Any tips? Up until now, DS (8.5 mo) has been at home full time with me or DH. We start a great center on Monday. Tips for streamlining am/pm routine with two working parents, things to keep in mind RE daycare, etc are all appreciated. I think J will love being at "school" with other babies!
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Give yourself way more time in the morning than you think you will need!! At least for the first few weeks!
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Do whatever you can the night before or on the weekend before the week begins.
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My routine:
PM - Wash bottles and breast pump parts from the day and prepare bottles for the next day. Put bottles in the fridge. Lay out his outfit and "stage" anything else I need to bring the next day (I usually have a pile for him and one for me for work). That keeps me from thinking about what I need to remember all night and not being able to sleep. I also shower at night when DH is home so I don't have to worry about DS waking up in the morning while I'm in the shower. If I'm planning to bring lunch the next day, I'll pack that at night as well.
AM - I wake up and get myself dressed, brushed…etc. Then I get DS up, change him and put him in his School clothes, and give him a bottle. Then I put him on his playmat while I load the car (his stuff in the back seat, mine in the front), and then I strap him into his car seat and off we go!
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Oh! And make sure you have lots of pre-made labels because my daycare required everything of his to be labeled (bottles, bottle caps, pacis, extra clothes, diaper packages…etc).
One of my friends got me a gift certificate to namebubbles.com , they have adorable ones!
And my son is 4.5 months and LOVES his daycare. I swear on the weekends when we're home, he's looking around and thinking "where are all the fun people who play with me? You guys are BORING!"
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Do as much as you can the night before. That included prepping your and his dinner.
Give it a week or two for him to adjust. Naps will probably be bad till he adjusts to noise in the room.
Label everything. Painters tape works great.
If they provide food, make sure you tell what he can and can't have.
I solo parent during the week, so I find it way easier to pick out her clothes on Sunday for the week. Then I just grab an outfit each morning. -
@cheert16: agreed.
Lay out everything the night before — including outfits for everyone (plus backups!), purses/bags, mitts and coats and hats, breakfast prep.
Decide on mode of transportation the night before (we decide between stroller and carrier depending on how much snow there is) and have it out and ready
Make sure you have all the diapers, wipes, extra clothes, bottles/cups, etc. ready in a bag.
I also make sure my keys are in plain view — if they're in my purse and I need to dig for them when everyone's ready to go, it drives me nuts!
Also, have a list of things you'd like them to know about J's schedule, wake up time, etc. I found that it was hard to remember what I wanted to tell them at drop-off time because it's so crazy and there's so much to unload!
Good luck on Monday! I'm sure J will have lots of fun — our LO does.
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I got labels from a seller on etsy and I love them!
I got several small food containers from tj maxx and old navy which I also love for "fake" bento (aka just 2 types of food).
If they allow you to leave things, I leave their puffy coats, snow bibs, and snow boots there all week, along with their nap bags (crib sheet, blanket, sleep sack) and I take them home on weekends to wash.
We always pack lunches the night before and just throw the ice pack in in the morning before we leave.
I lay out outfits the night before as we're getting ready for bed and doing baths.Good luck!! J will LOVE daycare!!!!!!!
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They probably already gave you a list of things to bring, but I agree with packing everything the night before.
Some things you can pack to leave there and just replace when needed are:
-giant pack of diapers
-giant pack of wipes
-diaper cream
-anything else, like saline or baby tylenol (our day care has never used it though).
-2 changes of clothes and socks in case of blowouts
-empty bottles and formula (our day care will wash bottles and mix formula there if you want
-pacis if you don't mind them washing them
-sleep sack
-winter coat or snowsuit for "walks" in the strollers
-oatmeal or pouches or jars of food if you don't mind them picking what to give LO.Some things you might want to bring every day:
-bottles and formula/bm if you prefer to wash at home
-paci if you want to wash at home
-food/spoon/bowl if you want to wash at home
-food if you pack special stuff each day (depends on age)And yes! Everything needs to be labeled. We've had our day care try to give us someone else's poopy clothes and honestly if my husband had done pick up that day, he would have taken it.
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As others have mentioned give yourself extra time in the AM.
Once at DCP I had to put the sheet on his crib and put away his bottles/solids and his jacket.
In the infant room we also had to fill out a daily sheet with his name and the last time he ate and pooped. Also if he slept well the night before or anything you want the teachers to know. At my DCP the head teacher didn't arrive until 9am so it was nice for her to have everything written down by the parent instead of having the asst teacher remember everything!
Also if on solids I had to get his breakfast heated up and set out for him at the table.
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my lo starts daycare Monday too!
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Great tips, thanks, everyone! @wheres_c: so exciting! How are you feeling about it?
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@maybebaby: not happy! it's a great place and I'm sure he'll do well but the original plan was to be a SAHM.
how about you?
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Are you starting back at work/school also? I found I needed a big list on the door to make sure I remembered everything. I kept it there for about a month. I pack everything I can the night before, in the morning I add bottles to LO's bag and an ice pack to my pump bag.
I always wear a shirt or sweatshirt over whatever I am wearing to the office (or drop LO off in a nursing tank, I'm classy) because LO loves to wipe her nose on my blouse as I hug her goodbye. I also keep an extra shirt at the office for this reason.
If you have to fill out a drop off sheet every day take one, add LO's name and make a bunch of copies. I was very tight on drop off time so I always arrived with my sheet filled out. I also bring a pen to daycare so I don't have to wait my turn for the pen at the sign in sheet.
I leave a glowworm-like seahorse in the car for daycare pickup so LO isn't sitting alone in the dark on the drive home.
Good luck!
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@wheres_c: Excited for him but definitely emotional. He has been at home with me or DH his whole life, and while we are both definitely not cut out for SAH parenthood, this is still a huge adjustment.
@Corduroy: I've been at work for 3 months and my DH was staying at home with J and is starting a new job Monday. So I am used to the pump bag routine but getting baby out the door is all new. Great tip about a shirt to wear over work clothes!
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@maybebaby: M started daycare last week. It's been really hard for me. I've been back at work part-time since mid-January and LO has been staying home with DH on the days I work. Her first day I actually did really well--no tears at all. The second day I went to pick her up and she was crying and hadn't napped all day. I cried a lot that night...I've just got a ton of mom guilt about it. I know that this is the right decision for our family and she will adjust. And I'm sure the same thing will be true for your LO. But just be prepared for a roller coaster of emotions and the fact that it may take a little while for all of you to adjust. I'm sure both of our LOs will be making friends and socializing soon and this will all seem like a distant memory (at least I hope so!). Good luck!!
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@lawbee11: Thanks--sorry to hear it's been a bit of an adjustment, but that sounds pretty standard! The first day I went back to work I sobbed all over J's head when I fed him that first morning. I am sure I will be similar when I leave him, especially since I know he is such a needy napper and I expect daycare naps will be a big adjustment for him. We'll both be pros at this soon!!
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@wheres_c: how'd drop off go this AM?!
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@mrs. wagon: What etsy seller did you use? Thinking those labels would be much better than daily masking tape!
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@maybebaby: How was your LO's first day?? M still didn't nap much yesterday, but she was playing and having fun when I picked her up, and she was SO happy to see me!
We use orbit labels and I love them. They work on most bottles and sippy cups. They're also dishwasher safe so you just put them on the bottles once and they can stay there...plus they're super cute!
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@lawbee11: Thanks for asking! I cried when I left him but he didn't cry at all--he was too excited about the other babies and new toys! He only napped 30 minutes (!!! he is used to at least two 1-2 hr naps!) and was pretty overwhelmed but very happy when I got him. They said he didn't cry at all (I seriously think he must have been so overstimulated that he just didn't have time to be upset). He conked out when we got home. DH did drop off today and I will do pick up--I think that will be easier for me emotionally
The daycare director sent me text updates/pictures during the day which was SO sweet. Really helped with missing him!
Thanks for the link about the bottles. Have you tried them on the Medela bottles?
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@maybebaby: this is the seller:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/MeYDecals
SUPER fast processing and shipping, and I liked that I could choose them so specifically! I looked at a few label companies like inchbug, etc. but I couldn't find an icon and color combo that I liked.
I like our labels but they are a bit hard to get off the paper! And they don't ALWAYS make it through the wash on cloth like canvas, etc.. but we have so many that if one falls off after a few washes, I'll just stick on another. They hold up really well in the dishwasher so far though!
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@maybebaby: I don't think they will work on the Medela bottes...I think those are too thin. We have Tommee Tippee bottles and they work well. I just like that they're not stuck on like a sticker label is, but a sticker will probably be your only option with the Medela bottles.
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@mrs. wagon: Ohhh I love these! Custom ordering chevron now to go with his nursery
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@maybebaby: nice!!!
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