letting family members sleep

[esperanza]

Ds (2 years old) is having a really hard time letting dh sleep. We all co-sleep in our bedroom. During the week, dh has to get up with ds when I go to work. Dh works second shift, so he goes back to sleep in the afternoons and needs to be able to sleep later on the weekends. Ds loves playing with dh, which is really sweet, but he is not letting dh get the sleep that he needs. Ds will just walk into our room and wake up dh when I'm not looking. Often accompanied by shouts for dh and loud crying and wailing when I try to stop him.

I'm sure other people run into this with napping babies. Ideas? We are in a ranch house, and there really isn't any way to block off the hallway since we need to get to other rooms. I haven't tried a doorknob lock, but I'm sure ds would either figure it out and/or kick and bang on the door enough to wake up dh. I've tried setting a timer and telling him that when it goes off, he can go in. Didn't help. Lots of distraction, but dh is apparently much more fun than I am.

I'm rather out of ideas. He's too young to really understand why dh needs to sleep, and I'm worried it's going to affect his health since even on a good day he doesn't get enough sleep. Weather isn't so great to just go outside. Tomorrow I'm thinking we just have to leave the house to let dh sleep, though for various reasons it would be nice to be able to stay home. That is if ds will even get in the car without dh! It's really very sweet how much he loves his daddy!

[MegMarch]

There is an episode of Daniel Tiger where Daniel and his mom are sick and they sing about "rest is best" and DD really gets that. Rest is important so people can recover, and it is also good for people to make sure they can stay healthy.
But your kiddo is still so little and mostly needs a baby trap of some sort when you can't be right there. Belted in a high chair, gated in a room, etc.

[Soliloquy]

I would put up a baby gate at the end of the hall. If you need to go to one of the other rooms, you can go and get what you need. But, for those few hours on weekends, I would confine him to the kitchen & living room. And I'd try to give him as much undivided attention during that time as possible.

[milkmommy]

let me know if you find an answer.. We are still working on this with our 5 year old.

My Christmas wish is to have ONE day when I wake up on my own and not because a five year old is yelling and demanding I make her pancakes at 5:02am

[esperanza]

Yeah, I have considered a baby gate. His room is right across the hall from ours and he does like to go in it to play. It is also an issue weekday afternoons after nap when he wants dh to get up right when ds wakes up, and doesn't understand leaving the room quietly. Not all sleeping in one room would help, but ds insists that dh is there for nap time anyway.

Today we talked a lot about letting dh sleep in the morning and why and we will let him wake up when he is ready. We will see how that goes in the morning. He is just so fast at taking down the hall to get dh, and I can't entertain him for four hours and do nothing else around the house, you know? He is way too big for a high chair. I will talk to dh about the idea of a gate. I can see the crying and wailing down the hall waking him up anyway. I told dh he has to stop being so fun.

[Quiteria]

Can you engage him with chores to the best of your ability? Like letting him load the dishwasher with spoons while you load the rest of the dishes, or letting him wash a plastic cup in the sink (or a dishpan nearby if your sink is too small to share) while you handwash pots and pans next to him? Or giving him a mini-broom to sweep a clean corner of the kitchen while you quickly sweep the real mess under the table, or a rag to wipe the cabinets while you wipe the counters? It doesn't always work, but somewhere around 2-4yrs, when they've outgrown baby traps but aren't big enough to be much help, I've found it necessary to start transitioning to making them feel included. It pays off with a 4-6yo who actually can contribute a little, and eventually becoming a big kid who knows chores and expects to do them. At 2yo, it's still mostly making more work for mom to do it that way, but it can buy a little bit of time to get some of what you need done without him running off...not a ton of time before he loses interest, but maybe a little more.

[KarenBoo]

Can DH wear earplugs? That helps me immensely when I need to nap and there are loud noises going on outside my door. It makes a world of difference!

That, plus a way to lock the door or gate off the hallway.

[JoannaV]

I think a gate might help, because the distance tends to result in the child attempting to get to the person less often. So whilst noise could still be disturbing, it is a bit less loud and happens less frequently.

[mamacat]

Earplugs,white noise and latching bedroom door - you would have to get your clothing put for day or install a latch on outside you can work with a key Gating off hallway good idea if he is banging on door