Help: mommy having preschool anxiety (long)

[ckso]

I work fulltime and so far, DD has been watched by a combination of grandma, mother in law and a SAHM who watches other kids at her house. So I've been fortunate where she has individualized care where I have complete say in most things like what time she naps, duration, meals, etc.

She's turning 2 in Sept and grandmas can no longer watch her, the SAHM can't pick up those days and I'm sending her to Preschool. I'm not sure how DD will feel but I'm having major anxiety.

For those who send their child to preschool at 2 or younger, can you give me some advice and insight on the following? For price, location, etc...we already decided on the preschool. She would be there 2 days a week from 8 am to 6pm

1) I'm concerned about her nap. Right now, she naps anywhere from 2 to 3 hours and she fights it for the first 5-10 minutes. Preschools only allow an hour naptime. What do they do if she fusses?? DD can actually go for a long time without naping and then crashes at 5pm which really disrupts her bedtime.

2) DD currently wakes up anytime from 8-9am in the morning. Right now, I wake her up at 8 just to get to work in time and she gets kinda cranky. BUT, the PS only serves breakfast before 7:45am and requires checkin by 8:50 which doesn't give me enough time to feed her breakfast at home. I'm afraid to wake her up earlier than I'm already doing.

3) Since she's going to preschool 2 days, how does it affect her the other 3 days she's not there.

I know I can look for another preschool that "fits" better but we're set on this one because I get 50% discount and it's very close to my work.

I have other concerns too but obviously sleep is a big component for me and I didn't want to turn this post into a book.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

[khalloc]

What time do you put her to bed at night? You may have to move bedtime earlier so you can wake her earlier and so that she can last on a 1 hour nap.

My DS is 2.5 and goes to a preschool/daycare. The naptime there is from 12:30-3pm. By 3 everyone is awake. He usually sleeps for 1.5-2 hours. At home he is in bed at 8pm and awake around 6:15am.

A 1 hour nap for a 2 year old doesnt seem like enough to me for a day from 8am-6pm. But they must make it work there?!

[sste]

I wouldn't worry too much yet. My DH and I were besides ourselves when our son switched to preschoo/daycare at 2 y/o. We informed all the staff that he was a "picky" sleeper and we weren't holding out great hopes he would sleep there with all those kids in the room or would sleep without howling for a good long time and disrupting the entire school.

From Day 1 of daycare to present DS always falls asleep at daycare within a few minutes, no problem. He in fact is a MUCH better and absolutely reliable napper at daycare than at home. Go figure.

For the rest of the days issue we have found that keeping the meal/nap/wake schedule the same as preschool/daycare works best.

[codex57]

DS started real preschool at about 2.5 yrs old. Picky sleeper too. As in, he wants to be held when he sleeps. Also prefers a very cushy surface to sleep on (like a bed or a couch).

So yeah, we were real worried. His preschool has them sleep on this thin mat thingy on the floor.

Turns out, it's been pretty great. What happened is that he just followed all the other kids. It's very much a routine and kids like routine.

They get nearly 2 1/2 hours to nap and he actually needs about 3, so he's always the last one to wake up, but he's been fine. It actually turned him from a kid who went to bed at night at around 10-11pm to 9pm.

It's been pretty awesome actually. Plus, they basically potty trained him for us.

[HIU8]

1) I'm concerned about her nap. Right now, she naps anywhere from 2 to 3 hours and she fights it for the first 5-10 minutes. Preschools only allow an hour naptime. What do they do if she fusses?? DD can actually go for a long time without naping and then crashes at 5pm which really disrupts her bedtime.

I have not heard of a preschool only giving a 1 hour nap. DD's ps gives a 2 hour nap. Kids who don't sleep that long MUST stay on their cots and play quietly. They will probably comfort her if she fusses. She will adjust to the schedule (my DD doesn't nap and it took awhile, but she adjusted to the 2 hours of down time).

2) DD currently wakes up anytime from 8-9am in the morning. Right now, I wake her up at 8 just to get to work in time and she gets kinda cranky. BUT, the PS only serves breakfast before 7:45am and requires checkin by 8:50 which doesn't give me enough time to feed her breakfast at home. I'm afraid to wake her up earlier than I'm already doing.

Can you put her to bed earlier and get her up earlier? She should adjust. Let her eat breakfast at the daycare (she may end up trying new foods that way--at least that is what mine did)

3) Since she's going to preschool 2 days, how does it affect her the other 3 days she's not there.

My DD was in ps 5 days a week --aftercare only 2 days though. I ended up adjusting our afternoons at home to better match the ps so things would be smoother. It has worked so far for DD and us.


See answers above in red.

[chottumommy]

1) I'm concerned about her nap. Right now, she naps anywhere from 2 to 3 hours and she fights it for the first 5-10 minutes. Preschools only allow an hour naptime. What do they do if she fusses?? DD can actually go for a long time without naping and then crashes at 5pm which really disrupts her bedtime.

My DS started daycare at about 10 months and I was worried about how they would get him to sleep. He never took to a paci or blanket or any kind of attachment device and would only be rocked to sleep. Within a week the daycare was able to get him to sleep by just patting and by the time he was 11 months, he was on to a toddler bed. They would say night-night, he would walk to the toddler bed and just plop. I personally think they have some magic dust that we as parents are somehow not entitled to, to test our patience.

2) DD currently wakes up anytime from 8-9am in the morning. Right now, I wake her up at 8 just to get to work in time and she gets kinda cranky. BUT, the PS only serves breakfast before 7:45am and requires checkin by 8:50 which doesn't give me enough time to feed her breakfast at home. I'm afraid to wake her up earlier than I'm already doing.

I think you can just wake him up a little earlier and try to feed him breakfast. For the first few days it might be something he might be willing to have even if half awake. And in a week or so his schedule will adjust. Just make sure to put him to bed or atleast start the bedtime routine earlier. Its pretty much what we had to do when daylight savings ended last year. Again took us about a week to get him back in schedule. I would aslo suggest to start doing this a week before preschool starts if you have the time to do it.

3) Since she's going to preschool 2 days, how does it affect her the other 3 days she's not there.

No advice, since DS goes there fulltime all days of the week.

[twowhat?]

The 1-hour naptime is concerning to me. I thought most preschools have a 2-hour mandated nap. 1 is just not enough for a lot of kids.

That being said, I think the best thing you can do is to get your child on the preschool schedule. Feed her when they feed her (lunch, snacks), and put her down for naps when they do.

FWIW, before starting preschool at 20 months my girls were sleeping 11 hours at night and napping 1 hour. After starting preschool, they nap for 2 hours and sleep 10 hours at night. We just adjusted their bedtime to accomodate. For us, it was a FAR easier transition than I could EVER imagine, and my girls are super shy and super anxoius kids. I stood there in total SHOCK when the teachers told me that on their first full day, they napped just fine for the entire 2 hours!!! I also do think that they are more tired at preschool - so many activities to keep them busy. And yes, the teachers must sprinkle fairy dust over the kids. It still amazes me to see nearly 20 todders in one room, all on cots, ALL ASLEEP!!!