Do You Get a Break During The Day?

[sahm2three]

Like some point during the day when you are not physically doing something for someone or holding someone??? Even now I have the colicky baby strapped on while he screams bloody murder. He doesnt' sleep. I had a ds with colic, and I had hoped I wouldn't have to deal with it again. Ugh. He is such a sweet baby, but sooooooooooooooooooooo miserable. If it isn't him, it is one of the other kids, ALL DAY LONG. Even during nap time. There is always someone fighting sleep. I told the kids it is my birthday week and I need them all to be very good, but so far, it isn't working! LOL! I end up doing all of my cleaning after hours because I don't get a break. I have lost 20 pounds since I started, and not because I am working out, I just don't get a break. I am running all day long. I don't know if I just need to tweak some things with my schedule. How do you get everyone to sleep at the same time? What are your toddler to 4 year old nap times like? I need something to give or I am not going to be able to keep up this pace! Ten hour days every day with no break is beginning to wear me out!

[laundryduchess@yahoo.com]

I phase morning nap out by about 8 - 10 months, everyone takes an after lunch nap. I work 430 a to 6 p m-f. nap is the only time I get that I can sit, reflect on the day, snuggle the dog. (that helps by the way! ) My dog is my therapy. =-) There are days, weeks sometimes that are hard. That I may get 3-5 minutes break. But then there are glorious hours spent just watching the angels rest.

[SilverSabre25]

I do, only because I'm very, very lucky. My DH works a 4-10 split shift, so he's home from 1:45 to 5:15 every afternoon, and all day on Thursday. He's my full partner in this venture and takes care of the kids for a couple hours every afternoon so I can get a break (often a nap because DD still gets up at night at 3 years old!). He is my saving grace and a huge part of how I manage to do this day after day!

[sahm2three]

I phase morning nap out by about 8 - 10 months, everyone takes an after lunch nap. I work 430 a to 6 p m-f. nap is the only time I get that I can sit, reflect on the day, snuggle the dog. (that helps by the way! ) My dog is my therapy. =-) There are days, weeks sometimes that are hard. That I may get 3-5 minutes break. But then there are glorious hours spent just watching the angels rest.

OMGosh! There is NO way any of my babies would make it until after lunch nap if I cut morning nap out. Problem is, they want to cat nap about three or four times between drop off in the morning and lunch, and I just can't do that. We have to figure out how to get them to sleep for just two naps.

[SandeeAR]

Nap time is all day long here LOL. I have 2 y/o, 11 mo, 6 mo, and 2 mo. Some one is sleeping all the time. I just take a break to sit down when they are happy. Right now, the 2 y/o is playing with playdoh, the 6 mo is on the floor playing and the 2 mo, is in the swing. The 11 mo isn't here today.


Edited to add: Sometimes I get lucky....like right now. 2 mo fell asleep in bouncy while feeding 2 y/o. 2 y/o is now down for nap, 6 mo, is going to sleep in the swing as I type! WooHoo! Break time for me!

[melskids]

most days mine are asleep by 12:30/12:45. that gives me time to clean up/catch up, and then hang out on the computer or catch up on something on the DVR (i'm embarassingly addicted to reality tv and tape them all) then they are all up and at 'em again by 2:30. ive also gotten really good at doing clean up as its needed, rather then waiting until the end of the day. when the last kiddo leaves for the night, i am done!!! and to be honest, i'd rather give up a mid afternoon break, if it means not having to do anything daycare related after hours.

[DancingQueen]

I do. right now as a matter a fact.

We bring my dd to preschool for 12pm - come back and I turn on the lullabyes and they all go to their nap spots and wait for me to put them down. The lullabyes work every single time with these three.

At 2pm I wake them all up and we go get my daughter.

I have a 17 mo old that still needs a morning nap but I don't let her do more than 50 minutes. I even set the timer on my stove. Otherwise she won't do her PM nap and THAT nap is the one that matters to me because that is when everyone is down and I get a TRUE break.

I'd be tweaking your off scheduled nappers nap times so that they will still go down for an afternoon nap.

Example - had a 9 month old at one point that napped 2x per day. morning for 3 hours and PM for 1 hour. I told mom and dad that PM nap was our long nap and they were find with me juggling it around.
Day one I put her down for morning nap and woke her up 1.5 hours in - she was exhausted by time PM nap came around and napped well. The next few days I made the AM nap less and less and made the PM nap longer and longer and she quickly fell into the same schedule as everyone else.

The hard part is when you have older kids that just either WONT nap or won't be quiet so that OTHERS can nap. That is one thing I haven't been able to work around yet.

[boysx5]

most days mine are asleep by 12:30/12:45. that gives me time to clean up/catch up, and then hang out on the computer or catch up on something on the DVR (i'm embarassingly addicted to reality tv and tape them all) then they are all up and at 'em again by 2:30. ive also gotten really good at doing clean up as its needed, rather then waiting until the end of the day. when the last kiddo leaves for the night, i am done!!! and to be honest, i'd rather give up a mid afternoon break, if it means not having to do anything daycare related after hours.

I'm the same way. I try to get everyone down at the sametime and usually all but my six month will do this most days.

[handemom]

i hear ya!

Before i had a 3 year old and 5 year old. In the beginning they refused to nap. They pulled every card out, saying "my dad says i don't have to" right down to plainly not.... their biggest problem was they wanted to nap on the couch, and if and when i had my own time, it was spent in the living room. I had it.... So I made them lay in the other room on nap mats, and take quite time at least. wether you wanted to sleep on not, you had to stay in there and be quite.After a week of doing this, they decided to start sleeping on their own. It was bliss. even though it was only 45 minutes. It was still wonderful!

now I am looking into watching a 9 month old and i am sure that is all about to change, and it will be my turn to be posting questions


good luck

[momma2girls]

OMGosh! There is NO way any of my babies would make it until after lunch nap if I cut morning nap out. Problem is, they want to cat nap about three or four times between drop off in the morning and lunch, and I just can't do that. We have to figure out how to get them to sleep for just two naps.

My 8-10 month babies could have never gone without a am nap either!! SOme of them wake up at 5:30 am!!!!

[tenderhearts]

I used to and it was sooooo nice. However since I've taken on the 2 babies I have at least one of them up for the majority of everyone elses nap/quiet time. It's not too bad right now cuz she doesn't crawl so I can get stuff done while she sits and plays.

[BentleysBands]

we have 2 naps here..in shifts...3 sleep from 10-12 noon...all eat lunch then the 2 that shows at 11a go down for nap. In the morning when the 3 nap is usually when i cat nap or do something LOL

[countrymom]

yes I do, nap is from 1-3.30pm but thats when I do my things. People don't get it, I have 5 kids all day and then when they go home my own 4 kids are around so I wouldn't get a break till almost 10pm when it was sleep time. I find if I don't get that break, I would burn myself out, I too need to wind down and get things done.

[Jewels]

I do, but I don't have any babies right now, my youngest is 15 months, and then I go to 17months, 22 months, and then over 2, sometimes My 15 and 17 month olds still need am naps! I try to hold them off, but If I know early that its not going to happen I put them down at 9am, up at 10am, and their usually back down by 1:30, but 80% of the time they are fine til 12:15pm, when everyone goes down after lunch, and they go down until 2:30-3pm, I split most kids up into seperate rooms, so they don't disturb each other, and I've never had an issue getting them to sleep, I have one girl who doesn't nap since she comes at 1:30, but I put her in the playroom with the TV, one of the only times that tV is every turned on durin g the day, today everyone was down at 12:15, and then I read a book for 30minutes, and rested for 30 more minutes, and now I'm doing this, and then I'm going to turn my Kitchen TV on, and start cleaning lunch, while watching something, until they get up at 2:30 or so, And I don't plan on a baby until next year if that, I love my afternoon break! But sometimes the little ones are awake, if they take morning naps, but I still sit down and watch something on DVR, if they are awake, cause they just hang out with me, and I still want some kind of relaxing time. Now i used to never take a break, I would use all of nap time to strictly clean clean clean, but it became to much, so I always get the kitchen nice and clean, and the dining room, after nap we have story time, then cleanup when we clean up the toys, and now I just get up and do my vacuuming and mopping in the AM while everyone is sleeping, and the daycare kids haven't showed up yet, and it makes my days so much nicer.

[SunflowerMama]

most days mine are asleep by 12:30/12:45. that gives me time to clean up/catch up, and then hang out on the computer or catch up on something on the DVR (i'm embarassingly addicted to reality tv and tape them all) then they are all up and at 'em again by 2:30. ive also gotten really good at doing clean up as its needed, rather then waiting until the end of the day. when the last kiddo leaves for the night, i am done!!! and to be honest, i'd rather give up a mid afternoon break, if it means not having to do anything daycare related after hours.

'
This sounds very much like my day. They are down between 12:30p and 1p and most are up about 3p/3:30p. I have 6 (4 older ones and then 2 little ones) and I'm usually waking my 2 oldest at 4p. But I also clean as the day goes on and have the kids help so that when everyone is gone I'm done and that really helps.

I have 2 little ones (12 months and 15 months) and both are on one nap. Occassionally they will take a little cap nap for 30/45min if it's a rough morning but usually we can work through it until our afternoon nap.