Nap time problems

Erin - posted on 12/19/2008

My daughter is a terrible napper at home. But at daycare they swaddle her (i had to get a note from my pediatrician for some reason) and she takes two 2-3 hour naps a day. Lucy's also been sleeping through the night since she was three weeks old so I thought no napping was just the cost of a good night of sleepbut they seem to make it work at day care. Your daughter's beautiful. Best of luck with your transition back to work.

Victoria - posted on 12/18/2008

naps have never been a problem for my son, it was always night sleep. but my advice would be to let daycare earn their money! daycare made a definite difference in the my baby's routine and all for the better. sometimes it take a person without such a personal stake in you baby to make a change.

Melissa - posted on 12/18/2008

I had a similar issue as well. Have you tried a darkening shade? I also found that my son was rocked at daycare, or allowed to fall asleep in the swing. I personally am not a fan of that, but when transitioning to day care, a nap is a nap and sleep is hard to come by initially.

Darrelle - posted on 12/18/2008

I also tried to get my son "ready for daycare" by changing our routines to match the daycare routines and schedules. Turns out I should have just continued my own way and enjoyed my time with him instead of stressing. The staff at daycare centers know what they are doing and have their own system or methods to help the new babies get adjusted. At my sons daycare their cribs are on wheel and he loved being "rocked" to sleep even though at home I had to hold him to sleep. If you have her going to bed on her own at night you're already ahead of many moms.



That said, I eventually realized that my problem with daytimes naps was that I was laying my son down too early. If I kept him up for another 30 minutes or an hour he would be tired enough to fall asleep on his own even for his naps.

Sarah - posted on 12/18/2008

I had this issue with my sone at about 6 weeks old. I read the Baby Whsperer and loved what she had to say. It's draining for a couple days, but her solution works. What you need to do is put your little girl; in her crib and when she starts to fuss, pick her up and calm her - but only to the point where she is calm. Don't let her fall asleep in your arms! Then put her back down. Repeat as often as necessary until she finally realizes that it's ok to sleep on her own. I had to do this for all 3 naps, but it only took a day. The gal said it could take up to three days, but tell ya what, it's so worth it!! The point is to teach them to fall asleep on their own - they're quick learners! Don't worry, you'll do fine!!

Stephanie - posted on 12/18/2008

Actually at the daycare my son's at, they actually rocked him to sleep quite a bit. Also, a lot of times when he was younger, they put him in a swing and he went to sleep in there. He's really good about daycare naps now. I was worried a lot because he use to NEVER go to sleep anywhere other than home.

Lindsey - posted on 12/18/2008

I had that problem, too. I held him for all naps until about 10 weeks old, then started putting him down. My son fell asleep on his own for naps until we got rid of the binky at 8 months...now I just pat him down. He tummy sleeps (has since 10 weeks) and I pat his bottom, or really just stand there with my hand on his bottom. It's kind of annoying, but it's better than listening to him scream up there. And when I worked in daycares, we definitely had to do the same with most babies...either rock them to sleep or pat them in the crib. It's so chaotic at daycare, she may be too stimulated to just fall asleep on her own, so the providers may have to help her down anyway.