Toddler constantly waking baby from.naps

[Sparrowlegs248]

Me again.....

This is driving me absolutely potty today. Baby is really easy for naps, but the toddler obviously has not one iota of patience. This morning I've been trying to get baby to nap since 8. He's had about 4 lots of 5 or less minutes. If I put toddler in his cot hell scream blue murder at this time of day. Putting baby in bouncy chair works but I can get him to the stage of proper sleep without either having to stop bouncing or toddler poking, trading on him, screaming or something.

How do you manage it? I've shouted at toddler twice today, helpful I know. It's not his fault but bloody gell it's driving me nuts.

DD is 23 months, DS 13 weeks. We seem to have fallen into this pattern:

First nap fed to sleep on me. DD then watches a couple of CBeebies, brings a book or puzzle to do on the sofa or she plays with her kitchen or something.

Second nap is normally in the sling or car when we're out and about.

Third nap is generally DD's nap time so after I put DD down, I feed DS to sleep in our bed and have a lie down too.

Fourth nap is generally in the sling or pram whilst I take DD out on her bike or scooter. Sometimes in the car if we're out.

Doesn't always work but we get through most days like this!

I do have to stop DD from trying to kiss DS when he's asleep. 'NO KISSING, HE'S SLEEPING!' in a stern whisper!

I think you might be trying to organise yourself too around naps. Unfortunately, it's not something that can probably work easily with a toddler around.
I found that if I let DC2 get tired enough for a nap, no amount of shouting or screaming from DC1 ever caused any trouble. Usually it happened when DC1 had disturbed us multiple times so DC2 was quite tired, though not upset, after many attempts at nap.

By the end of second month, DC2 was sleeping at night for four to five hours stretches already. Too tired from lack of proper naps during the day.

I must admit I carried on with toddler's routine and baby had to fall in with that.l rather than the other way round. He would be in sling or pram while DD and I git in with things and he fell asleep when he needed to. In fact if my three children he was by far the best day and night time sleeper... not sure if it is a coincidence or more to do with benign neglect

tea yes toddler likes to give baby some love at sleepy time...... He won't watch telly or really settle to much that earlyv in the day. Naps out are fine, baby will kip in the car and.sling. It's just usually the first and last ones that are tricky.

valentine baby sleeps through a lot, but not being poked in the eye or toddler screaming when hes only been asleep two minutes, and it's usually right next to him as I try to prevent toddler trampoline on him.

yikes I am trying to fit baby in around toddler but I can't go out every morning (which works best for toddler)

It's the odd morning ar hone and the afternoons that are tricky.

A travel cot or play pen in the room is useful. I would sometimes put bouncer into the travel cot and put baby in there to sleep, out of reach of toddler. Or get baby to sleep in bouncer as normal and lift whole bouncer with sleeping baby in, into the travel cot.

The travel cot was something I also used to teach my toddler (14 month age difference) to leave baby alone.

I used to have a yellow cot blanket that we put on the floor for baby's floor time. That was "baby's blanket" and i taught toddler that she could play with baby while kneeling at the side of the blanket, but she could not get on the blanket herself.

I would pick toddler up every time she went onto baby's blanket, say no and put her into the travel cot. She would only be in there while I reiterated that she does not go into baby's blanket, then back out of travel cot. So maybe 15-30 seconds. Repeated every time she went into the yellow blanket. It worked though, she quickly learned to play with sibling from the edge of the blanket, not climbing all over him.

With this established, bouncy chair in the centre of the floor blanket would usually be left alone by the toddler, so baby could sleep.