DD2 is four months old and sleeps pretty well. Goes down at 7pm and usually wakes between 6-8am. Wakes for a couple of feeds but otherwise does solid chunks. She used to often self-settle for naps (always 40 minutes, and now she has four a day but previously it was five) and sometimes at bedtime, and when she struggled to go to sleep by herself I could easily get her down with a bit of a jiggle or a pat. Using the sling guaranteed almost an instant nap.
Until now I haven’t really had much of a routine for her as she’s been very easy going and it seems impossible to implement a routine with DD1 (2.5y) around. However DD2 has been showing signs of being overtired for a good few days now - screaming when she goes to sleep, sometimes waking very early into her naps, and waking after one sleep cycle when she goes to bed (though it’s very easy to get her back off to sleep when she does this).
Everything I’ve read about routines says that she should be having these big long naps but I don’t see how I can get her to nap for longer when I have DD1 to care for as well. And confining us all to the house to fit with her nap routine wouldn’t be fair on DD1 who doesn’t nap at all now. I have her in the sling for one nap per day but can’t manage more than this because of an injury that flares up and she’s just getting too heavy for me now.
I’m finding it really hard to balance the needs of both my DDs. One clearly needs more sleep but I don’t seem able to facilitate this without basically ignoring the other one. DD1 is in childcare three days a week, which helps. Any ideas?! Please help!