Help!

I know this is a common issue so I am reaching out to you super mamas to find out what tricks you have up your sleeve.

My boys previously were in separate rooms. They just slept better that way since Gavin seems to just need less sleep and would take longer to fall asleep and would sometime wake in the middle of the night just to talk. This was fine since most of the time he was quiet and since he was alone would pretty much go to sleep since there was no one to engage with. Well since the fire we are now in a 2 bedroom and they have to share a room. So naps are pretty much non-existent – okay I can kinda deal with that since the trade-off was typically an earlier bedtime. But now even that is a distant memory!

When they don’t nap they usually pass out at 5 pm and then we have to wake them for dinner and it is just ugly from then on. So I don’t think they are quite ready for no naps at all.
We are doing our best to try and tucker them out during the day and that doesn’t help. We have tried putting one down earlier than the other so they don’t feed off each other – that rarely works. They bounce all around, open and slam closed the door. We are trying to be very conscious of the noise level since we are now in an apartment which none of us are used to so that is hard. Normally I would just let them wear them out unless they were in danger of course. But now we constantly have to discipline them just to keep them quiet and get them to go to sleep. I hate having them go to bed with us being mad at them. But their shenanigans until 10 or later are just too much.

Luckily we only have 2 more months of this until our house is ready and then it back to separate rooms. But I am not sure how we are going to survive another month of this – it has already been 5 weeks and it isn’t getting any better.

 

Mine have been in toddler beds since this summer and it is just now starting to get better. We also can't separate them because if we did, one of them would have to share a room with the 4 month old! For naps, one of us actually sits in the room until they fall asleep. We would rather do this than deal with the meltdowns that occur if they don't nap or the repercussions of a nap that happens way too late. At night, we have instituted a routine that includes talking about going straight to bed without playing and then listening for the first signs that they are doing anything more than a little chatter. At that moment, we go in and give a warning that we will take away the important blanket and/or lovey. If it continues we take away whatever it is that actually motivates the child to be good. If they still won't go to sleep without playing, then the nightlight gets turned off. There have been a few nights where they have had to go to sleep in pitch black with no stuffed animals, blankets or pillows, but for the most part this strategy keeps them in their beds and they fall asleep on their own without too much drama. Good luck

 

Even though mine have always shared a bedroom, I had to separate them for naps from about the beginning, or at least like 6-9 months. I had a PnP in my bedroom when they were littler and when they were old enough, I'd let one nap on my bed. They're 6 now and haven't been napping in a long time. But even Spencer thinks it's a treat to take a nap in my bed once in awhile. Some kids do need naps until older. Trey completely stopped taking them before he turned 3. Sage was almost 5 before she did... in fact he's 21 months younger and stopped before she did. I would see if you can find a place to put a little mattress or even make a bed on the floor, if you don't want them in your bed or something. Helping them get that couple extra hours in the afternoon can be vital. I know it's hard in a 2 bedroom. We had 5 kids in a little two bedroom house. Luckily we moved into a house with more than twice the square footage about 4 1/2 years ago. Good luck making it through the next couple months!

 

I normally have no problem taking things away but am so worried being in this apartment that them screaming for who knows how long will bother the neighbors. I know most people should understand but we already had one person complain (and rightfully so) that our boys were kicking the wall and waking their baby. So we had to move them to a different room that wasnt on that side of the apartment.

 

What would happen if you fed them right before 5, before they crash, and then put them to bed shortly after that for the night?

I also had to separate mine for falling asleep when we were in a 2-bedroom. One would nap in our bedroom, one in their own room, then the other would fall asleep in our room at night, and I'd move them back to their bedroom when I went to bed.

 

They are definitley old enough to understand a reward system of some sort. Maybe you could come up with a bed time fairy who leave a sticker on their PJs if they are asleep when she comes? If they wake up with a sticker, then they get to pick a treat from a jar in the morning (the jar could have tattoos, stickers, hershey kisses, etc)?