schedule would be early...but I'm getting ready to go back to work. Ideas?

otoro98

My baby is currently 9 wks old, and I have to go back to work in 3 weeks. She will be with a day care provider at the provider's home when I'm at work (sob!), and I'm trying to figure out if it is at all possible to get her on some sort of schedule in preparation for daycare, but it still seems early.  What have others done in this situation? Honestly, DD seems like she could handle a loose schedule of sorts, but is still too little for something rigid. Ideas welcome, thanks!

 Also, I really need to work on how I will get DD adjusted to the daycare provider. I'm thinking I might go with her a few days before I start work and stay for a bit, but I don't know how the provider will feel about that. As far as I'm concerned, DC provider just has to go with it, after all, it will make her job easier as well and mommy won't be as heartbroken when she goes back to work! 

Mrs.Ram

We sent DD to a provider at 16 weeks, and she was on no schedule. The provider was actually great at getting her on a schedule, so I was really grateful. I wouldn't worry about getting her on a schedule if you don't think she's ready yet.

We did a transition week before I went back to work. I took DD for a few hours the first day (and probably stayed about an hour), and increased it gradually throughout the week. I think Thursday and Friday she was there all day, and I wasn't there at all. To be honest, at that age they are fine if you just leave them, but it made me feel better to stay.

Also, a word to the wise, during the transition week, find stuff to do while DD is with the provider. I would drop her off and go home and cry. A friend recommended doing the stuff I couldn't do with her (mani/pedi, massage, haircut, movies, etc.), which was so helpful!

Regardless, best of luck whatever you do!

kafunder

Have you asked your DCP if she needs to be on a schedule? It may be that sending her to DC will put her on a loose schedule.

If you do want her on a routine/schedule, I don't think it's too early. My LOs have been on a routine/schedule since about 2 weeks old (it's the only way to survive with twins, I think). At your LOs age, here is what it looked like:

5am: Bottle

5am-7am: Back to bed

8am: Bottle

9:30am-11am: Nap

11am: Bottle

12:30pm-2pm: Nap

2pm: Bottle

3:30pm-5pm: Nap

5pm: Bottle

7:30pm: Bedtime

Sometimes they wouldn't nap the entire time, but we follwoed this schedule for months, and it worked great for us.

Artslvr

My experience with sending all three of my kids as babies to an in-home provider is that whatever "schedule" (loose or not) they were on at my house when I was on leave, changed at least slightly when they starting going to her.  Because let's be honest, the DCP - while meeting the needs of your baby of course - has to get your kid on a schedule that works for her so she get through her day.  Especially in our case because our DCP takes care of several kids.

That sounds a little blunt maybe, but I love our DCP and I respect the fact that we have to work together on caring for my kids.  We both do what's best for kiddo while also doing what's best for us.

And yes, I don't think it's unusual at all for a parent to ask the DCP to come and hang out with baby a few times before taking the plunge and just doing drop off.  I did that with my first baby, although not with my second and third - mainly because by then I was really confident about our DCP and I was fine with her just taking over cold turkey.  But totally - since you're new to DCP and she's new to you - I think they should let you do this at your pace. 

QueSrah

Artslvr has a good point about schedule - in some way your baby has to be fit in with the needs of the other kids.  I was grateful that our DCP got DD on to a schedule, and I got the impression that she didn't mind one bit.  (And a SCP schedule at that age they will still include feeding on demand and some degree of nap flexibility.)

Have you talked to the DCP about how she prefers to transition? If she's watching any older kids, she might be concerned about how they will react if you stay with your LO for a while to transition.  (Toddlers asking "why can't MY mommy stay?")  My DCP tends to keep parents at arms length for the sake of the other eight kids in the house, which I understand and happens to work for us.  Each DCP has their own preferences, and since they've been through this transition many times with different parents, it's worth checking in and seeing what works for them and whether they have any advice that would make you more comfortable.

WinesNot Whines

I didn't stay with LO at daycare, because I thought that would be more confusing for him, but I started with a transition week where I dropped him off for 2 hours, then 3 hours, then 4 hours, etc. until we got up to a full day. 

He wasn't on any sort of schedule until around 6 months old. Even now, he doesn't always nap at the same exact time every day, although he's usually within a one-hour range. I wouldn't worry about putting your LO on a schedule before he goes to daycare. Even if you figure something out, his schedule at home will probably be different than his schedule at daycare.

VAJuneBride07

DD is 8 months.  She is still on no set schedule during the day, although she's pretty consistent about when she gets up and goes to bed.  She eats about every 4 hours and naps when she's tired (usually 2 to 2 1/2 hours from the time she last woke up).  It would be fighting an uphill battle to set an exact schedule every day, so we don't.  Most daycare providers will work with very young babies and let them set the schedule.