I understand that you are tired and feel that you need a nap, in this circumstances I would arrange for the older child to go to a playgroup/nursery/childminder for the afternoon then you can nap with your youngest in the knowlegde that your elder child is safe. I also understand that these places cost money therefore may not be an option, so maybe you could arrange a playdate for your elder child a couple of days a week with a friends child.

I hope my honest opinion hasn't offended you and by no means do I think you are a bad person for doing this, I do however feel you need some support at this time and that maybe you should talk to your partner and friends to see if they can help in any way.

Emz

hugs jo xxx

Having said this however it really DOES depend on the child. If she is happy to play in her room then thats probably ok. If your locking her in there it's probably not a good idea incase something did happen and she couldn't come to you. For example my dear 4 year old decided the other day to eat a 20 cent piece. This wasn't done on purpose, he found it outside and was putting it in his mouth and GULP! If got stuck. He came staggering in and luckily I knew first aid and with one big bang on his back while yelling COUGH COUGH it came up and it scared the POOP outta me and him. Now if this was to happen while I slept he may not have lived. Scary YES! Luckily I know there is no money or small things lying around inside but it really is a risk you have to decide if you want to take or not.

Either way I don't judge you because I do it! I hope you find the solution. It is hard not knowing how old your daughter is. Maybe you could leave your bedroom door open and hers and close the rest of the house off. Just make sure there is nothing for her to stand on to open doors!

if you feel your child is ok with this then do it as you need rest too or you a not good to look after them. i have found this out.

my advice is make sure your house is well locked up so they cant get out at all including back doors. all sharps are out of reach and there is food and drink for them.

You need your rest, and as long as the house is secured so she can't escape (a very good point Dannii made in her comment) then there is no reason for you to not have your naps.

If you had a futon couch, you could even fold it out and both have a nap there together.  That's what we do here, but we have safety gates on just about every door! lol.  Our own private gated community!

The only sollution to that is that now I set an alarm for 6am so that I know that I will be awake or at least semi awake for when he wakes.... 

But I could not take a nap unless I actually take a nap with him in his bed these days so that I get an automatic wake up from him...

I would say you may need some kind of warning system for yourself so that you know when your child has decided that she is independent enough to explore the house with out mummy around...

I am not saying what you do is a bad thing, I am just giving you a warning as to what happened to me. I am lucky nothing happened, and I understand how hard it is... Maybe you could try napping in her room with her...

You may have the same issues when the baby is born and you are feeding and settling them.  That is when my son would act up - and paint the lounge room blue, or scatter rice cereal all over the house.  So you become adept at juggling and occupying an oder child before you start something.  Hope that helps!