Source
r/babywearing•
EMistic

Do I need to wean from baby wearing before she goes to daycare?

My older daughter is 18 months old and I think I was able to lay her down for naps. I'm not actually sure, how quickly we forget! All I know is that my 8-week-old is much clingier then my toddler was and now that I'm looking after two under two baby wearing is just how life has to be.

I have to go back to work when she is about 4 months old. As of now she is held or worn for most of her naps and will maybe take one of her naps in the pack and play. I enjoy baby wearing but I'm wondering if I should be trying harder to put her down for naps. Or if this is something I try after 3 months or so, so she is ready for daycare. Does anyone else have some advice here? I didn't baby wear with my first as much as I'm planning on baby wearing with my second. I know there's no such thing as wearing them too much, you can't spoil a baby by holding them. However as they get older does it become more of a habit and it may need to be broken?

Posted May 17, 2021, 6:46 PM UTC

118
LadyStarbuck1•

I didn’t. Daycare was a different enough place that she got used to the different routines pretty quick.

We did contact napping at home and she slept in a crib at daycare. There’s certainly a learning curve, and the first few weeks were rough, but she got it figured out okay.

ETA: we did contact naps until she was a year old. I just liked holding/wearing her because I was working for most of the week, and I missed my snuggles.

19
Rerererereading•

Same, I don't really ever put my 1yo down for a nap when she's with me (4 days/week) so she either sleeps on me or in the pram. Nursery put them down after lunch and/or let them sleep in the pram when they're out and about. It's in the nurseries best interests to get the kids to sleep, so they will work it out.

3
cardinalinthesnow•

No. It’s different place altogether and kids can totally learn that difference things happen in different places. She is definitely old enough to have conversations about those differences and what to expect at daycare. Having those may well help her.

And at home wearing her can be a lovely way to reconnect and recharge after a long exhausting daycare day.

(Worked with infants and toddlers for a decade+ and this is what I told my incoming parents)

5
acupofearlgrey•

Same age gap here, also baby wear the littlest one. Personally, our LO is 15 weeks and we are just starting working on crib nap (currently rock and then crib with paci), but naps are all short. I’m on mat leave till baby is 1, so I have to transition, and baby is getting to that age that toddler is waking her when she is sleeping in the sling. The transition is hard work. Let daycare do it for you!! I stupidly tried to do the 1 nap transition for my eldest and struggled, it was so much easier when daycare did it and we followed

4
Bookaholicforever•

Nope. Daycare is a totally different environment. I held my baby for all her naps. She started daycare at 8 months and was still napping on me. But she napped fine there :)

2
dottiedotdotdot•

Childcare settings have some kind of naptime magic which cannot be replicated elsewhere!

My contact napper (3) will happily lie on a mat at nursery and sleep 🤷‍♀️

2
EMisticOP•

I think there is something to be said about the peer pressure at daycare. If all the other kids are doing something they will do it too.

1
Zensandwitch•

Nope! My kid (17m) was clingy went to daycare at 3m and was worn for all her naps until she was 8m at home. She still naps better at daycare than at home. It was nice to baby wear to reconnect.

1