New 9 Month Old...Help Please..Been a Loooooog Time

[Live and Learn]

Beginning day one every child this age would take a nap at 9am until whenever 10:30 to 11:00. If she squeaks before then I would make a quick check and let her fuss around. If she is rubbing her face and fussy so soon after her morning 20 minute cat nap then she didn't get enough sleep. I wouldn't get her up before 10:30.

At my house afternoon nap is sacred. it is the only time I can have a complete thought all day....::::::! Afternoon nap is sacred. Everyone sleeps in a play and pay in their own room. Works for me.

The key to this system is frankly to be RIGID for the first couple of weeks.
I know that there are some providers out there who will read this and gasp...thinking I am outrageously ********. I am just matter of fact nap time is 9-10:30 and 1-3. That is just the way it is. All of my lil ones work great after a couple of weeks.

[Live and Learn]

I think it is funny that the word that bleeped out was ,h,a,r,d, c,o,r,e.

[AfterSchoolMom]

When I used to care for babies, I required enough breastmilk or formula for the day PLUS two more bottles. You never know when a child will have a growth spurt. I have a friend who has a newborn at home, and that baby is drinking 4 oz at a time at 2 months! 9 month olds need more than 4 oz bottles.

You could make it clear to them that the baby is hungry for more, that she's crying, and that either they need to bring you more than 2 extra ounces or they need to up her bottles by at least 2 ounces each, but preferably both! What are they afraid of there? I'll never understand parents who don't care that their babies are going hungry!

[tenderhearts]

liveandlearn, I'm getting closer to getting my 2 babies to sleep at the same time as the other kids but its so hard. #1 baby gets here at 6:30, I try to keep him up until 9 which lately I've able to do this. He then goes down again rght after I put all the other kids down for nap, however this is at like 1:30is, he then wakes up at 2:15 or 2:30 and quiet/nap time isn't even over, he is VERY cranky, I have let him fuss in there up to 20 min with just almost constant crying.
Baby #2 gets here at 7:30, she sleeps through the night (unlike baby #1) so she goes down for her nap about 9:30, she will sleep 4 hours so she wakes up just after the other kids go down for nap so she's awake the whole time. I've tried waking her up so she'll go down at a better time but she then becomes VERY fussy for the next 3 hours.

[Live and Learn]

I am a mother to twins. This is the schedule that preserved my sanity.
back to the original poster.....I always have family provide extra formula besides the bottles they bring daily. I say just in case baby is extra hungry or you forget your diaper bag I have food for baby. I don't have a nine month in my care right now but I suspect her trouble is a combination of not enough nap and not enough food.

[DancingQueen]

for a nine month old I would be putting her down for a morning nap around 9 - and then wake her at 11
then she'd be nice and tired come the afternoon nap.

Rather than thinking about how to get her onto a schedule - you should think about the schedule YOU WANT her on. And then determine the best way to do that.

For me - I WANT my afternoon naps to include EVERYONE sleeping. I'd like everyone to have lunch at the same time.

So if I put down a baby int he morning and let her sleep for 2 hours - then chances are my afternoon nap is going to be shorter.

once we get them down at the same time as everyone else in the afternoon. If I think it is still not enough - then I'll consider lengthening the morning nap a bit.

But at 9 months. an hour in the AM and then 2.5 in the PM is usually enough.

[Unregistered]

It sounds like she cant sleep because she's HUNGRY. There's no way that's enough formula. She is waking up with hunger pains. There's no way I'd put up with that from a parent. I wonder what they're telling her pediatrician re: how much formula she takes in a day - I wonder how much she takes at home.

[nannyde]

Hey OP

is this baby on special formula?

If regular formula .. maybe you should consider purchasing a can for the one bottle a day that might change this.

You can't get a hungry kid on a schedule. If they don't eat properly everything else turns to dust. Feeding and sleeping are completely tied into each other.

They are most likely getting the long nights of sleep and the "normal weight" of the baby because THEY are filling the baby up when they have her.

There is a certain amount of the population of parents that want to save on formula because it saves them money AND they want the kid to be awake as much as possible at day care so they can have an early, easy, all night sleep on their clock.

They know if they keep the formula down and the kid is fussy for you there is a really good chance that she will be UP most of the day and sleeping a LONG long night once they get her and get her belly full of milk.

It's very selfish but unfortunately you will see this in the parent population.

I would consider purchasing a can of whatever formula she is on and providing the one extra bottle per day. It will most likely cost you a buck a day or so but it can revolutionize your day with the kid.

I have a sneaking suspicion that they are also doing a small amount in the morning before she comes to you. I would check this by giving the baby a bottle right when she arrived and see how she takes it and how much she wants.

You may have a deal where they are doing this before care and telling you she IS having breakfast when she is having very little.

If a baby goes all day with little formula and then gets formula in the afternoon and evening they will settle down... be easy ... go to bed early.. and most likely sleep thru the night.

They may have figured that one out...

The other option you have is to just TELL them that the State requires you offer six to eight ounces three times during her time there and they MUST provide it. Tell them that if they don't agree that you will need a signed doctors statement that YOU write and they must take to the doctor and return signed. You must also have a PHYSICIANS ORDER to do these amounts.

YOUR letter needs to address to the Dr. the amount the parents are saying the child needs and the USDA Food Guidelines that we are to offer six to eight ounces per feeding.

If you need help writing the letter just p.m. me and I'll help you.

Nan