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Thread: Sleep time

  1. #1
    Shy
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    Sleep time

    Hello Everyone,
    This is my first post...I'm new to the site, and have just opened a home daycare.
    Currently I have one 11 month old girl, and my son is 11 months old and I have a 4 year old son, and a 3 year old boy starting next week.

    So my question is about getting the 11 month old girl to sleep. For the last two weeks, I have been able to give her a bottle in my arms, and hold her until she falls asleep. (Mom's request) Some days it has taken up to an hour of screaming before she falls asleep, but it has worked fine because my son is already sleeping, and my 4 year old is at school. Next week, when I have the 3 year old here, I wont be able to sit with the 11 month old girl for an hour.

    Any tips, as to what to do with her? Just let her scream in the playpen?? I just don't want her to wake up the other 11 month old that is already sleeping too.

    Suggestions anyone?....

    Thanks!
    ARL-G

  2. #2
    Euphoric !
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    Ohhh.... Well I tell parents before the child starts ( at least a month in advance) to start getting the child to home her own bottle and to make sure the child is using a sippy cup, and on fnger foods, also I tell parents that the child must be able to self sooth as I can not rock or hold while child is sleeping .....the child must be able to go to sleep on their own in a playpen. This will probably be a tough go.... You will have to have a chat with the Parents and tell them to stop holding the child to fall asleep because in group care that's not going to be an option....good luck

  3. #3
    Expansive...
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    Wow - welcome to the forum and the daycare world.

    I agree with crayola - It is not realistic to expect that a provider holds a child for 1 hour so that the child will sleep. You need and deserve a break too.

    Tell the parents that this needs to change and see if they would be willing to try sleep training at home and you also do it at your house while the child is there. There will be tears for the first week but then it should make everyone's life easier.

    Explain to the parents that during nap you need to clean up the lunch dishes and also prepare snacks and eat your own lunch and that you are getting exhausted losing an hour holding their child and that it is not possible to hold their child because you have other children/tasks taht need to be done during that time. Ask them what they propose and whether they can work on this at home

  4. #4
    Euphoric !
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    I feel for you as I was the same when I first started out with my first daycare kid...rocking her to sleep...trying all sorts of things to get her to sleep. However, I learned fast that unfortunately, the only way to get peaceful days and quiet naptimes is to let them cry it out right from the beginning. I go back and lay them down every 5 minutes or so until they stop crying and go to sleep...even if it takes the entire naptime. Within a week or two, they understand there is no getting out of it and they start sleeping on their own. You NEED naptime to reboot your energy, clean up etc. You will brun out if you continue like that. I have many kids who don't sleep at naptime for their parents, but they sleep very well here...consistency and routine is key. I wouldn't be asking the parents anything...what they so and what you do is not the same. They don't get to tell you how to do it at your house. It is so different when you have multiple children to care for. Good luck to you!

  5. #5
    Euphoric ! Inspired by Reggio's Avatar
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    I agree - rocking to sleep is not a long term solution specially in group care ... when an infant arrives NEW and unprepared for group care I will explain to clients that do my best the first few days to rock them when I can however this is not always feasible ... I slowly start rocking but than putting them in still awake and letting them fall asleep on their own the last little bit rocking less and less before hand until they are going in full awake and I am able to walk away and they may 'fuss' for 5 minutes or so but fall asleep on their own.

    I just transitioned in an eight month old who had co-slept at home and never been in a 'crib' before finding out mom had to return to work 4 months early ... took me just over a week to transition him into going in on his own awake with less than 5 minutes of crying before falling off to sleep ... I can empathize with parents who 'rock' cause I too hate listening to an infant cry however SLEEP is important and rocking is not always an option when there are multiple children so 'self soothing' to sleep needs to be a priority for those who are planning to return to work and place their child in 'group care' of another
    Children construct their own intelligence. The adult must provide activities and context, but most of all must be able to listen. Children need proof that adults believe in them. Their three great desires are to be listened to, to understand, and to demonstrate that they are exactly what we expect."
    Loris Malaguzzi

  6. #6
    Euphoric !
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    Nothing new to add.... but what all the others have said is exactly right, in my opinion.
    It is hard to listen to a child cry for any length of time, but allowing them to learn to get to sleep, stay asleep and go back to sleep if they wake up too soon is the BEST gift you can give them.
    I would absolutely have a chat with mom or dad, and let them know that a child in group care needs to learn to self soothe, and that in the long run, it will benefit everyone.

  7. #7
    Shy
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    Have you tried putting her on a cot on the floor? I had a similar issue with a 10 month old who would not sleep in the crib/playpen, so I finally put him on the floor so I could rub his back, and he was happy and fell asleep pretty quickly that way. Just an idea.

  8. #8
    Shy
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    Thank you everyone!

    Monday afternoon I started letting her cry. She cried for 2 hrs (me going in every ten minutes to put her down) and she didn't sleep at all. Since then we are slowly getting a little bit better each nap time (2 a day). She is sitting up and crying now, while before she would stand and cry...so the chances of her falling asleep are getting a little bit better. It's not the actual nap that she is refusing...when I go in and lay her down, she stops crying. It's me not touching her that upsets her. She wants me to sit there and rock her/rub her back, or something. The problem with that is that I will have two 3 year olds soon, and I can't leave them unattended while I sit with the 11 month old for her morning nap.

    Mom is TOTALLY on board with her learning to fall asleep on her own. Mom has been in school since her daughter was a young baby, leaving her with Grandma, and that is who rocked her to sleep, or let her decide that she didn't want to nap.

    But, I do see things getting better soon...hopefully before the other two children start!!
    Last edited by ARL-G; 03-07-2012 at 11:47 AM.

  9. #9
    Euphoric !
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    Maybe stop going in and lying her down maybe shell stop crying faster if you don't go in .... It's kind of like getting her hopes up when you in and then she doesn't get what she wants so she starts all over again .... Two steps forward and one back .... Try just leaving her .... Does she have a security item.... A blanket from home or something that she sleeps with everyday ? I have just started a 10 month old and she had all her naps in a swing!!!!! Yikes !!!! I am amazed at how well she has adjusted .... Parents brought a sleep sac and a little blanket with a lambs head attached and she actually sleeps longer here then she does at home. Good luck and I'm sure it will get better

  10. #10
    Shy
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    She does have a blanket from home...but I don't think she cares about it. She is in the playpen now (I'm trying to keep myself occupied). It's so hard to hear her cry...but I know it has to happen.


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