Oh, I do SO hear ya!!!! And when there's already another child in the family, it makes it so much harder!
With Natalie, I've been much less structured than I was planning on being, partly due to her ridiculously inconsistent wake times and nap lengths and partly because the only way I can juggle taking Josie to preschool and getting ANY errands or chores done is to try to roll with the punches. Truth is that she falls asleep best sitting on my lap with a paci in her mouth and me putting her in her bed when she's reached a certain point of relaxation, assuming a quiet house. :?
It's not unusual for things to get better, then worse for a day or two, and then finally gel for good. Remember also that whenever there's a developmental leap, like when a new skill is emerging or about to emerge, sleep patterns go out the window. It's like they WANT to keep us on our toes.
In the end, if your #2 child doesn't get as much sleep during the day as she should, you can always try putting he to bed earlier or try again the next day; consistency is the way they know what's coming and it actually gives them a sense of security (says the mom whose baby wakes for the day any time between 5AM and 7:30 :oops: , but at least we have a ROUTINE down, if not remotely set TIMES. LOL). I spent most of Natalie's first 3 months obsessing over the nap thing and finally gave up as I was spending far too little time with Josie and Natalie was spending far to much time seeing Mommy frustrated. Just do the best you can, and nobody can fault you for that!
{{{{{HUGS}}}}},
