I put the dck's to bed first and then take my daughter up and read her a special story in her room and tuck her in. My dck's are used to the routine, so no need to wait for them to settle...they settle instantly. I do have one who is going through a bit of sleep resistance right now though, so after I tuck my daughter in, I go back and check to make sure he is sleeping and still on his cot. I have made a little room for him to nap in under the stairs (it's technically a closet, but I put a gate across the doorway and leave the door open. That way I know he is safe. The 3 yr old is on a cot as well, but she never gets off and i have her cot right at the bottom of the stairs so I can hear her anyway. The others are all in playpens. If the dck's wake up first, I go down and my daughter is 2.5 and very independent so she comes down when she wakes up. When she was younger, I would just make sure everyone was safe (little ones in playpens etc) and then run up and get her and bring her down. You may want a good portable monitor if your house is not as open as mine. I have zero sound proofing in my house so I can hear a pin drop two floors down LOL. I think it's important to still ahve special mommy time with your kids...that's why you stayed home