When we got pregnant with Laela, I got heckled a lot about how much Dekker sleeps, and “just you wait, this one won’t sleep at all!” Jokes are fine, but it happened often. What I took from all the razzing, mostly, was that it would be great to get my kids to nap at the same time. That equalled sanity.
Of course, it didn’t happen right off the bat. It took time. But eventually, probably once Laela was six months or older, they started taking their afternoon nap together. They still do, but its not foolproof, and I’d love to hear from seasoned moms of two or more, or anyone with experience.:
The kids go to bed around 8:00pm, and wake up between 7:30 and 8:00am. Dekker on his own would likely still prefer to sleep til 10:00 but he likes Laela, and he gets so excited when she’s up. So they’re both up. And thats fine. Laela goes down for her first (and much needed) nap at 10:00, or shortly before, and often sleeps til noon. Then they got down together at 2:00. Laela lasts sometimes until 4:00 (if she falls asleep right away, which doesn’t happen anymore) whereas Dekker is good in there until after 5:00. Thats a bit late, and can make bedtime harder on him. Dekker’s ideal nap would likely begin at noon, and got until 3:00. And Laela’s ideal time for her second nap would be closer to 3:00. To recap our ideal situation…
Laela: 10:00 – 12:00
Dekker: 12:00 – 3:00
Laela: 3:00 – 5:00
Perfect!!! But do you see my dilemma? I feel like my kids would function beautifully with this schedule, yet I hear so often about how those few kid-free hours are a life saver. And I can vouch! I love that brief period of quiet time I get most days, to either accomplish things, or to put my feet up. Yet how do you arrange a tandem nap when they’re so different in age, and clearly on different schedules? Can someone propose a different timeline for me?
Just how important are those 2-3 hours of peace and quiet?