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December 2010 Moms
kikijones
member
Working moms: WWYD regarding daycare and a ? (Long!)
kikijones
member
I go back to work full time on the fifteenth and I started Julie's transition to daycare today. We had toured our daycare way back before she was born and got to see the newborn area. Initially we planned on enrolling her in March, but fortunately my MIL volunteered to take care of her for three months until summer break, so we didn't need daycare until now. Flash forward to now and Julie is getting ready to start, so I went in and hung out with her and planned on doing a slow transition.
Here's the issue: Daycare director calls and inquires that Julie is starting today, and says that they are in a transition period and that I might freak out a bit and says everything will work out and be okay. So we arrive and she says that she's going to be putting together a new group with Julie and another baby her age a 2 children who are 11 months. (Maybe a 13 month old too.) She takes me to the classroom where Julie will be and the classroom is filled with children who are all walking around 11-16 months! Julie can't even sit yet. So, I'm like 
but I decide okay, I'm not going to freak out yet. We go into her classroom and I find a place to sit on one of the rugs but there isn't anything in the room appropriate for Julie. The nursery next door has all of the bouncers/rockers/swings/soft mats etc, but there is nothing like this in the classroom she directs me to. I'm totally freaking out inside at this point. Director says that they are going to be moving most of the walking children to a new class and the youngest walkers are going to stay with Julie. She also says that they are going to change the room a bit to accomodate soft mats for crawling, etc...
I stayed for about a half hour and then decide I need to go talk to her. She asks right away if I'm freaking out and I'm like YES! Dude, this room is not appropriate for Julie right now. So I ask point blank, can Julie join the nursery class because this class is just not right for her, and she blathers about how they are going to change things, but I am still like Julie needs to be in the nursery. So the director acquiesces and says tomorrow when I bring Julie in we will go to the nursery.
Okay, so here's my question: Would you push for Julie to stay with the younger babies and be the oldest baby in the group or would you be okay with the idea of her being in a small group of (2) 11 month old babies and another 8 month old? If they do make the new group, it's going to be a small class so she will probably get a good amount of attention, but I'm just worried how advanced the other babies are comparatively. I'm trying to not freak out but this is so important and I want to make sure that Julie gets the best attention possible. Ugh.
Also, this might be a dumb question but if you've been in the classroom with your baby, how clean is it? I was a little squicked out because the rugs with pretty dirty as well as the two toys one of the staffers gave me. I guess I expected that a daycare would wash toys frequently and since it's Monday I expected the facilities to be a bit cleaner, but perhaps I have high expectations. This was a group of 7 new walkers so they may just be messier in general....
If you've read all this and you are willing to help then you deserve 
, a 
and 
!!!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Working moms: WWYD regarding daycare and a ? (Long!)
First of all, I love that you used the word 'acquiesced'. And I had to look up 'squicked' because I've never heard it before. Yay for vocab.
About the daycare - can you have her in the nursery until they finish the changes and then move her into the class with the babies closer to her age? That way she'll be safe for now, and then the new class will be prepped for her when it's time to move. I think it might be good inspiration for her to see babies crawling and walking around!
I would be grossed out by the toys, too. But Jackson doesn't go to daycare so I can't compare.
I agree with OP about it being okay for LO to be with some older kids so she'll have some inspiration to start moving. As long as their ratios are appropriate (3:1 or 4:1) then she'll be closely watched so she won't get trampled on hopefully.
Now, as far as the rugs and toys being dirty, I would be FREAKED OUT about that. Especially since one of the staff gave you that toy for your LO to play with. I guess it depends on what you mean by 'dirty' but I would expect the rugs to be vacummed daily and toys cleaned AND sanitized daily. There should be designated eating areas so I wouldn't think there would not be food crumbs anywhere in the play area. What else could make things dirty unless they are just not cleaning things? Of course, this is just my honest opinion. My LO hasn't gone to daycare and will be starting MDO program next month and this is what I would expect. If you can 'see' the dirt, just imagine the germs and stuff that you can't see. Gross. I'm a bit of a germaphobe though.
Deep breath. I understand your stress but this actually sounds like a really good set-up. A small group is awesome and babies LOVE older babies. They also tend to pick things up faster if they have older "role models" so to speak. My LO is the same age as yours and she goes to an in-home daycare. She is the youngest of 5 there. At the end of the schoolyear she was 5 months old, and there was a 10 month, 12 month, 15 month, and a 2 year old. LO loved it. Plus, being the littlest meant she got held all the time while the other kids toddled around. In the past two weeks (literally) LO has learned how to sit, pull up, and crawl, so you might be surprised that when your LO is ready, she may take off, too, and then she'll want to be around other mobile kids.
Really, this sounds like a good set up. I'd go with it. At almost 8 months your LO doesn't have much time left where she'll want to be in a bouncy seats and swings. I know that my LO would much rather be playing on the floor than stuck in a bouncer.
Give it a shot for a few weeks. If you still don't think it fits, then push to have her moved. I think it will be good, though!
The OPs are spot on. At 8 mos. my LO loves to be with the older babies, and yours probably will too. She learns from them, and it encourages her to try new things. The infant room she is in right now accomodates newborns all the way up to 1 year old, so she is exposed to crawling babies, and she occasionally spends a few hours in the next room up, where the newly toddling babies go. However, if the room where your LO is going to be is not yet age-appropriate, I would for sure ask if she could spend time in the infant room until the other room is ready.
And as far as cleanliness, our daycare washes toys, etc. in the infant room once a week. Ask what your daycare provider's policy is about this.
I agree with PPs. I think it's a good set-up to have your LO be the youngest kid in the room. My LO is also in an in-home daycare and is the youngest of 8 kids, ranging from about 1 1/2 to 4 years old. He gets a ton of attention from the DCP and the other kids. The older kids just love love love him and give him hugs and bring toys for him to play with. I joke that LO is their mascot. The older kids are always asking me tons of questions about LO. I think it's adorable and I know he's getting plenty of attention. I also think it's good for him to be exposed to kids of all ages: developmentally and socially.
As for the cleanliness, if you're concerned, definitely ask them about it. I'd be concerned too if stuff looked visibly dirty!
I agree with everyone else. Do the nursery until they make the transition, and then it will be great for her to be with the babies who are just a couple of months older.
We are starting daycare in a few weeks (we have had a nanny) and I'm so excited! Our nanny is a goddess but I'm really excited for DS to get to play with other kids. He will also be on the younger side; it is a center that serves 3 mo to 3 yrs and there are just 10 kids. But I already know of one girl who is about a month older than him, so that will be good. The others might be a lot older! I think he'll have a fun, though.
I wouldn't be surprised if your DD started hitting multiple milestones very soon after she starts daycare and sees those other kids doing stuff....
I read your post and thought how awesome that would be for DD. She joined her current DC at 6 months and befriended all the 10 month olds. At that point she was just starting to army crawl. Now, a month and a half later she can nearly stand up without pulling up and is beginning to cruise. She is equal in skills to all the 11 month olds she's paling around with. Unfortunately they're moving up this month, and 8 month old DD is going to be the oldest in her class and not have any other crawlers to play with.
What I'm taking a long time to get around to saying is that you may be surprised what your LO picks up when exposed to the slightly older kids. I'm pretty sure that that is the reason DD is doing so much so early. Also, in most DC rooms there are babies that range in age from fresh out of the oven to toddling, and the DC workers are equipped to keep the big kids from hurting the little kids. But it never hurts to just pop by for a visit and watch the way the kids interact and how the DC providers act. Even if they know your watching you can still catch things,
Since I don't know how you define "dirty" the only thing that I can say is that every daycare I've been too thier things seem more dingy than dirty. The first daycare DD was at the carpets were swept every night, but they never looked bright and clean. At her new DC everything is new so it looks better, but there are still stains etc on thier things.
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