Ugggh. nothing seems to be working. long vent

where to begin. i have had no end of sleeping troubles since I re opened my daycare for babies/toddlers. i have done this for 17 years and you would think that ive seen it all but alas i have never had so many issues as i do now. i've posted about my one dcg who is not a good sleeper and all the advice i got and my own knowledge and experience told me that it will come with time:( . It's not getting better. she is a great little girl and i adore her and her parents are amazing. I have a room where the kids nap and clearly that wasnt going to work having her with them, so she is in my room and she just doesnt sleep well. Actually she sleeps well in the morning and usually with no problem its the afternoon that doesnt work. she will generally go down in the afternoon for an hour at most and yells and screams until nap time is over. on occasion she will amuse herself and i actually thought we were getting into a routine but the consistency never lasts. so this morning i decided, no morning nap, lets get good and tired and she dropped off this afternoon like a charm and bang on 1 hour into nap, she's awak and screaming. :no: oh ya, and she's loud. my bedroom is a fair distance from where the others nap but she will end up waking them up. (she is 15 months) then we have to factor in the other 15 month old i have that was doing great until my non sleeper started coming. he was used to being the only little one and didnt take well to her. then he started getting teeth and was miserable and wouldnt sleep, then he got a cold and wouldnt sleep, then he had more teeth coming in and what seems to be a perpetual cold. Now because he doesnt , he keeps the 9 month old awake and then he will drift off and she is still awake making noise so she wakes him and it just keeps on for the whol nap time. He has also become super sensitive and cries if I leave the room or even get up to move around the room. i tell you, its like a 3 ring circus here during naptime. Over the years, i may have and a non sleeper here and there but it never lasted and they soon got into the routine but this one dcg is a real challenge. Terminating isnt an option for me as I really do adore this girl and her family so im prepared to stick it out but would like to know if any of you have had issues like this. I think that sometimes if she poops that may be what wakes her up but if I go in the room to change her, she'll never go back to sleep. she was not a good sleeper at night before she started with me but i managed to convince mom that she had to let her cry it out and learn to put herself back to sleep and she started sleeping better at home, sleeping 11 or 12 hours every night but apparently she has started waking up in the night again. anyone have any experience with this. I know that its going to be hard just getting back from most of them being home extra days over the holidays but holy cow, today has been ridiculous.

I don't do communal sleeping .... I have one child per room and the oldest (3.5)is in the playroom. I stared putting fans in the rooms to drown out any criers. My two youngest were not great sleepers when they started. The older of the two started in oct and I had to move the morning nap to 8am and only for 30 mins. Any longer and I had a huge problem in the aft. Just before the break I took it away entirely. The other one just started at the end of nov and the am nap had to go right away and he still doesn't sleep as long as the others. However some days he sleeps 3 hours....so maybe try giving this wee one a short nap in the am because she might be over tired by the time you put her down in the aft.....is there a possibility to split a few of the younger ones up into different rooms? I have a pack n play in each of my bedrooms ... That inconvenience is worth it to me to have a restful break time.

Ive tried every conceivable combination of nap times and durations for the morning nap for this one and nothing seems to provide a consistent nap. Many years ago i had separate rooms for everyone but i found it too intrusive. I dont have young kids of my own anymore so my nearly 18year old does not want a playpen in her room, not that i could find room for it among all the clothes on her floor. my 4th bedroom is my sewing room and in many cases my sanctuary during naptime. I would never feel comfortable using that room in case anyone ever got to the point where they could climb out of a playpen as there are many things in there that are not safe for kids to be near. I decided that there would be no more morning naps starting today. to be honest i found it a major pain to lug 3 kids upstairs get them settled in bed and go back for them 30 minutes later. I found in the past that having the kids in the same room provided them with comfort knowing that they weren't alone and for many years it worked great but with this group it seems to beone thing after another. I did put the 2 two year olds in the playroom to nap and they do fine there. if they wake early they lay quiet until i go in. it also works well because they both go home by 4 so if by some miracle the rest of them sleep well, i can get them changed and ready forhome without disturbing anyone. so at this point i only have the 9 month old and the 15 month old together and my non sleeper in my bedroom. i think an issue might be that she poops while she's in bed because on most days she is dirty when i bring her down but i dont know for sure if its just happened or if thats what woke her. What are your thoughts on going in to check? I know that in the beginning i would go in occasionally to tell her it was bed time and to lay down and she just screamed all the louder. Her mom provides food and she gets ALOT of fruit and i mentioned to mom that maybe this is an issue because her BM's are very vinegary smelling if that makes sense and runny which I thought might be the amount of fruit and water she drinks. mom acknowledged my sugestion but wasnt really in agreement so i made the cut on my own and didnt give her all the fruit that was brought and some days not at all and provided an alternative and i saw a difference. not perfect but better than today. thanks for your thoughts so far.

Yup I would cut out the fruit before nap maybe give it to her as her after nap snack. That way she poops at home....I have a child that wakes up if he poops during nap but if you go in then he's up. I find that most kids if you go in to soothe them it actually makes it worse. I never go back.

never going back as always been my rule too but i'm grasping for solutions at this point. thanks again for your thoughts