Hellobee Boards

My only insight is from DD being in daycare now. There are two infant rooms for under 12 months. I believe the ratio is 1:4 and above that there's another assistant teacher? I don't know for certain but I feel like they stagger the ages in each room so that one room isn't all newborn babies. So DD has babies in her room that can sit, hold a bottle, etc so that not everyone has the same needs.

I did find that they weren't going to create a schedule for her per se. This might vary though. I had to tell them how often to be feeding her, I couldn't just say "watch her cues" so that was a little tough at first.

I have worked at a few daycare centres with infant programs. The ratio for infants here is 1 provider for every 3 children and anything more than that would be crazy, especially as only a small number of the infants were walking.

Some centres are better than others at caring for infants and programming accordingly. The best one I worked at was focussed on the child's schedule for naps. We would eat lunch in small groups and then put babies down for naps at different times. Some children got bottles at various times and we just sort of went with the flow. We did do group activities and went outside to play together as either a large group or with only a few children. We had an extra helper who came to our room to help us in busy times too.

I would be happy to send my infant to a program that ran like that. Definitely go sit in on one and see how you feel about how the team operates together and individually and the kind of care and activities provided for the children. Having a cohesive team and pleasant working environment makes a huge difference in childcare centres so I would definitely be on the look out for that, particularly in a young infant program because you really have to be flexible and be able to easily communicate with your coworkers.

Your childcare should provide more than just basic needs and that is something you should be able to see or get a sense of when you are there observing.

Yes, I think you should definitely hang out and see how it works at the center you're interested in.

My LOs went to center-based daycare as infants and the ratio was 3:1 (the state limit is 4:1) for a group of 12. There were also floater teachers around and separate nap room teachers. So, I think the "established" ratio is not entirely accurate in that there are extra hand on board to help. Are you sure yours is 5:1?

Yes, there are instances when a child is crying while the teacher is holding/feeding another infant. I think it's pretty much like if you were at home with multiple babies. If you can't put the one you have in your arms down, you comfort the crying child in whatever way you can, by singing, talking, showing them a toy, etc. If another teacher is free, they help out. Our center does not have any swings/bouncers, etc, so it's really a lot of floor play (a baby in teacher's arms, one crawling over their legs, one playing next to them, one walking around, etc).

They have some structured activities, music time, outdoor time, reading, etc throughout the day (small and large groups). And lots of bottles/meals, naps, diaper changes since kids are kind of on their own schedules. The teachers find their groove with the kids and it's amazing how they connect!

My only experience pertains to my children. My youngest is currently 4m and goes to a daycare center. She is the 2nd youngest in the room, there is a 10w old, my daughter, then 4 boys who are between 8-12m. There are two caregivers, so 3:1. They do have a swing, bouncer, and jumper, which my daughter uses from time to time. They also have one of those mat/gym things with dangling toys, a mat with a mirror on the wall so they can see themselves, etc. They have a 6-seat buggy and walk the babies through the halls and outside on nice days.

The older babies that eat solids sit in a 4-seat table and I believe they eat at the same time. Bottles are staggered. This daycare is pretty good about feeding her on demand, based on cues (my older daughter's daycare was not so good about this and I believe they overfed her). The first two weeks I sent her with 3 x 3oz bottles plus a couple 1 and 2oz bottles. We played around with it and ultimately decided that 3 x 4oz breastmilk was our best bet. I am allowed to keep frozen bottles in the fridge, so I have a few 2oz bottles there in case she needs more.

@78h2o: ours has one of those giant strollers too

I think it really depends on the center. The one we sent our daughter to at 4m was fantastic. The infant teachers weren't teachers, they were grandmas. And they treated the babies like their babies. They fed on demand and by schedule as she got older. They always do the best they could with th crying babies. More often than not when I would pick up our baby, the director was in the room making the ratio lower than 3:1. Those ladies all loved snuggling babies.

That being said, at the current center she is at, I would never send my baby there. There doesn't seem to be enough staff or they aren't as on demand for the crying babies. It feels like they don't mind if the babies cry, which kills me.

It's hard sending your infant to a center. Really really hard.

@FliegepilzHut: yes, go hang out!! That was the thing that eased my fears the most. With LO, they had 8 babies and 3 adults. Sometimes, it was crazy, and everyone would cry at once. But that wasn't usually true. They would move the babies around: bouncer, jumperoo, swing, tummy time, ball pit, holding, etc. They had all sorts of visually stimulating things, like mobiles, mirrors, chew toys, books, music. It was hard for me at first, but even when she was little, it was very good for LO. They rocked her to sleep and held her for bottles. In the beginning, I would go in when I could to get to know the teachers, how they interacted with the kids, and let them know what I could about LO.

It will work out. LO is going to do great, and so will you!

@FliegepilzHut: it has been amazing for us! And dont worry, I didn't do my most thorough research until LO was here, too. Full disclosure: the place we're in now wasn't the first place we looked. That place had all kinds of stuff for the kiddos, but it just felt...chaotic? It's hard to describe. They *did* a lot of the same things, but the atmosphere was totally different. I'm glad we chose what we did. Keeping my fingers crossed that you find something that fits well for your family!

@FliegepilzHut: I'm a teacher and we just used the teacher daycare. I didn't look anywhere else. My first drop off day I had a gut feeling but thought I was being crazy. DS only lasted there 8 weeks where he attended maybe three total because he was so sick all the time. We pulled him out and kept him home till the school year ended. That summer I went to multiple centers and trusted my gut each time. I found the one he's at now (he's two) and when I walked in I just felt at peace. The baby room was amazing and he's so happy in the toddler room.

The first day we dropped him off I had anxiety because it was new but it was so clear when I picked him up how happy he was.