P. Tierney
Personally, while I'm very much in favor of following the child's lead, I think I'd be proactive in this situation. I think it's partly an nth child issue. With the first child, it's much easier to be reactive without having to deal with so many things that can negatively affect things. Once you've got that toddler-preschooler sort of running the show, life is a lot more exciting for the baby in the house. Things are more active, there's more running around, etc. These things sort of naturally lead to that more fragmented sleep if you don't try to carve out a little protected time. It's often pretty subtle, and I'm not suggesting that the baby will immediately rush to sleep in longer stretches. I'm just suggesting that the pace of life is different with a toddler-preschooler in the house, and this tends to be an environment that encourages that sort of catnapping in lots of little ways. I'd try to create an environment that is more encouraging of longer naps, but if that didn't work, I wouldn't wig out. Bottom line: there's a decent enough chance that life with an older sib is encouraging the catnapping that I'd make some changes to encourage longer naps, but it's possible that he's just still too little, so I wouldn't force the issue in any way. I'd just try to create the best opportunity for longer naps.
St. Robert Bellarmine on 9104Saint Robert Bellarmine says, "When a child is born, the child learns to respond to those who are taking care of the child. The child uses routine as a teaching block for what...
Yeah, I recalled that--but as you are fond of pointing out, you can recreate much of what is good about preschool at home ;-) That might include some targeted activities during the day that buttist with your baby's schedule (or not--just a possibility to consider). I'd usually run the legs off the older kid while the baby was up and active (fresh air good for all) and then we'd be ready for some quiet play while baby napped.
Best wishes, Ericka
