New at the house

Hi Ladies,
I wanted to say one big thank you for all the helpful posts and the positive words i found here. I read many of the threads, questions and answers, prepared documents, and researched through possible problems before setting a date to open my dayhome. When all was done and done i finally decided it was time to start my day home. In other words, felt so confident that the fear was gone. Or almost gone:laugh:
I opened my daycare two weeks ago (after a month and a half of preparation and investments, and reading in the Forum).
Few words about moia and then straight to the problem at heart.
I am a happy mom of a busy 11 month old boy. He is great. Just took his first steps, so the fun begins.
I work the dayhome in tandem with my mother, who is an ex kindergarten teacher from Europe (so im using a lot of her confidence and knowledge). Our current situation is my son, another F/T boy who is 11 months and a had a 21 months girl part time. She was removed by her parents after only 4 days of care and after i told them that her crying was disturbing the lil ones sleep (they nap twice a day). She was a very smart girl but is she decided she would cry for....whatever reason you may think of - she wouldn't stop. So neither of the boys could fall asleep when she was acting like that.
This week we were alone with the other boy, and i thought "There, finally some peace and quiet at nap times". But what was my surprise.
And there comes my issue. The boy is becoming impossible to put to bed. His mom told me that she puts him in bed, closes the door, he would fuss for about 5 mins and fall asleep. Nothing even close. They have the same schedule with my son, so when im with him, my mom is with the other boy. She tried what his mom said, but the moment she closes the door, the boy would start screaming his lungs out. We cant leave him to cry and scream, because than my boy starts crying. So we had 4 horrific days of not sleeping and two fussy 11 month old boys.
I am thinking of maybe terminating his contract, because my life continues after 4.30pm when his mom picks him up and i need to have a healthy and rested boy, who can go on until his bed time without constantly nagging and crying for not apparent reason.
My dilemma right now is what age group should i target so i can have a normal group of kids in my home and still raise a happy son? Not many phone calls, and email inquires as i am a brand new dayhome with not references.
I just want to work and raise a kid, and i am not sure if i will be able to with such a schedule.
Any input would be appreciated.
Young and green in the dayhome business with open heart and still optimistic ,
Yours Ladybug

Every child has a different time to feel comfortable at daycare. My motto is that if the parents work with me I continue to try and try and try. So my first advice is always to talk openly and honestly with the parents. My second piece of advice is to be very patient and consistent and make sure that you keep your daily routines consistent, morning, lunch, naptime, all at the same time so the children expect the transition and their bodies become accustomed to it.

For me, I have breakfast at 8am, busy mornings playing outside or inside crafting until 11am when we have lunch shortly thereafter, then naptime at 12:30 for about 2 hours, afternoon snack at 3pm and playing until pickups. Even the child whose parents tell me he has never napped for them naps every single day here with me. I am consistent every day and his little body just knows what to expect here which keeps him healthy.

Daycare while having an infant of your own was the most difficult years I had while operating my daycare. All I can say is children will cry while they are adjusting to the new environment. If you put me with "strangers" and told me to go to sleep it would take me along time and I might even cry.... Don't give up on children too early, they are going to need time to adjust irregardless of the age. Your son will have many benefits of being with his mother will far out weigh a few days of a messed up naptime....it gets better. Also be careful not to stress the negative with new parents, focus on he positive and make suggestions of what they can do to help you in the areas where their child may be struggling. Keep going and try to be positive going forward....good luck.

Awwww I hate to say it but the little one who cried for 4 days is actually fairly normal. You can expect the little ones to have a hard time feeling safe and comfortable enough right away. It usually takes a couple of weeks at least to transition a child and for them to learn the routines and realize they can trust you and trust you to come back after nap.

I think there isn't a magic age for transitioning. A 15-18 month old might be easier to tranistion if they have a precise nap schedule at home but it isn't a guarantee. I have had sleep issues with getting 15-18 months and even 2 year olds to learn our sleep routine too. The only cure is consistency, routine and time...with a lot of patience. It will get better.
Congrats on your new dayhome :):):)

Thank you ladies! Thank you for sharing your experience with me . I will try . I will actually try my best to make him gel him feel same and comfortable so to shorten the transition period . We had a week of trial period. ..and he was great , but than the actual week. ....hmm . I will try more ! And be consistent and persistent.

Could you try putting him down for his nap somewhere else, farther away from your son so he won't be disturbed. Maybe you could putting a white noise or sound machine(or the radio set in between stations, like Playfelts idea, I think it is) in with your son so he can't hear the other boy. I agree with everyone else that you need to give it a couple of weeks to let these little ones get used to your home and routine. Good Luck!

Agreed with the others that it's totally normal that both little ones crying and fighting sleep are completely normal. In my experience you're looking at a 4-8 week adjustment period...don't give up! He'll get into the swing of things and so will your son (he needs to adjust too!). It's tiring and frustrating but the end result is SO worth it if you're patient and consistent.