Okay...Infant Schedule Fans...

[Heidi]

8 mo arrives at 10:30 and leaves at 4:30 M-F.

I've had him 2nd shift until now, so....what schedule would you put him on, and how do I get him to take a longer nap? We eat lunch at 11:30., then everyone sleeps for 3 (THREE!!!) hours...12-3

He sleeps for 1....

He just learned to sit himself up, too....

[jojosmommy]

What does he do when he wakes? cry/scream/roll around and talk to himself?

Sounds like you don't have him much time so you don't have much choice but to put him down with everyone else at nap time. Is he getting up right before coming to daycare at 10:30? Prob not too tired if sleeping in that late.

[cheerfuldom]

Is he on a schedule during the morning when you dont have him? that would be important to know as a starting place for how much time he needs to be sleeping at your house.

[Heidi]

I have tried to get mom to understand that he needs a schedule. I THINK he goes to bed fairly late, and "sleeps in". But, since he cannot be sleeping past 10:00am no matter what (travel time), I think his schedule is fairly consistent.

As for the waking, he has always screamed bloody murder when going to sleep and wakes up the same way... I feel so bad for kids that do that-I honestly don't think any of my 4 did a whole lot of that. I had them "convinced" their "beddy by" was a GREAT place to go!

He has his own room (my room) and it's dark and cool (exposed basement, but good curtains). He sleeps in a pnp, and I put a big box fan in there, mostly for the sake of the other kids. I noticed that as he was falling asleep, they could still hear him, but I dare not leave a box fan out on the floor in the room THEY"RE sleeping in...that would be huge danger.

And...apparently I spoke too soon. He's been asleep for 2 hours!!!happyfacehappyface I could live with that every day! When he was here 2nd shift, it was 20 minutes a couple times, and mostly 1 hour on the nose. I had a hard time believing mom when she said he "usually" sleeps a few hours in the afternoon. I should stop being so skeptical!

So...keep your fingers crossed for me.....please

[Truly Scrumptious]

That's why I make the rule that everyone has to be in care no later than 9:00. It just disrupts the whole schedule.
But, if you don't mind him coming in at that time, it's just a matter of resetting his "body clock". It can be done, just may take a while.

When my niece was about 2, she stayed with my mom for a while. Since it was grandma, when she woke up at 2:00 everyday, mom let her get up, even though she had only slept about an hour.
Well when she started in my child care, my kids sleep for 2 hours until 3:00. But everyday her eyes sprung open right at 2
I told her she didn't have to go back to sleep, but that she had to be quiet for her friends that did want to sleep. As each week passed, she slept a little longer each day until finally she slept until 3 just like the rest of the kids, sometimes she would even sleep past 3:00 and I would have to wake her up.

I've done the same thing for my babies.

[cheerfuldom]

Really there is not much you can do because from the moms reply, if she cant give you times that he is sleeping, then he isnt on a schedule at home. it will probably be a struggle with him for quite awhile as you never know what he did the night before or that morning. With that in mind, I would keep him up till 12 every day and then just put him down for nap for 3 hours like everyone else. If he is waking up screaming at random times, I would peek in on him but not let him get up. Find a place where he can nap and not wake the other kids because with the lack of schedule, you will have to deal with some crying. Just because he is up, does not mean that he is ready to be happily up.

[Heidi]

Really there is not much you can do because from the moms reply, if she cant give you times that he is sleeping, then he isnt on a schedule at home. it will probably be a struggle with him for quite awhile as you never know what he did the night before or that morning. With that in mind, I would keep him up till 12 every day and then just put him down for nap for 3 hours like everyone else. If he is waking up screaming at random times, I would peek in on him but not let him get up. Find a place where he can nap and not wake the other kids because with the lack of schedule, you will have to deal with some crying. Just because he is up, does not mean that he is ready to be happily up.

yes...he's done so well today...I hope it's just going to be fine, but I suspect every day will be different. This is the same little man that screamed 3 weeks solid when he started here.

I think I'll just make sure his routine is the same here every day, or pretty close. He will get it eventually.

State licensing here has a little clause that says something like "crying children will be attended to promptly" (how vague is that?), and "infants will be allowed to sleep and eat on their own schedule" I know most providers accomidate that with a 2 month old...but for the whole first year? hmmm... In my experience, the happiest babies are those that DO have a schedule. Not when they're 6 weeks, old, but certainly by 4-5 months. oh, and some licensers consider them infants until they turn 2....it's not specified in the regs???

Wait-scratch that! Infants IS specified for under 1, and toddlers are 1-2 years of age, which means she wrote me up in error about sleeping arrangments. arggg.

[jojosmommy]

I would wean him onto the schedule you want. Want him to sleep longer then let him be just a few min more each day. I had one who would scream every instant of being in the pnp. Now she sleeps wonderfully or babbles to herself once she choosed not to nap. I just waited 2-3 more min each day. She slowly accommodated. And yes still attend to crying babies as per your regs but find a way to make it work. Sit next to pnp and read a book. Tended to, but crying not confirmed as a get out behavior. My infants quickly learn that if they don't cry they can hear my reading.