New big sister issues

Our 2-1/2 DD has recently become a new big sister to her new brother. A day

bizby40...

Perhaps, but that's the nature of suggestions. You make them, the
person decides whether or not they are useful.

bizby40...

That depends a lot on the child. My sister's two boys both slept in
the crib until they were over 3 and they just weren't climbers. Her
boys were 4 years apart, and then my oldest was 4 years after that.
The crib went through all four kids and is still in great shape. We
got DD out of the crib at about 2 years old because she took to
standing there holding the rail and crying. I don't know that it was
a smart thing to do though, because once she was in the toddler bed,
she'd get up and try to follow us out of the room instead.

before he came home, DD got moved out of her crib and into her big girl
(full size) bed. She will lay down in it at night with no problem, but has
given up her PM nap altogether. I think she took 1 nap in the bed in the
last week or so. When it's time for her to take a nap, we put her in her
room w/ the door shut. She ends up trashing her room for about 1/2 hour and
then opens and closes her door continually for the rest of the time she's
made to stay in her room to "rest". Everytime she opens the door, I just
tell her it's time for a nap and to close the door. Most of the time she
ends up doing it, but sometimes not. The times that she doesn't, she ends
up carousing around upstairs. I have all the other doors closed and locked
so there's nothing inticing for her, but she still finds it inticing to just
hang out in the hallway. I'm quickly losing patience because I just don't
know what to do. I don't know if it's better to just ditch the nap
altogether or continue with putting her down. I do want her to know that
it's time for quiet time in her room. She doesn't necessarily have to
sleep, but just understand the concept that she must stay in her room for
downtime. A friend suggested we lock her door from the outside, but DH
doesn't like that idea. I've thrown around the idea of siderails, but I'm
sure that won't keep her in. I know how important it is for toddlers to get
a nap in everyday which is what has me the most worried. The only sign of
missing a nap that she shows is that her eyes will get heavy during dinner.
She doesn't fuss, cry, or get cranky from lack of sleep.

Another issue since DS came home is that DD seems to be very bored. She's
been doing things to keep her occupied that are out of the ordinary and
usually get a "no" from us. She's getting into things that she never did
before. I'm thinking she's doing it for attention. She has plenty of toys
to play with, but she just seems bored.

Thanks for any input!