Routine with 2nd DC

[ShutterHaze]

Just interested in others’ experiences. Is it just me, or did you find it harder to implement a routine (naps in particular I guess) with your second DC? My second is 3 months, and I feel like I have no handle on their nap schedule (other than that their first nap tends to start at around 10.30am, after we wake up around 8am - the length varies though). All naps seem to happen when they’re in the carrier - which they are in a lot as it makes it easier to look after my first. I feel a bit overwhelmed by putting the thought into a nap routine whereas it felt easier with my first as we didn’t have a toddler to look after whereas we do now! I also feel much more reliant on them falling asleep either by being fed to sleep or while they’re in the carrier - I feel like my first was much more easily rocked to sleep.

As I say - interested in others’ experiences - I’m finding it hard to remember how it all happened with my first!

Yes I found my second had no kind of predictability to their naps until about 4 months. Then we sort of fell into a bit of a ‘routine’ because the wake windows lengthened, but then the naps would sometimes clash with nursery drop off / pick up and it was a bit tricky. All of his naps were on me (either being held or in the carrier) until he was 6 months old.
Then we did some sleep training and it all became a lot easier as he’s now reliably napping twice a day at the same sort of time each day. Much easier to make plans!

Sounds like they are getting naps and you have a variety of ways to get them to sleep depending on what you're doing with your toddler, so it all sounds good. My second never napped independently and that worked for us.

This is reassuring to hear! Can I ask what kind of sleep training you did / how you found it?

This makes me feel loads better - thank you! 😊

Yeah - my second is in the carrier for the nursery drop off walk withy DS 2-3 days a week. She often falls asleep in it in the morning, even if she's not really ready for a nap yet. She just turned 8 months and we're finally getting something that looks like a 2 nap schedule but it was definitely later to get into shape because of the extra carrier naps. No major harm but definitely a bit annoying!

I have struggled with this too. My 2nd is almost 6 months and until a month ago I wouldn’t have been able to tell you what her schedule was ir even how many naps she had. More recently she seems to have adopted a more predictable routine but it only works well on days when my first is at nursery.

This is reassuring @SayDoWhatNow and @wishIwasonholiday10 - sounds like a common experience! Thank you