LOs and adjustment to daycare/sitters etc..

loveymay

My mom watches my LO a few hours in the afternoon 4 days a week. But my LO doesnt nap for her and overall is a bit more fussy with her. I figured it would take some time for him to get used to this new routine, but its been a month now. He needs to nap after being awake 1.5-2 hours. He naps okay with me, he will sleep 2 hours if Im holding him or about 45 min in his crib. Im working on lengthening his crib naps. With my mom, he will sleep anywhere from 15-30 min total. So from his last nap with me till he goes to bed, he is getting maybe 30 minutes of sleep in a 5-7 hour period. And then he is over tired and fussy in the evening. How have/did your LOs adjust to childcare (daycare, babysitters)? How long did it take and any tips that might help?

yodiggity

loveymay said:

My mom watches my LO a few hours in the afternoon 4 days a week. But my LO doesnt nap for her and overall is a bit more fussy with her. I figured it would take some time for him to get used to this new routine, but its been a month now. He needs to nap after being awake 1.5-2 hours. He naps okay with me, he will sleep 2 hours if Im holding him or about 45 min in his crib. Im working on lengthening his crib naps. With my mom, he will sleep anywhere from 15-30 min total. So from his last nap with me till he goes to bed, he is getting maybe 30 minutes of sleep in a 5-7 hour period. And then he is over tired and fussy in the evening. How have/did your LOs adjust to childcare (daycare, babysitters)? How long did it take and any tips that might help?

What your mom considers "fussy" may not be what you would consider fussy so try and keep that in mind. You LO may be acting totally normal with her but sometimes the CG needs an adjustment period as well. My mom is keeping my LO too. I didn't do as much segue as I probably should have during maternity leave so the last week was the only real opportunity she got with LO for more than just a visit. Also consider the different space LO is in during the day (assuming she is keeping your LO at her house). The first few weeks she would report that LO was "fussy" or she thought she was teething, when in reality, she was entering Leap 4 and was a little fussier than normal. 

kdrn913

My mom keeps my LO too and she always tells me she never naps for her. Usually she takes two good long naps 2 hours plus for me, but my mom will tell me she only slept for 30-45 min. I can't figure out what she is doing differently that is making her sleep less. She is still at our house napping in her crib! Can't figure it out !!

duendef

My little one is having the WORST time adjusting to anybody but me. I went back to work the first week of July, with DH staying home (he's a teacher), caring for both girls all day. So LO is in her own home, with her father, and she still cries all day. With me she is seriously the best little baby, never cries, very scheduled, goes right down for naps, so smiley and happy, etc. But with him she'll cry 3 hrs straight, cannot be soothed, sleep 30 mins max (until he swaddles her, puts her in the swing, and has white noise on, which I haven't done since she was 5 weeks old!), and often refuses bottles. You should see the texts I get from him throughout the day. I come home and she just grins from ear to ear. It's been like this since day one, and it's been 2 months. My MIL watched her some last week and she was a mess with her too, refusing to eat for over 6 hrs, which is concerning because she will have her 2 days a week starting in 2 weeks. It really sucks to know she's unhappy and crying all day long, when I know how wonderful of a baby she is.

fourtsixand2

I know I had a harder time adjusting to daycare than my LO did, haha. They daycare says he's doing great, doesn't fuss, and is interactive (as much as a 4 month old can be) with the other couple of babies.
I do notice, though, that his naps are definitely not as long in daycare as they are at home. 
When he is at home and goes down for an official nap, he's out an hour at least and sometimes even two....or, long enough that I wake him up so he doesn't sleep too much.
On his daily report from daycare, I notice his naps are much shorter - averaging around 30 minutes.
I think there's a lot to consider.  What are the conditions at daycare vs. home.
In my case, the daycare room is very bright and as there are other children, I'm sure it's louder and harder to get a deep sleep.
At home, I'm more conscious about being on the more quiet side and his room is pitch black.

Is your mom giving him more frequent naps, which could explain why they're shorter?  And the word fussy is relative.  Some people's tolerance for fussing is different than others.  

loveymay

She puts him down for naps, but he fights them. And wont sleep as long if he's not being held (we are both working on this,  I started this week putting him in his crib for naps). I think a lot of it is because Im Mama and have magical Mom superpowers. I guess he just needs more time to get adjusted.

mumidi

Our adjustment is going OK.  Jake is not an easy baby and I think the teacher in the morning is having trouble.  She's super sweet but every morning she's talking to me and implying that he is very needy.  I get it.  It doesn't help that he's had diarrhea since Monday (we went to the Dr. today - it's most likely from teething or a tummy bug).  She's alone for about an hour until the next teacher comes in and she has a couple babies first thing so I think that is it.  I'm not stressing over it, I know it will get better for everyone in time.  He needs ok there - usually anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours, usually in the swing.

ladylolly89

My mom watches DS four days/week and my MIL one. He does well with both grandmas; possibly a little better with my mom because MIL also watches my niece (2 months older than DS) the same day. She apparently doesn't like to be put down; cries and won't take a pacifier. DS loves his floor time and has never been around another baby, so the crying gets to him (making him cry as well). But overall he is really good for her (I'm so glad - because he didn't really know her at all before she started watching him). 

Lately he he has actually been taking better naps for the grandmas than for me (though I also won't let him get up too soon and he usually goes back to sleep). He really enjoys playing with the new toys that the grandmas have, and looking at all of the different surroundings. 

Both my mom and MIL are really good about following our set routine, and I'm sure that helps with our easy transition so far. I'm not looking forward to when separation anxiety kicks in though! DS will already bury his face in my chest (mostly just to be funny, but still) when I hand him over in the mornings. It'll be so hard when he cries about it. 

Muggle lover

My mom has been around regularly (almost daily) since the beginning because of my ppd. Now she is our nanny while we work. Patrick goes down for naps much easier for her than us