Naptime question in regards to starting daycare soon

missnacholover · January 2015

Little Nacho is starting daycare in 2 weeks (sniff). Right now for naps, I just let her fall asleep wherever she is - swing, bouncy seat, my arms, etc. I don't put her "down" for a nap typically. Sometimes I'll move her to her crib but it's not like I initiate a nap there, if that makes sense. She also isn't on a strict schedule, but definitely follows a pattern.

Should I start to try to get her on a more strict routine and get her in her crib more during the day? She sleeps in it just fine at night. I'm not going to try to be all, "you MUST stay in your crib for 90 minutes starting at 9 am" or anything like that, but should I, following her cues, try to put her in her crib between X and Y time if she exhibits some signs of fatigue? Or is letting her fall asleep wherever she is no big deal and they will deal with it at Daycare? Just trying to make the adjustment as easy as possible for her!

Thanks!

Lilwatz · January 2015

We start daycare tomorrow and let her sleep whenever she wants during the day (and wherever). I figure it's their problem to get her to sleep there. #badmommy

missnacholover · January 2015

Yeah, they move them to the crib if they fall asleep elsewhere. I will work on it in the next couple of weeks. I just didn't know if I should try to get her to fall asleep in the crib when she's drowsy rather than letting her fall asleep wherever she may be.

kmlopez11 · January 2015

@Lilwatz‌ That's exactly what I did so I'm right there with you! My LO starts tomorrow

rox825 · January 2015

I plan on trying to get LO to start taking crib naps soon, I've been doing the same and just letting him sleep wherever. I definitely still plan on sticking with at least 1 nap on me or being worn each day though while I'm home and can, I love that snuggle time!

justjinny · January 2015

My DS's daycare allows babies to sleep in swings or bouncers if the parent signs a release. I'm not sure if all states allow this though, but it might be worth asking your center about.

I didn't really do much more than practice putting LO down once he fell asleep at naptime for the week or so before he had to go to daycare. Regardless of how well your baby does napping at home, I'd be prepared for them to be all out of whack the first few weeks. Any schedule you may have now is just going to get screwed up with them adjusting to new caretakers and all the activity and noise in their daycare room.

lizgrace03 · January 2015

Alistair has gone to daycare 5 times. Three of those five have engendered a very tired and cranky boy due to sleep deprivation (he's usually a very happy baby) because a) they don't swaddle and b) the crib. So even if he's "napping" he is more likely just laying in the crib awake. The plus side was that he slept 9+ hours each of those nights.

So my two cents is, try to get her used to the crib but prepare for some difficulty with the transition. He is finally getting used to things there. I hate seeing him upset when he gets home but if he doesn't go I'll never finish grad school.

missnacholover · January 2015

We don't swaddle her during the day unless she's being a complete nightmare, which isn't often.

I'm going to work on putting her down in the crib when she appears drowsy this week. Thanks all.

Lilwatz · January 2015

Econosaurus said:

@Lilwatz‌ That's exactly what I did so I'm right there with you! My LO starts tomorrow
FWIW I felt that way at first until I realized that I got to take home the sleep deprived little monster at the end of the day. Definitely ask how much your baby slept and where. If they aren't sleeping well especially with crib transitions make a plan ASAP so you and daycare are trying the same thing. We settled on trying to swaddle for crib naps but the daycare won't swaddle without a doctors note (seriously).

Yeah, I am out of time to work on it though. Hopefully she does ok. She is a decent sleeper at home regardless of where she falls asleep, BUT she is never put flat in a crib, so this should be fun.

kstirton · January 2015

lizgrace03 said:

Alistair has gone to daycare 5 times. Three of those five have engendered a very tired and cranky boy due to sleep deprivation (he's usually a very happy baby) because a) they don't swaddle and b) the crib. So even if he's "napping" he is more likely just laying in the crib awake. The plus side was that he slept 9+ hours each of those nights. So my two cents is, try to get her used to the crib but prepare for some difficulty with the transition. He is finally getting used to things there. I hate seeing him upset when he gets home but if he doesn't go I'll never finish grad school.

aw, this makes me sad to think about

kstirton · January 2015

missnacholover said:

We don't swaddle her during the day unless she's being a complete nightmare, which isn't often.

I'm going to work on putting her down in the crib when she appears drowsy this week. Thanks all.

Let me know how this works for you!! This is what resulted in my - what to do when they cry a million times and fight sleep thread AKA the CIO thread, which wasn't intended to end up that way LOL We started trying to put her down drowsy and she'd stay asleep for 10-20 minutes or so and wake up crying. We are back to napping in our swing... I'm not so good at consistency.

abbyful · January 2015

My daycare lets the babies sleep in bouncers. And each baby follows their own schedule, they don't have a set napping or eating schedule until they go to the toddler room.

Lilwatz · January 2015

I asked about this at daycare this morning and they will let her sleep in the bouncer. Thank the Lord. Hoping when I pick her up she was a champion sleeper like she is at home!!!

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