How can I help my baby adjust to sleeping at nursery?

[FunnyOrca]

Hello,

My baby is starting Nursery in 5 months time. I have perhaps been reading too many bad news stories. I’m very worried about her being able to sleep at Nursery.

Since birth she has needed to either be breastfed to sleep or walked in a carrier/sling. I am very scared she will frustrate the staff by not sleeping or getting over tired, perhaps leading to unsafe sleep as in the recent trial of the tragic incident.

Is there anything anyone would recommend I do now to help with this transition?

Try not to worry about nursery. The unsafe issues you’ve seen in the media are horrific but exceptionally rare. I’ve had two prolifically rubbish sleepers who both needed either contact naps or naps on the move (pram/car) and they both just fell into line at nursery - it’s like they see all the other kids/babies lie down on those little mats and they follow suit. For the first few sessions be prepared that the naps are probably going to be short as they adjust but my now 19 month old quite frequently has 2+ hour naps at nursery just lying on their little mats - absolutely unbelievable compared to at home! Remember these are childcare professionals, it’s their jobs, and they’ve very likely seen it all before. It’s still a while away and 5 months is a long time for your little one to change their habits too. Enjoy your remaining maternity leave!

You've got ages. My DS was only sleeping in the pram/ on me for naps until he was 10 months old then I cracked it before he went at 12 months. I was worried too but it's absolutely fine.

Don’t worry about it. Nursery workers are magic miracle workers who sprinkle sleep dust over babies and they just sleep.

All 3 of mine had sling or pushchair naps with me but slept fine in their little nursery beds independently!

Echoing PP, nursery workers are some kind of miracle workers. Mine wouldn’t / doesn’t sleep with me but nursery can somehow get him to sleep without rocking or feeding to sleep. They also get him to eat when he won’t with me (just wants breast). I had exact same worries as you but after an initial rocky couple of weeks, it’s going really well.

Different environment, different stimulation, different expectations! Most babies will settle to sleep at nursery quickly.

What will help, as you baby gets older and nearer the time, is for you to put them down awake when possible so they learn to drift off without being held and keep to a set schedule. The babies that sleep best with us are ones that have the same nap time each day as they are automatically tired and expecting sleep at that time. Nursery should follow the babies home sleep schedule initially, but don’t be surprised if their sleep schedule does automatically change a bit after starting nursery.

Thank you all. This is reassuring to know it’s a slight phenomenon that babies sleep at Nursery out of “peer pressure”.

Thank you for sharing your professional experience @Bryonyberries that really helps. I don’t want to be an absolute PITA to the Nursery staff. Do you think I should ask them (maybe a month out?) what they want her to be able to do before settling? Or would this seem overbearing?