Starting Daycare and Baby Sleep: Managing the Adjustment

Starting daycare or joining a nanny marks a pivotal step, as exciting as it is nerve-wracking. Between the stress of separation and a completely new routine, baby’s sleep is often the first thing to take a hit. Here is what science says about this adjustment period, and how to manage it without overdramatizing it.

What science says: the stress of the home-to-childcare transition

The transition from home to outside childcare often comes with a temporary rise in cortisol, the stress hormone, in young children. This normal physiological response gradually eases as the child becomes familiar with their new surroundings and routines.

A study following toddlers through the transition from home to childcare measured salivary cortisol at several points across the day over several months, finding that a regulated cortisol profile through this transition is more common in children with a secure attachment to their parents (Study on the transition to childcare, 2023). A secure attachment already built at home does not remove the stress of the transition, but it seems to help the child regulate it better over the following days.

Why baby’s sleep is especially affected

Sleep is one of the functions most sensitive to stress and routine change, which explains why naps at daycare or with a nanny are often shorter or more restless than naps at home during the first few weeks. A child in even mild hypervigilance falls asleep less easily in an environment they have not yet mastered.

This is nothing unusual, and it is not specific to any one type of childcare: it affects children starting group daycare just as much as those joining a nanny. The good news is that this disrupted sleep generally stabilizes once the child has learned, often within a few weeks, that this environment and these adults are reliable and predictable.

How to prepare and support the adjustment

A gradual settling-in period, with progressively longer visits before the official start, helps the child get used to their new environment in small doses rather than all at once. This gradual ramp-up remains one of the best-recognized levers for limiting transition stress.

Keeping the usual sleep cues in place (the same lovey, a similar nap-time ritual) and clearly communicating baby’s habits to staff or the nanny (nap times, tiredness cues, how they like to be put down) reduces the gap between home and the new setting. This continuity of cues, more than the length of the adjustment period itself, seems to play a key role in how quickly sleep stabilizes.

Daycare naps in practice: schedules, wake windows, and sleep habits

Daycare nap schedules rarely match a baby's exact wake window at home, since one nap or two nap schedules are usually set for the whole room rather than for each little one individually. This alone explains why a baby who naps well at home might only manage short naps or a single cat nap during their first weeks at daycare.

Talk to your daycare provider about your baby's usual nap schedule and bedtime, sleep sack, and any sleep environment details (white noise, darkness) that help them fall asleep, and ask what flexibility exists around daycare sleep once your baby is adjusting to daycare, since nap at daycare rarely looks identical to a nap at home in the first weeks. An earlier bedtime at home on daycare days helps offset lost daytime sleep and prevents baby from becoming overtired, which otherwise makes nighttime sleep worse, not better. Most daycare centers and daycare teachers are used to babies and toddlers needing a few weeks to nap well away from home, so a rough patch with wakings or short naps at daycare is rarely a sign that something is wrong.

If sleep training or independent sleep skills were already part of your routine before starting daycare, keep reinforcing them at home in the evenings and on weekends: consistent rules around sleep at home make it easier for daycare staff to help your baby settle into their own daycare nap routine too.

A few common patterns show up once your child has actually started daycare: an overtired baby who won't nap well at daycare during week one often shows early morning wakings and extra night wakings at home that same week, simply because lost daytime sleep has to be paid back somewhere. This usually settles within two to three weeks as daycare teachers and your baby figure out what works best for your baby, without needing a sleep expert or a special sleep tips list beyond patience and an earlier bedtime.

How much sleep daycare babies and toddlers need varies by age: younger babies still on a two nap schedule generally need more day sleep than older babies who have already transitioned to one nap, and total sleep time, day sleep plus night sleep combined, matters more than the nap count alone. Whatever the schedule at daycare, a consistent sleep schedule at home on evenings and weekends helps daycare babies stay asleep longer once they do settle for the night. Some parents lean on nap training or sleep coaches to help toddler sleep and independent sleep skills develop faster, though most daycare babies simply need enough awake time built into the day and an early bedtime to sleep well and get back to sleep on their own after a normal night waking. Safe sleep guidelines, always placing baby on their back, apply at daycare exactly as they do at home.

Staying connected to baby’s sleep during the day

Handing your child over to a nanny or daycare also means giving up some direct visibility into their sleep during the day, which can fuel a diffuse worry in some parents, on top of the separation stress itself. This worry does not reflect a lack of trust in the caregiver, it reflects the adjustment to a new family arrangement.

Some nannies choose to use a wellness tracking device like Mothair, installed either at their own home or directly at the parents’ home depending on the childcare arrangement, which lets parents keep a reassuring eye on their child’s naps remotely during the day. This kind of tracking comes as a complement to daily updates and the trust relationship with the nanny, never as a replacement: it adds one more piece of information, not a check on the quality of care. To go further on what these tools can and cannot offer, see our article on baby monitors and parental anxiety.

Important: Mothair is a wellness tracking device for children. It is not a medical device under EU Regulation 2017/745 (MDR) and never replaces professional medical care or the trust relationship with your chosen childcare provider. The information in this article comes from public scientific sources and does not constitute medical advice, consult your pediatrician for any question about your child’s sleep or development.

FAQ

Does starting daycare really disrupt baby’s sleep?

Yes, the change in routine and the stress of separation can temporarily raise a baby’s cortisol levels and disrupt sleep, especially in the first few weeks (Study on the transition to childcare, 2023). This disruption is generally temporary, lasting until the child becomes familiar with the new environment.

How long does the adjustment period last?

The adjustment period typically lasts from a few days to a few weeks depending on the child, and a gradual settling-in period (progressive presence) usually helps sleep stabilize faster. Sleep most often returns to normal once the child feels reassured that the new environment is reliable.

How do I prepare baby for starting daycare or a nanny?

A gradual settling-in period with progressively longer visits before the official start, keeping usual sleep cues (lovey, ritual) in place, and clearly communicating baby’s habits to staff or the nanny all help ease the transition.

How can I stay connected to baby’s sleep while they are with a nanny?

Some nannies use a wellness tracking device like Mothair, either at their own home or at the parents’ home, which lets parents keep a reassuring eye on their child’s naps remotely, alongside the trust they have built with the nanny. This never replaces the daily updates and trust relationship with the caregiver.

Key Takeaways

• Starting daycare or joining a nanny comes with a temporary rise in cortisol, more easily regulated when attachment at home is already secure (Study on the transition to childcare, 2023).
• Sleep, being especially sensitive to stress, is often the first function disrupted during the early weeks of adjustment.
• A gradual ramp-up and keeping usual sleep cues in place help sleep stabilize faster.
• A tracking device like Mothair, used at the nanny’s or the parents’ home, can offer a reassuring remote cue, never replacing trust in the childcare provider.
• This sleep disruption is temporary in the vast majority of cases.