I have a routine. I do my best to stick to it daily. You can't have four kids and not have a routine. Life would be complete chaos. And it already feels chaotic, so I can't imagine the chaos if there was no routine. I won't bore you with all the details, because as I sit and write out "instructions" on the kids for when I'm in the hospital for 2 days with Baby 5, our day does look pretty boring. Anyway, we have lunch around 12:30 so that naps can start around 1pm. Why naps at 1? Mainly because I wanted to be able to take a nap myself before Princess would get off the bus. Now, naptime at 1 doesn't mean everyone is asleep right at 1. It's a process. Since Trouble started climbing out of the crib, I had to put him down for his nap first to give him time to fall asleep. He had since moved into a toddler bed, but still got out all the time to bother Donkey. So, to stick to the routine, I lay Trouble down at 1, clean up from lunch, give Donkey a bottle, then lay him down. While I feed Donkey his bottle, I pray the whole time that Trouble actually went to sleep. For the most part, he fell asleep without a problem. Sometimes he would stay awake because he had pooped. This would push things back.
I recently started babysitting my nephew two afternoons a week. He is 3 months old and such a cutie! He's no problem at all, and still in that glorious stage where he'll sleep anywhere, no matter how noisy it is. Princess is at school, so it's only the 4 boys here when I have my nephew. Pirate can play on his own and doesn't nap anymore. I don't try to take naps when my nephew is here because I feel like it's irresponsible. Plus it never works out that all 3 little boys sleep at the same time.
Last week it was time for Trouble's nap. Trouble is now 2 and 7 months. I am in no way ready for him to give up his naps. Princess napped until she was 5. Seriously, I thought that was normal, but now I realize I was just lucky. Pirate gave his naps up last year when he was in the 3's in preschool. Trouble needs a nap. I need Trouble to take a nap! So, I put him in his bed around 1. I like to get Trouble and Donkey both to sleep before my nephew gets here at 1:30. That's the plan anyway. I went downstairs and started giving Donkey his bottle, and could hear Trouble on the monitor making noise. Then I heard jumping, then drawers slamming. When Donkey was done his bottle, I put him in the play yard and went up to see what Trouble was doing. I smelled the poop as soon as I got up the steps. I opened the door, and saw a mountain of diapers on his bed. I walked into the room, and saw more diapers in the hamper, and in the dresser drawers which were all pulled out, as well as in Donkey's crib and on the changing table. You might wonder how there were that many diapers. We had just bought a case of diapers at BJs that I had opened and filled the diaper stacker to the very top. Apparently Trouble didn't like the arrangement and flung them all over the room. I changed him, yelled at him, had him help me clean up the diapers, and I put him back in bed. I went downstairs because my brother in law was at the door with the baby. Just as I was getting ready to take Donkey up for his nap, I heard Trouble on the monitor again. I wasn't as patient this time. I took Donkey up, laid him down, and took Trouble in my room to take a nap. I left the diapers all over the room, just so Donkey could get to sleep. In the end, Trouble took a nap in my bed and Donkey had a decent nap because his big brother wasn't trying to climb in his crib with him. We cleaned up the diapers later that evening.
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