Short daycare naps? No night time sleep (xp post)
opaque1997
member
I posted this in Sepetember as well (different title) - but I thought maybe I'd get a better response here.
So my nine month old is SUPER social. SHE LOVES DAYCARE and I'm so happy.. but.. she needs more then 2 twenty minute naps in a 6.5 hour period at "school" because its KILLING her nighttime sleep (and thus mine)
We've been working on "sleep training" for 2 weeks and so I'm not going in to tend to her hardly at all - but she is still waking up a ton (last night it was at least 5-6 times) - yes she settles herself back down... for a while.. but we are both still waking up (me when I hear her)
I've talked to daycare and they are at a loss - she just is too excited to play with friends to sleep.
Anyone have ideas on how to get her to nap longer at school OR how to handle evenings / night time to help her sleep better? (I pick up between 3:30 - 4:00 and she normally takes a 40 minutes to 2 hour nap when she gets home)
Re: Short daycare naps? No night time sleep (xp post)
I think sometimes kids go through sleep phases at that age and it could be completely unrelated to daycare. That being said, I subscribe to the theory that "sleep begets sleep" and the better my kids nap, the better they sleep in general.
What time does she wake up from her evening nap? What time does she go to bed for the night? Do you go in to sooth her at night or does she self-sooth?
How does she nap on weekends? Can daycare lay her down for "quiet time" at designated times to mimic the weekend schedule?
Nighttime I stopped nursing to sleep 10 days ago and she puts herself down with minimal fuss after lounging in bed for a bit alone. At night she self soothes 95 percent of the time but sometimes only sleeps for 1020 mins before re rewaking... If it's after 330 am I nurse her as I leave at 6am and she's not ready to give up that feed
On the weekends she'll sleep until 430 with maybe one fuss.. Well not Friday night but sat / sun if she's gotten her naps and we weren't running around like crazy
Ok - this is what I was going to see if they would be willing to try so thank you - I'm goign to try this.
Other poster - I can't ditch the last nap - she is a NIGHTMARE and going from 2pm to even 7pm is not something she can do on 40 mins of sleep. When she is home and napping per her normal she takes 3 naps -t he last nap often waking at 6 or 7 - she is always still ready to go down at 8:30 - so thank you - but thats not the issue - its the 2 20 minute naps ALL DAY
Hm... is there not a set "nap time" for the babies?
At our daycare, the baby room goes dark at 9:15 and then again at 1 (when the whole building goes dark, because the bigger kids are napping too). The babies aren't on exactly the same schedule, but they tend to fall into those nap times, because there's nothing else going on. They also tend to sleep really well, because they're in a room of sleeping kids.
If they don't do that in the infant room where you are, but do it with the toddlers, PP's suggestion to move her in there for naptime might be great -- I think "sleep peer pressure" is a real thing with babies/kids.
My kids never would have napped in an environment like that at 9 months. I'm surprised any baby can! Can you band together with the other parents and demand a schedule? At least for ONE nap a day?
At our school, if there is a kid or two who for some reason is really off schedule (like getting ready for a transition to the next class) they just take that kid for a walk or to play in the gym or something while the other babies are having lights out.
Well the room 'rules' are on demand sleep / eat - but of course I know for my baby they don't do that - because the constantly say - well she seems to go three hours so we are trying for four.. (Sigh) - but I doubt asking for "scheduled quiet time" will do anything.. but I might be able to win with the toddler room since they'll have to move her over there eventually and the room is NEXT DOOR (they share a wall and conjoining door) - so it would be minimal - I worry about the short term - she doesn't know the room, teachers, etc - but that would be short term and really just start the transition.. so...
Well though not helpful - it is nice to know others have had the same problem and that in itself is helpful. I"m really struggling and support from my husband on the nighttime sleep issues is not there and that is hard too - daycare is more like - well she's happy here.. (she is so social that she is super happy all day - and then falls apart later at home)
Switching is not relaly an option and I keep repeating 3 more months - 3 more months and she will be in the toddler room.. and I keep hoping that maybe some how some way the night time sleep will just click for her and she'll start sleeping through... maybe?
No real solutions, but lots of sympathy. LO was the same in the infant room as he constantly wanted to be involved in whatever was going on. Often LO would fall asleep on the evening commute home at 5:30 and sleep until 7 at which point I'd wake him up, nurse him and put him back to bed at 8.
Moving to the pre-toddler room was wonderful and suddenly LO is taking 2.5 hour naps daily.
Well yesterday I met with her doctor (well visit) and the daycare after that - doctor has referred us to a sleep specialist and says we are doing everything she would recommend. We have that appt set for a week form Monday. I'm hoping to cancel - but we'll see.
I talked to daycare and they have agreed to put her in the crib and tell her night night - and then leave her there. They will obviously adjust her and hand her binky back - but not pat her or interact with her - they did this yesterday and she took one 35 minute nap and one 25 minute nap - its MINOR but that means she got 20 more minutes of sleep.. of course last night was just as bad.. but then again she was coughing, snotting, etc so maybe it was because she's getting sick?
I'm tired.. so tired.
We are wondering if that last nap is killing her - but Tuesday we had company over and thus she did not take much of a last nap (20 mins maybe?) and it was the WORST NIGHT EVER. So I'm hesitant to try it - she's ready for a nap at 4pm and so to try and stretch her even until 6 seems like it would be worse - She's a cranky nasty mess at 4 most days.. (so last nap I'm not saying like 6 or anything - we get home early)
I'm trying to make sure she's in bed going to sleep 2 hours after she gets up from last nap - so basically wake - 2 hour - nap- wake 2 hour - nap.. etc.. and see if that helps.. but we are wondering about that last nap too..