Nursing to sleep and daycare center

lilleahpeah

My son is 5.5 months old and he will start at a daycare center when he is 6 months. He has always been afraid of sleep and is nursed to sleep for naps and bedtime (it's the only thing that worked!). We have tried multiple different ways to put him to sleep other than nursing, and he just cries and cries and doesn't settle down, even if we're holding him, rocking him, etc. He is very smart and recognizes the nap routine and cries at the first sign of it. Another thing is that he wakes up when you lay him down flat so we end up putting him into his swing or holding him. My parents have been watching him for the past month and they can't get him to take naps either unless they walk him for 30 minutes or more and he is a big baby- long and weighs over 20 lbs! I ended up co-sleeping with him at night and he wakes every1-2 hours to nurse- i think after every sleep cycle-- because he isn't eating every time, sometimes he just suckles to make sure I'm still there and to get back to sleep. I guess I'm a pacifier. He also has short naps (30 min) even when I nurse him to sleep and transfer him to swing. I have no problem nursing him to sleep, but the problem is that no one else can put him to sleep. Should I try to stop nursing to sleep for naps and bed?? Or should I wait until he starts daycare at 6 months and see what happens? He won't take a pacifier either. I'm scared he won't nap at daycare and then will be overtired, fussy, and wanting to be held the whole day. There are 5-6 infants and 2 daycare providers. Oh, to add to the anxiety, he is also an extremely light sleeper!

nackie

Mine started daycare at 3 months and was also a terrible sleeper that was used to nursing to sleep.  I tried for several weeks to get him sleeping on his own before he started with no luck.  The daycare was a similar setup to yours - 2 providers and 6 infants.  They had a swing that they put him in and he napped no problem.  Sometimes he cried for a few minutes before falling asleep, but he never had a day where he didn't nap.  If it's a quality center with experienced staff, I'm sure yours won't be the first problem sleeper they've seen.  It might make you feel better to talk to them about your concerns though.

lilleahpeah

Thank you! Yes, we have a meeting with them 2 weeks before he starts. I hope that's enough notice!