Second child- are proper naps a list cause?

[okthen]

Ds is 7mo. Sometimes he will nap fine in his cot for 1-2 hours. More often he wakes up crying after 30 mins.

I have a 3yo who is at home with us full time. Ds refuses to be resettled in his cot- at least, not before dd comes looking for me/trying to join in.

So I stick him in his pram in the garden and rock him. But now the weather is better, dd just comes outside too and sings/plays loudly.

I have just been sat rocking ds for nearly an hour. Dd keeps waking him just as he's about to nod off. I could scream. It's not her fault, she can't be expected to be quiet for long periods of the day.

Ds will nap in pram out and about but not if we go inside anywhere eg a shop/playgroup/house. I get a good nap out of him by going to the park, but that's about it.

Should I just accept that second babies have crap naps (unless they magically take long naps of their own accord), and that I'm going to have to deal with a grizzly baby every late afternoon?

What did/do others do?

My mum had dd yesterday and I was able to rock ds back to sleep for a blissful two hours!

No such luck today. It's so tedious for all involved....

I agree it's next to impossible sometimes! My son is at nursery in the morning but my nearly 4 month old hasn't yet gotten into the routine to sleep at that time. nd if she does, like yoours, it's for 30 or so mins.

I'm a believer that a baby or child will sleep if they really need it-no matter what's going on around them. So just enjoy the peace when it does!

IME it is a lost cause, yes!

Yes!!! We had just the same. DS2 would only take 30 minute naps and even that was only after a lot of wrestling and rocking etc. We tried everything but DS1 bless him always came in or dropped something loud at just the wrong moment!

Tv for eldest while I put dd down. So no naps not a lost cause. I also have dd on a routine which helps a lot although cant always stick to it!

I've got an 8 month old and a 3 year old - in the last month or so things have just started (touch wood!!) to get a tiny bit better on the nap front -

The two strategies I use are:

I feed the baby to sleep/nearly asleep on the sofa (- whisper - with cbeebies keeping us company) and then pop him upstairs in his cot, closing the stair gate on the way down so that my 3 year old can't get at him!

We go out for a "walk" (at the three year old's speed, stop to look at every flower/blade of grass/spiders web). Once Baby's asleep we often head home and leave him outside with a muslim over the pushchair, while myself and the three year old head back inside.

I usually get at least one longer nap out of him a day now.

I've got a very flexible baby monitor which can be used with batteries when the baby is outside, which is v. helpful.

What has helped us ( I have a 7 month old and dd is 2.7) is a bit of a routine of naps. Using some tv to occupy dd when I settle baby. Making nap time a special time with dd at the opposite end of the house so he atays asleep and ahe is occupied. Making sure baby is not overtired when going down so he goes down easily. I also have a white noise app running throughout the nap just to drown out a little the noise in the home which is a problem as its mostly open plan and can easily disturb. Ds naps 3.5 hrs a day 2/3 naps no problem now but it was as you described.

I'm afraid my 3 yo DD gets the iPad...

If we are having a day where we can't the above (out all day somewhere) I let him nap in the baby carrier. I have a manduca. It's brill. It works for the late afternoon catnap when it's needed also.

Cheerypip, I think you mean muslin not muslim!!

LOL at the thought of a Muslim over the pushchair!