Napping At Daycare

[svenjafour]

Hi mamas,

I was wondering what kind of experiences you have had with your babies ( 0 - 12 months) napping at daycare. I've heard some horror stories about babies not napping at all or very little at daycare and I am worried that my little one won't either. He only sleeps if he's swaddled and takes all his naps in his crib. Any experience and advice you could share would be very much appreciated. My little one is supposed to start daycare in 2.5 weeks.

[cupcakesmom]

Mine starts in 2 weeks too! My doctor said that baby will actually want to sleep during the day to tune out new experience and plus baby will want to interact with you at night more than usual and therefore sleep all day.

[youreyesxonmine]

I don't have babies yet, but I've worked in childcare for over 3 years, and in my experience, the first couple weeks are a little hairy with napping, but as the routine becomes more settled, napping should return to normal as well. I'd say show your providers how to swaddle your kiddo and see if you can get a white noise machine to put near his sleeping area, if you're concerned about noise.

[sarahrichardson]

I worked in daycares during high school and college. I would say most babies slept. If it's a good place, they will listen to what you say and do their best to help your LO sleep. If they kind of blow you off then he may have more trouble sleeping. But give it a week or two before you decide, any time a new child came, even older ones, nap time was tricky.

[Mommimi]

DS nap was one of the top things on my list. It took him about 2-3 weeks to get into a nap routine. Now he naps there fine - he's 2 and have always only nap in his crib at home or portable crib when traveling.

[svenjafour]

Thank you, mamas. That's very encouraging. I've had sleepless nights over this already! If I have a time frame to hold on to (I'll give it a couple of weeks, as you all suggested), the challenge seems more manageable.

[jnicole]

All three of my boys have been in daycare. The daycares that we have used let babies (0-12 months) sleep on their own schedule and once my boys moved to the 1 year old room, the whole class had the same naptime and had nap mats. The daycare you choose should have a crib for every baby and the crib should have wheels (for fire drills and such). Your provider should be willing to swaddle you son how you show them but all daycare providers are required to lay babies on their back and they should have it posted in the room which babies know how to roll from their back to their tummy. I agree with PP that it may take a couple weeks. Your daycare provider should have a log of everything your baby did all day so that should help you see his sleeping pattern there. I've been fortunate to have used 2 wonderful daycares for my sons and I hope that yours works out well. Leaving a baby is always hard but if you do your research you will know he is in good capable hands while you are gone. I know I am very particular about my daycare and I will only use one that has video monitoring of all rooms. Well I hope this helps and let us know how it turns out:goodvibes:

[Equivocal]

My daughter started daycare when she was 8 weeks old. She has not been a consistent napper, but she wasn't before that, either.

There are some days (usually 1-2x a week) where she doesn't nap at all, then other days where she naps 30 minutes to over 1 hour. It totally depends on so many things.

If she doesn't nap at all at daycare, she'll fall asleep on the way home and sleep for a while there.

She sleeps about 10-12 hours at night and is at daycare from 7:45 a.m. until 2:50 p.m. M-F.

[Bot Girl]

My DD is a great sleeper (started sleeping throught the night at 5 weeks old), so she didn't have any troubles sleeping at school. Sorry, I'm no help!

[svenjafour]

I think he will be in good hands at the daycare. I started to feel uncomfortable with the one I had him enrolled in (he hadn't even started there yet, but from my conversations I've had with the caregiver), so I have been searching for another one for the past few days. I think I found a wonderful one today and went ahead and enrolled him in it. The caregiver was very willing to swaddle my baby and was very understanding of his nap needs. She also asked some questions about his current sleeping habits, etc. He will be the youngest baby there and the next older one is already 7 months. Hopefully, he'll get enough attention and enough sleep. He will be there 4 days a week from 7:30 a.m. through 5:15 p.m.

[doberbrat]

the only place dd has napped well is at dc.

try hard not to stress. it will sort itself out :hugs:

[trippsmom]

I worked at a daycare in the infant room 0-12mos. We would let the babies be on their own schedules. We had some that would only go to sleep swaddled, some - one - that would only go to sleep nursing (my son), and others that just had to be put in the bed. It is a requirement, at least in Arkansas, that children not be allowed to sleep anywhere but in a crib at that age, not in toys, etc. We had one little girl that didn't take naps at all at home, but would sleep in 3-4 hour stretches with us.

I hope that the new dc meets your expectations. Don't expect it to happen in the first week, maybe even the first month, but your lo will settle in. :thumbsup:

[Nikki_Nikk]

Trust me- the caregivers want the child to be well rested as much as you want them to! So any tips that may transfer well from home is always appreciated!
As others have said, be prepared for a transition period which varies from child to child, and by contributing factors.
They will more than likely be worn out by the constant stimulation from their environment, peers and teachers, and babies generally listen to their bodies.
I just wanted to add, that don't be suprised if after a routine is developed, it seems to fall apart again. That's normal as well as the baby grows, and communication with the caregiver is the best way to get through it :)