Just about every mommy or parenting book out there says basically the same thing about naps. They’re important. And routine/nap schedules are key to a happy child. So if your child takes two naps a day you should make sure that they take those naps in the same place (or similar) at the same time daily. No alterations should be made so that they have the optimum environment for peaceful sleeping. And NO letting them sleep where distractions are bound to wake them up.
Try abiding by these rules when you have an infant who takes two (and sometimes three) naps and a toddler who takes one nap usually at alternating times. You’d get one grumpy toddler who’s cooped up at home because their sibling is sleeping during playtime. Enter our routine. In order to make everyone happy I’ve tried my best to work around this situation. And I think it works… for us.
We only do playdates in the mornings. That way M gets a cat nap before we leave (or while we’re out) and can take a longer nap when we come home and her brother naps. Staying home in the afternoons is no big deal since it’s getting hotter and hotter at that time. Now I’m trying to get E to nap later in the day so we can align the two naptimes together and Mommy can get some solid alone time to get work done. You know… the cleaning, dinner prep, internet surfing, and work. Oh, did I let that third one slip? Mama needs some mindless entertainment too!
When M was taking multiple naps a day (read: more than two) I wouldn’t just stay home and let her sleep. She’d get her sleep in the car, in the ergo or in the stroller so her brother could go to playdates with his friends. I figured as long as she was getting at least some sleep she’d be good, right? Our plan seemed to be working.
Well now that she’s on two naps a day I am constantly resisting the urge to just stay home all day and let her sleep. Some days she gets only one good nap a day and others she gets woken up way before she can get a decent amount of sleep. It gets me wondering what really is best. A toddler who is happy and well socialized or an infant who has her solid, peaceful rest.
And then I have to also mention the fact that M still naps in her swing when we’re home. Or on me. We still haven’t attempted another go at getting her to sleep in the crib and I have been putting off letting her sleep in our bed like E did at this age because I don’t want her to get used to it. So I think I’m kind of setting myself up for failure. I need to just bite the bullet and start working on a naptime routine where both kids are sleeping in their rooms (don’t worry, E has that one down after 2+ years).
