One Nap at Daycare Not enough

[debbies]

My daughter has always been a great sleeper!  We followed Dr. Wisebluth's book and think he's a genius!  When Margo is first showing signs of sleepiness, we put her down.  She usually took two 2-hour naps...one around 9am and one around 1:30pm.  And then...daycare!  As an infant, she NEVER slept at daycare and was a mess when we got home.  Now that she's more of a toddler, she is in a classroom where all of the kids sleep at once and it's quiet.  She takes one two-hour nap.  It's clear to us that this is not enough.

Last week, Margo was very sick and was home for the week.  After she started feeling better, she was back to her two nap schedule at home and was sleeping four hours during the day and 13 hours at night...no wakings.  Now, she's back at daycare and is waking up at night around 3am.  We've tried not going in for an hour but, to be honest, we're exhausted.  After an hour, we go into her room and read a book or two and finally put her back down after about 20 minutes.  It's so clear to us that she's not getting enough rest during the day.  But, we both work and cannot afford to stay home with her.  Plus, we truly believe that being with other children is also best for her. 

Is there anyway to get her to sleep through the night and not be so exhausted with only one 2-hour nap?  None of the sleep experts seem to address working parents who have to use childcare.  will letting her scream during the night extinguish the nigh waking even if the cause is lack of day-time sleep?

thank you!

[aps]

You don't say how old your daughter is.  I think you should put her down earlier at night even if it's 6:30pm.  She clearly needs more sleep and nighttime is when you can give her more sleep.  See if that helps. 

[debbies]

margo is 16 months and she already goes to sleep at 6:30!!!  She screamed for 1.5 hours last night at 3am.  help!

[aps]

I can see why you're frustrated.  Are you able to put her down even  earlier?  (5:30pm)  I know that's early, but maybe that's what she needs.

[debbies]

Yes.  I was thinking of trying that.  I'll give it a go.

[aps]

I really believe this will help.  Let us know!