I learned early on that a schedule was important. When I had singletons, the schedule was flexible. It could be changed daily. I changed feeding times if my baby was cranky, and nap times could be delayed when we were out.

But then I had triplets and everything changed.

If I fed one, I had to feed them all or I would be feeding babies around the clock. If I put one down for a nap, I put them all down or I never would have had a moment’s peace let alone a single night of rest. By establishing a rigid routine, we all knew what to expect.

Two years later our schedule isn’t quite as rigid, but there is one thing we still stick to and expect: Naptime!

Every day at noon I put my girls down for their nap, and every day at three I get them up. No fights or complaints, they know that I expect it of them and they go down quietly the entire time and wake up happily.

A few tips I use to achieve a pleasant naptime:

1. I set the start time not them. This way I don’t wait until the girls get overtired and have trouble putting themselves down.

2. I allow my girls to pick a fun toy before I put them down and allow them to keep some toys and books in their bed. Usually by doing this my girls don’t even notice that I’m leaving the room and I know they’ll have something fun to play with when they wake up.

3. Even at two years old I refer to naptime as “quiet time” and let them know that they don’t have to nap but that I do expect them to play quietly. At this age, they almost always nap but as they grow there will be more times where they just use the time to play and that’s fine with me.

4. I separate my girls at naptime and highly recommend it. Not only do my girls no longer wake each other up but they have a chance to play alone and for triplets who spend 100% of the rest of their day together this is time that they need.

5. And lastly, I determine the end time. This way I always know when they have gotten enough rest and 95% of the time my girls wake up happy and ready for the rest of the day.

Sound impossible? I’d start small with fifteen minute increments so that your toddler gets used to going down at the same time every day and waiting for you to get them up. You can then extend the time with less fuss until you have reached the desired amount of nap time that you want. Consistency and repetition leads to expectation, and toddlers thrive when they know what to expect.

Have any tricks that you use? Feel free to share – I’d love to hear!

(photo by peasap)