too. My oldest just couldn't stay quite and wouldn't stay out of the room while I put my little girl to nap. My little one is so in love with her brother that even a little whisper would get her excited while I was trying to put her to bed. Good luck.

I was in your boat last year. Yes, while your husband works from home, he still has to work. It's not an option to expect him to help out regularly.

I also found the TV was my saviour here. I recorded PBS shows on my DVR and my 2 yo would happily sit and watch them for about the 15-20 minutes it took to get the baby to sleep. When it was time to put the 2 yo down for a nap, well, we just had to deal with a crying baby in the room a lot. There was no other way. If the baby was up when my oldest needed a nap, then we just put up with any tears during the one book I read to her before nap time. Both kids adapted just fine. Eventually, once the baby was able to crawl around, I just gave her toys to play with in her big sister's room.

Now they both take one nap in the day and I always put the oldest down first, because I try to limit her TV. The youngest will still sit and cry sometimes, but that's just the way it is. She can't be the constant center of attention.

We make nap time (and bed time) a wonderful, happy thing: "yeah, it's nap time" or "yeah, it's bed time". Our little ones get to pick one book each for Mommy or Daddy to read, plus we always close with "Goodnight Moon" as our last book. Then Yeah!! we are all very happy and the kids go running down the hall to bed. We often carry the youngest (1 1/2) because he wanders off. But the older 2 (2 1/2, 3 1/2) lead the way. There's usually about 5 min of crying once they're in bed and we're gone, but that's usually it. The younger 2 room together, and they do chatter a bit, but not for long. Usually 10-20 min later, it's silent.
I also talk to the oldest, as she understands the most, and tell her that her bunny (whome she sleeps with) is very tired, and needs help sleeping, can she help bunny sleep? I've just started doing that w/the 2 1/2 yr old, once in a while, too.
We talk about how wonderful nap or bedtime is, and what fun things we get to do when we wake up. The sooner we go to sleep, the sooner we wake up!
Best of luck!

When my kids were 2 and a newborn the swing was my savior for naptime. I would put my daughter in the swing (which she really enjoyed) while I did my son's naptime routine. I made a big fuss about how this was his time etc so he felt extra special. If by chance my daughter would fuss (which didn't happen very often) I would say to her (for my son's benefit) you'll have to wait just a minute. Mommy is helping brother get ready for his quiet time. Our routine was pretty short, so I was never leaving her crying for more than a couple of minutes if at all. After my son was all tucked in bed, I would nurse and put my daughter down. A lot of times I would keep her in the living room with me so less chance if one of them started crying they weren't disturbing the other. Occasionally my daughter would fall asleep in the swing and I would leave her until she woke up to nurse and have a guaranteed hour or so to eat and get things done. It can be done and good luck.

At 2 she should be able to go down for a nap on her own with just a tuck in and kiss. Save the books etc. for night time.
My spoiled little boy still gets lullaby's after bed time books and would still want to be rocked in the rocker if he wasn't way too tall for it. I had him weaned off lullaby songs at 2 - but we moved last year and had to bring them back because the new house was spooky to him - now I think I'm stuck singing "twinkle Twinkle" until he goes to college.
Stop nursing the 2 yr. old to get her to take a nap - introduce a comfort item like a teddy bear that you give the magical ability to protect her and bring her happy dreams. Sounds odd - but it really works. She needs to learn how to self-soothe to sleep - it's a survival skill she sould have mastered by 6 months. I'm guessing you were like me and ignored the books and Pedi and LOVED having the little one nod off in my arms and didn't want to give that up. I then had to pay the piper so to speak and had to sleep train him.
Watch a few episodes of Nanny 911 or SuperNanny. They've got some great techniques.
Since the infant is too young to really be on a schedule yet, I'd get the toddler sorted out first - maybe she is ready for a single long nap a little later in the afternoon?? My son still naps about 2 hours from 2-4 pm. At daycare they put the kids down at 12:45 and he either doesn't sleep at all or only sleeps for 40 minutes or so. He's super active - fast as greased lightning - and needs at least 12 hours of sleep in total or he's a cranky mess.
Good Luck!!

Can you get the baby down and then when the baby is asleep do the reading and nursing with the 2 year old? That way, the 2 year old won't be waking the baby up and the baby won't be a distraction during your daughter's mommy time. If your daughter likes to watch TV, maybe she can watch a 30 mninute educational cartoon while you're getting the baby down. Tell her she has to quietly watch TV or play in her room while you get the baby down and then it will be her turn. Good luck!

That was so hard for me to coordinate also. I usually waited until the baby fell asleep and then worked with my daughter. I had firm rules about not waking up the baby and that worked pretty well. My daughter actually stopped napping at about that age which was horrible for my sleep deprived self :) She would just fall apart by 4pm, but if she napped she would be up until 10:00. Perhaps your daughter is starting to give up naps also?

I would recommend putting the baby to sleep in a back carrier of some sort. We use the Ergo Baby carrier and it has SAVED MY LIFE! He falls asleep in that thing within minutes if he is tired. Then we can wait about 15-20 minutes and put him down in the bed without waking him up. If you did that, you could nurse the 2 year old and put her to sleep at the same time that you are carrying your infant in the back carrier. They would probably fall asleep at the same time. The TV trick sounds good, too. I never had to try that one, because my 3 year old goes to sleep on his own in his own room and I put my 8 month old to bed in our bed. But since you are nursing, I understand it may be a bit trickier. You may also consider asking your husband to carry the baby in the back carrier while working, so that you are free to put the 2 year old to bed. I work from home and that is how I put my baby to sleep. I nurse him and then put him on my back and work. Sometimes he drops off quietly and sometimes he fusses for about 10 minutes, but I always know that he will go to sleep.
good luck to you!

Time and patience is about all I can suggest. My kids share a room and it is sometimes really hard to get my daughter to be quiet while my son is sleeping. I found that putting the baby down first works a lot better for me because if my daughter isn't totally asleep when I go in there with my son, she gets up and distracts my son. I would just really work on telling your daughter that she needs to be quiet for the baby to sleep. Practice being quiet with her throughout the day so she gets the idea. For a little while you may have to have the kids nap in seperate rooms, until she gets the idea of being quiet.

I put my newborn in a front pack and my two year old in the stroller and walked until they were asleep. Sometimes I would push the stroller into the backyard or even into her bedroom and leave her in it to nap so that she would be sure to stay asleep. And if your newborn is a good sleeper then he/she should be able to transfer from the pack to the bed okay with a little patting or nursing.