14mo DS waking too early, naps too short at daycare

[Tinipix]

Hey everyone, I am longing for some advice... Our DS is 14 months old and recently started daycare where had no choice but to revert to one nap maybe a little too eary. They tried putting him down for a morning nap or pushing him in a stroller to sleep there but he refused it from the beginning. So now he has adjusted to one nap, which works well on weekends where he is at home and we can put him down at the time needed. He then sleeps for 1.5 hours and wakes up rested. But during the week at daycare he barely sleeps for an hour, most of the time less than an hour which has thrown our schedule off and has begun to affect his nighttime sleep too - or at least thats what I think. Now he wakes once between 3 an 4:30, drinks a bottle of mik, but then takes forever to fall back asleep (over an hour) or refuses to go back to sleep altogether. Which of course in turn makes everything worse! At daycare they won‘t put him down earlier than 12:30, which makes for a loooong morning for DS. Interestingly, he shows almost no signs of tiredness and falls asleep pretty quickly, but won‘t stay asleep long enough. After 45 minutes it‘s go time again. In the evening he then gets pretty tired so we have no choice but to put him down for bedtime early, mostly falls asleep around 6:30. I feel like an earlier bedtime than that would make him wake earlier in the mornings, because I have observed that he never sleeps more than 11 hours.
So what can I do to stop these early wakings? I tried wake to sleep this morning and went in at 3:45, which made him stir a little and he did at least sleep on til 5:20. I will keep doing that for the next days and see if it helps. But my goal is to have him wake up no earlier than six, in order to shorten the time til his nap as much as I can. And I don‘t know how to get there! 
I would really love to hear any thoughts on our situation! Thanks in advance!

[creations]

Hello, welcome to BW forums.

W2S is a good idea so it's great you're trying that at the moment. He really shouldn't need a feed in the night at this age so the W2S and resettling for the NWs would be my advice rather than having a full feed.  Is he eating okay at day care and at home?  Possibly needing another snack or some higher protein if he appears so hungry in the night??

With the routine, you don't have much option or control over the day care naps.  The W2S might just do it to get the morning WU habit later and help him make it through to nap time at DC.  If not though, maybe you could try a one-off APOP nap (APOP = accidental parenting on purpose. ie a forced nap where you hold, rock, put him in the car or whatever you can do to get him to take a nap) after you pick him up from DC rather than doing the EBT. A nap of say 30 min or so would give him some energy to make it through to a later BT which could then lead to a later WU the next morning.  BT could end up later than you really want on that day but it's not a long term plan it's a one-off to try to trigger a later WU and from there a better chance of making it through to nap time and your usual BT.  It is something you might try to break the cycle of the EBT with 11hr night and earlyish WU, and just shakes things up a bit before returning to a consistent routine.

[Tinipix]

Thanks for the reply! That is actually a really good idea with the forced afternoon nap. I wonder if it would work and I will try it for sure! DS hasn‘t had a nap in his stroller or baby carrier in a long time, and he has always been difficult at getting to sleep before a certain amount of time has passed since his last nap. But will try nevertheless! :-)
He‘s not a very good eater, neither at home nor at daycare... But he eats a fair amount at dinner and has a bottle before bedtime so he might not really wake from hunger in the early morning. Weightwise, he‘s more on the light side and always has been, so I‘m glad about every calorie I get inside of him, which is why I have never questioned a night feeding if he wakes. Should I wean him from that? It’s not that he’s become used to it, most nights he has not woken for a bottle...
Thanks again!

[creations]

which is why I have never questioned a night feeding if he wakes. Should I wean him from that?

I would.  Obviously if there is a weight gain issue or medical issue that's another matter and you should discuss it with your doctor but if he is healthy and gaining weight then there is no need for a 14 month old to have a night feed.
The lower centile lines on weight are normal so long as they are stable and LO is keeping to their line, there is no need to try to raise the centile line or work towards "average" because all of those centiles on the growth chart are within the average.
Taking milk in the night could have the opposite effect that you want at this age, he needs to take the vast majority of his calories and nutrition from solids meals, not milk, extra milk in the night could effect how much food he takes in the day and become a bit of a cycle.  If anything must be offered in the night I'd just offer water.  And make sure his meals are high fats and protein as well as all the veggies etc.
Just as a reminder, toddlers need 4 portions of dairy per day which could milk or dairy solids. A portion could be a half cup of milk or yoghurt, a 1oz portion of cheese (1" cube).  When you think about those sizes it is not a huge amount. If he has a bottle or cup of milk any time in the day that could be 2 portions (say 200-250ml). And of course every toddler is different so it's just guidance.

It can be really hard to get a LO to take an extra nap but it could just do the trick. See how things go, you can keep this one in your tools box and pull it out if or when you feel it could be worth a shot.