Toddler won't nap at DC

[Megan73]

My DCP can't seem to get my 16-month-old son to nap anymore.
Previously, he'd been napping but only sleeping for 20-30 minutes most days and having only occasional good naps of 1-1.5 hours.
Any ideas, mamas? She's been in the business for 15 years and says she's exhausted her bag of tricks. I'm lucky she's never mentioned CIO but I know my son needs the naps and she deserves a little down time in her day.
She thinks it's because I nurse him down for naps on weekends. She may be right. Is the answer coming up with a non-nursing way to get him down for naps on weekends? If so, HOW???

[Alyantavid]

Mine's a bit older but he doesn't nap at daycare either. He naps at home fine, so I don't know what the deal is with daycare.

Our daycare provider does have all the kids lay down for a couple hours every day. Whether they nap or not, they all have quiet time. I'm not sure how that would work with a 16 month old (and your provider has probably already tried that).

[Elecampane]

My (always nursed to sleep) DD would only sleep in a baby swing at daycare, until she was like 2. Maybe a swing would work depending on how big your son is? I know that probably sounds weird but it worked for us!

I definitely wouldn't give up on nursing him down on weekends. I think that kids can accept and thrive on two different sleep routines, one at home, one at daycare. The trick is of course figuring out what works.

How long has this been going on, that he won't sleep there? Could there be some other factors at work (illness, teething, increased separation anxiety at that age)?

[readytobedone]

IME, nursing hasn't affected DD's napping habits. what worked was having the right childcare providers

our first babysitter, and our current DCP, were able to get DD to sleep very easily after the initial adjustment period. the middle one? not so much.

if you are otherwise very happy with the arrangement, then my advice may not be helpful to you. but my advice is, find someone experienced enough to figure out how to get your kid to sleep.

ETA: i see you say she is experienced. i dunno. how many other kids are there? do they all sleep? is he still napping fine at home? personally, it would bug me that she is singling out the nursing to sleep. our DCP has never done that. when i first brought DD and she asked how i put her to sleep, i said "i nurse her," and she joked "well, we won't be doing that, but we can try other things!"

and it has been fine.

[Megan73]

Originally Posted by Alyantavid

Our daycare provider does have all the kids lay down for a couple hours every day. Whether they nap or not, they all have quiet time. I'm not sure how that would work with a 16 month old (and your provider has probably already tried that).

I'm sure this works great for older kids but you're right - at 16 months my son isn't quite ready for this. What she's tried is putting him in the playpen and telling him 'it's time to sleep.' She lays him down again when he gets up and starts chatting with her and picks him up when he gets upset after repeated attempts.

Originally Posted by Elecampane

I definitely wouldn't give up on nursing him down on weekends. I think that kids can accept and thrive on two different sleep routines, one at home, one at daycare. The trick is of course figuring out what works.

How long has this been going on, that he won't sleep there? Could there be some other factors at work (illness, teething, increased separation anxiety at that age)?

ITA - it seems to me that kids are flexible and can understand that one thing happens with mommy and another thing at DC. The napping has got steadily worse since he started DC at 12 months. I've wracked my brain and can't think of anything that has changed. He's napped well while being sick and badly when he's well. So who knows...

Originally Posted by readytobedone

ETA: i see you say she is experienced. i dunno. how many other kids are there? do they all sleep? is he still napping fine at home? personally, it would bug me that she is singling out the nursing to sleep. our DCP has never done that. when i first brought DD and she asked how i put her to sleep, i said "i nurse her," and she joked "well, we won't be doing that, but we can try other things!"
and it has been fine.

I AM very happy with her in general and all the other kids - all about the same age - nap well. He does nap OK at home but I nurse him down and lie with him or DH rocks him so it's really not a fair comparison, YK? It does bug me that she mentioned the nursing but she's right that he has a sleep association at home (nursing, rocking) he doesn't have at DC. She's great though - she now puts him down, he sleeps for 20 minutes or so before starting to cry and she gets him up and plays quietly with him while the other kids sleep.
It's just that he needs his sleep! He's crashing every afternoon walking home with his dad in the Ergo.
Argh!