help, my day is ruled by naps!

[ExistentialistCat]

DD1 is 19 months old, DD2 nearly 20 weeks. My day is getting ridiculous. Does the following strike anyone as normal?!

Sometime between 6 and 7: DDs both wake.

8.30: Take DH to work. DD2 falls asleep in car. It's ages yet until DD1's morning activity and DD2 won't stay asleep once car stops moving, so drive around aimlessly for an hour.

Go to DD1's playgroup/softplay/etc

11.30: DD2 falls asleep in car on way home. Generally stays asleep for about 45 minutes.

Do lunch for DD1 and put her down for her nap between 12.30 and 1 (she's resisted recently but generally still sleeps for 2 hours).

Wait for DD2 to look tired again. She generally obliges between 1.30 and 2.

Rock DD2 to sleep in pram in hall. Keep doing this UNTIL 4 PM whenever she stirs, as I have learned to my cost that this is when she needs her long sleep.

Get DD1 up at 3 and try to keep her quiet so the rocking can continue.

We're basically housebound all afternoon and then it's time to make tea. I've tried to vary this e.g. by getting DD2 to take her nap in the pram while we're out and about or in the cot while we're at home, but with dreadful consequences each time - she doesn't sleep for as long and is a wakemonster at night.

Do I have to resign myself to spending most of my day enforcing naps for the time being or is there another way?!

Goodness, that sounds hard going!

Mine are 7, 4 and 6m. So the older 2 are at school

But when 1 and 2 were toddler and baby I kind of went with the flow, really... I made sure that we were around (indoors) for dd1 to get her after lunch nap but that was it

Is it REALLY that essential for the naps to take place 'on schedule'? What happens if they nap at different times, or miss one?

Just thinking of my 6mold, he still has no routine, really. I just let him sleep when he looks tired. Nights a different story altogether, I hasten to add

Funny thing is, notnowbernard, that I'm not really trying to get DD2 to nap on schedule. I was aware from the start that with such a small age gap, DD2 would just have to fit in with DD1, and most of her naps do happen on the way to/from whatever I'm doing with DD1, but therefore are often quite short and interrupted and don't seem to be enough for her. And without at least one long nap at home, all hell seems to break loose at night. If I could just persuade her to have that one long nap in the middle of the day, at the same time as DD1 (who does seem to be pretty wedded to her 1-3 slot), life would be a lot easier.

I don't know whether it's normal existentialistcat but our day is very similar so deep sympathy - have a DS 16 weeks and DD nearly 3. Except in my case DS won't sleep in car at all, generally needs to be in motion in my arms the whole time. Driving. Me. Nuts.

Hi just looking at your day, was wondering if you could wake dd2 from 11;30 nap earlier so shes ready to sleep by 1, then both dds asleep together. Could you just feed dd2 to sleep at 1 to make sure it happens. DD2 could maybe then have another short nap around tea time so she not too tired for night.
my life atm is rather ruled by ds naps so know how you feel altho I just have the one.
Also if your feeling flush theres a machine you can buy for about £70 which rocks the pram for you!!