Baby naps with toddler around?

[Joeyandpacey]

How the F are you meant to get baby to nap? With my first I would pop baby in sling or feed to sleep in bed and slip away. None of these work with a toddler who is crying for attention. I am beginning to regret this whole baby thing and cannot imagine how the next 3 years will go. I also seem to make babies who are light sleepers and don’t like noise or being put down. Argggggh.

Help.

Do you have a new baby and a toddler?

When I was in that situation my baby napped in the sling. I’d take hee big sister (who was 2) somewhere and the baby would sleep on me in the sling.

Then I’d try to get baby to nap while my two year old napped. Not sure of your age gap or if your eldest still naps but if not can you let him/her watch tv while you put the baby down?

Yes I do! Sorry to not be clear. Eldest doesn’t nap but makes a hell of a noise. I find once baby is asleep in the sling he keeps waking him up. I can’t make him actually shut up. I suppose I could put the tv on but we’re on about 4 naps a day at the moment!

I don't know what your gap is but DS1 and DS2 are two years and 8 months apart. As a baby DS2 slept in the sling while we went for a walk/the park/toddler group for his first nap and then if I was alone for subsequent nap times DS1 got to watch in the night garden etc. He learned that if baby woke up it went off, so it was in his interests to sit quietly x

Nursery. The older one needs childcare, so you can have a break and the baby can nap. Or baby in pram, and out you go where older one can run around and baby can sleep in peace. I have my baby in sling and older one in the park, works but once the baby is older it may be too much for my back. Will see, but for now - nursery. I regret nothing, it's been a life saver.

I am in a similar boat OP. 5week old and a 23month old DS. Ds wakes baby up alllll the time. So frustrating. I have her in the sling a lot and she sleeps better when we're out and about and he isn't right next to her. At home is really tricky and unfortunately I don't have any advise except use a sling and put TV on for the eldest.

I used to put the youngest up in his cot to nap with white noise on.

From 6 weeks, there was no other way to get him to nap while his brother was present.

Will baby nap in the pushchair? I used to time my day perfectly so we'd be travelling when baby needed to nap, and when we got where we were going (park etc) he was asleep.

I think going out more might have to be the answer then! Thanks all, I had no idea it would be so stressful!

I found it impossible too, both of mind were very light sleepers and refluxers. So my second was chronically sleep deprived for weeks until I started putting her upstairs with white noise on. Toddler wasn’t napping at home anymore, but would in the car, so I drove around for one of the naps. And he was in childcare three days a week which helped too.

I'd be out the house at crazy o'clock eg driving the scenic route to my parents or toddler groups so that the baby could have a nap in the morning ...afternoon nap I tried to coordinate with toddler nap which was a bit hit and miss ..a lot of CBeebies for toddler while settling the baby
Found it easier having a baby and a school aged kid as we were always in a routine in the morning and afternoons and the baby would sleep in the pram on the way to abs from school drop off abs pick up (in school holidays I would walk round the block at the same time in the morning as that morning nap was a sanity saver )

There was a lot of TV in the early days and then I'd encourage DD to play by herself for a bit - saying if she played quietly so DS could nap then I would be able to play with her seemed to do the trick. Did a lot of playground pacing so she could run round whilst keeping him asleep.