Poor napper at daycare

twocents6708 · December 2012

DD has never been an easy baby to get to sleep, especially for naps. She fights sleep terribly. At home, either DH or I nap with her most of the time or rock her to sleep. At daycare, her teacher normally rocks her to sleep and then she lays her in the crib. She still only sleeps for about 30 minutes each time and takes two naps each day. However, she is getting ready to transition to the one year old room in a few weeks. I am very happy with the transition plan as it is very gradual and child based. But they have the little ones start napping on cots. DD is way too busy to just lay down on a cot and sleep. When I mentioned this, they said they would try it out and that most kids adjust easier than their parents think. How can I make this transition easier for her? Should I start her in a toddler bed already? Any ideas?

twocents6708 · December 2012

That's the part I am not sure about. I need to talk to the teacher. There isn't a rocking chair in the classroom.

Tink112011 · December 2012

Your LO sounds exactly like my DS. My DS never napped for longer than 30 minutes in the infant rooms. I would hear about other kiddos in his room napping for 3 hours and be terribly jealous.

The transition to the naps in the toddler room was miraculous for my DS. It seemed like right at 1 year old, he "figured it out" as far as napping goes. He had zero problems with the transition and now takes one nap for 1.5-2 hours. I think a few things contributed to this: 1) there is no other activity going on that prevents DS from wanting to naps - all the kiddos naps together and 2) there is so much going on in the toddler room that come nap time he is absolutely zonked. The 1 nap/day transition was really good for him.

I wouldn't recommend doing a toddler bed at home yet. DS is still in a crib (and will be for as long as he can). Maybe just try getting her on a 1 nap a day schedule on the weekends and try putting her down in her crib drowsy. I know how impossible that "drowsy but awake" thing sounds for naps, but just give it a try.

blu-eyedwife · December 2012

We had a very similar experience as Tink. My guy was an awful napper in the infant room. He was far too interested in what everyone else was doing. And since the infant room followed each individual baby's schedule, there was always someone up, so he didn't want to sleep.

At 11 months he moved into the "wobbler" room (12-18 months, but he got moved early with 3 of his classmates). Literally, the first day his naps became the thing of legends. Because they had scheduled naptime, all 4 of them went down at the same time (12:30). Since no one was up playing, they all slept for 2 hours straight. On cots. (And I can say that 3/4 of the kids were nap demons. One of them literally crawled out of his crib in the infant room.) Now (almost 15 months) he helps pull out his cot at naptime, crawls on it and puts himself to sleep. At home, he now tells us when he's ready for a nap.

twocents6708 · December 2012

There is hope, yay! Thanks ladies. I definitely think that the fact that all four kids will be sleeping at once will be helpful.

happywife2b · January 2013

I wouldn't put her in a toddler bed right now if she is already having trouble napping. That seems like it would add to her stress and make the transition harder. However, I could totally be wrong on that. My own little one used to fight sleep in 'interesting' settings (if we were out, at a friend's house, etc.) but at home slept quickly. Is there anything that helps her sleep, other than being rocked? Soft music or a stuffy, perhaps? Even a shirt that smells like mom? And if there is something that might help her, will the daycare allow it?

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