Georgia Babies

Daycare Moms - Help Please

For those of you with a LO in Daycare... What are the things that you'd recommend to a new mom with a new baby going to daycare?  Any tips?  Must haves? 

I assume I need a diaper bag that I'll drop off with Brady at daycare each day... or do you drop one off that lasts for the entire week (with diapers, wipes, etc.) and then restock?  I think I am going to get some labels from Mabels Labels to use on the bottles that I send each day.  Are the stickers with his name on it the best bet, or does anyone use something different that is maybe reusable?  For those who send breastmilk bottles, do you also put the date on them or is this unnecessary?

Thanks for any help you can give!

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Mommy to Abigail Elizabeth (11/4/11) and Brady Jasper (7/2/09)
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Re: Daycare Moms - Help Please

  • Hunter is in daycare and started when he was 15 months old, but in his case, all he needed was three changes of clothes, just in case there was a blow-out and three pairs of socks. They also needed diapers and baby wipes and a sippy cup that they sterilize after each use. Most daycares should tell you what you need to bring  in, although, it may be different for younger kids, but they definitely tell you what to bring and what you need.
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  • Thanks!  I do have the list of what I "need" to bring to daycare.  I'm just looking for advice on what items moms have found that make their lives easier.  Like what labels they use, do they bring in items for the entire week or month, etc.
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    Mommy to Abigail Elizabeth (11/4/11) and Brady Jasper (7/2/09)
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  • The daycare labels everything that Hunter goes too, he has a little cubby for his clothes and stuff, the sippy cups, diapers, and wipes container are all labeled, they just wrote on them with a sharpie. Also, as far as what I typically bring in, I bring in a thing of wipes which is the three pack and then when I buy diapers, one half goes to daycare and the other stays at home. They also let us know when he is running low on anything he needs. And for extra things like diarper rash, they had me fill out a form for the use of it, but again, all daycares are different.
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  • Blnd117 - Thanks for sharing what works for you!  I'll definitely need to stop by my daycare for another visit to see exactly how it all works there.
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    Mommy to Abigail Elizabeth (11/4/11) and Brady Jasper (7/2/09)
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  • You daycare should tell you what you need to bring.  And they should tell you when you need to restock.  The center usually just puts it on the "Cuddle Gram" or daily report.  The next day I bring in to restock. 

    One daycare we went to said they only needed one outfit.  The daycare Millie starts on Monday needs 3 change of clothes outfits.  Just check the policy. 

    The last daycare she went to required all formula and BM to be labeled (first & last name & date) daily and in a one gallon bag to put in the fridge.  I would also put a #1, #2 and #3 on my BM bottles indicating which should be given first. 

    Let's see, other than that, just label all your bottles.  I would bring everything in together in a reusable shopping bag and leave that bag there so whoever picked up could use that bag too.  It's hard to juggle a car seat,  3 bottles, etc. 

    GL!

  • Oh, you asked about a diaper bag.  I never brought one in.  Just the bag of bottles daily. 

    And we just used a label maker to label the bottles.  Worked perfectly even in the dishwasher.

  • Hi there,

    Every daycare probably works a little differently, but at mine Nate has a cubby and I bring a box of wipes and a "ream" of diapers (one of the four in the big box) that stay in his cubby until they let me know that he needs more.  On the first day I also brought extra clothes, diaper cream, sunscreen, bugspray, etc that stay in his cubby and they use as needed.  They just tell me when stuff needs to be replaced.  So in his bag every day the only thing that I pack are bottles/food, everything else is already there (in his cubby). 

    At my daycare the bottles all have to be labeled with name AND date, everyday.  So instead of using pre-made labels, I write on blank labels every night.   I have seen other people use printer labels and print out the name with space at the end of the label for the date.  To label jars of baby food I just use a Sharpie and write right on the container.

    Now that he is in the toddler room I only have to bring his sippy cup since they provide all of the food.  Every daycare is different, so I am sure that yours will tell you what you need to do as far as labeling bottles, keeping stuff there, etc.  Good luck! 

    Oh, I almost forgot-- can you do a trial day?  The week before I had to be back at work, I took him to daycare for a few hours while I ran around and did some errands.  It was so hard to leave him and I cried before I even made it out of the daycare, and then continues to cry for the few hours that I left him.  On Monday morning when I HAD to be at work on time, it was much easier to leave him and even though I still got teary, it was nothing like the first time.  It made it a lot easier to get through my first day back at work!  Ask your daycare if this is a possibility-- most will accomodate you just for a few hours.  It really helps!  :)

     

     

     

  • They asked us to label it with name-first and last, and date. I also right the sequence of which one I want them to give him first. Just so it'll be consistent with the date I pumped the bf.
  • Ditto the trail run.  Try and go/sit in the class for awhile.  It really helped. 

    Yeah, now that M is a toddler, we bring nothing.  It's so great!  The school provides all the milk and sippy cups and all the food.  It's so much nicer!

  • Here are some things that I've found helpful

    Bottle Labels--I love the inchbug bumpy labels that you personalize for the name.  I than use masking tape to write the date because it's easy to remove.  You should plan to bring in an extra bottle "just in case"

    other things to bring in:

    Hat (for going outside), 2-3 sets of clothes, Diapers (always label and bring in enough for 2 weeks), wipes, pacifier (for labeling, I put a colorful ribbon on so they knew which was which...everyone has the gumdrop pacifiers now and they are so hard to label).

    When he's older, I would bring in suncreen and bug repellant if they go outside.  I also kept baby tylenol there.

     

  • I didn't read any of the other responses, so sorry if this is a repeat...

    This is what we had when Caroline first started (her daycare has cubbys for each baby so you don't have to send a load every day):

    3-4 extra outfits - I didn't label the outfits, but do whatever your center requires

    pacifier - i wrote her name on it

    diapers - I buy the big econo-size boxes, so I take one of the packs that comes in the box and write her name all over the packaging.  That usually lasts a week or two.

    Mable's Labels are great for the bottles and bottle lids!  Our daycare required that you put the date on the bottles as well (we did this with blue painter's tape)

    You may not need to worry about this since you are bf'ing, but our daycare let us keep an emergency canister of formula (just in case something happened to her bottles)

    We also just used the cheapy Similac diaper bag we got free from the hospital as her daycare bag and I put a name tag on it. 

    We Caroline started on solids I would just take a week's worth of baby food and box of cereal to keep there.

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  • I have a separate diaper bag that I use only for day care.  In it is an extra blanket, extra clothes (including socks), lots of bibs, and diaper rash cream.  I did take Mylcon and Tylenol but the state said there could not be any meds in her bag unless she was taking them on a regular basis.  I am sure we probably should put the date on her bottles but we don't.  I take 3 bottles of EBM everyday and she takes all three.  I have bought the labels from Mabel's Labels and highly recommend them.  At first I was using masking tape and writing her name on the bottles with a marker but I like the labels a lot better.  I bring a whole container of wipes and usually a small pack of diapers.  They have a storage place for extra diapers and wipes.  The teachers leave a note on her daily report when she needs more.  Just be sure to label everything you take.  I hope this helps. 

     

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  • Here's what we did/do:

    All bottles require first/last name on the bottle AND the lid.  Also the date.  I believe this is a state requirement.  So I used bottle bands (www.inchbug.com) for the bottles, and mabels labels for the lids.  One mabel label lasted us as long as we used the bottles and came off clean when we were done.  LOVE those.  We still use the bottle bands for his sippy cups so I LOVE them too!  He had blue and green bands and I developed a system where I would use the blue bands for breastmilk and the green bands for formula.  So his teachers knew to use the blue ones first.  Then I would just put a small piece of masking tape w/ the date on the lids and we were good to go.

    As for a diaper bag, they told me NOT to bring one.  Just to bring a pack of diapers and wipes and a container and they would let me know when I needed to restock with a note on his daily sheet.  I also had to bring 3 complete outfits for him to change into. I also left a tube of diaper cream.  He has a cubby in the closet so we just put it all in there.

    When he started cereal/baby food, they had cabinets for that and Gavin had his own section.  I labeled the big stuff w/ a Sharpie pen, but just put the jars of baby food in his designated area- no labels.  I also brought him a bowl/spoon.  The tiny Mabels Labels are perfect for these items.  They also just let me know when to restock.

    If you are going to do Mabels Labels... go for a camp pack or one of the other variety packs so you get lots of shapes and sizes.  We have actually JUST now run out of my first camp pack so I need to order more. Oh and just FYI, the camp pack includes "shoe labels" which are circles.  I used these for some of his bottle caps and they worked great... so you don't have to use them specifically for what they are intended.

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  • imageslwprincess:

    Here's what we did/do:

    All bottles require first/last name on the bottle AND the lid.  Also the date.  I believe this is a state requirement.  So I used bottle bands (www.inchbug.com) for the bottles, and mabels labels for the lids.  One mabel label lasted us as long as we used the bottles and came off clean when we were done.  LOVE those.  We still use the bottle bands for his sippy cups so I LOVE them too!  He had blue and green bands and I developed a system where I would use the blue bands for breastmilk and the green bands for formula.  So his teachers knew to use the blue ones first.  Then I would just put a small piece of masking tape w/ the date on the lids and we were good to go.

    As for a diaper bag, they told me NOT to bring one.  Just to bring a pack of diapers and wipes and a container and they would let me know when I needed to restock with a note on his daily sheet.  I also had to bring 3 complete outfits for him to change into. I also left a tube of diaper cream.  He has a cubby in the closet so we just put it all in there.

    When he started cereal/baby food, they had cabinets for that and Gavin had his own section.  I labeled the big stuff w/ a Sharpie pen, but just put the jars of baby food in his designated area- no labels.  I also brought him a bowl/spoon.  The tiny Mabels Labels are perfect for these items.  They also just let me know when to restock.

    If you are going to do Mabels Labels... go for a camp pack or one of the other variety packs so you get lots of shapes and sizes.  We have actually JUST now run out of my first camp pack so I need to order more. Oh and just FYI, the camp pack includes "shoe labels" which are circles.  I used these for some of his bottle caps and they worked great... so you don't have to use them specifically for what they are intended.

    Pretty much what she said :-)  our school also doesn't want a diaper bag, they provided a school tote bag w/ a name tag.  I use stuck on you label's, not mabel's labels...but i think they are both good.  Masking tape for the date

  • Jackson had/has a cubby with a change of clothes in it.

    We sent a pack of diapers and wipes and they tell us when we need to send more.  They keep these in drawers under the changing table.  They also keep diaper rash cream and lotion there.

    We sent bottles each day and just used a small cooler type lunch box to take them back and forth in.  Labeled first and last name and date.  we used painters tape for awhile but then ordered date stickers that saved so much time.

    https://www.appliedlabels.com/Need_A_Date__Label.html

    Enter School09 for $5 off and free shipping.  Dates removed easy and the names are still stuck on after many a wash in the dishwasher.  Just remove the dates before putting in the washer though.

    If it mattered, most days it didn't, I would label bottles in order to be given.  Just if one was thawed BM or leftover from the day before.  At first I only sent BM then after awhile it was 1/2 BM 1/2 formula.  When I started this I'd label what it was.  

    I remember thinking there should be a handbook for starting daycare!  I had no idea what to take, what was normal, etc. and I was so intimidated by it all.  This was before I found this board. :)  

  • I leave a spare diaper bag there with just a couple spare things in it for emergencies. For supplies like diapers and wipes, I just bring them a huge stash and they tell me when it is gone. For me, that is so much easier than bringing stuff in every day or every week. Of course, milk, formula or BM is still daily. Our daycare requires that stuff to be labeled with name and date. I bought dishwasher proof labels on etsy (Cherry Hill Designs) with her name on them and I just use masking tape for the dates. It works fine. I recommend you get an insulated bag/cooler for the bottles each day. I liked to do that. I had a large one I used when DD was using 4+ bottles each day and I have a smaller one now that I just bring some milk and her sippy.

    Good luck!

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  • Thank you all for the responses!

    Kristin - Thanks for the coupon code, too!  :)

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    Mommy to Abigail Elizabeth (11/4/11) and Brady Jasper (7/2/09)
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  • You're welcome.  This may be obvious, but if you do order the date sheets it's one sheet with every date of the year so if you send 4 bottles a day you'll need 4 sheets. :)
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