No Schedule

I used to have a nice 2-3-4 schedule until a couple months ago when my daughter started balking her morning nap. She was ready to go down to one nap a day and does remarkably well with that. However, my son isn't ready for one nap a day. This means that I usually have him going to sleep at about 9:30 or 10:00 and he's up by 11:00; my daughter goes for her nap by 12:00 and sleeps until 2:00; and then my son goes down for his second nap around 2:00 until 3:30ish. I am not able to get much done since their naps rarely overlap and I have a toddler wanting constant attention all day. Some days this doesn't happen at all. For instance, today my son had his nap at 11:00 to 12:00 my daughter slept from 1:00 till 2:00 and now my son just went back down for a nap but he's just sitting in his crib playing at the moment. The previous couple days they each had one longish nap, his in the morning and hers in the afternoon. Has anyone had to deal with this? I think I am going to go insane one of these days. I need a break from these kids. I find this really difficult to deal with because it means I am at home all the time dealing with naps!

 

man, that sounds tough. i have always forced them to be on the same nap schedule regardless of whether they were both on board. it does seem a little mean some days when DS almost falls asleep during lunch but i MUST have some quiet time in the afternoon. we do go on walks almost every morning which allows DS to catch a little catnap and that usually helps him make it to our official naptime. could you try to push him a little later and move DD up a little? even if they don't go down at exactly the same time you could get a little overlap...

 

:hug: I am getting a glimpse of your schedule as my DS is napping and DD is boycotting them completely. It's making me go :wacko:
I agree with Joy, is there any way that you can at least adjust nap times so that they do overlap. Maybe by the time he is ready to go to a one nap schedule, he'll be sleeping most of the time that she is.

 

My DS was ready for one nap before my DD, but I forced them to be on the same schedule. I started with just a later morning nap, and worked toward a midday nap. It was rough, but not as rough as what you are describing. I found that she just slept longer than he did at first. That's what I would recommend. If that just isn't an option, I'd continue putting them both down for two naps. Even if your DD skips the morning nap, at least you'd have them down at the same time in the afternoon. This transition is so much rougher with two different little people!

 

We are the same as PP - we force them to be on the same schedule. DD has never needed as much sleep as DS, and he always preferred the morning nap and she the afternoon but up until a week ago they were both in their cribs from 9:00 - 10:30 and from 1:00-3:30 not matter what. If they didn't sleep so be it, but they usually did eventually. Now we are moving them to one nap a day and my DD is loving it, my DS gets grumpy but he is adjusting. We just keep them up and busy through when they used to take their morning nap and put them down right after lunch and we are getting a longer afternoon nap from both of them now. We allow them catnaps in the car or stroller too in the mornings which really helps DS but once we get home he has to wake up so he will take the afternoon nap!

 

When Cameron was ready for one nap a day, Kiefer wasn't. At first, I would put them both down for their morning nap and their afternoon nap. Both like to take their morning nap, but Cameron learned to just talk and play with his animals during his afternoon nap. It seemed to work out ok, but as soon as Kiefer started to fuss during his afternoon naps, it was time for a single nap for both of them. Since they both preferred their morning nap, I would just put them in for their morning naps and slowly moved that time later and later until it started more around 1pm instead of 10am. Funny thing is, now they like to wake up at 10 am from their nighttime sleep and they will nap at 1pm for 2-3 hours. They are up and happy until around 9:30 or 10pm and they go to bed at that time. It works well for us and our schedules.

The best advice I can give you is, don't panic and go with the flow. There will be a couple of rough days where one baby does not wish to sleep at that time, but they will adjust.

 

a friend had just told me how Baby Wise suggests to go to one nap. basically how a pp said, you keep them busy busy out and about doing something fun for a whole week during their normal morning nap. then do lunch and put them down just after lunch for the 1 nap. she said that they adjusted nicely. i hope you are able to get a resolution soon, b/c always having one up might drive me crazy! a momma needs her quiet time too.