Intro and returning to FT work

Re: Intro and returning to FT work

• jlaOK member

  February 2014

  Welcome!  I have a 3.5 yrs old DS and 8 month old DD.  Usually sleep is the biggest adjustment when going to daycare.  Both of my kids took a little bit to adjust therefore making them sleep more at home.  The only real negative about this is that you don't get much time with them in the evening.  The best things you can do to "prepare" is to make she is taking a bottle well and work on getting her to fall asleep on her own (if she's not already).  Remember, the transition will be WAY worse on your than it will be on her.  Good luck!
  

  

                                                

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• vvvvvfee member

  February 2014

  my DS went to daycare at 12 weeks also, and he didn't have any issues adjusting. they still sleep so much at that age. i think he did better than i thought he would. and i was so busy back at work that it actually wasn't as hard as i thought it would be for me, either. we brought DS to daycare for a couple of short days before he started full-time (just a few hours at a time), so that helped make us more comfortable with the transition.
  
  like PP said, make sure your LO has practiced drinking from a bottle. if you are going to be pumping, try to get enough milk for the first day or two stockpiled in your freezer. you can use this calculator to estimate how much you will need. at that age DS was at daycare from 10-4 and usually took 3 4-ounce bottles.
  
  it will be really hard at first finding time for everything, but you will start to get into a routine and it does get easier! let stuff like housecleaning go and just focus on your LO when you're home.
  

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• kelliskoviraWed244758 member

  February 2014

  Thank you all so much. She takes a bottle fine- we have been practicing this over the last couple of weeks. Also I have been working hard on a freezer stockpile too! I want the DCP to feed her when she is hungry, not on a strict schedule. I realize this might result in comfort feeding for a little while, but I guess I would rather take the chance on that. Napping is a little hit or miss, but she tends to go down ANYWHERE if she is tired, so hopefully that's a good sign that she may be able to sleep at DC. We transitioned her to crib last weekend for overnight with minimal problems at this point, although she slept crappy last night. Looking forward to bounce ideas off of each other on this board!

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• kelliskoviraWed244758 member

  February 2014

  Add: she will nap anywhere when she is only very tired. I usually have to work hard to get her to go sleep for routine daytime naps at this point.

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• mlee116 member

  February 2014

  My DS went to daycare at 8 weeks and it was sooo hard on me.  He was only there for a couple of months then my mom kept him, then at 10 months, he went to another daycare.  

  
  

  Honestly, both times he transitioned really well, although the second time was a little harder.  At 8-12 wks, they are still sleeping a lot and not really in a routine yet.  Which is a good thing IMO, because she will probably just adjust to their routine.  When DS was smaller, he would be so exhausted at night and go to bed earlier than I probably would've preferred.  As he got older, he'd go to bed later (which I liked bc I could spend more time with him!), but he'd also be cranky and clingy a lot of times.  I guess because he realized we were apart all day and wanted my full attention.  He was also an awful sleeper until he went to daycare, then after a couple of weeks, he slept 100% better.  

  
  

  Just take one day at a time and try to spend as much time as you can with your LO when you can!  It will be tough at first, but you both will adjust and it will be great!

  

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• mlee116 member

  February 2014

  Oh, I have one more tip  One of the best things I did was kept some really easy & quick stuff on hand for dinner, like frozen pizza, soup or takeout.  In those first few weeks especially, the last thing I wanted to do was come home and spend time cooking.  

  

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• kelliskoviraWed244758 member

  February 2014

  Thanks for the tip about dinners! I just know I am going to miss her so much, so I am preparing myself for the worst. I really like the daycare, so I am at peace with that, at least..

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• mlee116 member

  February 2014

  kelliskoviraWed244758 said:

  Thanks for the tip about dinners! I just know I am going to miss her so much, so I am preparing myself for the worst. I really like the daycare, so I am at peace with that, at least..

  This makes a world a difference in how your transition will be!  And honestly, I still have days where I miss DS like crazy.  That's normal and means that you are a good mom!  

  

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• kelliskoviraWed244758 member

  March 2014

  Back to work today for my first day. Went better than expected. Kind of glad I went back on a friday! Thanks all for the support! She actually took one less bottle than I thought so I was pleasantly surprised about that.

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• 88sharonlee member

  March 2014

  Hey great update. Smart move going back on a Friday, hope your enjoying the weekend and resting up for a full week!

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