How Do I Set a Nap Time for a Newborn and a 3Yr Old??

you can not makea newborn sleep on a predictable schedule..

when the baby is about 4 months old they should START to have a predictable nap schedule.. so you have a while to go..

most young babies get up early... take a morning nap around 9 am.. an afternoon nap around 1 and then a quick cat nap around 5 pm...they go to bed later..
then they give up the 5 pm nap...and go to bed earlier..

my kids are 18 months apart.. so Ihave beenthere.. and it is tough.. but at 9 months my son dropped his morning nap... ( this is very young to drop the morning nap)

once he was donw to one nap a day.. life was good... both kids went down for a nap at the same time..

I think it might be a little early to get the naps in sync just yet. Once my daughter was truly on a schedule, one nap in the morning and one nap in the afternoon, I was able to get the afternoon naps at the same time, no problem. I just put my then three year old down a little earlier and my baby down a little later than I would have usually. I don't think I was able to get them on the same schedule until my daughter was closer to three or four months though. Occasionally I got lucky and she would happen to dose when my son was down for a nap and I could then catch some zzzz's too. I do know when I was desperate for sleep I would allow my son to watch a movie in mommy's room. We would cuddle and I would nap a little...not ideal, but it helped. We don't watch a lot of tv, so it was a treat. And since we were cuddling if he tried to leave I usually felt him move and it would wake me up too. If it makes you feel any better, like there is a light at the end of the tunnel. My daughter is 18 months old and my son is 4 and they both nap for at least two hours in the afternoon still.! Hang in there, good luck!!

Your 3 year-old will be easier to have on a schedule than your infant. I was fortunate that while on Maternity Leave with our 2nd, I could get them both to sleep most days around noon, but our son was 21 months and still a pretty solid sleeper at nap time.

Now that he's closer to 4, I'd recommend having her have mandatory quiet time (if she's not going to nap) when you need to take a rest with the baby. Our son is good about sitting quietly in his room playing with cars/reading books and almost always ends-up falling asleep at least for an hour. If you can coordinate this with the baby's napping, I'd take advantage of it.

At nap time, I had no problem having the baby rest on my chest/in my arms so I could snooze with her while she was happiest.

Good luck!

i had my son when my daughter was 2. i would have my son take a morning nap, and then lay them both down after my 2yo ate lunch. they would both sleep for about 1.5 hrs. that gave me enough time to nap. as they got older i cut out the morning nap for my son and then moved up the after lunch nap up to an earlier time like 10:30 or 11. it might take some time but it is doable. also when my daughter stopped taking naps at 4, i would let her play games on the computer while i dozed on the couch.

I had a newborn and a 3 year old at the same time too. When my baby would nap in the afternoon, I would have my 3 year old lay down too, even if it was not exactly nap time. If I was afraid that she wouldn't sleep, I would invite her in my bed for a "mommy/daughter" rest time. She could bring one book and then we would "close our eyes for 15 minutes". She wouldmore often then not fall asleep during this time and I could sneak in a short rest. Being a mommy of 4 girls, I know it can be exhausting. If you are not able to nap, you need to find someone who can sit with the kids so you can rest. If you get run down, who's going to take over for you?? My mom would come over once in a while to sit with the kids so I could rest. I would return the favor my making a nice home cooked meal for her.
Good luck and congrats on the new addition!

my daughter is 16 months and no matter at what time she wakes up in the morning @ 12: 30 noon shes sleeping....it cost me a lot of sacrifices like let her cry till fall sleep but it was worth it.
now she just cant live a day with out her naptime

There was actually just a post written on this blog:

http://www.babybunching.com/baby_bunching/2010/05/syncthe...

Check it out, you'll probably find a lot of their posts helpful!

If you can find a way to do this, then will be the first mama to accomplish such a task...and you will make history. Forcing a child to nap is about as effective as forcing yourself to eat when you're not hungry. I have 3 children. This is what I've done. When the infant naps, snuggle on the couch with your toddler, put a clean entertaining cartoon on the TV, and take a nap with your toddler next to you on the couch. You may only be able to nap for a short time but take what you get when it comes your way.

I had a new born when my daughter was 2 and this is what I did. I would only let my new born take a morning nap around 9:30 or 10:00. Some days I would have to wake her up when her older sister got up around 7 so I new she would be ready for her first nap at this time. She would sleep for about and hour and then be up from around 11 until 1:00 which is when my 2 year old napped. I would then nurse her to sleep, put her in her swing (which is where she loved to sleep) and then put my 2 year old down. They would both sleep for at least 2 hours and that was a great break for me. I didn't like it that sometimes I had to wake her up before she was ready in the morning but I knew it was the only way to get them to nap at the same time later that day. Now that my new born is 1 and not nursing she will sleep in until 8:30 or even 9 in the morning and she and my 3 year old still nap at 1 in the afternoon. So waking her up early as a baby didn't have any negative effect on her. Which is nice cause my 3 year old who is the early riser will get up and watch cartoons and I don't have to get up until my 1 year old does :)