day care in the afternoon: what happens to her nap??

[Luara]

My DD is starting day care in the afternoon this week and I'm really confused about what to do with her nap. Her routine used to be like this:

7 or 8am - wake up
12pm - nap
2 or 3pm - wake
7 or 8pm - bedtime

Now her day care is from 1 to 5pm and they have a nap time there at 3, so...should I do:

1) try to give her a 30min nap before lunch, say at 11:30 and then she takes a 1hr one at 3?

2) put her to nap at 11:30 (or 12 if she was up at for 1 or 1.3hrs, then take her to DC late at 2pm (in this case she's going to miss some activities...)

ok so my question is: with both options she's going to sleep less than what she used to, do you think she's going to be OT? which option would you choose or any other ideas?

[*Becky*]

How old is she?
How long has she been on one nap? If it is well established I would probably not go back to two naps as that could cause more problems tbh.
I think if it was me I would put her down for her nap at the usual time, take her to DC later and then do an early bedtime until she gets used to the new timings. You may find she adapts quickly and does not get OT but you will just have to be on the lookout for OT. Is she going to DC every day? If not then you can do the usual routine on the days at home and she should be able to catch up on those days.
It looks like she is doing a great nap so she may well be able to cope fine with a slightly shorter one. Personally I would not cut to any less than 1.5 if you can help it and I would do an early bedtime while she adjusts.
HTH
becky x

[lilisuze]

if she can nap at home i would take her late. My lo is terrible at napping on the days he goes to daycare 1/2 days!

[babybarr]

I would probably opt for the napping at home option too as my DS doesn't nap well elsewhere.  Also I wouldn't go back to the 2 naps either.  I guess only you can decide which is more important at this time.

[Mashi]

Are you sure they do naps at 3pm for LOs that age? I can't see ANY parents being happy about that...nor can I see many toddlers waiting until 3pm to start a nap....or have them then go to bed at a reasonable hour as well.  Seems a bit odd to me! How old is she?

If it were me, I would double check that the person who told you that has got it right, first of all!  If so, I would try to take LO to daycare in her buggy or pram if possible and let her continue her sleep until 3pm.  She can be up while the others are sleeping, doing quiet activity or something.  Other option would be to find another day care -- I know daycare is SO hard to find but for me, one that thinks young toddlers can wait until 3pm for a nap is one that doesn't have the best interests of the toddler in mind!

[*Becky*]

I agree - it does seem a very odd time for a nap once they are on one nap.x

[Luara]

Becky and Mashi - It is odd to me too!!! but here in Brazil it's not so common to have this concern about babies routine, for most people here I'm this freak who keeps figures of my toddler's routine!  - I really love this daycare and trust them very much, unfurtunately I can't take her there another time, in the morning would be perfect but I can't - I talked to the coordinator today and she said some toddlers do sleep earlier, around 1, but they arrive in the morning so it makes sense to sleep after lunch but for the ones who arrive after lunch they think it would be odd to start sleeping...well, anyways...I said I wouldn't mind if she went to sleep right after she arrived the thing is that I don't know if she will b/c she gets too excited when we get there she keeps sayin 'friends! friends!'...but tomorrow I'll try it...

Today she was up at 8, naped from 12 to 1.30 - couldn't let any longer than that otherwise we'd be too late cause still had to feed her lunch etc...she played while some of the others were sleeping and went to bed at 7.30 (a little too late i konow I had to pick my hubby up...) now let's see how she goes tonight...

Becky, she's 17m and has been on 1 nap for about 5 months, I think she's going to cope well with the shorter nap...I hope so!

Thank you all for your reply. I'll keep you posted.

xxxx

[Luara]

So...yesterday was a mess b/c I had to take my DH to work and I don't know why she slept in the car from 9.30 to 10, then wasn't asleep to take a nap before dc...summing up she had an EW today which already shows me she's getting OT. today she fell asleep at 11 (was up at 7) and I'm going to let her sleep 2 hrs before dc, then tonight an early bedtime, right?

I think this is how her routine is going to look like from now:

wake 7 (gonna have to wake her at 7 even if she's still sleeping in order to get the nap at 11)
nap 11-1
dc 2
bedtime 7

am I right?

xx

[*Becky*]

My thinking is you will have to see how she does on this. You may find 6 hours is too long for her. Is 1pm the latest you can let her sleep? Ideally she would go down more like 11.30/12pm (even a bit later) and then the day is more even but she may be fine with what you are doing. Some lo's prefer a shorter A first thing and some before bed. Give it a few days and log what is happening and then we should be able to see how she is getting on.
It is going to be difficult to tweak her routine if DC is fixed...
Good luck
bx

[lilisuze]

luara, i see where you are coming from, and i think this is totally the right decision. I think lo's tend to do very long A's without too much trouble when they have a change of environment during the A time (so she's going from lunch at home to d/c then home to start bedtime routine and wind down). I always get longer A's when we go out and even longer when he goes to daycare in the afternoon. So i think a bedtime of 7, or maybe earlier - read the cues if you can to avoid OT.

Best of luck

Lili xx

[Luara]

yes Lili that's what i thought too bc DD has always handled long A times well, and usually before bedtime, while her first As always tend to be a little shorter so I really thought it was going to work....BUT it seems that the change of environment is making her too excited (i'm going to check the wind downs routines for toddlers threads)...OR she's getting OT for the shorter naps OR I just don't know what is happening...

Yesterday it was fine, i was able to do the routine I planned, she got a 2hr nap (11-1), bedtime at 7 and today woke up at 6.40. great! now today...was different  she resisted a lot to go to sleep at 11, to me it seemed like she wasn't asleep, she only made it at 11.50 but then I had to wake her at 1.30 to go to dc, she was happy and all... BUT NOW IT'S 8.40, SHE'S IN HER CRIB SINCE 7.30 AND JUST WON'T GO TO SLEEP!!!!! i went in already and tried to AP but no way... I'm so confused!! Is it possible that she's getting OS bc of school?

I feel like quiting the school but I've already spent a lot of money with it and also I believe she really needs to be with other kids and play, etc... but I will not tolerate having an OT kid forever! 
 

 

[Luara]

Becky - i forgot to answer you...she has to go everyday and it is kinda fixed bc it's more like a school here. I think the latest i can wake her is 1.30 if I feed her before, I tried it yesterday and she ate ok.

why do you say 1.5 is the best instead of 2hrs, for instance

[babybarr]

Is it possible that she's getting OS bc of school?

I would say so yes.  What time does she get back from DC and then bed at 7pm right?

[*Becky*]

oh sorry - I did not mean 1.5 hours is better than 2 hours, I meant that in an ideal world she would go for her nap a little later and then sleep a little later to even the day out but I know you cannot do that. Also - it may not work for her anyway...
I would def say she could be OS from school but if she is that may improve as she gets used to the change in routine...bx

[Luara]

oh I see becky, I thought maybe it had something to do w/ the sleep cycles or anything. yes I can't make her day be so even but I wasn't so concerned bc she's always done a longer A before bedtime.

but really, something is going wrong that's for sure, today I heard she was awake playing at 5.30, then silence (maybe fel asleep again i don't know) then heard her again at 7. At 10.30 she was watching a video on my DHs lap and fell asleep  - so now I'm not sure, if I let her sleep for 3 hrs I'll have to to bedtime at 6.30 which sounds so early to me  what should I do?

yesterday she had a 3hr nap as it was saturday, but had a little too late bedtime (8.3o) bc we went out.

babybarr - she's back from DC at 5.30 and I'm trying to do bedtime at 7 but she seems absolutely not sleepy...so probably OS, I hope it will improve though as she get used, she's spirited so will she ever get used? 

xxxx