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Parents and Guardians Forum>DD Not Sleeping At Daycare
Pete 06:18 AM 09-19-2012
Hello,
DD just turned 11 months and has been going to daycare for 6 months. From the moment she was born, she was a BAD sleeper (nurses in the hospital wished us luck...). We struggled to get her to sleep, it often took more than 2 hours. She fought sleep like it was some contagious disease! Now, when i was staying at home with her, i started nursing her to sleep, as this was the only way to get her napping (we tried putting her down when she was drowsy. All hell broke loose very time, she was/is a very intense baby!). Sometimes it took me 30-45 min of nursing/sucking (she rejects pacifiers), and then she would only sleep 45 min in her crib. I then usually got her back to sleep for another 30-45 min. If i held her she would sleep for 2 hours straight (we weaned her of sleeping on us!). SO, at this point we enter daycare.
She is attending a really great center. The staff is fantastic, ratio in the infant room 1:3 or even less. They rock the babies to sleep, and most of them sleep well. Not so DD. She takes one cat nap of 20 min after fighting sleep for twice as long. I brought her white noise (her "music") and they tried using it, as all the activity interrupts DD's sleep. As soon as she wakes up, she wants to be part of the activity, you cannot get her back to sleep. The teachers say that she is scared to miss the fun. Yet, she really needs her sleep.
She normally starts at 9:30am and i pick her up at 3.30pm. She takes her 20 min "nap" around 11ish. After we get back home she crashes and sleeps for 2 hours until 6-6.30pm. When she wakes up, she is still cranky. We have dinner together, play and around 9pm i can sense that she is ready for bed. Albeit, she disagrees and fights again, so sometimes she finally goes down as late as 10.30pm. She usually then wakes up every hour-2 hours at night to nurse/suck. We cosleep, otherwise i would go crazy (i tried putting her back in her crib numerous times). She gets up around 9 am, but is not rested (ha! noone is for that matter ...).
I should also mention that DD is a super-busy baby who has been walking since the day she turned 10 month and who is constantly on the go. Also, if you saw her at the daycare you would not know that she is sleep-deprived because she holds it together there, but as soon as we are home she breaks apart.
Well, we are all very unhappy about our sleeping arrangements (or lack thereof). Maybe someone has been in a similar situation and can provide some advice? Her teachers don't know what to do, and as she is happy at daycare, they don't suffer from her lack of napping.

Thanks in advance for any reply!
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Blackcat31 06:53 AM 09-19-2012
Ugh, that is tough! I do have a similar story but no advice as we NEVER found the root or the cure so I can't be very helpful other than to let you know you are not alone.

My own son was a horrid sleeper. Slept exactly as you are describing your daughter. NO ONE in our home got much sleep while he was young. He literally slept in 20 minute intervals on and off all day every day. Yes, I do think I lost a bit of my sanity through his early years.....

He was also a VERY early walker and an early talker as well. He was stubborn, moody and often wanted to do things his way, even if he knew the other way was easier and/or more efficient. He also used an ocean wave machine for years....I think he still might use some sort of white noise.

He was also VERY smart. Tested very high in school and IQ tests.

He turned 21 yesterday and to this very day sleeps less than 4 hours per night. I hate to say it but his sleeping habits never changed. I know that is not much help for you and I can't say your DD will be the same, as everyone is different.

My child just never needed sleep. I don't know how and I don't know why as he too, never had signs of sleep dep r i v a t i o n of that he was lacking sleep/rest at all. When I ask him now why he thinks he doesn't sleep much he just says he doesnt know either just that once he goes to sleep, he just wakes up every 4 hours and usually feels pretty rested so he gets up. He said if he tries to go back to sleep, he will end up laying there for hours so he doesn't bother trying anymore.

Is your DD's child care asking that you try and "fix" this issue or is this something you are trying to get a handle on so your home life (particularly your nights and sleep habits) can be better?

I am asking because honestly, I am not sure you can make someone sleep more or longer or better....kwim? If your DD isn't showing signs of lack of sleep and it isn't effecting her relationships or her development then I guess I am not sure what you can do. I wish I had the answers.

I am sure there are some members of the forum who might have some great ideas for you. In the meantime, nap when ever YOU can and enjoy the fact that your DD is still generally pretty happy despite the lack of sleep.

Welcome to the forum too by the way!
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MyAngels 07:44 AM 09-19-2012
Here's a link to a page that gives some information (and other links ) for different methods of sleep training that might help: http://www.babycenter.com/0_big-stor...nts_1524201.bc

From my own experience the "modified cry-it-out" methods seems to work the best overall. I've got a little one right now that I've been working with this method for two days now and she's already falling asleep basically on her own with little intervention.

As far as the daycare goes I wouldn't worry too much about her sleeping there as she's happy and she has a pretty short day in care anyway.

Good luck!
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