Daughter Just Started Daycare and Is Only Napping for 35 Mins....

Hi, K.. I had the same experience with both of my boys, now ages 6 and 4. My second son started day care at 4 months, and even at that age rarely slept at school, so we were putting him down for the night at 5:30-6:00. Talk to the day care about trying different things - putting her in a crib in a corner, rubbing her back for a few minutes, etc. This issue will not go away, believe me. You may want to just put her to bed earlier - I know it's counterintuitive, but I bet she'll sleep later. Good luck.

K.,

Your baby girl is going through a HUGE adjustment right now. It would be like us moving to another country without our friends and family. You are doing the right thing by allowing her the lap time and falling asleep in your arms. This is the most safe place in the world for her and she is telling you, "Mommy, I feel relaxed and can sleep now."

It normally takes 10 consecutive days for a child to adapt to a new sleeping schedule. The best thing you can do for her right now is provide as much Mommy time as possible. Allow her the comforts of working into this new sleeping schedule. It will change the day and night sleeping, but in the end, she will be on a new schedule and the happy little girl you know and love dearly will return. You can even talk to her about the new sleeping schedule. SAy something like, "Sweetie, I know it is difficult to sleep without Mommy around during the day. But, please know that I am thinking about you and sending all my lullaby kisses your way." Children this age can not tell you what they are going through, so it makes it that much more important that we give them as much loving words as possible during transition times.

One note, if you miss a childs first "sleepy signs', they will move into second wind. This will put her way passed bed time schedule and cause her to wake even earlier. It definitely is a balancing act and Mommy is definitely the only one that 'Knows Best". Go with your instincts....Good luck!

My daughter started daycare recently and had similar results. She refused to eat while she was there too. After the first week she started to get used to it. Now her naps are averaging about an hour and a half and she eats really well. Be prepared that after the weekend starting back to daycare on Monday is an adjustment too, so you may have different reactions from your little one on Mondays than on Fridays.

my son has always beena fabulous sleeper. He took 2 - 2hour naps when he was an infant and slept all the way through the nihgt. But when he became mobile, he went to one nap but still slept through the night.

Even now, at almost 3 years old, we have long naps and we have short naps. It seems to come in cycles. For instance, the last few weeks, he's been getting up at 7 freakin o'clock in the morning. I plop him in my bed with Handy Manny til 8 :) and I know that in a week or two, he'll be back to getting up at 8. Soem days there are no naps. So we have struck a deal - you don't have to go to sleep, but you have to leave me the heck alone for 2 hours. So he reads books and most of the time will fall asleep.

I would just say keep your regular schedule. Sleep times come and go, but routine is important.

My little girl has always been like this too. I just bumped up her bedtime to 7 PM instead of 8 PM and she seemed fine. She is five yeras old and I swear the child can get by with less sleep then me. She is a ball of energy!!! I really think all kids are different. i stopped giving her naps at home all together when she was two because trying to get her to nap was more trouble then it was worth. Everyone thought I ws crazy but my child never has been a big napper. When she does finally sleep at night SHE SLEEPS!!!!!!!!!

This happened with both of my children when they first started day care. Eventually they went back to napping fairly normally at day care. I just put them to bed a little earlier until they got it sorted out for themselves. They both nap better at home, but they did start napping longer and longer at day care after about a month, maybe more. I'm sure your child will as well. Good luck!!

Similar results for my daughter. Like others, she makes up for it on the weekends and is starting to adjust and taking longer naps at daycare now that she has been there since mid January.

If she is sleeping good at night I wouldn't be concerned about her not sleeping for an hour at nap time. She is a growing girl and needs to explore more than sleep at this time in her life. Let the people at the daycare do their jobs and watch her as she plays and not as she sleeps. She is in a new environment. Maybe she will sleep longer once she gets use to being there. Good Luck to the daycare.

Your daughter has to adjust to her new surroundings at naptime. Give her time to adjust to the new routine and she will probably start napping longer. Try to make sure at night that if she wants to go to bed earlier she has that option. My middle son only slept for 45-60 minutes when he was an infant and then by the time he was two he would only quiet down for 30 minutes, sometimes sleeping but usually not. Not every child needs the naps. My son would sleep at night for 10-12 hours but was always up by 6am. Now that he is a teenager he sleeps late when he can! Good Luck and God Bless!

Hi K.
My son has done this as well. Your daughter is in an environment where there is so much going on - whether it be that she's involved in exciting play or the kid sleeping near her has been fussy or isn't sleeping. when she's tired, she'll sleep. My son has been in his daycare for almost a year and there are times that he doesn't sleep or maybe will sleep 1/2 hour. There are other times that he'll sleep 3 hours. Just go with the flow because there's not a whole lot anyone can do to get a child to take a nap. She's still getting used to her environment - this will take some time. Also, switching from multiple naps down to one nap is a transition itself. I would say that if she's had a bad nap day try not to engage her in many active activities after you pick her up. She also may want to go to bed early. Listen to her cues, this should help.

Good luck
P.

Welcome to day care!!! Basically, day cares are noisey and the teachers don't have the time the spend with each child. Sometimes, day cares can get kids on somewhat of a schedule, but, that doesn't always work out. Not to mention, children often get distracted easily and want to play or watch the other kids rather than sleep. At day care, my daughter sleeps 30min-1hr every day. I'm lucky if she gets in 2 naps. When we're at home, she takes 3-4 naps a day and is much happier!!! On the weekends it kind of seems like she's making up for lack of sleep by sleeping in til 8-9 and taking the extra naps. When we pick her up in the evening, she zonks out or is usually cranky.
I've been searching for other means for a while now and haven't had much luck. I don't like the day care setting at all, but, I don't know anyone outside of day care well enough to feel comfortable - at least at day care they have video cameras in case something happens or I feel worried... You just have to express your concerns and prioritize your "battles" so to speak. Good luck!

My son was the same way when he started daycare. Usually it takes a little while for them to adjust to their surroundings. We as adults have trouble sleeping in places we are not familiar with so kids are no different. Don't worry too much right now- just have her go to bed earlier on the days where she doesn't get a long nap. After a couple of weeks, she should be more used to the environment and routine, and the naps should get back on track.