Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Flip

Original poster

2 under 2 bedtime advice

2 replies

smiler271 · 08/06/2025 11:25

I have a 13 month old who thankfully sleeps well on the whole but she has to be rocked to sleep. I’m currently pregnant and my daughter will be 21 months when the new one arrives. Any advice on how to handle bedtime with 2 under 2 with a toddler that needs to be rocked to sleep? I have a partner who is very helpfully but my daughter definitely has a preference for me at bedtime. Do they eventually stop needing to be rocked to sleep?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

HatsOffToThePigeons · 08/06/2025 15:38

I'd use the time between now and then to try and get her to go to sleep differently. When I was pregnant, DC1 would literally only go to sleep if I walked him around and around outside in his pushchair while singing to him.

When DC2 was born, I just took both of them into my bed and put the newborn in a Next2Me and cuddled the older one to sleep. It's worth noting they might wake/sleep at different times to each other at first as well, but ours did synch up a bit more within a few months. I was in hospital for a few days after DC2 was born and DC1 just had to go to sleep for DH so that changed by itself.

Also, now they're a bit bigger and in their own rooms, we take it in turns to put each of them to bed so one of us still cuddles each of them to sleep.

mindutopia · 08/06/2025 15:53

They do eventually go to sleep more independently and you can move in that direction, but realistically one of you will still need to be in there with her for a good bit of time at bedtime. Bedtimes do get easier when they are 3/4, but you’ve got a good bit of time to go yet and right around 2 is often quite tricky. Assuming you have a partner, you’re going to have to get in the habit of tag teaming. He can take whichever one, but if he’s around, he’ll have to get stuck in. My eldest found dh doing bedtime quite fun and novel when baby arrived. He took over doing bedtime with her from then and we’ve actually largely kept it that way. We both still say good night to both of them, but he sits in and chats with dd (she’s 12 now) and I sit in with ds (he’s 7). It’s nice for them to have that time together.

Flip