Daycare Moms
I've got just over a week before I go back to work and I'm starting to stress about some of the logistics. Cason will be 12 weeks old.
1. What all do you send with baby?
2. What is your "routine", especially BF moms that are nursing in the morning/evening... morning routine, nighttime routine, etc.
3. Anything else I might not be prepared for (other than missing him)?
I'm mostly worried about getting in a routine, especially because I will work from home some days, and at the office others. I'm also stressing about the feeding schedule because other than "every 3 hours" we dont really have one... its all about when he goes to bed/when he wakes up. And... right now, we do bottle in the morning since I am so engorged and even after pumping off a little, its impossible to feed him (he just gets choked and then that pisses him off because he's hungry, etc). And we do bottle before bed... but when I go back and he's getting bottles all day, I feel like I'll need to nurse in the AM and PM instead.
Ugh, the logisitics... i think I'm just stressing myself out and I probably need to just "see how it goes" but I'm a planner/thinker.
Re: Daycare Moms
1. We store diapers, wipes and a change of clothes at daycare. Every morning I take his bottles, paci, and his lovie and every week I bring him a clean blanket and swap out clothes as needed.
2. This might not help you because my kid is a terrible sleeper so most mornings he's already in bed with me. But around 6 or 6:30 whenever he's hungry I nurse him in my bed. Sometimes he'll drift back to sleep and I can get up around 7 and get ready while he snoozes---I just leave him there and check on him. These are the easy days. The hard mornings he wakes up after eating and wants to play. Then I settle him somewhere, run back and forth a lot and usually skip doing my hair or put on makeup while singing the wheels on the bus.
I thought getting out of the house in the mornings was going to be so hard, but it really isn't. we start bath and bedtime routine around 8 or 8:30 and he goes to bed around 9 or 9:30.
I nurse on demand and always have so when daycare asked what his "schedule" was the first day I was completely lost as to what to write down, so I completely feel you. I ended up telling them every 3 hours or as needed and stressed that if he's hungry and it's only been 2 hours it's ok for him to have a bottle, I always send an extra just in case.
Good luck, it will be hard at first but it will get better.
I was nervous/stressed when we started daycare too. I am a new mommy and didn't know what to expect. And since Evan has reflux I was worried that he would have a hard time. I am so Type-A that I wrote up a list of considerations and a typical day. The care takers didn't look at me like I had a third eye. They just read over it and asked a few questions. I also stressed that the schedule was a "good day" and they shouldn't stick to it just to be on schedule.
1) We store diapers, wipes, bibs, and burp cloths at the daycare. In his diaper bag I send a change of clothes, a few more burp cloths, his reflux meds, his paci, and his bottles.
2) Since we started adding some formula to his bottles to help with his reflux, I only breastfeed him the last feeding at night or if he wakes up. Honestly, I don't think I would get out of the house if I breastfed him in the morning because he still takes about 45 minutes to eat. We don't have a great bedtime routine yet. He typically crashes around 8:00 and we let him sleep in his swing or in the PnP. Then he eats around 10. After this feeding we swaddle him and take him up to bed. This is when we get the bottles ready for the next day.
3) I have realized that the daycare is used to dealing with all kinds of schedules. Evan seems to be changing his, so I told them to just feed him when he is hunrgy. I felt horrible doing this because I like to be organized but I had to come to grips that my baby is a baby. And things change with him weekly if not daily. As soon as I realized that his care takers are already use to this it was much easier to deal with.
Good luck with getting prepared and your first weeks of daycare.
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Ugh...logistics. Good thing is...you will get in a routine before you know it!
DS goes to an in-home sitter but it's not much different as far as what you would send to daycare. I keep diapers, wipes and extra food (had some frozen BM when he was BFing) at the sitter's house. I bring his bag everyday and it has a change of clothes, paci, blanket and any "medicines" he might need. I use the "free" hospital bag as my sitter bag.
We were not on any kind of schedule before I went back to work. DS nursed on demand...it worked and that's just what we did. DS wasn't sleeping through the night but enough that he was hungry before I left for work. What worked for me was to get up, take a shower and then go wake him up to nurse (most mornings he was waking by this time anyways). We would nurse/watch the news and "talk" before our day started. DH goes to work at the crack of dawn so it was just DS and I. I would put him in his bouncy while I got dressed the rest of the way and then we headed out the door. After work: at first he demanded that we nurse right when we got home from work but eventually he got to where I could at least change and get dinner (of some sort) started before he nursed. I nursed on demand for the rest of the evening/night.
Good luck! You will do just fine! I am a huge planner myself so it was hard just flying by the seat of my pants at first but it worked out. Let us know how the first day goes! Oh, dinner was the last thing on my list after a long day and being away from the baby so I cooked a ton of meals before going back to work and stuck them in the freezer. I also cooked lots of meats (ground beef, ground turkey, etc.) to throw things together easier. You may have already thought of that but I thought I would throw it out there.
I didn't read any responses, so this is probably redundant, but nonetheless (I'll answer for when DS was 12 weeks old):
1. In the bag (you will bring a little bag daily - just for soiled clothes, new bottles, "artwork" from DC, etc. I used the Similac bag from the hospital and just put DS's name on it. Depending on the DC, they might give you a bag).
*3-4 premade BM bottles of 3? ounces each (I can't remember). I also had them put 1 frozen BM package in their freezer "just in case".
*2 changes of clothes (sometimes they will just take these and put them in his cubby, and sometimes they will leave it in the bag everyday)
*Package of diapers and a wipe dispenser (then I would just give them refills when they needed more)
*Pacifier
*Lovey
*Swaddle blanket (if they don't have them)
*Hat and socks (in case they got cold)
2. I would wake up and either get ready or nurse first (depending on if he was awake already). Then I woudl just sit him in the bouncer and get ready. I would recommend getting the bag together and making all of the bottles the night before b/c it's so hectic in the morning - but sometimes that's not feasible when you have to thaw BM. He would usually have at least 3 bottles at DC. I would try to get home before the 4th one, but if not, then DH would feed him the 4th one at home and I would just pump when I got home. I think I just told them "every 3 hours" and they would ask me the last time he ate every morning. The general schedule was 7am (at home), 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm (at home), though. Then we did bath, book, nurse, bed. I tried to get him in bed by like 8-9pm around then, I think. He starting sleeping pretty good around that age - sometimes up to 10 hours a night, but not something we could count on. If he woke up, I woudl usually nurse him back to sleep.
Rinse. Repeat. ;-)
3. I would recommend having like 20 bottles!! I think we only had 9 in the beginning, and I was going crazy handwashing bottles ALL.THE.TIME. to get them ready for the next day. I finally broke down and DH went and bought like 9 more bottles, and all was well again! (I could actually have time to cycle them in the dishwasher then, so it didn't feel so overwhelming). It's worth the extra money to stay sane! ;-)
See if you can go up a day early to bring all of the diapers, wipes, and stuff they will keep up there. That way, you are not trying to carry a carrier plus all that crap in the door at one time. Eventually, you will get the hang of it for refills, but the 1st day is stressful enough, might as well make it a little easier. (Plus, you can meet the teachers and feel more comfortable about where to go,etc.)
Be prepared for him to be sick within the first week. The first weekend, DS was puking, and I think he just got a little bug. It only lasted a few days, but those are scary times when he hasnt' been sick before (and I wasn't expecting it)
I also took DS to DC 2 days before I went back to work. I took that time to run errands, etc. I could pick him up early and it gave me some good "adjustment" time and I felt like I got something done.
I introduced myself to the teachers and asked a little about themselves. It felt better knowing who was watching my kiddo.
I babbled off his likes and dislikes on Day 1. I am sure the teachers are nodding and smiling thinking "yeah, yeah, I know how to take care of a baby", (and I even said - I'm sorry - I know you know how to do this!), but it made me feel better.
A tip for thawing BM - Aluminum is a great conductor of heat - so if you have an aluminum griddle (similar to this), then it will help defrost it faster. That really helped out when I was running behind and it was still mostly frozen, even overnight in the fridge. Warning, though - check on it periodically b/c if you have a hole in your bag, it will spill out onto the plate. You can still pour it into the bottle, it's just a PITA to get all of it. then.
I'm new to this as well as she just started on Monday but I can still let you know what we've done so far.
1. We sent a pack of diapers, diaper ointment, wipes, bibs, burp cloths and a few changes of clothing (which she hasn't needed yet) that they store in her drawer for her. I also gave them two pacis just for daycare, she usually comes home with one and we just send her back with it. She loves her pacis. I also sent a can of formula my pedi recommended and two bottles in case they should ever need it. I am hoping they won't but I would hate to hear I didn't send enough milk for her. They know to call me when they use the last bottle though so I can come get her if I can rather than use the formula.
2. We didn't really have a routine either as I did on demand feeding. Some days it was every 2-4 hours and others it was every 1.5 hour. I sent 4 bottles for a half day and she only used two. Yesterday was her first full day (9:30-5) and used 3 bottles. I still send 4 just in case. For pumping, I pump every 2-3 hours and know I need to pump at least 4 ozs to keep up with what she's eating. So far I've been able to pump what she needs and some to store for later as well. I did trade some fresh milk for frozen milk since I had some that was 3 months old already so I send 1 frozen bottle and three fresh bottles. We number hers (I number the cap) so they use them in order. I nurse her before taking her in the morning so the first feeding she'll need with them is two hours after I drop her off.
I cried most of the first day and today I only cried when I left her. It gets easier. What makes me the most sad is I pick her up right at 5 which is usually her fussy time but it means I get to cuddle her since that's all she wants. She's been really tired from all the stimulation so she's been asleep by 7:30 - I keep rocking and cuddling her till 8:30 to get some extra time with her and then I put her in her crib. I miss her terribly but each day gets a little better. Don't be afraid to call. I called 4 times day one and each time they were sweet and gave me details to make me feel better. Today I've only called once. She clearly enjoys it as she smiles and giggles for her teacher when I drop her off. I feel better knowing that.
I have a pretty flexible work schedule (which you may on days you work from home too) so I don't drop her off until she wakes up. She sleeps till about 4 or 5 when she wakes for a feeding but goes back to sleep until anywhere from 7:30 to 10 so I just wait till she wakes again, nurse her and get her ready for daycare then drop her off. If you do that on days you work from home, it makes it a bit easier (for me anyway).
There has been great advise already given. The first day/weeks are hard and I too am type A. I had to learn to throw it out the window and go with it and still adjusting even after 3 weeks.
My day is a little different b/c I work earlier hours 7-4 by choice. C gets up usual by 4:45 for a feeding, so I'd give him his medicine, feed, change diaper and feed some more. Then get myself ready and out the door by 6.
We too weren't on a strict schedule, but really follow the e.a.s.y. program. C gets 3 feedings while with MIL and I feed on demand when I get home. The days I rotate out and use frozen I put a rubber band around the bottle so she knows that has to be used first. Bath, book, boob, bed all by 9 and he was down from 9:30-10 most nights.
The evenings are where you need help from DH; divide and conquer! I'm still working on that
. Between feeding lo, yourself, bottles, preparing lunches for next day at work, pumping and housework there were nights I wasn't in bed before 11:30! I'm the type that couldn't leave dirty dishes in the sink and soon realized I may have too for my own sanity.
Just remember anything goes the first couple of weeks; everything is new to them too. Not to scare you, but he sttn at least 7 hours and now there has been regression and no change in scheduling on our part.
I send diapers as needed.
I send a little backpack each week with 2 changes of clothes and a ziplock bag of desitin, mylacon and lotion. Oh and in the beginning he needed to swaddle to nap so I sent his blanket and paci each week, bringing it home on Friday to wash.
Daily I send his 3 bottles.
Routine: Our routine has changed since he's sleeping later. But in the beginning I would get up at 5:30 (when he woke) and feed Cooper until 6. Shower and get dressed. By 6:40 I needed to be sitting down to pump. Dress Cooper while I pumped. Unhook the pump around 7-7:05 and pack everything up. Put my clothes on and walk out the door between 7:20 and 7:25.
I pump at 9:30, 1, & 3:30. I also pump before bed to get a total of 18oz to send each day. I picked Cooper up at 5:30 and would usually nurse him once we got home. We'd do bath and start his night time feeding at 8:30.
The change now is that he sleeps a little later so I get up at 5:30 and get dressed, wake him up at 6:20 and feed him and start to pump at 6:40-6:45.
I agree with the others. It does get easier. We have such a routine now I really don't think twice about it. Cooper has thrown us for some loops, but we've adjusted. The hardest is that he doesn't always sleep as late as I'd like and after he eats he wants me to play with him and not focus on getting dressed. So every day is a game of "what can I do to entertain him while I finish getting dressed and listening to him cry every time I walk through the living room."
Thanks for all the input. I'm using an in-home sitter so I'm going to try to go by tomorrow and see how she wants to do things like diapers, frozen milk, etc.
1. Diapers are provided. Bottles are washed at night and filled in the morning. I use a little cooler bag and have multiple ice packs to cycle through. (One goes in the freezer, the other comes out.) I place the ice pack in with the bottles for travel to school. Six bottles seem to be the minimum we need to cycle through for washing and filling; we send four to school. He drinks three and one is the "emergency" spare. I send two spare outfits. This is based on experience. I send one small toy, one blanket, two binkies.
I keep diapers in a bag in the car in case we end up going straight from school to doc's.
2. BF or pump in morning while husband readies bottles. Pump at work 3-4 times early in child's life. (try to mirror bf schedule.)
tips: if you can, have extra pump parts that equal no. of sessions in individual baggies. Use and bag dirty. Wash at home. This saves a lot of time and annoyance at work. If a meeting is scheduled for pumping time, pump right before even if it is close to a previous session. It is like going potty before leaving the house - you don't want to have an urgent need to pump during a meeting.
Be flexible. You'll get in a grove between the baby and the pump with time. It is a lot to manage and that makes you a rock star. You're doing a great thing.