Nursery and baby only contact naps

[Peanutbutteryday]

I know this has been done to death on here but I am really really nervous about my Dc going to nursery. She will be one when she starts three days a week. Currently 7.5 months. She will only nap in my arms (fed to sleep) or in her pram outside.

I had a phase quite some time back where I tried everything (no luck) but gave up as I concluded she’d start napping on her own when she’s older.

I have re tried this week to get her in the crib. No luck. She wakes screaming immediately. I follow everything we do at night that works perfectly - black outs, white noise

I am so nervous about her at nursery as I think the likelihood is she still won’t nap on her own by then. Any reassurance please would be so welcome - ie:

• will be Dc be napping less at one such that it will be less of an issue?

• any nursery workers here who can shed light on what actually happens if you have a high needs baby? I’m terrified she’ll be left to cry.

• should I persevere now and try and get Dc to nap in cot? I really feel it’s going to be an up hill battle and I don’t relish the idea of spending my mat leave fighting with my baby (I’m usually quite baby led) to get her to do some thing she doesn’t want. But if the consensus is it is a must to do pre nursery I will do it.

I have a nursery meeting up coming so I am of course going to find out myself what they say, but the meeting isn’t for a month or so. For the avoidance of doubt the nursery is a really good one and I am happy with the choice, but I had to sign up pre Dc birth so I didn’t ask the high needs questions at the time.

thank you.

I was in the same position 7 years ago. DS never napped in his cot and started 3 days a week at nursery at 9 months old. It was fine! Honestly they are magic and know how to get children to sleep. I don't think they drug them so can only assume they are trained how to do it.

My ds went to nursery when he would only be fed to sleep. For them, he was put in a cot with a muslin to cuddle (and he never had a comfort item at home) and would sleep happily like that. He still wouldn't do that at home

By the time my little one went to nursery, he would only be fed to sleep and either had to contact nap or go into his cot (with v careful transfer, dummy, bear, sleep bag, lullabies etc). Within a few weeks, they would get the mats out for naptime and he would lay down in the clothes that he'd been wearing and go to sleep. He would never have done (and still wouldn't do) that with us but those who work in childcare are honestly magic. There are some great Instagram pages who give advice around starting childcare and sleep (look up fox and the moon, little nest sleep and second star to the right).

Also a lot may also change between now and then. My DD would only contact nap or pram nap but one day at around 8 months I put her down to nap in the travel cot while staying at my parents and she actually stayed asleep. We then continued with the cot naps at home.

I know it's difficult to believe when you're in the thick of it but PPs are right. They're absolute magic at nursery.

Nursery staff are amazing. DS2 would never settle for me unless I fed to sleep, hugged to sleep or put him in pram/car seat.

They started by cuddling and transferring but within a couple of weeks they got him lying down and settling on a toddler mat. He hated the lovely baby basket beds.

His keyworker did call me at work the first time he self settled

He will see all the other children lie down quietly and will do the same

DD was the same at 10 months but after two days of not sleeping her key worker cracked it with the swing and then before long she was sleeping on a mat as PP said above.

DS was also totally boob fed when he started and was again a contact napper and was fine with both straight away too - they really do learn different skills/associations at nursery than they have at home

Same with DD, went to nursery at 13 months and is now 20 months. She did nap at nursery but first few months it was only for 20-40 minutes compared to 2-3 hours at home, but it got better and now she consistently naps at least 1 hour 30 at nursery and also in the last few months we’ve cracked her napping in the cot at home easily which is a game changer! If I were you I wouldn’t persevere trying to get her to nap in the cot if it’s difficult and stressful, wait a few months then try again.

DD was never left to cry at nursery, if she wouldn’t go down they just tried again later. She was already on just one nap a day by 13 months which also makes things easier.

Our daughter would only sleep if she was being held, once she started nursery we soon discovered she’d literally sleep anywhere if we weren’t in the building

nursery have a magic touch!!
you’ll be surprised by what your child will do at nursery compared to at home

Can only echo what everyone else has said. When my daughter could talk she used to ask for her sleep mat at nursery so she could nap 🤣 a lot will change between now and then and your child will behave differently in a different environment.
Easy to say but try not to worry 😊

DD1 was a contact napper. First day at nursery she lay down on a floor bed with the other babies and went to sleep for an hour and a half.

Another saying nursery are magic! I think it’s a combination of positive peer pressure and the person looking after them not being mummy 😁

Also applies to: eating things they won’t for you, doing things they won’t for you, potty training, putting on hats and coats and gloves, sitting nicely, taking turns…

The nursery team were witches, my DD slept in all sorts of places and for way longer than she would for me

Mine was the same - napped only in arms or a moving pram at home, but slept happily in a cot and later on a mat at nursery. Nursery staff have magic powers!

Ok thank you everyone!!!

Lots of people saying the same.

I will try not to worry between now and Dc starting (impossible) but I’m not going to persevere with trying to get Dc to cot nap now for me when and clearly doesn’t want to (and I’m perfectly happy with contact or pram naps myself).

Impossible not to worry obviously. As everyone else said do what you (ha ha I mean the baby) want to outside of nursery as it won't make a difference what they do at nursery.

My little boy contact napped until he was 2, he started nursery at 9 months old. He let them cuddle and then put him down for a sleep, at home he still refused haha!

So much this!

Both mine were contact nappers that had to be fed to sleep by the time they went to nursery. Nursery worked their magic and they sleep there just fine now. Same with veggies. My DD is the pickiest child in the world at home. At nursery she devours the lot and asks for more.

Magic!

Nursery workers have actual magical powers! There's something about the environment. One worker told me she'd rather have a room of babies to put to sleep than her own toddler nephew. Says it all really.

I spent far to much of my mat leave worrying about this with DS1 and they had him sleeping on a mat within a month or so. DS2 was also a contact napper but a better sleeper overall than DS1. They were always able to get DS2 down on a mat but it's taken nearly 5 months to get him to nap longer than 30 minutes (normally does 1.5-2 hours at home). But he's fine and actually settled quicker overall than DS1.

Not the case for everyone but I found with my 2 that they did become more independent with their sleep at home after starting nursery.

Thank you. My Dc is one of those babies who already has less day time sleep than expected so I am hopeful as long as they can get her down for at least one nap (even if it’s short) when she’s 12/13 months she’ll be able to manage. Will try my best not to worry about it!

This was (and still is) us too! Our DD only contact napped in our arms (with rocking and bouncing) for the first two years, but nursery staff have some sort of mystery magic at getting infants to sleep and they always got her down for one long nap or two shorter naps per day without any problems from when she started at 13 months.

Nurseries are magic. Or they are all witches. Whichever it is no one cares because they can get any child to lie down in a cot and go to sleep. Or settle themselves on a little mat on the floor when they are a bit older. Amazing.

You might have a couple of weeks where your baby is settling in but then you too will be in awe of the magical nursery nap powers.

I think this is it - DS also sat down nicely at a little table to eat his food at nursery, along with seven other babies, aged 11 months.

He napped on a soft mat on the floor in one nursery, then in a little camp bed in the next, and on the floor again in the third (we moved house). No issues at all.

I dropped him off at nap time one afternoon (he had had a medical appointment in the morning) and he toddled over to the camp beds, pulled one out, and climbed onto it and shut his eyes to sleep. He was going through a nightmare nap-refusal phase at home - I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.