Naptime & Daycare Issues w/ 9 month old

FarmingBride

My daughter has been napping from 9-11am and then 1-3pm roughly during the day. She has been doing this at daycare and at home as well. At daycare she has been sleeping upstairs in the gal's bedroom as I know other older children there do not take a morning nap obviously. So she is napping away from all the action and stimulation so she can go down for naps. She has been going to this daycare since 2 months old. My daycare provider and I were just discussing her sleeping this week as she is teething and has been a little cranky. Then my daycare provider told me that my daughters schedule is hard on her other daycare children because everyone else's quiet time is from 11:30 to 1:30pm. I suppose she means the part where 11:30-1:30 is the time that my daughter is typically up as she gets up at 11 and then doesn't go down until 1pm typically and the others are trying to rest during her awake time. I didn't realize that the older children's rest time was at that time. My son is older now and in school and when he was at daycare (a different daycare than the one my daughter is in currently) their older children rest time was after lunch like at 1pm. So that is the background. This is an in-home provider with quite a few kids.

Questions:

I just don't feel that my 9 month old can handle getting just 2 hrs of sleep during the daytime from 11:30 to 1:30pm Am I out in left field on this one? I just don't see how a 9 month old can function on the same amount of sleep that a 3/4 year old gets.

How does your daycare handle naps with younger ones and older ones? And I'm fine with many different perspectives...in home provider, centers.

What should I do?

I didn't realize it was an issue until now. I feel bad if I am being difficult for my provider, but I am trying to find something that will work for us all. I just want my daugher to be well rested. A cranky child from being overtired is not healthy for my daugher, my family or my daycare provider.

Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciate.

amie444

I want to avoid moving up too. But she is already doing the milestones to move up. But she still need her 2 naps

woohoo02

At the daycare where I work (and where DD attends), the infants sleep on demand (meaning until about 14-15 months or when they're developmentally ready to move up). If there are children in the next room (which goes to about age 2 1/2) that need more than just the after lunch nap, then they can go into the infant room to sleep. Our nap time for the ones that are down to one nap is from 12:30-2:30.

FarmingBride

Thank you very much for explaining how your daycare handles naps and times of those naps.  I greatly appreciate it. 

aibrean

Mine generally takes the total of about 3-4 hours of napping during the day, sometimes less. Where my daughter goes, I have never been told her napping conflicts with others. I'm sorry, but you can't tell a baby they aren't allowed to sleep during certain times! Mine has even skipped naps altogether. The babies go to sleep when they want to sleep. Her room is all the way up to 2 years old.

FarmingBride

I know aibrean....I agree.  I just feel like she thinks we can make her sleep while all the other kids do from that 11:30 to 1:30 window.  There are days I wish my baby would sleep more, but you just can't force a baby to sleep.  You just have to provide the correct space and time for them to fall asleep....if they don't, so be it, you can't force sleep.  Same here, mine has skipped naps all together as well.  Who knows why they do what they do.  But just because they skip a nap one day doesn't mean you don't provide a nap option the next day.  Totally agree with you.  I just had to reply because your 9 almost 10 month old is darling in that pic! 

=Lee=B

It's tough.  I do home daycare.  As the only adult looking after many children the caregiver needs all naps to overlap at some point so they can have a bit of time on their own.  Too pee, eat, sit, recharge for the rest of the day etc.  Also this time, if there is enough time is used to clean, prep, make meals etc.

 

My current group is all young and most sleep 9-11 and 1-3 but there have been periods where they switch to one naps, from 11am-1pm which means there are always some sleeping and always some awake. 

I just go with it and try to make it work.  I have the space here to make it work as the sleeping children are away from the awake children.

I do have some that are in between the 2 and 1 naps what I am starting to do is have them nap 8:30-10am then 1-3.  All naps over lap in the 1-3 period now.  I will slowly adjust the morning nap so it gets shorter and shorter (but still starting 8:30).  I figure that slowly over the next 6 or so months they will all be down to one nap but this way allows them to still have a short morning nap to stay charged.  I only cut the morning nap shorter when they show signs that they are not ready to nap at 1pm because they slept too long in the morning.

My point being, and I do believe 9months is too young yet, but instead of forcing your daughter to one nap can they do 2 but shorten the morning nap slowly and bump the afternoon nap earlier so that over time she gradually joins the 11:30-1:30 nap time?  So maybe just naps 9-10:30 and goes down 12:30-2:30 for awhile, then continuing small adjustments?

FarmingBride

I could see this more if she was the only one taking care of the kids like you are, but there are two of them. The provider and her mom both work there. Both are there a majority of the time when I pick up and drop off. Rarely is there just one of them there when ever I show up. I feel I maybe need some more information from my provider.  I can see both sides of this situation....me wanting my daughter to nap when she needs to nap as such an early age, but also the care provider needing a time to breath and have a moment to herself.  I could definately see that.  But I assumed with two of them that they can alternate and get a break or eat, go to the bathroom, etc.  But then I don't know how much trust I can put into it, but my son who goes there when he doesn't have school says that the mom of the provider is never there during the nap time (11:30-1:30) as she goes home---just a few block.  The mom is older so she very well could.  I asked him what she goes mom and does and he said she goes home and takes a npa.  But again, any time I have shown up for drop off and pick up both are typically there.  So maybe I need to get some clarification....I don't know what to do.