Hello. I have an almost 8 mo. old girl who has always had somewhat of a hard time at daycare. She will barely ever take a bottle there. At most she gets 4-6 ozs in the 10 hrs that she is there. She is a very curious baby and at home I have to go to another room so she is alone to feed her or she wont eat. I know this may sound extreme, but at least she'll eat. I have suggested this to daycare and they said it didnt work. Also recently she has not been napping well at daycare. She takes two 20 min-1/2 hr naps and sometimes only one. She is now overtired, wont sleep well at night and has become very cranky. I feel she needs more sleep than what she is getting but I've suggested nearly everything to my daycare and nothing seems to work. Im not as worried about the bottle issue anymore now that she is eating solids, but the sleep thing is really bothering me. Everyone seems to think that this isnt such a big deal. Does anyone have any suggestions or am I overreacting to this situation?
My Maddie is 8 months. although she's never done daycare, she has a hard time sleeping at other peoples houses, she fights sleep. basically its a change and too much stimulation. how well staffed are they at the daycare?
HI A.- You're not alone! My daughter is now two and I'm lucky if she sleeps for 45mins at daycare. When she's at home with me she'll sleep 2+ hours, but she almost always gives me a hard time going down. (So I don't expect her to go down easily for my daycare person!)
Picking her up at the end of the day is awful, but my in-home daycare provider reassures me she is wonderful all day. So as long as she is happy at daycare, then I'm okay with it.
My daughter is one of two kids my daycare lady takes care of. Fortunately, I only work 3 days a week and she is at daycare from 8am-3pm. I might feel differently if I worked fulltime or longer hours.
I have found that putting her to bed earlier on daycare nights has helped with her crankiness (6:45pm).
Good luck!
Hi A.,
In the past I've worked in a daycare and more recently I've had my 2 daughters (now 2 and 4) in daycare full and part-time. I don't think you are overreacting, sleep is very important. Do they have a separate room or area for the babies to take a nap, seperate from the older kids? They could try playing some quiet music, this soothes the baby, but also keeps out the noise from other areas. The lighting should be low and the temperature comfortable. Do they have a rocking chair? If they could give her a bottle and rock her in this area, then put her to bed, gently rub her back, or if you think she should lie on her back, then maybe gently rock the crib. Maybe bring in a mobile or soothing crib 'water sounds' attachment, or anything that makes her more comfortable, maybe something she uses at home. Also routine is very important... they should be following a certain routine and trying to get her to nap at the same time every day. Maybe this is all stuff you've tried, just thought I'd put it out there. Your daycare should definately take this seriously and try to work with you to make her day, and your night, better. Good luck!
C.
I had the same exact problem.
My daughter was 9 months old and taking one half hour nap a day(she was at her daycare for a total of 9 hours a day - five days a week). I would pick her up and she would be so exhausted that she would fall asleep in the car on the way home (which was a 5 minute drive). She was breastfed so therefore never took a bottle, only a cup and didnt like formula at all.
Her day care was always hassling me about these issues (telling me she was going to dehydrate and that she was becoming difficult to handle because she wasnt sleeping enough) and making me feel horrible and no matter what I suggested - nothing was changing.
I felt so bad for my little girl. Finally, one day I realized the problem was not my daughter - it was her daycare! I changed her day care and she adjusted perfectly and I havent heard a single complaint since. She also took 2 one hour naps a day (she has now transitioned herself to 1 two hour nap a day because of her age), drank successfully from a cup and now she is big enough for milk.
I work full time as well so I completely understand. Its not always our fault and sometimes you will need to take a closer look at the person caring for your daughter when you cant be there. If they can not meet her needs then it might be time to find someone who can.
