Childminder and naps?!

[forcedinsomnia]

Hello again. Ds now nearly 9 mo has regressed slightly. Up 3 times last night, once for an hour!! I am a full time working mum and so my ds goes to childcare 5 days a week.:-( Monday and fri with MIL and the other 3 days to a childminder. Some days with the childminder he has just one 20-30 nap all day. He's there from 7.15 until 5pm!! On these days he's obviously over-tired and we struggle to keep him awake for his dinner, bath and bedtime routine. He gets quite cranky, poor wee thing. The childminder has 2 other children on tues and wed (2.5 and 4yo) who she has to entertain also. How/what is the best way to tackle this? Can I ask her (tell her?!) he needs to sleep more?! What is the general consensus?

Hello forced. i don't know what protocol is with childminders but I made it quite clear when DD started nursery that she needed a lot of help going to sleep and they seemed/do seem fine with that. Any nursery that hadn't been ok with that wouldn't have got my business, as till that point DD breastfed to sleep despite many attempts at trying to get her to fall asleep on her own. Also they have a note on the wall not to let her sleep more than 1.5 hours. Did you discuss nap routines etc with the CM when your DS started? How does he fall asleep? If he falls asleep easily in the buggy, can you ask her to go for more walks with the children, if the other 2 are older, she could walk to the park then leave your DS in the buggy snoozing whilst supervising the other children playing. I can understand that she probably doesn't have time to cuddle or rock your DS to sleep the way that my nursery does, as they have more staff.

Another thought is if your pick up is at 5pm then perhaps he should be having dinner at the CM, even if you have to provide the food? My nursery serves dinner at 4pm then we just have to give a snack before bed. For a 7:15am start, your DS must be waking very early.

You do need a chat to find out why he is having so little sleep there. I would have thought a grumpy baby would be no fun for her either. There must be a reason, and once you know that then you and her can perhaps plan how to make things better. When I had a small baby to mind it was hard because he would power nap on the school/pre-school run and then not sleep properly later at home. Could be the same issue? I have to say I concluded I wasnt the right minder for my mindee for that reason - we couldnt be in enough/at the right times, and TBH he really only slept properly in a cot.

Can you change CM? Maybe she's getting him to nap in a busy room or too near noise. Perhaps she could get him to nap in the pushchair as I assume they go out - she can get a snooze shade to cut out the light?

Thanks all. We have discussed it....but I'm not sure its working. I think he does have a nap (15-20 mins) on the school run morning and afternoon some days....but it's not enough. He will sleep in car and pram but he doesn't like travel cots. Although I've not tried him recently. He is very happy with her...doesn't get grumpy at all really because he has so much to entertain him....so she probably thinks he's fine and in reality he's being overstimulated. When he gets home and he's clearly exhausted. It's my dh who picks him up at 5pm. I'm usually not back till 6pm so by the time it's bath and bed with mummy he's having a meltdown!! Think I'll try discussing it again....and if necessary look into changing cm. I know it must be hard for her....but now he's getting more mobile he needs a decent sleep. It's a shame really because I really like her....and his big cousin is the 2.5 yr old. She may be glad if I ask her about me changing minder....although a pay drop for her. Another thing is all the childminders round here are in a little gang....and if I start asking questions she'll find out!

How long has he been with the CM? It might take a couple of months for him to settle down and the naps may come naturally?

He went one day a week from 3.5 mo to 6 mo when I went back to work full time (end of Jan), now he's there 3 days a week. She just seems very busy and keen to keep kids occupied. I discussed his sleep with her before I went back to work, she knew he wasn't a 'pop down in the cot and he'll nap' kind of baby. It takes a bit of work.....which can take a few minutes to perhaps 15 mins (rocking in pram/milk/cuddles&dummy) then can be left. I need to try and finish early one day and go and discuss it. DH doesn't think it makes much difference....he thinks the more tired ds is a bedtime the longer he'll sleep. Soooooonot true.