Juggling Nap schedules......aaargh!! Help Please!

Updated on November 17, 2014
H.1. asks from Des Moines, IA
5 answers

Hello all,

I am really struggling with juggling nap schedules here and need some advice what you would do in this situation!

I have a 4.5 year old boy who is mostly outgrown for naps and this doesn't bother me as he will take some quiet time and sleeps well at night. He goes to preschool 3 afternoons a week.

I have a 2.5 year old who up until a few days ago when she climbed out of her crib and had to be transitioned to a toddler bed, naps every afternoon from 12:45 to 2:45 which is perfect because these are the times minus transportation that her brother is at preschool. This gives me a couple of hours to get things done - much needed!

This was working beautifully until last week. I started babysitting an 11 month old 3 days per week. I figured I'd be able to nap her 9-11 am and then again at 3 pm when we get back from preschool. The very day we started babysitting, my 2.5 year old learned to crawl out of her crib and now has been transitioned to a big girl bed. She's doing NOT very well with this - refusing to nap unless I am sitting with her, waking up extra early etc. I'm trying to work on this still but find it very hard to do with the baby here as the baby screams and I cannot exactly spend 30 plus minutes putting the 2 year old back in bed. I keep ending up skipping my 2 year old's naps because it just gets to be so frustrating. She copes okay but I'm strict generally about the importance of adequate sleep and we are just not getting that right now.

I just need some suggestions on juggling everyone's needs and schedules. I'd love to be able to get out of the house with them occasionally as well! I was wondering about have the 11 month old nap only once per day (even though she doesn't seem ready, understandably) so at least there is one time per day everyone is trying to sleep. But I probably need to get my 2.5 year old under control before then as she's pretty loud right now at nap time. But then again, one of the reasons its so hard to get her sleeping is because the baby is needing my attention.
Is it too soon to have the 11 month old taking only one nap per day (just 3 days per week, her parents are still trying for 2 a day on other days) especially since she would have to wait until 12:45 to take that one nap (due to preschool -- and she'd have to be up again by 2:45 so we can leave again.)

I should add - while it's frustrating, I don't completely hate when my 2.5 year old skips her nap because she will then go to bed nice and early with her brother (who is going to bed early on no-nap days) and so we at least have after 6:30 pm completely freed up. Also, my 2 year old is good natured, generally okay even on no -nap days even though I firmly believe in general she still needs the sleep. This was all of course before the big girl bed but I'm sure we can get her back on track soon.....
HELP :(

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J.G.

answers from Chicago on

I dropped my second child's nap right at 2. He went to bed 45 minutes earlier - and would sleep a solid 12-13 hours. I loved it, and he was ready. Never had any tantrum problems or anything. With my current toddler, I may do the same. She only sleeps 10-10.5 hours at night, and then does a 2 hour nap. I'd love for her to do all the sleeping at night. Then she won't get up so damn early!

11 months is too early to go to 1 nap. 12 months maybe, it really depends on the kid, but I do think you should respect her normal schedule if possible.

2 moms found this helpful
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G.♣.

answers from Springfield on

My oldest gave up naps when he was 4. His younger brother gave up naps when he was not even 2 1/2. He would have given them up much sooner, but he was in daycare full-time. So, for at least a couple of months, I was a little sleep deprived, as he would not go to bed until midnight. He simply wasn't tired. I had to get up at 6:30 to get the kids ready, so it was not fun. Thankfully, we were able to enroll him in afternoon PreK in the fall. He went to daycare in the morning and PreK in the afternoon - no nap!

I believe in following your child's cues. It really sounds like your kids are done napping. I'm not sure what you mean when you say you firmly believe she needs the sleep. It seems like she has shown you that she doesn't. Even though my youngest was keeping me up late because of naps at daycare, the transition to no naps made him a little cranky for a week or so. Still, he had very clearly demonstrated the fact that he no longer needed a nap.

I would focus more on the baby napping. If the baby takes a nap in the morning, maybe you guys could do something while your son is at preschool. You could go to a park or go to the library or even try the grocery store. Give it a shot. If it's not working after a week or so, try a different routine. But I would definitely try letting your daughter give up her nap.

2 moms found this helpful

T.S.

answers from San Francisco on

I had three kids in six years. At one point I had one in half day K five days a week, one in preschool three mornings a week (in another town) and a newborn.
I just let the baby sleep when and where she needed to. In the stroller, the swing, the car seat, whatever. Having a real schedule was simply out of the question. We were on the go a lot and frankly I didn't like being tied down.
Don't worry so much about holding on to your two year old's nap, mine were all done at that age. Sure more sleep is ideal but so is getting 6 to 8 servings of vegetables every day and most of us don't hit that mark.
Try to be more flexible. Get your chores done in short spurts throughout the day rather than trying to squeeze it all into a preset two hour time frame. For example I often cleaned the bathroom while my kids were in the tub, or folded laundry and paid bills and stuff while they were watching a video.

1 mom found this helpful

S.G.

answers from Grand Forks on

Why do you believe your two year old still needs a nap? She seems to be telling you she no longer needs a nap, and she hasn't given you reason to believe she still needs a nap. My boys both gave up naps before 2 1/2 and neither one of them ever went to bed at 6:30pm. Most kids stop napping before they are three so they can start nursery school. I don't see the benefit to trying to force a child to go to sleep. Encourage her to have quiet time instead while the baby naps, whether that be on the sofa watching a movie or reading books quietly in her room.

The baby at 11 months will likely be dropping a nap soon.

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

If this child was in child care they'd be down to one nap per day already. In child care when a child turns one year old they move to the toddler room, some facilities have 2 toddler rooms. One where they are still learning to walk and toddle and the other is for older toddlers from walking really well up to their 2nd birthday when they move to a pres-school room with lesson plans and a curriculum that is for educational purposes.

A 2.5 year old is really too old for a toddler bed but if that's all you have then it will have to do. Most toddler beds are done with baby bed mattresses. They're built for the weight of babies and not pre-school age kids.

So if they start acting like the bed isn't comfortable then it's likely they weigh too much and need to go to their regular bed that they'll have until college. We started them off on queen size.

Back to my point though.....this baby is well old enough to stop taking any naps except the same one your child is taking. Keep them awake until lunch them put them both down. I've never been a big fan of waking sleeping children but sometimes you have to.

So for the kids I'd do breakfast, stuff, snack around 9:15, stuff, lunch around 11 or 11:30 then down by noon so that baby could have a good 3 hours if they need it and they should both be up by the time you have to go do kid pick up and any errands.

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