Daycare hours conundrum

notreallyirish

I am a writer so I have an extremely flexible schedule in that I can take on as much or as little as I want at a given time. DS is currently in daycare 3 days a week from 8:30 to 4, but I would like to get more writing done, so I was thinking about making that 5 days. I was really excited about this until last night.
The problem is that DS is really ready to drop his nap and goes to bed much, much easier on the days he doesn't nap. When he is at daycare all day he naps. Then we get nights like last night where he doesn't go to sleep until 11. This has me wondering if I actually need to cut back on daycare or switch to just mornings. That prospect does not thrill me, but neither does struggling for 2 hours to put DS to bed every weeknight.
Or maybe I need to suck it up and do some sort of sleep training since part of the trouble with bedtime is that I have to be lying there with him the whole time.
Any advice?

jeffsjayme

Can you hire a babysitter to come in on the other days?  Even if it was for an afternoon.  Since you're so flexible, you probably could find a college student who doesn't have class in the morning or afternoon or a good chunk of the day.

That said, I'd look into some type of sleep training - I don't know old your LO is, but assuming that he's ready to drop his nap (sounds like one and only), then I don't think it should take 2 hours to put him to bed. 

ETA: Just saw your ticker...yeah, it shouldn't take 2 hours to put to bed a 2.5 year old - nap or no nap. 

notreallyirish

jeffsjayme:

Can you hire a babysitter to come in on the other days? nbsp;Even if it was for an afternoon. nbsp;Since you're so flexible, you probably could find a college student who doesn't have class in the morning or afternoon or a good chunk of the day.That said, I'd look into some type of sleep training I don't know old your LO is, but assuming that he's ready to drop his nap sounds like one and only, then I don't think it should take 2 hours to put him to bed.nbsp;ETA: Just saw your ticker...yeah, it shouldn't take 2 hours to put to bed a 2.5 year old nap or no nap.nbsp;

Gah! I know, I know I'm such a wimp with the sleeping. Honestly where we are now is progress since he was still nursing to sleep a couple months ago. But this is definitely ridiculous and untenable.

I hadn't actually thought about a babysitter. That might make sense.

LoCarb

DD naps at DC and is not tired at night when it's time for bed. On wknds, we skip the nap and bedtime is a breeze. I completely understand what you are going through.

Two suggestions: Let your LO know he can stay up as late as he wants but he has to stay in his room and be quiet.  He can read books or play w/ puzzles but he's not allowed out of his room.  My DD usually falls asleep w/in the hr of staying in her room (probably out of boredom).This works for us, however, there are times when she is very grumpy in the a.m. from being tired.

Our latest stint-DD keeps asking me to buy her things.  So we decided she can earn money by doing chores (feeding the dog) and we will reward her good behavior (specifically night-time).  She gets a dollar for her piggy bank which she is so excited about and she's also learning about they types of money (coins, dollars). By the end of next week, she should have enough to buy the slippers which I'm hoping will keep her motivated to continue the chores and good behavior. Now my DD is 3.5 so this concept may be easier to understand at her age than a 2.5 yo. It's worth a shot!

ETA:DD is so proud of herself for her bedtime behavior that I'm hoping it sticks. Eventually, we will discontinue rewarding the behavior and focus on other chores or continue to use it as leverage for other issues that may arise.

katie_cj

At my daycare there are kids who don't nap.

They play games quietly and read during nap time. I know another parent who ask that they don't let their son sleep longer than one hour or past two pm or else he's really hard to put to sleep. 

I would try working with the daycare first. 

cyprissa

I second this and think you should consider some type of sleep training.

katie_cj@hotmail.com:

At my daycare there are kids who don't nap.

They play games quietly and read during nap time. I know another parent who ask that they don't let their son sleep longer than one hour or past two pm or else he's really hard to put to sleep. 

I would try working with the daycare first. 

Angela814

DD1 needed me to lay down with her to fall asleep until she was 5 yo. She now goes to bed by herself every night. I tuck her in, give her a kiss, and leave the room. She's fine. She learned to go to sleep by herself when she was ready.

We recently got to the point with DD2 where she doesn't nurse to sleep and doesn't want to be rocked before bed. I lay her in her crib, and then sit next to her and hold her hand while she falls asleep. It works for us right now.

I personally think kids need to nap until at least 4 years, so I wouldn't be getting rid of naps too easily. (Mine at least don't sleep long enough at night to go without naps. DD1 napped at daycare until she was 5 yo.) Maybe you can tweak the night time routine somehow? Can you wake him a little earlier so he may be more tired at bedtime?