[MustLoveDogs]

Hello. It has come the time when I have to place my daughter in the daycare system . Now, I have the following questions:
How do you mark the bottles, clothes etc? Should I use a sharpie or there is a better way?
How many bottles should I take? I was thinking 4 bottles with 4 oz each. I will be dropping her off at 7:00 and picking her up at 5:00. She usually takes 3 1/2 oz per feeding for every 3 hours. Sometimes more or less depending on how she feels.
This daycare is in the top 3 in our city, has been in business for 49 years but I still feel uncomfortable leaving her there. My daughter has been with my mom all this time, but my mom is going back home. How do I know if my baby is thriving in this environment? She is two months old, and she is talking, smiling and cooing a lot. I mean a lot.
Thank you before hand for your responses.

[jenedens6102]

Daysi, it's never easy leaving them with a sitter or at a daycare center for the first time. I did and still do overpack for Ethan. We use the drop in system so I would pack up all four bottles with four ounces of formula ready to go - just add water. I always pack three extra outfits (marked with a fine point sharpie) in case he has an accident. I also brought a full pack of diaper and a brand new container of wipes with his name on them. Oh and a couple receiving blankets for nap time. Now I pack lots of toys and he has a big blanket that stays all the time for him to play on. With other kids there he's interacting even more then he did when it was just the two of us. I was so worried he wouldn't have that one on one attention he needed but he does and he loves being at his sitter's. Starts the day with a smile and really recognizes his buddies! I'm sure it'll be difficult (it was for me) for a little while but soon enough you'll see that Desiree is going to be just fine.

[hannah01]

i'm so glad to see this thread daysi ... you and i are in the same boat. simon is starting daycare in 1 month and i feel so sad thinking about it. i worry that he won't be held enough, or responded to quickly enough if he cries, etc.

jen your response was really helpful and makes me feel better. what do they sit in during the day? do you bring ethan's bouncy seat? does he stay in his car seat??

the daycare simon is going to is considered one of the better ones where i live. the area for newborns has 1 teacher and 5 babies... that seems like a lot to me. can you imagine caring for 5 babies at once?? the teacher has been there for 3 years so she must like it... at least that's what i tell myself. my office is just a few blocks away so i plan to go down there and breastfeed/visit simon during the day. it's still going to be so hard. it just breaks my heart. yesterday i was online researching gps-tracking devices for children in case they get kidnapped!

[amsa]

I feel for you and know how hard it is to leave your baby at day care but it does get easier. We were away for a week and my then 6 month old could not wait to get back to school and play with his friends. he lit up when we walked through the door. Here are some suggestions that I hope will help:

As far as bottles I use these instead of a sharpie. They are easy to slip on and off once you need to upgrade to a cup or even to fit on baby food jars.
InchBug - Offering BumpyName Orbit Labels and other must-have products for parents. Unique. Practical. But I know most of the Moms usr labels from a P-touch maker that tend to be water resistant.

Labeling clothes is a little tougher but I found a lot of his outfits were made without tages but I didn't wan't to committ to ironing on labels to everything so I am the queen of ziploc bags. Everyday at school it is required I bag all of his food together in a gallon size ziploc with his name and date. The daycare also provides a locked drawer for changes of clothes etc. So I put his clothes in the same type of ziploc with his name. His school require 2 sets of clean clothes.

I bring his favorite teething blanket and regular blanket to smell like home and have his name on the tags written by sharpie.

My Mom owned a daycare for 34 years (but sadly lives far away) and she came with me to check out day care centers and we went with the one where the children seemed best adjusted. They were clean and happy and were not clinging to their parents. And the lines of communication were open. I get daily reports, the whole first week received daily e-mails and photos and they have an open door policy and parent "mixers" to meet the other parents in the room. My son is my first so I don't have anything to compare his progress to but he is the youngest in the room by 2 months and he keeps up with all of the 8and 9 month olds so I feel like he is thriving being and imitating his "friends". I know it is a tough decision.

Good Luck!!

[amsa]

Originally Posted by hannah01

what do they sit in during the day? do you bring ethan's bouncy seat? does he stay in his car seat??

I can answer for G. The daycare had 1 bouncy seat per child under 6 months and 2 excersaucers. But I know one of the other Mom's brought their own because her son had reflux and he liked to sleep in his own. Car Seats were not allowed only in the office for transporting but they were not allowed to have children sit in them throughout the day.

But you may be surprised Gianni is spoiled far more at daycare than at home. They hold him all day and rock him to sleep and never let him hold his own bottle. So it is the opposite, where I have to ask them to let go a little.

[jenedens6102]

Kris, Ethan's sitter has a bouncey seat. He's was the only infant there and will be until the newest little one starts in September. I did bring his carseat in with me each and everyday though, until about two weeks ago - he's getting heavy! So if they wanted to go outside he had a place to sit and he'd fall asleep in there from time to time too. Now he's bigger and enjoying the newness of the exersaucer and playing in her pack n play when he can't roll around on the floor because of the older kids. Ethan goes to an at home sitter who has kids ranging from Ethan to 10! But she only has about 6-10 a day and the older ones pretty much tend to themselves and the younger ones are outside playing hard most of the day. It's neat to sit there and think someday that will be my son!

[MustLoveDogs]

Jen-Thank you for your response. I didn't think about toys. I will place her favorite musical teddy in her bag.

Kris-GPS tracking device...That's an idea . This is one of the reasons I chose a daycare, because there are usually more than one people in that kind of setting vs leaving my baby with just one nanny at home.

Angela-thank you for your input. By the way, I love those bottle labels.

[cat915]

Originally Posted by hannah01

i'm so glad to see this thread daysi ... you and i are in the same boat. simon is starting daycare in 1 month and i feel so sad thinking about it. i worry that he won't be held enough, or responded to quickly enough if he cries, etc.

jen your response was really helpful and makes me feel better. what do they sit in during the day? do you bring ethan's bouncy seat? does he stay in his car seat??

the daycare simon is going to is considered one of the better ones where i live. the area for newborns has 1 teacher and 5 babies... that seems like a lot to me. can you imagine caring for 5 babies at once?? the teacher has been there for 3 years so she must like it... at least that's what i tell myself. my office is just a few blocks away so i plan to go down there and breastfeed/visit simon during the day. it's still going to be so hard. it just breaks my heart. yesterday i was online researching gps-tracking devices for children in case they get kidnapped!

my daycare has no exersaucers or bouncy seats. they do tummy time and back time -- they have boppys to help them w/ tummy time or to help them sit when they get to that. they have lots of toys. and some that are on bars so that if baby is laying on the floor he/she can attempt to grab the toys... be careful taking favorite toys in-- i've noticed that 1) toys get shared around and if you can't wipe it down, it's going to be coming home w/ LOTS of other baby's slobber and 2) things still sometimes disappear for a day or two so if he/she needs it to go to sleep at home, you may not want to risk taking it to school. Also, our school provided blankets and each baby has a bin there where we leave backup outfits/diapers,etc so you may want to talk w/ your center and see what they recommend that you bring. Oh- and make your policy clear on pacifiers- we had one incident where i didn't bring a paci in because he wasn't taking them at home and i came in to find him w/ a paci in his mouth- one that the center kept on "hand"- kinda wigged me out, so he now has personalized pacis that go to school.

[MIRANDA12503]

I own a home based day care and can not image a day care not having bouncy seats and excersaucers when caring for babies. I have three swings, 3 excersaucers and 2 bouncy seats. I also do tummy time, and play mat time. I also provide all the toys. I think it is important to ask for a schedule of daily activities so you know what your child is doing while you are away. I provide a schedule for all my parents.

[jenedens6102]

Miranda, are you still doing this with the twins? Wow girl!

Yes, my sitter does include a monthly schedule (three months at a time) of activities for the older kids. She has the bouncey, the excersaucer and two high chairs plus her pack n play. She used to have more but she doesn't have enough babies to keep them out all the time and I understand that. The daycares in our area are equipt with swings and a few bouncey seats but no exersaucers. Each is different so definitely check. I think I'm able to bring toys and some of his favorite things because he is the only baby. I do make sure to disinfect as often as possible anyway!

[MIRANDA12503]

Jen I re-open in a few weeks!! LOL I will be busy!!

[Kellileanne]

Originally Posted by MustLoveDogs

How do you mark the bottles, clothes etc? I used a sharpie
How many bottles should I take? At the current daycare they supply the formula but I did have to bring in 3 bottles.
I was thinking 4 bottles with 4 oz each. If you have to supply the formula then I would do it this way, or even leave the bottles there and just take a whole formula container and let them mix it.
I still feel uncomfortable leaving her there. This will get better.
How do I know if my baby is thriving in this environment? You will see by her behavior. If she is thriving then you will see developmental milestones and she will continue doing all those adorable things she is doing now.

We had a horrible daycare at first (well, the first two weeks were fine but after that it went down hill fast) but now we are in one of the best in town and am loving it!!!! Her development skyrocketed after starting the new one, she loves it there, and her after hours babysitter works there so I know she has been pre-screened! Good Luck, with it being one of the best in the area I am sure you will really like it, the better ones are usually a staircase above the rest, especially when it comes to development!

[MustLoveDogs]

Thank you everybody for all your responses. You were really helpful.

Kellianne-How did you know the first daycare was not any good?

[Kellileanne]

After the first couple of weeks she would come home in another child's clothes, we saw other children touching her pacifier and the workers didn't wash it off before giving it back to Caitlin, the workers were all college students (one wasn't even in college), she kept getting ring worm, the other kids in the room were always covered with food, they didn't have any real activities for her to do, every time I went to pick her up she was in a swing or in her carseat watching tv (one time she was sitting IN the sun--they said she had a fever), and she was always running fevers of just over 100--even though we could never get one on her and she has only had two since being at this new daycare (one uti and one ear infection). The owner wasn't too nice either. Got things mixed up and even got our child mixed up with another child saying Caitlin was much smaller than she should be and not eating like she should be (one second she wasn't eating enough and then another was she was eating too much for her size/age), etc, etc. She even called a nurse she knew with cps to ask questions. Turns out, she was trying to cover her butt! The ring work was from a worker and the feeding issues completely false! As soon as Caitlin started the new daycare she started hitting developmental mile stones soo quick!!! And has gained weight at a startling rate--they actually sit down and feed her! And they do two spoon feedings a day, where it was a fight to get the other place to do one and that was when one particular girl was there! The lady also would hold our checks for a week at a time--and we paid weekly! She was just a witch. Said I was not nice to the girls (I always said good morning, how she was doing that morning, and thank you when i left). There is more but I have already written a novel and I think Caitlin is ready for bed!