Any way to help DD learn to nap with light/noise?

[biscoffcookies]

DD started daycare about a month ago, and her naps there are pretty bad. Apparently our habit of putting DD to sleep in a completely dark and quiet room for the first 5 months of her life has backfired, as she finds it difficult to nap at daycare given the light and noise. While I know this is somewhat common, DD's teacher pulled me aside yesterday to say that DD seems to be having more trouble than usual adjusting.

In general, she sleeps 60-90 minutes total at daycare, although we have had days where she sleeps as few as 30 minutes total and a couple good days where she approached 2 hours. All naps are in 20-40 minute chunks. For comparison, at home DD reliably takes 3 naps that total 2.5 to 3 hours.

Her teacher said when DD is getting tired because she will lie on the floor and start trying to put things over her face like she is trying to block out the light. DD doesn't fall asleep until she is completely exhausted (we're talking 4-5 hours after waking up for the morning, when at home she takes her first 1.5 hour nap after 2 hours) and only sleeps for 20-40 minutes. The teacher says that DD buries her little face in the teacher's arm to block out the light, and as soon as the teacher shifts her or tries to put her down she wakes up.

Not only does this suck for the teachers at daycare, who spend more time than average rocking DD to sleep and then holding her so she gets enough sleep to avoid a total meltdown, but her poor naps mean (1) she has to go to bed the second we get home and (2) she has a hard time falling and staying asleep due to being so overtired, meaning we are all exhausted.

Anyone have any ideas about how we can help DD adjust to light/noise so she starts napping better at daycare (and consequently will sleep better at night?). I was thinking maybe gradually starting to lighten and noise-ify her room at home during naps, but I don't know if that will work or if it will just mean she won't sleep there either.

[ijack]

I would definitely start trying to keep things lighter and noisier at home. Will they use white noise at daycare or allow anything in her crib? If so then you could get her one of those sleep animals that buzzes and use it at home too.

[schrodinger]

If its the light that really bothering her, I'd start small with a nightlight or two then build up to table lights and partial dark. For noise, I'd suggest getting some books on tape, especially children's books. They usually have "playground" noise in the stories, which may be similar to daycare noise. Good luck!

[sewpinkgal]

We use a white noise machine for J and have for months - if they'd allow that, that might be a way to help block the noise at daycare and something that you can add in for naps at home, too. For the light issue, I would probably start keeping her room more lit during naps at home - either a nightlight or a dimmer lamp and slowly work up to whatever the light level is at daycare. I'm sorry - I can only imagine how frustrating this all is.

[karinothing]

You know sometimes I think that is just how kids nap at daycare. DS can take 3 hour naps at home but largely naps 1 hour total at daycare. They use a white noise machine (which has helped a bit). But he isn't used to sleeping in silence/dark at home, so I am not really sure why he doesn't sleep longer there. I think that maybe daycare is just so much fun he would rather be playing than sleeping.

[zarapipe]

Good luck, I know it sucks when your LO comes home tired from not naping.

Like you we catered to DD's sleep needs at the house. Black out shades, white noise machine, anything. A lot of this is because she was a crapy sleeper for the first 9 months of her life. It seemed to get better when she went down to 2 naps and finally got on a schedule.

[biscoffcookies]

Re: white noise -- they don't use it at my daycare, although during quiet time they will put on soft music. We took a Sleep Sheep for DD, but they are not allowed to put it in the crib with her, and the cribs there have like, plexiglass sides, so there is nowhere to strap it. (Not to mention DD so far has wanted to sleep only in arms or a bouncy chair at daycare.)

Jun 21, 2012 11:36:23 GMT -5 karinothing said:

You know sometimes I think that is just how kids nap at daycare. DS can take 3 hour naps at home but largely naps 1 hour total at daycare. They use a white noise machine (which has helped a bit). But he isn't used to sleeping in silence/dark at home, so I am not really sure why he doesn't sleep longer there. I think that maybe daycare is just so much fun he would rather be playing than sleeping.

I think this is so true for DD. Plus, DD has always just been so curious and alert -- the reason we went full dark for naps is that if there is any light to see by she is looking, looking, looking. It's like she's only okay with going to sleep if she is convinced there is nothing to see and she isn't missing anything!

Honestly, if it wasn't impacting her night sleep so much, I would probably just let it lie, even though she would only be getting 12.5-13 hours of sleep a day (and I keep hearing a 6 mo old like her needs 14-15). They say she is in super good spirits at daycare, and I believe them -- DD is generally a happy baby as long as she is being played with or has something to do/look at, all of which are the case at daycare. But when she wakes up every 2-3 hours due to being so messed up from not napping...ugh.

Kari, I thought these kind of short naps might be normal too, but her teacher told me that yesterday they had all the babies sleeping at one point except for DD. So apparently she is the only underperforming sleeper in her room.

[biscoffcookies]

Can I just say too that her napping issues are giving me a serious case of mommy guilt. Everytime I pick her up and she exhausted (complete with red eyes), or cries and wiggles all around in her crib at bedtime because she is wired and can't settle, or just plain doesn't get enough sleep (which I know isn't good for her), a little voice in my head is like, "But she would be sleeping fine if you would just stay home with her so she could nap here!"

It sucks.

[hannamarin]

As a SAHM, babies dont always sleep well because you are at home
I put my child down to nap at 1130 (she was cranky rubbing her eyes) then took her out, then tried again at noon (cranky again) took her out then again at 1pm when she finally fell asleep. The times before she was just having a cranky moment and apparently could go 4 hrs today with no nap...who can predict?
Another Mom and I were talking today and we said we hope the nanny can sort out a schedule for our babies when we return to work

[livinitup]

Do you still swaddle at nap time?

My DD never napped as well at child care as she did at home. I rolled with it.

[karinothing]

I know mom guilt is hard, but she is also only a month into daycare. Either she will learn to take better naps or she will learn how to cope with shorter naps. A lot of kids don't do really well with naps in daycare until they are older (when all the kids sleep at the same time, with lights off and quiet).

Regarding white noise. I got a battery powdered one and put it on a half wall near DS's crib at daycare. If you don't have an option like that, can you put it under the crib or just on the floor near the crib?