I need help from all you mommies out there...

[wantababybump]

I babysit 2 children both 1yr 2mo. I have them all day long and have to give them their naps. Mother #1 (of the little girl) wants her daughter to sleep about 1 1/2-2 hours in the morn and another 1 1/2 hours in the afternoon. Lately when I put her down for a nap she just cries and cries and cries until she eventually falls asleep. I feel so bad for letting her cry but I dont know what else to do. Ive tried rocking her until she has fallen asleep and even wait about 15 mins when she is sleeping until I put her in the bed so I know she is asleep but she just wakes up as soon as she gets close to the bed and starts freaking out. She is obviously tired. This morning she was laying on the floor on her blanky and rubbing her eyes like crazy and her mom said she had to wake her up super early to get ready and come here but yet she wont sleep. She is currently in the room freaking out and I dont know what else to do, I tried rocking her again but she just cried in my arms along with kicking and stuff. She fell asleep after crying today but woke up within a half hour. She did this when she first started coming here in July but stopped after a while and I didnt really have much of a problem rocking her and then putting her right into the bed without waking up. Is it mean of me to let her cry? Should I just let her stay up and play without a nap? I put both kids in seperate room because Im afraid of her waking him up with her crying. Im in desperate need of some suggestions. I cant hold her all day long..I just cant. I have 2 kids here and cant have all of my attention going to just her.

 

[Jo]

I think you need to speak to mum about it as it realy seems she doesn't need this extra nap

 

[Ratty]

I was reading the other day about the amount of sleep a baby should get. They mentioned that at some stage they stop needing the morning nap and only have an afternoon nap! That could maybe be the problem here. How much does she sleep at night compared to the little boy?

 

[Alexas Mommy]

its tough when you have to follow other peoples instruction. alexa is only four months, but ill tell you what i do anyway. i dont have a schedule for her, just let her tire herself out, but if i can tell she is tired, but she wont stay asleep, i just let her tire herself out even more, then either feed her or rock her until she falls asleep. i usually wait about half an hour before i put her down to sleep, since it usually takes her about that long to go into a deep sleep. sorry this probably does not help much, especially since i have never watched more than one baby at a time. good luck, hope you figure something out! maybe you could ask her mother how she does it? xo

 

[kiwimama]

Not yet a mummy but have nannied for years so thought I would pop you some advice. If she's rubbing her eyes as you have said, she probably is tired. You really need to talk to her mother though and just ask her what she does when her daughter won't go to sleep and if she wants you to do the same thing, or if she wants you to let her cry it out etc. She may need less sleep, maybe down to one nap a day? Her mum will be able to give you the most advice. Good luck!

 

[wantababybump]

I talked to her mom today. She only slept for a total of 45 mins today so I felt pretty bad. We think she may still have her cold so that could be cause of all the chaos. Her mom said to let her cry for a bit and she usually will fall asleep. I tried that today but didnt work at all...if the poor girl is sick she must be feeling awful. Thanks everyone! xo