Daycare Naps

[Anonymous]

My 9 month old baby starts daycare this Monday and I'm worried that she's going to cry all day. My daughter still nurses at least 4x a night and nurses down for naps. My husband and have both tried to get her to self soothe and sleep in her crib but she won't. How do they nap train babies in daycare who are use to nursing to sleep?

[Anonymous]

I am sorry, OP, but your baby will be miserable for the first few days. Hopefully she can take a bottle so at least the daycare workers can try to feed her to sleep if they have time.

[Anonymous]

Oh, my God - your poor baby!!! You are just thinking about this now, two days before daycare?!!

[Anonymous]

They will do whatever it takes, such as letting the baby sleep in a swing. Talk to the daycare teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 9 month old baby starts daycare this Monday and I'm worried that she's going to cry all day. My daughter still nurses at least 4x a night and nurses down for naps. My husband and have both tried to get her to self soothe and sleep in her crib but she won't. How do they nap train babies in daycare who are use to nursing to sleep?

This is something you need to discuss with your provider. Hopefully you've been trying for more than two days as a PP suggested. Some kids make the adjustment relatively easy when Mom and Dad aren't around.

[Anonymous]

She'll have a hard time at first, but she'll figure it out. She will learn that there are different "rules" for sleeping at daycare and she will develop self-soothing skills.

[Anonymous]

Yes, she's going to have an awful first few days. But she will survive, it will get better, and she will be happy. Have some faith in her.

[Anonymous]

Our daycare warned us a lot in advance on how to prepare her for the sleeping experience, etc. In fact, my (montessori-style) daycare would not take babies who were not taking a bottle and sleeping in a crib or on a mat. But the thing is, in some sense there is no way to prepare for daycare other than to go to day care. Our attempts to prepare her for it were a little futile. So don't feel too bad about that OP! She'll be fine.

I did shed many tears because my DD never napped well, period. So I would always worry about her not getting enough sleep and being miserable. But she basically grew out of that and loves daycare now, and though her naps are still on the shorter side they're not worrisome anymore. And she does not seem any worse off for possibly not getting enough sleep during the earlier months.

[Anonymous]

My DS nurses before a nap at home, but not at daycare. Different rules. Same with my first kid. Baby will have an adjustment toake but will be OK.

[Anonymous]

All 3 of my kids nursed to sleep at home, but did fine at day care. It may be a rough few days, or maybe it won't be don't panic just see what happens

[Anonymous]

I guess you will find out in two days. Yes, she may cry all day - and that is your fault. I simply cannot believe you did not prepare her at all for this.

[Anonymous]

Transition to daycare is probably always a bit rocky. My DS went at 5 months....and our daycare gives him a bottle and rocks him to sleep before putting in his crib and is now 1 year. All daycares are different, so I would just talk to your provider about the best way to make the transition. My son never took long naps at home but he took some really long ones at daycare (though he is now taking shorter ones again). Our daycare does not believe in any type of nap training with the youngest babies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess you will find out in two days. Yes, she may cry all day - and that is your fault. I simply cannot believe you did not prepare her at all for this.

+1 I took my DD to daycare every day for a few hours to get her acclimated and learned the daycare schedule and practices so we could start them at home. The transition was easy.

Yes, OP, you really screwed up and I cannot believe none of this occurred to you until this morning. You poor baby will probably cry for a few days and not understand what is going on. I am actually angry with you for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess you will find out in two days. Yes, she may cry all day - and that is your fault. I simply cannot believe you did not prepare her at all for this.

+1 I took my DD to daycare every day for a few hours to get her acclimated and learned the daycare schedule and practices so we could start them at home. The transition was easy.

Yes, OP, you really screwed up and I cannot believe none of this occurred to you until this morning. You poor baby will probably cry for a few days and not understand what is going on. I am actually angry with you for that.

On the other hand, I did actually try to "train" my DD on the nap practices at home and it just made our last weeks frustrating for her and it's simply nothing like sleeping in a room full of babies so she didn't adjust well. It's a big transition no matter how you ease into it and artificially creating daycare circumstances at home wound up can be more confusing for a baby than just getting used to the transition as it comes. You need to go to therapy if you are "actually angry" that OP's baby MAY HAVE had an easier transition and may have a rough few days as a result.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess you will find out in two days. Yes, she may cry all day - and that is your fault. I simply cannot believe you did not prepare her at all for this.

+1 I took my DD to daycare every day for a few hours to get her acclimated and learned the daycare schedule and practices so we could start them at home. The transition was easy.

Yes, OP, you really screwed up and I cannot believe none of this occurred to you until this morning. You poor baby will probably cry for a few days and not understand what is going on. I am actually angry with you for that.

On the other hand, I did actually try to "train" my DD on the nap practices at home and it just made our last weeks frustrating for her and it's simply nothing like sleeping in a room full of babies so she didn't adjust well. It's a big transition no matter how you ease into it and artificially creating daycare circumstances at home wound up can be more confusing for a baby than just getting used to the transition as it comes. You need to go to therapy if you are "actually angry" that OP's baby MAY HAVE had an easier transition and may have a rough few days as a result.

I get angry when I see any child made to suffer because of stupid parents. Do you really think a nine-month-old baby who has only been nursed to sleep is going to enjoy her first day in a strange place without her mother's breasts or her mother? It is NOT all about you after you have a baby. It should be about the baby.