Transition to daycare ?

Heatherleah77

Hi ladies!  Question.  I have 3 weeks left before going back to work and am already starting to get nervous about the transition.  It has to happen, but I'm mostly worried about how LO will adjust.  We don't have a great schedule down now, everything is on demand and I just follow baby's cues.  I realize that daycare will be much more structured.  Based on your experience, is there anything I can do to make the transition easier?  He's EBF and sleeping patterns seem to change every couple days.  Thanks for any help.    He will be 12 weeks old at that time.

anonsouthernbell

It depends on the daycare...  I used to work at a small, in home, AP based daycare.  We followed the babies cues regarding hunger, sleep, etc.  babies also tend to fall into more of a schedule natuurally after three /four months or at least that's my limited experience...

AKB090609

I work at a large center, and for the most part we follow babies cues unless they are eating our lunches (we can only serve food for 45 min to meet food safety standards) call your provider and ask how they run the day. Obviously you will need a bit of a morning schedule to get out of the house but that may be all.

katieh1017

L went to DC at 16 weeks. We had a information sheet that we filled out asking about likes, dislikes, feeding, naps etc. For the most part they pretty much do everything on demand but I gave them an estimate of how often she likes to eat. As for naps, well she isn't a good napper so they try when they see she is tired. It's a different environment for them and the teachers are usually good, they have lots of experience.

 Try not to worry too much. Talk to the teachers before LO starts and see how things work, tell them your concerns. Don't wait until her first day, it will feel rushed and you never know how that morning will be with other parents coming in and out. Good luck!

Baby Bouchard

My daughter goes to a center run by the YMCA and everything is done on demand except when it comes to infants who are eating regular meals (not baby food) that are served by the center. As a PP said they have to follow a guideline and meals can only be served within a window of when they are prepared. 

That being said, even if baby doesn't "demand" it, they do change diapers, offer food/bottle every 2 hours, this ensures no one gets over looked, etc. It's a pretty good system I think and puts my mind at ease that my LO will get everything he needs.

Have you toured the facility? Maybe you could stop by and observe and speak to his/her teachers? Better to do before hand and not day of, then you can be prepared and feel more at ease as well.  

melody921

DS goes to a center, which is where DD will go too. They still will work with our schedule as far as feeding, napping, etc. It's pretty typical that 12-week-olds are still all over the place with schedule. I wouldn't worry. Just make sure you send an extra bottle of milk each day in case she's hungry before you get there. The teachers are trained to deal with the rest.