I’m going to add to this post every week or two while Doof is doing his nursery settling-in. His nursery is brilliant as they offer free settling-in over 4-5 weeks which is perfect for us as Doof is not taking to it very quickly…
I’m hoping that with time it
will reflect a massive improvement in how Doof is getting on and maybe will help other people who are starting on the
settling-in period. Or it could horrifically put them off if it is a complete
disaster!! Lol
The goal is for him to be in nursery for 11 hours a day from the start of September...
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Week 1
Session 1 (afternoon, 1
hour): as it was his first session I stayed for the hour and sat on the floor
playing with him. He crawled off, explored toys, looked interested in everything
happening around and wasn’t that interested in being near me (although he did
check every now and then that I was still there). Woohoo I thought… this bodes
well for him having fun here and not needing me :)
Session 2 (afternoon, 1
hour): was called after 40 minutes as he was too upset despite their best
efforts to cheer him up
Session 3 (afternoon, 1 hour):
he lasted the whole hour but had to be cuddled and carried around by his key
worker the whole time. Baby steps I suppose…
Week 2
Session 4 (afternoon, 2
hours): called back 3 times, stayed about 10 minutes each time during which
Doof would happily play, leave my side to go and explore things, interact with
other babies… but within 10-15 minutes of me leaving he was crying so much they
had to call me back
Session 5 is later today…
wish us luck!
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I’m wondering if mornings
might be better as Doof is generally a bit more tired in the afternoons. I
guess we’ll see next week...
What I am most worried about
is sleeping though. Doof is completely regressed and is now a nightmare to get
to sleep – he cries for up to 30 minutes before each nap (even if I keep going
in every few minutes) and I am really worried about how he is going to cope at
nursery. Am sure they won’t let him cry for ages in the ‘sleeping room’ as he
will disrupt all the other babies, so will they just not make him sleep if he
resists? Will they cuddle him to sleep which might just reinforce this behaviour?
Or will he miraculously change his behaviour as soon as he sees the other babies
settling to sleep without a problem??!! I’d like to think that is what will
happen, but am rather dubious :(
Ugh, finding childcare is hard work! The settling in process is heartbreaking but its great that the nursery seem to be giving such a long period to allow settling. I used to work in childcare and babies always seemed to fall into sleep routine very quickly and with minimal hassle, maybe something to do with the strict routine? If I had £1 for every parent that said to me, 'but how do you get them to sleep?? They're a nightmare for me at home!" I'd be a gazillionare!!
ReplyDeleteHaha someone else said this to me the other day... tomorrow is his first time at spending nap time at nursery so we'll see what happens. Would love you to be right :)
Deleteoh dear, what a stressful time for you and him! hope he settles soon. I'm sure you can talk through the sleep issue w his keyworker and come to an agreement on what to do.
ReplyDeleteThanks - unfortunately he's missed over a week of settling-in time now from being ill so hoping tomorrow (aka first day back...) goes well!
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