Opinions please, babys sleeping arrangement
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    Default Opinions please, babys sleeping arrangement

    Tonight a parent questioned baby's sleeping arrangement, as baby sleeps much less for me than at home. The set up is a travel cot in the lounge area (I have a separate playroom) I close the curtains and have the door slightly ajar for easy checking. Mum was concerned that the mattress may not be comfortable enough and asked if I had something softer I could put in! I felt a bit put out by this as I don't really know what she expected. I explained that she may be more disturbed by the noise of the other children than the quietness of home. I do tell the other children to use inside voices and to be generally a little quieter when baby's are sleeping but I don't expect them to whisper or tiptoe. She has asked if we could trial upstairs for sleeping and I'm unsure how I feel about this as I haven't registered upstairs as I wanted to keep part of my home private. I think she may sleep better when school starts back as in the day I will only have 2 children. I'm just interested in how others would handle this.

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    Quote Originally Posted by natlou82 View Post
    Tonight a parent questioned baby's sleeping arrangement, as baby sleeps much less for me than at home. The set up is a travel cot in the lounge area (I have a separate playroom) I close the curtains and have the door slightly ajar for easy checking. Mum was concerned that the mattress may not be comfortable enough and asked if I had something softer I could put in! I felt a bit put out by this as I don't really know what she expected. I explained that she may be more disturbed by the noise of the other children than the quietness of home. I do tell the other children to use inside voices and to be generally a little quieter when baby's are sleeping but I don't expect them to whisper or tiptoe. She has asked if we could trial upstairs for sleeping and I'm unsure how I feel about this as I haven't registered upstairs as I wanted to keep part of my home private. I think she may sleep better when school starts back as in the day I will only have 2 children. I'm just interested in how others would handle this.
    I've got a 9 month old mindee (only had him for 3 weeks), and I put him in the travel cot upstairs, but he still doesn't sleep as much as he does at home.

    When I have him towards the end of the week, I also have 3 school kids plus my own DD, so there is a lot going on, and like you, I tell them to use quiet voices indoors but it doesn't always happen! I'm also hoping it will be better once school term starts!

    I've been wondering if it's comfortable for him in the travel cot as the mattresses are quite flimsy and I was thinking of maybe getting a better one.

    Be interesting to hear advice from other members on this

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    Hmmm, thanks that's interesting. I'm not sure where I would purchase a better mattress which would be the right size?!? Tbh the more I think about it I'm very reluctant to extend my registration to upstairs as my husband works shifts so sometimes he's asleep up there or he may just be up there chilling out of the way, and I believe he should be entitled to this privacy. Also my own son is nearly 9 and he is also going to want a private space even more as he gets older.

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    Use fleece blankets on ton of mattress and under the fitted sheet. Makes it a lot more comfier x

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    Don't feel pressured into using upstairs if you don't want to. It's your house, your decision. I like greanan's idea about the blanket. If Mum is still wanting upstairs, you

    Is the lack of sleep at yours causing other problems with sleep? Baby not sleeping at night? I assume this is still a relatively new arrangement. Mum may just need some reassurance that different sleep patterns at different places are to be expected. I'd also double check his sleep routine at home. I had a LO who suddenly started sleeping less with me than he had been and then mum remembered that he was sleeping with a cuddly toy at home. Once she started bringing it for him, he started sleeping better again.

    If you think the little one needs more sleep than they are getting then could you try playing some white noise at the point they usually wake up to try and see if they'll sleep longer?

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    BTW, I love your avatar. My little sister had a Rainbow Bright.

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    Thanks, rainbow bright was my favourite as a child :-) I like the blanket idea x tbh when LO started she had no routine and mum just left me to my own devices, I've worked hard to establish a routine while she is here and now mum has decided that she has a set sleep routine!

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    I agree with Sing-Low, children usually have different sleep patterns with us than they do at home. How do you feel about the LO, do you think they need more sleep or are they happy and thriving on the amount of sleep they are getting with you? It could also be that this LO is just getting used to the noise when they are at yours. At home they are probably in silence but having noise is to be expected when a child is in any kind of childcare and in my experience they get used to it. I am always amazed at what the children here will sleep through lol. Depending on what your feelings are about this LO's sleep would depend on what I would do next.

    xxx

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    She was also having a late bedtime which I can only assume has to be brought forward after her shorter sleeps here x

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    Are the sleeps much shorter at yours? As AliceK said - do you think baby is happy with the amount of sleep she gets at yours? If you have not registered upstairs then I wouldn't use it. Babies also get used to sleeping in different places for naps - if she was at nursery she would get used to sleeping on a mat on the floor. Does she wake up after a similar amount of sleep each day or does she sleep for random amounts so therefore something could be waking her? x

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    She seems content with the amount of sleep she is having, if she seemed tired or unsettled I would try and encourage a further nap but she's been really happy playing.

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    She has 45 mins in morn and an hr in the afternoon, this has been fairly consistent here even when the older children were at school, she's 11 months old.

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    I would explain to mum about the advantages of lo sleeping in different places. What if they go on holiday, or to visit people? It's going to be no good if lo will only sleep in a proper cot, upstairs in a quiet room. It's so much better that she's getting used to sleeping in a different cot, in a different environment.

    Does she settle easily when you put her for a sleep, does she seem comfortable while she's asleep and does she wake up happily? If the answer is yes, I'd carry on doing what you're doing. Tell mum you're not going to put her upstairs to sleep, but that you will try to make the mattress more comfortable. I'd be worried about putting blankets under the sheet in case baby gets too hot, but you can buy mattress toppers for travel cots, so would look at getting one of those.

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    It sounds like a reasonable amount of sleep and if you feel it is enough for her then it is obviously mum worrying just because her DD is not doing the same as she would at home. Is she an only child? It might be worth you chatting to mum and trying to explain to her that children will usually have different sleep routines when in a different environment and that in your opinion she is happy and thriving on the amount of sleep she is getting. Let mum know that upstairs is not for work use (you don't need to explain why) and maybe if mum still seems worried then advise her that you will see what you can do to try and see if LO can have a longer sleep but don't commit to anything.

    xxx

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    Im the same as greenann I put a fleece blanket over the mattress. I have a lo who started with me at 8 months is now 14 months and most days he will sleep for 2ish hours a day but thursday its just me and him so he has a mammoth 3 hours straight. He is great either way and lots of fun.

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    Great advice as always :-). I tried to ring mum but her phone was off so I have txt her that I'm not going to offer sleeping upstairs but will consider ways of making the mattress more comfortable. I try so hard to keep routines as close to home but I think she needs to be aware that there will be differences in a childcare setting :-)

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    I've always used just the mattress and sheet with the travel cots, and none of my mindees have had a problem sleeping. Just remind parents that babies and toddlers can fall asleep while dangling off a sofa, flat on their face with their bum in the air, on a rocking animal, while scooting a cosy coupe and any other position that an adult would probably find really uncomfortable, so flat on their back, on a firm and secure surface is nothing!

    Travel cot mattresses are also easier to properly clean, which is really important.

    If you haven't registered the upstairs for childminding, then I wouldn't use it to let the baby sleep. Also surely that makes it harder for you to monitor them properly?

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    Have you tried outdoor sleeping, mine all sleep so much better outside.

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    Quote Originally Posted by blue bear View Post
    Have you tried outdoor sleeping, mine all sleep so much better outside.
    My babes all sleep outside too .. In lay flat buggies.

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    Tbh all of my older children spend most of their time outside so it's probably even noisier. She doesn't really like the idea if sleep in a pushchair either, but understands that will be the case if we're out and about. I'm still waiting for her to respond to my text. The hardest part of this job is I am a people pleaser and usually go out of my way to do things for others and to avoid conflict, with the help of this forum I'm learning that it is not always the best idea, and I'm glad I've been firm about upstairs not being used :-)

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