Daycare Naps

[dawnfire]

Okay, I need a reality check from you ladies to see if DH and I have set our expectations too high for Daycare or if they're really being deficient in the nap area.

When LO is with us on the weekends, we can get him to take 2-3 good naps...usually a 1-2 hour in the morning, another hour early afternoon, and a cat nap late afternoon.

DC is another issue.  As far as I can tell, they don't put him down to nap consistently.  Yesterday he only had one nap, from 11:20-12:00.  40 minutes is NOT enough for that little guy.  When I got him home, he was screaming and crying.  If I hadn't known he was exhausted, I would have thought he was hurt!

So, is it normal for daycares to be so laissez faire about naps, or should I start looking for another one that will try to get LO down to nap more consistently?  I know it must be hard to deal with so many babies at once but...they need their sleep, too!  

[jnnfrrose6]

Our DC tries and follow the baby's cues and I know for a fact there are some that just refuse to nap there unless they're being held (obviously not realistic) or in a swing. The teachers try to work with those babies to get them to sleep in the cribs. For us, I've asked them to not just watch her cues, but actually put her down by certain times of the day and they're good about it.

Have you asked them why your LO isn't napping there since you know he's capable of it at home? That'd be the first place I'd start, and if they don't work with you to make it better, then start looking at alternative DCs.

[mary1217]

dd actually sleeps better at dc. She takes two 1-2 hour naps. But she is at a in-home dc and she sleeps in a pack and play in a room by herself. When she is home sometimes her naps are only 30 minutes long and then she gets super grumpy.

[dawnfire]

jnnfrrose6, thanks for the info on how your DC works! When LO first started going to DC (back in September) we were still figuring out his naps, but now I think we have a good idea of how they should be for him. I'll try talking to them and see what we can do about the naps there, first.

I do know the lights are on all the time in the baby room, so he may be getting distracted by everything he can look at. He doesn't generally need to be held to sleep, so as long as they read his queues and put him down he should get a little more napping in!

I feel so sorry for him when he comes home exhausted.

[liziz]

We have the opposite problem (LO likes to sleep at DC, not at home), but I would for sure talk to them before I started shopping (as long as this is your only complaint - if you have other issues, and this is just one more, I'd start shopping).

I know for us, our babysitter was not worrying too much about her afternoon nap, figuring that LO would sleep in the car on the way home. Once she told me that assumption, and I let her know that LO didn't typically sleep then, we got it sorted out, and she tries to get LO a morning and afternoon nap (followed by a catnap in the ergo at home if I'm lucky!). Communication is key!!

[jnnfrrose6]

dawnfire, they may not be able to turn the lights off per coding, but at ours, the sleeping area is separated from the play area and any of the kids who are easily distracted have the cribs in the corners that are more "tucked away" so they have less distractions.

[stellabunny]

DD has been getting 2 30-40 minute naps at daycare lately. Ugh. I wish she'd sleep longer, but she just doesn't there. They do put her down a couple more times for a little bit to rest and I think that helps. She also almost always sleeps for 30-40 minutes on the way home. So overall I guess it's not that bad.

My daycare wasn't putting her down unless she was tired. I asked them to put her down more regularly even if she did to seem tired just to give her the chance to rest if she wanted and they were very open to that.

[surfmama106]

My mom is my DPC and I'm always yelling at her when she tells me DD hardly napped. I mean it's pretty obvious when she's tired and needs to go down, I always think "if I was paying someone I could just tell them and they would have to do it" guess that's not even the case when your forking over the cash. Obviously I'm grateful for my situation but the grass always does look greener...

[sararl07]

I kept dd from daycare yesterday and she had a 2 hour nap and a 3 hour nap! We can get her to nap better at home where it quite (that is until our dogs decide to bark at the squirrel outside)

[dawnfire]

Feb 20, 2015 16:23:07 GMT -5 sararl07 said:

I kept dd from daycare yesterday and she had a 2 hour nap and a 3 hour nap! We can get her to nap better at home where it quite (that is until our dogs decide to bark at the squirrel outside)

Yeah, same here.  Stupid dogs.  Sadly our old one is hard of hearing so can't hear me shush him (and he's probably too old to care if he could hear me shush him.)

[dawnfire]

I was going to talk to the manager last night about the naps...but when I got there they had already left and 2 employees I'd never seen before were left with the last kids. I know there's some turnover with DCs but I was a little annoyed that it was 2 ladies I'd never seen before. Maybe they drew the short straws...

Hopefully the manager will be there tonight for me to talk to. Cause LO only had a 20 minute nap again yesterday and that isn't cool.

[dawnfire]

Why double post stupid work internet?  Fail!