[familyequalslove]

..specifically 8/9/10 months old?


My DD is starting two days a week and she'll be 9mo and I'm really worried about her sleeping. They have all the cots set up in the room but I wonder how they get the babies to have a good sleep, especially since they would all be on different sleeping patterns/routines?

I will just feel awful if she doesn't sleep well and has a miserable day cos she's overtired.

[Genabee]

You will be surprised....

When DD first started day care, I thought the same thing.

She is a bit older than your little one (she is 20 months), but to give you an idea, she sleeps for about 1.5 - 2 hours at child care (1 sleep). At home she will sleep up to three hours (1 sleep).

So yes, she tends to sleep a little less at day care and yes, it took a while before she would sleep more than one cycle... So be patient with that, but I think you will find once your little one becomes used to it, they will relax and sleep longer.

They tend to try and have all the kids in that same room, on a similar routine, so they tend to all eat and sleep at the same time.

ETA. On day care nights, she does go to bed a bit earlier than usual. And we always have quiet wind down time before bed otherwise she is feral.

This post has been edited by Genabee: 02/02/2013, 02:32 PM

[TheGreenSheep]

My DSs never slept as much as they did at home. Having said that they were so busy at daycare and so many new faces and toys that they were fine until they got home. They were pretty tired at home and as they ate so well there, they'd often have a small dinner, bath, bed.

When they transitioned to the toddler rooms and their sleep was only in the arvo they slept for a longer amount.

[AnnBB]

My DD started at 9 months and she has never had any issues going to sleep. She slept better there than at home!

[meggs1]

It took my son ages to have a long sleep at daycare, it was too exciting. Gradually he got it, but it didn't really become a really good nap until he transitioned to 1 nap after lunch. He was always happy though, they are good at changing the activities to keep them going.

I was just conscious of it, and got him to bed early (say 630) on daycare days. I had to make sure I had dinner ready to go the minute we got in the door, and there were a days where he was too tired to manage anything too lumpy/complicated/new and just had something "little babyish" like raffertys or puréed fruit and yoghurt. They do a big hot lunch at daycare so I wasn't too fussed about the small dinner. This is still sometimes the case at 15mo, if he has had only a short nap.

[Chelsea86]

my 20month old DS will only sleep an hour to an hour and a half at daycare, but at home he has atleast 3 hours.

I think it's just normal they have less at daycare, after all it is a different environment for them!

[Pooks*potters]

It seems to vary so much between kids.

My son is a horrid sleeper. Even on the odd occasion someone has been minding him at my place, and put him down for a nap, he won't take it.

I'm sure this will be as popular as dog turd on your shoe here in EB land, but here goes...

I'm avoiding having to return to work in a capacity that requires me doing full days of work for this reason.

Ok, that was better out than in.

Having said that, my son is a HIDEOUS sleeper to the point he had nurses at the sleep school saying "whoa".

I have friends who have pretty crappy sleepers who have done a one hour nap at childcare, then crashed that night early. Their kids are 10-12 months (mine is 11) and go to childcare 2 or 3 days a week and it seems to be ok. I have friends whose kids that age are pretty good nappers, and adjusted to the childcare fine going 2-3 days. One friend went back full-time and her kids were a bit fussy going for naps, they had a rough first week, but will now nap there without much fuss as they have learned to adapt.

Good luck OP

[~ Lucy's Mum ~]

My DD is in her third week at childcare and it's a real struggle to get her to sleep anywhere else but in her cot. She's a great day sleeper and will generally wake once at night. I too was concerned about her sleep as I know her sleep can be very interrupted when she's overtired.

DD is nearly 12 months and at home she consistently does 2 naps of 1.5hrs each but would sleep for 2 hours in the morning if I let her. At child care she does about 30mins in the morning and arvo and sometimes refuses one of those naps. Luckily even when overtired she is still quite social and happy it tends to affect her during the night. Just in the last week she's had two 45min naps . The carer said that it will get better and better but takes time for the adjustment. Sometimes we only give her a nap in the middle of the day and she'll sleep for 2.5hrs and copes well, so they may consider transitioning her at childcare soon too. One little boy there gets rocked to sleep in a carer's arms... they'll do whatever you ask them to do!

Like PP I also make sure that I have dinner ready to go as soon as we get home which often means a Rafferty's meal which I'm fine as I know she eats very well at childcare... sometimes I'm told two serves of lunch .

The first two night of childcare she slept through, the third night was a shocker and she decided she wanted to be up for 2.5hrs in the middle of the night which some said relates to separation anxiety. We've had a bit more trouble getting her down and waking more often but it seems to be getting much better and she has slept through the last two night.

Phew.. after all that, I hope it gives you some insight. I'm confident that the carers know what they are doing and they tell me she is pretty happy and chatty during the day and getting more independent.

Goodluck

Oh and in the third week she doesn't cry with DP drops her off.. just waves goodbye.

This post has been edited by ~ Lucy's Mum ~: 02/02/2013, 08:43 PM