Napping at nursery

[Littlepaleale]

DD(10mo) has just started nursery. We're one week in and she's starting to settle there. She's eating OK but struggling to get much sleep whilst she's there. The most she's managed is 40 minutes after lunch. By evening time she's falling asleep in her bath.

On days at home she'll happily have at least an hour's nap in the morning and the same in the afternoon. Mind you, it took us months to get to that point as at 6 months old I was walking miles in the quest of daytime sleep - wouldn't sleep in her cot.

At nursery she's in a cot with her usual comforters and sleeping bag but the environment is much busier than she's used to.

My question is - is this normal? Does it get better? Is there anything you or the nursery did to help daytime sleep. Reassurance & tips most welcome!

Don't worry.

When My DD first started nursery (at age 1yr) she wouldn't have a nap there. I practically took everything she had in her cot with her from the grobag to music box & toys but she still didn't sleep.

In the end I came to the conclusion that if she was tired then she would sleep. Eventually she would have a lunchtime sleep and I was suprised one day to hear she'd had a 2 hour nap in the cot in the main play room, whilst the other babies were having music time!

It was a very small nursery so not many other children around. I think DD thought she'd miss out on something if she went to sleep.

On the days she was with me at home she would have a 1 - 1.5 hour sleep.

I don't think there is anything to worry about.

My daughter was the same too, started at nursery at 8 months. It didn't affect her sleep at home, which was 1 1/2-2 hrs, and she sleeps well at nursery now (aged 18 months). Can't remember when she started sleeping longer at nursery from, it took her a good few months though.

It didn't do her any harm, she was just exhausted when she got home on nursery days.

Hiya Littlepaleale,
My DD was the same, she would sleep no longer than 20 mins at a time twice a day at nursery. She went in at 6MO. She is now 11mo and literally the first weeks she hit 11MO (just 4 weeks ago) the nursery moved her with others of the same age and they stopped any nap-taking until after lunch. She did get grumpy and tired to start with but then found a second wind before lunch. They put all the babies on the floor, on a mat each covered in a blanket and they all sleep. Yes, really. We laughed all the way from Nursery to Work when they said they were starting her in this routine on day 1 and to our utter surprise and amazement on day 1 she had slept for 1 hour. The caregivers said it did take them 20 mins of ssshhing and patting her bottom but by the end of the first week it was taking 10 mins and I am told today she took herself off for a sleep after lunch. Some days it is an hour and 40 and others it is just maybe 1hr 10 but every day she does it.
She will get there. In the meantime put her to bed half hour earlier than you would normally and she will thank you for it. It doesn't mean she will wake necessarily any earlier in the morning.