How to Support Your Baby's Sleep While Transitioning to Daycare:

Transitioning your baby to daycare comes with several hurdles, logistical considerations & mixed emotions. Not the least of the mix is... sleep.

It's not uncommon for daycares to have nap schedules that your little one will need to fit into, and it's likely that nap time routines and settling methods will look different than they do at home. The good news is that babies are adaptable, and it's totally possible to maintain good sleep at home, even during the transition to daycare.

Consider Your Expectations:

First things first, starting daycare is a big transition. It's only reasonable to expect that your baby may have some sleep set-backs when they first transition to daycare. This doesn't mean that you won't be able to get back on track by implementing the following tips. And, if you're needing some professional support to get back to better sleep, check out my affordable, quick & effective Prepared Sleeper package.

Keep in mind that babies who are used to seeing their parent(s) for most of the day, who transition to part/full-time daycare are undergoing big change! You know that you've picked someone you trust to care for your baby, and soon your baby will grow a bond with their new caregiver as well. But, in the meantime, it isn't uncommon for babies to need more emotional support and one-on-one time with their parents. Sometimes this translates to overnight wakings, when their parent is available to give their undivided attention - or so your baby sees it!

Incorporate Lots of One-on-one Time:

When your little one starts daycare, they're days suddenly look different than what they've ever known. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does take some adjustment. It is not uncommon for babies to wake more in the night signalling for their parents. And it makes sense - their used to seeing you during the day, a lot, and they're looking to have this need met. Intentional one-on-one time with your little one during wakeful hours can fill their emotional cup during the day, so they don't need as much support overnight. One-on-one time can be a cuddle session leading up to bedtime, sharing a meal together in the evening, spending some playtime together in the morning, or incorporating special family days over the weekend - whatever your schedule allows for & your family enjoys!

Consider Sleep Training:

If your little one is still waking overnight leading up to starting daycare, consider gentle sleep training/transitioning, to work towards consolidated night sleep. If your baby is routinely getting a full night of restorative sleep before daycare, they are less likely to experience set-backs due to overtiredness, and whatever set-backs you do notice will be easier to fix when your little one already knows how to self-settle and sleep independently.

Bring a Familiar Sleep Prop

If your baby is bonded to a stuffed animal, special blanket, or another sleep prop, they can bring their lovey with them for nap times at daycare. If you'd like to help your baby bond to a lovey, you should ensure that they always have their lovey during naps and bedtimes. Before introducing it, try sleeping with it for a few nights, or wearing it under your shirt for a while to that it smells like you - comfort! You can also interact with their lovey, giving it hugs and kisses, so your baby can see that you love their lovey, and be likely to follow your lead. Lastly, inviting their lovey along when you are nursing or bottle feeding your baby, or having a cuddle, can help your little one associate their lovey with comfort & safety.

A little tip: purchasing a back-up/second version of their special blanket or stuffed animal, means you can leave one at daycare, or in your baby's diaper bag that goes to daycare with them, to help mitigate the risk of forgetting it at home.

Stay Consistent with Routines at Home

Even though settling methods and nap times may be different at daycare, compared to at home - stick with what you've been doing if its working for your family. Babies are flexible, and will soon adapt to the way naps & bedtime go at home, and the way naps occur at daycare. You do not have to make big changes yo your typical routine, in order to align with what your daycare does. As a matter of fact, doing so may cause some serious sleep set-backs.

Stick to your normal settling method when getting your little one down for naps & at bedtime. Sometimes big transitions, like starting daycare, lead parents to augment the settling that's been working for their baby prior to the change. I encourage you to keep things as consistent as possible, as long as your method is still working for everybody! With your baby already undergoing some big changes, keeping as much familiar as possible is better for them. Resist the urge to become more hands on with settling, or to pull away. Your baby is likely to protest additional changes in their life at this time.

Stick to Your Nap Schedule at Home

Some daycares require your baby to be on a one-nap schedule. Most babies aren't truly ready to make this transition until 14-18 months, though some babies may transition slightly early or late. In order to help combat overtiredness, I recommend keeping your typical two-nap routine on days when your baby is home. These days will give your baby a chance to catch up on their sleep debt. And that brings me to the next point...

Consider an Earlier Bedtime

If your little one is having fewer or shorter naps at daycare then they usually do at home, they are at risk of experiencing overtiredness. Over tiredness is a culprit for night wakings, early morning rising, and short naps, so you want to do everything you can to avoid it! When babies get overtired, they can get into a viscous cycle where they lose sleep due to night wakings, and then rise early for the day, cutting their nights early, and then have short naps, which means they haven't met their sleep needs for another day...and cue another poor night sleep. Makes sense? In order to avoid this as much as possible, consider putting your little one to bed earlier on daycare days, by up to an hour!

Find a Daycare that You're Comfortable With

The last thing you can do to set your baby up for success as they transition to daycare, is to find a facility, dayhome, nanny or other careprovider that you're comfortable with. Don't be afraid to check out more than one place & interview several people - after all, this is an important role you're looking to have filled! When meeting potential care providers, be sure to ask about naptime routines & schedules, and keep their answers as a consideration when you're making your choice!

Remember, it is normal to see some sleep set-backs during the transition to daycare, but implementing these tips will help make these as minimal as possible! If you are looking to improve your baby's sleep before they start daycare, or are needing help with the aforementioned set-backs, be sure to contact me!