tips for mum on daycare adjustment
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Category: Have A Baby?
Forum Name: First baby? Second or more?
Forum Description: Want help? Need support? Want tips? Men and women share advice and tips in this supportive community
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Topic: tips for mum on daycare adjustment
Posted By: Bexee
Subject: tips for mum on daycare adjustment
Date Posted: 17 May 2010 at 2:11pm
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So I know there are probably a few of these threads, but what I'm after are tips for me on the adjustment to daycare. DS is 9 months and starts next week, three days a week.
What can I do to make the transition easier? We've done visits. What do I need to be aware of/expect? |
Replies:
Posted By: WestiesGirl
Date Posted: 17 May 2010 at 4:35pm
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Oh I will be watching with interest too. Jackson starts in 2 weeks.
I am going to spend probably half the day with him on the first day. Not sure about the second though. ------------- Our Angel July 08  Gone but not forgotten
And to complete our family, our princess has arrived 
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Posted By: Bexee
Date Posted: 17 May 2010 at 4:55pm
| We've been there a couple of times and hung out and played. I think I will leave him alone there on teh first day but just have him do a half day. |
Posted By: monikah
Date Posted: 17 May 2010 at 6:59pm
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when mack started day care i just made sure i spent a lot of time with him when we were at home so he still saw heaps of me. we would come home and play with blocks for ages and stuff. he still played alone as i didnt want him to lose that ability but i made sure that i upped the time i spent having one to one with him. expect him to be a teeny bit clingy for a week or two but they grow out of it pretty quick and it just becomes routine :) ------------- 
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Posted By: mummymonster
Date Posted: 17 May 2010 at 7:24pm
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DS started 3 days at 8mths. He loves it. They said some babies take to it better than others - I think it's just the luck of the draw.
We have a cuddly which he takes to daycare. And any instructions for the day - write them down. Most places have a day book where you can write a note when you drop them off. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Shelt
Date Posted: 17 May 2010 at 8:01pm
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G started daycare at 5 months and she loves it. She goes through periods of being a little hard to leave (clingy etc) but mostly she is fairly easy to settle. One thing I find good is that I generally get her settled into an activity when we arrive. I put her down and get her started (usually she plays with the blocks or play dough or cars with the other kids but sometimes she likes to sit on one of the bean bags and read a book or play with one of the toys) and then put her bag away and fill in the sign in sheet then I go back to her and say bye bye have a good day, Mummy will be back for you this afternoon/after sleep time/after lunch (which ever applies), love you. And then I just walk out the door. If she cries I go back and give her a quick cuddle and then say see ya later, have fun and then I leave. Even if she is still crying. In my experience if you go back and stay every time they look upset then they will expect that every time and put on a performance every time you leave. I still comfort her but I make it clear she has to stay and she will have fun and then I quickly leave. In my opinion if you stay too long then they get upset.
The other thing I do is on daycare days I make sure G has an early dinner of something easy and goes to bed early. All that stimulation at daycare wears her out and she gets really tired and cranky by the end of the day sometimes. She also takes her teddy for sleep time. And with her daycare there is a form you can write comments on each day where you can tell them what she has been like and whether to watch out for anything, to give her more sleeps or adjust the timing of them etc. Thats quite handy. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: Nikki
Date Posted: 17 May 2010 at 9:05pm
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Apart from lots of visits, book in a couple of "settling sessions" if your dc does them - ours does 3 hour sessions so Morgan is booked in the next two thursdays (she starts in june). With Jakes original dc I left him there for an hour or two first, then a morning (at no charge). It made me feel better knowing that he had already had a meal and sleep there before I left him for a day.
I'd also say don't hang around too long .... have a chat to the staff and make sure bubs is busy, then a quick goodbye. Jake had a toy he slept with at first and his own sleeping bag, but they gradually got rid of them and he didn't mind. Things to be aware of = they can get really sick at first, especially starting at this time of year. They will be really tired at first and probably very hungry, so having dinner ready to go as soon as they get home (or a snack while you make it) is good idea. They may get hit / bitten / fall of something! ------------- DS (5yrs) and DD (3yrs) |
Posted By: HuntersMama
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 8:43am
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Ill be watching this too. DS doesnt start daycare for another 3 months, and it is at work but Im still not sure how often (if at all) I should visit during the day. In saying that I will still be BF him so wil be popping in for that every few hours. Hes pretty good at the moment going to new and different people but it might be different for a full day? ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: E&L+1
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 10:07am
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Esme started DC 4 weeks ago at 5.5 months. We did visits and I stayed and fed her there during them. On her first day I stayed for about an hour then left (she was ready for bed). I also picked her up early on her first day so that it wasn't a long one. I took along a wrap and her cuddly to sleep with so she had something familar. If she was unsettled when dropping her off I would only stay for a short time (10 minutes) then say good bye, most kids if they cry will stop after a few minutes and you can ring to check how they are. I think I rang 3 or 4 times on E's first day.
To make the day go easier get everything ready the night before so that you can spend time in the morning with bubs and you don't have to worry about forgetting anything. TBH I found the first few days hard E was happy as there! Regarding sickness if you are BF that will help as long as you do drop off and pick up so that you are exposed to any bugs too. I try to spend a bit of time at the end of the day so that this helps with immunity. Be prepared for not a lot of sleeping to start with and E refuses her bottles while she is there (although she is BF) and exists on solids. We always have an early night on days she is at daycare. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Mrs_B
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 12:33pm
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Corban started at daycare 3 weeks ago - 2 days a week. We did 6 orientation visits in the month prior to him starting, staying for up to two hours and playing and having lunch with the other kids.
They gave me some info sheet that was titled Leaving for the first time and on it said; * Try and settle your child into an activity such as reading a story or building with blocks * When you are ready, give your child a hug and a kiss, say goodbye then leave the room. Returning to your child after you've said goodbye makes it harder for him/her to settle in. * if you child crys when you leave please rest assured that the staff will settle him/her * If you would like to know how you child is during the day feel free to ring He has his sleeping bag,dummy and cuddly rabbit for nap time. I am still breastfeeding so for the first two weeks I would go back at lunchtime and feed him but now that he is 12mths I have weaned that feed and he has cows milk at daycare. I found it good when I went to pick him up just to watch him for a while and to see how much fun he was having really reassured me. I think the sickness thing is a bigger though, Corban has picked up something each week! The first week is was some random rash that they thought was chicken pox, 2nd week was hand, foot and mouth and last week it was a cold!!  But that's all part and parcel of it and by the time he's 3 he will have the consitution of an ox!  -------------  
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Posted By: kriss
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 7:57pm
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My DD isn't yet at daycare, but I would suggest packing his bag the previous night (something I have learnt the hard way a couple of times, forgetting to pack something in the mad morning rush! lol)
Good luck! x ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
 Little Angel, April 10
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Posted By: emz
Date Posted: 18 May 2010 at 10:10pm
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Don't make a big deal of it - they pick up on your anxiety. Just make sure they have someone with them to help them through it. It's worse for you than it is for them, and yes they cry a lot in that first wee while, but they get used to it.
Tell yourself you're doing what's best for your family. Ring during the day to see how he's going (but don't if you think you would leave work if you heard he wasn't sleeping/eating well - i choose not to ring at all) Be prepared - bags packed and ready to go each night if it's an early start Talk to the carers - it's just as important to develop a good rapport yourself as it is for your child. |