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Sceduling Naps/ Introductions

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Sceduling Naps/ Introductions

By: SIRMCG81   on  9/18/2006 10:42:14 PM

I have been quietly observing for some time now and have used Moth for about three years. Sometimes I get off track but I am always much more content when following a schedule (and so are my children!)
I have 6 children, 12 yr.dd, 7 yr dd, 5 yr dd, 3 yr. ds, 2 yr ds, and 10 month ds.
I am really struggling with naps and night time sleeping with the 3 younger boys. They all share a room, and if one wakes up, they all wake up. They seem to be getting up earlier and earlier in the morning and I'm finding it difficult to follow a schedule.
For example, the 10 month old keeps waking up around 6:30. I try to go in and nurse him back to sleep, sometimes it works, but most of the time the other two start stirring in their beds. They don't necessarily wake up but they must hear me in the room and make just enough "noise" that the 10 month old hears them and wants to get up. Even if I wake him up and nurse him at 5:00 and put him back to sleep, he still wakes up again at 6:30. Sometimes when he wakes up I just quickly run into the room and take him to the living-room so he doesn't wake the others up, but I doesn't seem to matter, they all wake up anyhow.
The earlier the 10 month old wakes up, the fussier he is and the earlier he needs a morning nap. I'd like him to nap at 10:30, but many days he just can't wait that long.
Then it seems that after he wakes up, we all eat lunch and the other two boys are ready for their naps. He's not ready yet. So, I put the 2 yr and the 3yr down for their naps. The 2yr is tired and falls asleep right away. The 3 yr old lays awake for a long time. Once he falls asleep, it is only a half an hour later and then the 2 yr old is up. By now the 10 month old is ready for another nap and we are waiting for the 3 yr old to wake up so I can put the 10 month old down.
I feel like I'm spending my day just working out problems because they've woken up too earlier and are cranky etc.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreaciated.

Sceduling Naps/ Introductions

By: smore93   on  9/19/2006 2:24:45 PM

I have a suggestion for the daytime naps, which I have used and am still using. I usually have the youngest (ie your 10mo) take their naps in a pack and play in MY room so that their daytime sleep is independent of their siblings' naps etc. My almost 4yo (my youngest) now takes her nap on a crib mattress laid on my floor in the same spot the pack and play used to be. I personally like to separate them if possible for naps.. maybe this is possible for you too? I also started limiting their morning nap at your son's age to one hour so that they were ready for afternoon nap at the same time as the older ones. Mine usually gave up their morning nap early because of this, just combined the naps into one LONG afternoon nap, which is what I wanted.
I have had kids napping on the couch when I watched an extra kid and I ran out of bedrooms (this was my oldest at 5yo who really just needed a "rest" but she would nap sometimes too).
As for the early morning.... I hope someone else can offer suggestions (mine are 7yo and 4yo that share and that is a different story!!).
Oh -- one other thought .. how much time is the 10mo spending on naps? Maybe he needs to be woken up at a certain time to allow for longer nighttime sleep? For example, my 4yo CAN NOT sleep past 4:00 (unless sick) or she will be up and keep her sister awake.
HTH--
Susanne

Sceduling Naps/ Introductions

By: fiveunderfive   on  9/19/2006 2:32:51 PM

What a delimma... I hope that you get some suggestions that work for you!

Have you tried some white noise to keep the 2 and 3 yo's sleeping longer in the early morning? What about moving the 10 mo. old out of the room with his brothers and either putting him with you or with his sisters for a while... just until he gets a little older? Sounds to me like the 2 and 3 yo's are just accustomed to waking when the 10 mo. old does... even with the baby out you might find some white noise to be a little helpful in re-training them to stay asleep a little longer.
Seems to me that a little help for the early morning will help with the nap issues too... I remember when my 3 youngest boys were 1, 1 and 2 and they'd get off with each other on sleeping and naps... it sure did make the day more difficult than if they all stayed on the same routine. I tried my best to let my younger ones take their 2nd nap at the same time as the older one took his one nap.
Also, can you move the napping location of the 3 yo? That way you don't have to wait on him to wake so you can put the 10 mo. down. There was a time for a while that I had to separate all 3 of my boys during naptime... I'd always put the oldest on the couch, one on his own bed, and another on my bed. The boy on the couch would also get the benefit of listening to very calm classical music to help him get to sleep a little more quickly than he otherwise would.

I really hope you get some helpful remedies quickly. :)

Sceduling Naps/ Introductions

By: AMDGMom   on  9/19/2006 5:03:27 PM

Is it possible to move the 10 month old into your room (in a pack-and-play or cosleeper) for awhile? That way when we wakes to nurse you might be able to nurse him and get him back to sleep without waking the other two. I would focus on that first, then the nap times. My goal would be to have all three nap at the same time-but the time depends on the wake time/am nap time of the 10 month old. It might take a few weeks for it all to come together. You will be in my prayers! At one point I had a three year old, two year old and newborn...it seems like I was ALWAYS in the process of getting someone to sleep!
Jennifer

Sceduling Naps/ Introductions

By: hzmom   on  9/20/2006 1:17:38 PM

We have 5 children close in age too, so there has always been a baby around, and usually in close quarters. Ours have all shared a room for years but we manage to always find another place for the baby to sleep. During the day we use the pack and play in our room like others have suggested. At night depending on where we have lived and the age of the baby we have had the baby in numerous creative places. (We are missionaries and have lived in many different living situations over the years) At night time we have used an office, a family room, even a bathroom (made safe of course) for the baby to use until they are old enough, on the same schedule and trained enough to be in the same room with everyone else.

Sceduling Naps/ Introductions

By: SIRMCG81   on  9/20/2006 1:49:03 PM

Thank You all for your helpful sugesstions. :)
One thing I didn't mention was that my DH leaves for work around 6:15. Our room is right across the hall from the boys room and I think they hear him getting ready in the morning. I do have a pack-n-play set up in our room and it was where the baby slept for about five months. We moved him into the boys room because he was waking when my husband was getting ready for work. So i guess this has been going on for awhile.

I had thought about "white noise" in the boys room. During nap time, I put a CD on conituous play (hymns, classical etc.). I also do the same at night, then when I go to bed I go in their room and turn it off. I wonder if it would help to go in their room around 5:00, before my husband gets up and turn the CD player on again? Are their any other "white Noises" you can think of?

As far as naps, I did seperate them all yesterday, and that did seem to help. I left the baby in his crib, put the 2 yo in the girls room and the 3 yo in my bed. It worked o.k. but I still need to do some re-training in this area. I made all the girls go potty and get anything they may need down that hallway, before I put the boys down. They are not allowed to go down the hallway unless they must (i.e. potty)

Ideally, I'd like to get all three napping at the same time but I just can't seem to figure out how to do this. Right now we are working without a schedule, everytime I sit down to work on it I, just can't seem to get past the times for naps or how to work around them. When I look at MOTH I see that most of the schedules in the back have 10 m olds sleeping at 10:30 to 11:30 and again at 1:30. That just doesn't seem to be working for us.

I also did a search on 10m olds and found someone who encouraged me by writing that she was also having problems with her 10 m old napping and now at 18 m it is no longer an issue. I know that

Sceduling Naps/ Introductions

By: fiveunderfive   on  9/20/2006 5:57:19 PM

The only other white noises that I've used are an oscillating fan (though I don't like them much) and turning the dryer on... in our last house the laundry machines were right next to the children's rooms. I just had to make sure that the buzzer was off. :) Oh wait, I've also used the fan in a nearby bathroom... sometimes they can be pretty loud if the room is close enough to the bathroom.

I also wanted to ask if you have regular meal times? I remember that when my dc were young like yours that regular meal times (and snacks at scheduled times) really helped with nap issues as well. If you don't have that in place then that is where I would start with a schedule... let that sink in for a couple of weeks and you might find it easier to nail down some wake and sleep times.

Re-training with naps should help lots too. I'll pray that it begins to fall in place quickly for you. :)

Sceduling Naps/ Introductions

By: jenlovesjesus   on  9/20/2006 11:26:27 PM

Hello,
We have a white noise machine in almost every bedroom. They are called "Sound Spa." We bought them at Bed Bath and Beyond. They are regularly priced between $19-$29, but BBBeyond has coupons for 20% off. I don't know if the Sound Spa is available anywhere else. It has several different nature sounds. We use the one that sounds like a waterfall. My husband has to sleep frequently during the day because he works the night shift. We turn it up very loud for him and he usually doesn't hear the kids unless someone yells or slams or pounds right by his door. I keep them on all night in my young children's rooms, so when I get up early for my Bible time, they don't hear me. I also have them on during nap time, so they can't hear what they think they're missing out on. They have served a great scheduling purpose for us.
Jennifer

Sceduling Naps/ Introductions

By: jenlovesjesus   on  9/20/2006 11:34:03 PM

Hello again,
I meant to say, also, that the Sound Spa helps during naptime for me to not be so on edge that the other children will wake a sleeping baby/toddler. Or if the doorbell rings or something.
The child in the room with the white noise is not so easily startled awake. This has helped us alot.
Jennifer

Sceduling Naps/ Introductions

By: NavyWife95   on  9/21/2006 12:28:47 PM

I have a great tool for making white noise...the Marpac White Noise Machine (also known as the Sleep Mate Sound Screen 980 Dual Speed Sound Conditioner.) I requested one for Mother's Day several years ago and it's helped me sleep so much better at night! It wasn't cheap, around $50.00 at www.amazon.com but is worth every penny...very well constructed and good sleep is priceless! It's small and doesn't take up much space on my dresser. I mostly use it for myself, but if for some reason it's going to be noisy in the house during our scheduled nap time or if we're traveling, I plug it in for the kids and it helps them sleep much better too. Maybe that would be a tool to help you through this season too.

NavyWife95


Sceduling Naps/ Introductions

By: mythreeboys   on  9/21/2006 2:03:49 PM

As for white noise, you can buy a white noise machine at Walmart for about $30. Currently we're using a radio station set to static for our white noise. I have it fairly loud during nap and at bed time. When I go to bed I turn it down, not off so that my am noise is covered yet it doesn't bother my sleep.

As for napping at the same time: When I have a baby that is the one who rules the schedule. :) I determine the best times for him to sleep and everyone else revolves around him. It may mean having a cranky preschooler for a week or 2, but I find that they will get used to this new time and settle in with it. For example, when the baby is taking 2 naps, the pm nap (the one everyone takes) is later, maybe around 2:00 (even if the next youngest is ready by 1:00 I make him wait). I have the start time the same so that I am guaranteed a break, even if someone wakes early. Then, when the baby gives up his am nap, I may move the pm nap to right after lunch. This is when everyone naps. It may take the preschooler longer to fall asleep, or he may not sleep at all. This is fine, he may get cranky in the late pm so I just put him down to bed a bit earlier to make up for it. Or to get the preschooler to sleep that early in the pm I may begin getting him up earlier in the am so that he's ready for it.

Hope this makes sense.

Wendy

Sceduling Naps/ Introductions

By: SIRMCG81   on  9/23/2006 1:51:54 PM

Thank you everyone for your responses. I really appreciate all the helpful advice. We have made some changes, like putting all three down for naps in different rooms and when I wake up to nurse the baby at 5, I've been playing a CD to drown out morning noise. That all seems to be helping. I will look into the white noise machines as well.

As soon as I am done writing this post I am going to sit down and try to work on our schedule agian. I have everything written out, what I would like each of the children and me to accomplish each day. Now I just need to arrange my squares and see what the best times for everyones activities and naps should be.

Also, on my last post I accidently hit send instead of preview. I wanted to edit it and add that someone on a previous post encourage me by saying that they had struggled with this issue with their 10 month old and now at 18 months it is no longer an issue. I remember having the same issue with my now 2 yo. He was ready to go from two naps to one. I wanted him to nap at the same time as two older siblings, but as we began making the switch, he would almost daily, fall asleep in his lunch :). Even now, as soon as lunch is over, he is ready for his nap and they all know and expect this will happen. So I still struggle with finding away to have all three napping at the same time. I will work on my little squares today and see if I can find a way to work it out. Maybe I'll need to be content with two napping at a time for now, until the baby is ready to move to one nap.

Finally, I wanted to add that our Homeschool group is going to begin studying Homeschooling With a Meek and Quiet Spirit. We met this morning for a time of fellowship, and I handed out the books to everyone. I am so excited to begin this study with our group. Thank you Maxwells for all that you do. You have really been a blessing to me.

Sceduling Naps/ Introductions

By: Inglesidemom   on  9/25/2006 9:18:29 PM

SIRMCG8,

We just finished HS w/ a Meek and Quiet Spirit and loved it! I know your group will benefit greatly from it as ours did. Our email loop to keep us all connected was called the "Meek and Quiet" group. We all had a good laugh when we would open an email addressed to a meek and quiet mom on a day when we really needed a reminder to be one!

Happy studying and encourage the ladies to look up ALL the scripture. Worth the time and effort.

Jen

 
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