11 Month Old Cries, Won’t Eat, Wants To Sleep 5 Hours A Day

[cmclean24]

I have been taking care of this 11 month old for 2 months now, he is here 2-3 times a week. From the beginning he has always cried, slept and wont eat..and at first I thought it was all about being in a new place, new people and being away from family..but I'm not too sure anymore what it is since he doesn't cry when his mom leaves, and for some reason his parents say he is a big eater at home and he only has 1 or 2 naps, about an hour long each. Well here he will sleep for 3 hours one time and 2 hours the next..and I don't get it, he will not drink his milk or water, that the parents are determined he must drink one bottle after his first nap and the other after his second, but he just screams, doesn't know how to hold it and wont let me do it, but his parents always feed him the bottle at home, literally feed it to him, she cant get him to do it apparently. This is very disruptive in all aspects of my day and I have talked to them about it before but they can't seem to understand what is going on, I was going to wait until he is a bit older, like another month or so and see if he improves with age but I don't know what to do in the meantime!! I can tell you one more bit of information, he gets carried around in a Boba when he's home with his parents..and he's 23 pounds, but yes she has admitted to me that and offered me to use it here , not going to happen. I forgot to mention he doesnt play or interact with anyone, he basically sits in one spot with his blanket and thumb in his mouth, he really doesnt have much of an expression except sad/crying and when I take him out of the bed after a 2 hour nap he really doesnt want to be out, he cries out here and when I put him back to see if thats what he "wants" he is quiet in there and goes back to sleep..So what can I do to make this easier?

[countrymom]

part time is so hard. I would ditch the bottles. I had kids like this too. Parents determined that they have the bottles but the kids didn't want it, and how am I suppose to force them to take it. so I started to send the bottles home. As long as I tried then thats all that matters.

also, instead of a bottle, how about a small yogurt after the nap or some cheerios.

as for the sleeping, let him sleep, he may be having a growth spurt, maybe having a rough night at home you don't know.

[cmclean24]

part time is so hard. I would ditch the bottles. I had kids like this too. Parents determined that they have the bottles but the kids didn't want it, and how am I suppose to force them to take it. so I started to send the bottles home. As long as I tried then thats all that matters.

also, instead of a bottle, how about a small yogurt after the nap or some cheerios.

as for the sleeping, let him sleep, he may be having a growth spurt, maybe having a rough night at home you don't know.

Thank you, Its just when I tell the parents how much he naps they are angry and do not want that so then I'm stuck not telling them the truth anymore..I do let him sleep but it's not healthy behaviour as he's been doing this for 2 months..thats a very long growth spurt. But yes I want to get rid of the bottles, the parents say he drinks them at home though so it's reflective of me I feel.

[cheerfuldom]

I really don't think that that is too much sleeping for an 11 month old. I normally have my kids on two naps a day till about 15 or 18 months. It can vary between 3 and 5 hours total for each kid so I dont think that an 11 month old sleeping 5 hours total for naps is a big deal at all....especially a child that is not receiving enough naps at home. Two 1 hour naps does not sound sufficient at all. I would seriously just listen to what this child is telling you and what is making him happy, especially a part timer. I wouldnt even offer up any more info to these parents unless they ask. Just do what works for you and this kid at daycare. If he is happy napping more, let him nap. If he doesnt want his bottle, just offer and then just put it away. If he doesn't want to play, just leave him. He can watch and warm up when he is good and ready. Stop trying to fix this all by yourself. If the parents have specific questions, answer them but otherwise, they know how you do things. If they want something different, they can go to another daycare. I am not saying to lie to the parents....just stop offering so much info when you know that is going to make them upset. Keep responses upbeat. If they ask how much he napped that day just say "oh he did his usual two naps a day and he was really happy with that so I am going to go with it" just keep being vague, upbeat and putting a positive spin on things. If he doesnt take his bottles AND they ask about it just say "He didnt finish either bottle but he was happy and let me know he was finished. I know you would want me to listen to his cues and not force anything on him. Feel free to let me know if you would like to start trying sippy cups here" insert big smile here

[LittleAcorn]

I had a 12 month old who was sleeping up to 7 hrs a day for the first month or so. The longest he was staying awake was 1 hr. For him it was his response to the stress of starting daycare. He also did not have the energy to eat or play, he would sit and stare and then start crying and crawl over to his nap area and go back to sleep. A home he was taking 1 or 2 30 minute naps a day. I worked with him to help him calm down and develop more tolerance for being at daycare, but let him sleep as much as he wanted.
Eventually he calmed down and moved to one nap, but it remained around 3 hours long. He started playing and interacting more and became a joy to have in the room. I have pictures of him sleeping in the strangest places!