Working Part-Time and Helping 5 Month Old DD with Naps

[Laurski]

I went back to work part-time at the beginning of January, when DD was 4 months old.  While DD has never, never been a good sleeper (since the day she was born...seriously), we seemed to be getting into some sort of a loose rhythm with nap times *just* before I went back to work.  My problem is this: I don't work the same times every day, and as a result, her tentative grasp on a nap schedule has gone to pieces, resulting in one very, very cranky baby who is now sleeping less, during the day and at night, than ever. 

Any suggestions for what I can do to try to help her with a nap schedule?  Once she's over the nasty cold she currently has, I'm planning on really working with her on sleep in general, but I'm hoping those of you who have BTDT with a crazy part-time schedule (or any kind of crazy non-routine work schedule) might have some suggestions.

For reference, here's our schedule:

Monday: No work, DD at home with me

Tuesday: 1-5, work/daycare

Wednesday: 7:30-11:30 work/daycare

Thursday: 8-12 work/daycare (I'm shifting the time this week to be closer to my W/F days)

Friday: 7:30-11:30 work/daycare

Sat. & Sun.: No work, at home

On M, W, F I can usually get her to go down for a nap between 1-2ish; I'm hoping now that I've shifted her daycare hours a little bit on Thursday I'll have the same success, but what do I do about Tuesdays?  She *loves* all of the activity at daycare, so doesn't generally sleep very much there (besides just being a crappy sleeper in general, both naps and nighttime), and she doesn't really take a good morning nap.  This means that Tuesday evenings with her are filled with crankiness.

I can't change my overall schedule to be more consistent--I teach a class and, despite my best efforts to request one that meets at the same time every day, I was thwarted.  So until the end of the school year, I'm stuck with the schedule above.

Thanks!

[JudiAU]

She is only 5 months old and not taking a nap until 1:00 p.m. ? She must be utterly exhausted. Some babies are still taking three naps then, or at least two. I think you should revisit two naps again, one in the morning 3-4 hours after she wakes and one the afternoon. That should allow you to accomodate but stay home and daycare schedule. Her sleep should be the priority at daycare and you need to make sure they understand that. Same time more or less every day, at your house too. You should stick to the schedule for a while, even though it is tempting to play fast and loose when you are home.

How does she go to sleep? You might need to explore some new ways to help her.

[Laurski]

Oops...I should have clarified...she usually takes some sort of nap at daycare (and days when she's home) around 8:30-9ish, which is about 2 1/2 to 3 hours after she's awoken.  She usually only naps for about 30-45 minutes, however, which I know isn't quite long enough.  Then she usually naps from about 2ish until 3-4, depending on the day.  Then we sometimes get a 1/2 hour nap around 6.  Then around 8-8:30 we put her to bed, which is an entirely different nightmare post.

I'm *never* tempted to play fast and loose with naptime when we're home--I struggle like crazy to get her to sleep, because I know how important it is for her developmentally, and b/c she's high needs and, frankly, mama needs to be able to use both hands sometimes.

I'm well aware of the nap requirements for 5 month olds; we've even spoken with her pediatrician about our concerns regarding her desire not to sleep...every sleep time (naps and bedtime) is a horrific struggle.  And like I said in my original post, she's been a terrible sleeper from day 1.   She slept for a 5 hour stretch...once.  No newborn sleepy honeymoon period for us. 

Anyway, not the point of this post.  I'm well aware of the need for a consistent schedule, hence my original post....we're all getting up every day at 6 (even weekends) to try to help DD have a consistent start to her day.  My question has more to do with what do I do on Tuesdays, when it's going to be a lot harder for her to nap b/c of the time she gets to daycare, as well as the stimulating environment.  Should I try to shift the time she gets to daycare a bit earlier, so she has more "acclimation" time and might be more inclined to nap after an hour or so there?

(I'm sorry if my response seems a little prickly...I'm feeling a little prickly after a 2 hour battle to get her to nap.  No idea why she was fighting against it so hard today.  I suspect she didn't nap much at daycare today, so I'll have to speak with them about that next week.)

[JudiAU]

Prickly is fine. Dd is 18m and I don't think she has ever slot more than 5 hours t a time. I get prickly too.

I think the dpearler daycare arrival might help. Let her get settled. Skipping the last nap and an earlier bedtime too. A nap at 6 is almost guaranteed to make bedtime difficult.