I picked up Curly from his first day of daycare yesterday. He was completely “zombified” which we expected. He is used to getting 2-3 hours of naps daily. At best, he got 45 minutes at daycare. Hopefully napping will get easier for him as he gets used to his new surroundings. They were able to feed him 2 of his 3 bottles. While I’m glad he ate, I’m a bit sad that he only got two feedings in those 8 hours (he just kept refusing some of the time). The daycare provider shared her observations with me- that Curly is very strong and very “willful” (yep). He was constantly on-the-move or chewing on things. He was eager to explore every inch and very vocal when frustrated. She said that after a while, he began to get upset and look around for us. He even crawled to the front door to try and escape! Our hearts broke when we heard this. But they were able to distract him and get him happy again. She said it took both of them to diaper him because he wanted to roll off the changing table and was so strong. Not surprising…guess we’re just used to it. It only took a day, but they’re quickly becoming familiar with his many quirks. Oh, and remember how I said I could write a book about them? I did write a page-worth of “tips” regarding feedings and naps, and was profusely thanked for it.
When I got home, he sucked down a bottle and went right to sleep. He probably would’ve slept the whole night through if we hadn’t woken him up for dinner and a bath. We know this week (or two) will continue to be rough…heck, this whole new routine may be hard, but we don’t really have any other choice if we want to continue living the way we do. I could write a whole post on how it feels like a job to me for us all to get out of the house in the mornings, and to do what we need to do in the evenings, while actually working in between, but that would be a little depressing. As the song goes, we’re working for the weekend.
Anyway, we had Curly’s 8 month well-baby checkup this morning. We spoke with the doctor about the amount of sleep and naps he requires to function well, and she thinks it’s a curious case. She’s going to contact the Sleep Center at Children’s Hospital to get their take on it. We’re pretty sure nothing is wrong, as Curly is growing and thriving, but it is an anomaly of sorts. As far as measurements go, Curly continues his one-pound-a-month weight gain, weighing in at 18 pounds, 4 oz…..approximately the 23rd percentile. He is 28.5 inches, which is approximately the 60th percentile. He seems to have done all his crazy growth during his first 6 months and things are slowing down now. That’s good for us, since Nutella and I are too small to keep up with it! Milestone-wise, he is physically doing things at an increased pace. His language skills are slow to emerge, but no one’s worried. He babbles, but not much else. He’s still a fairly social guy.
Guess that about wraps it up. Since our appointment was later in the morning, we were both home for a half day and let Curly have a nice nap. We spent some good time with him at the doctor’s and I was able to give him a bottle at daycare before leaving. But from here on out, the new schedule reigns!
1 In Vermillion 
Thanks for the update on his first day. I was thinking about you guys.
What is the deal with his sleep? Does he sleep too much or not enough? When Oscar was 8 months, he was sleeping 12 hours at night and 3.5-4 hours during the day (One one hour nap, one 2 hour nap.) As I recall, he and Danny would be away for 2.5 -3 hours before their first nap and awake for about 3 hours after waking from their morning nap. The AM nap got a little later around one year, but he kept the same nap schedule until he was 15 or 16 months; then down to one 3 hour afternoon nap.
Miles William is similar – he gets about 11 hours at night and 3-3.5 during the day. His first nap (at one year) is usually 3 hours after waking and his second nap is about 3-4 hours after he wakes from nap #1. His morning nap is his longer nap.
Even now, Oscar sleeps for 11 or 12 hours at night and 2 or 3 hours during the day (except for the days he refuses to nap at all – that’s a whole different story.)
Sorry for blathering on! Glad the appointment went well. The get so big so fast.
I’ll respond here in case others are interested…
Curly sleeps 12 hours straight at night (lovely!). His problem is that he can’t stay awake for more than 2 hours before needing another nap during the day, sometimes less, and on rare occasions, a little more.
When he wakes up, he’s usually up for 1.5 hrs before needing an hour long nap. Then, after being up for 2 hours, he’ll take a 2 hour afternoon nap. Later in the day he’ll take another hour long nap, and then it’s a push to get him to stay up until bedtime. We usually have to start his evening routine at 6:30.
Until he was 6 months, he couldn’t stay awake more than an hour at a time. Now that he’s 8 months, he can make it to 2 hours, but then it’s obvious he’s soooooo tired (circles under his eyes, eye rubbing, cranky, yawning). This makes going out and doing stuff very challenging since he refuses to sleep in a stroller, even one that reclines all the way.
As you can imagine, daycare is quite a challenge as well.
Holland doesn’t nap as well at daycare because there is so much to see and do and he still takes an hour nap when he gets home. I just don’t let him go past 6 and we start bedtime around 6:45. Holland tends to do 3 naps a day most days.
Good luck getting used to that morning routine. By the time I get to work I already feel like I’ve done so much.
I think we have the opposite problem! Lil one sleeps well…10-11 hours at night and 3-4 hours during the day (usually 2 naps of an hour and a half). The big guy, well he doesn’t know what a nap is! He sleeps with me at night because he wakes up EVERY 2-3 hours to nurse still! When we put him down for a nap during the day he sleeps 25-45 minutes MAX! So between the two naps he gets maybe an hour and a half total. I’ve not noticed him getting fussy or anything either, but if they both slept good I sure could use the downtime!
As for Curly’s daycare situation, I got teary when I read the part where he tried to escape. I can imagine it wasn’t fun to hear that. He will adjust and even look forward to it soon, he just needs time.
The packing up to get out doesn’t sound too fun either! I think I would never make it to work if I had to pack up the boys to go to daycare! You two are doing awesome with the circumstances you have. Curly is lucky to have you both. Hang in there!
It must be so difficult to get everyone up and out the door at night. I’ve often thought how lucky I am that I have all day to work on getting dinner ready, cleaning, etc. It must be so hard to do it in the few hours after work.
Its so interesting about Curly’s sleep. Our bean thinks she only needs 8 hrs at night and we fight to get her to take two one hr naps. I’m sure he’s just a sleepy guy, but I’m interested in what your doctor finds out.
Of course, I meant that you were getting out the door in the morning. Doh!
very interesting about the sleep. But he sounds like he is perfect and awesome in every way! the extra sleeping is maybe his way of thanking ya’ll for being great Mamas!
xo
The adjustment to daycare can be tough. Little J was tough on the day care providers at first. He wouldn’t eat much, if at all and he wouldn’t nap either. He did finally adjust and they made some accommodations for him (certain provider that would feed him away from everyone else, crib under a fan, etc).
He still has days that things don’t go well, but mostly he is great and eats well and naps well.
About diaper changes….Little J gives us a really hard time and it looks a bit like a wrestling match but at day care he “sits on the table and lays himself down and puts both hands behind his back and lays there until he’s changed”!!
Good to hear day care is going well so far. I hope it keeps up!
How heartbreaking to think of him trying to escape! I hope he adjusts to the schedule and the people there soon.