Mumsnet Talk

I'm going back to work in Jan when DD will be 6 months exactly. She'll be 2 days with a friend (who worked in a nursery before and has her own - DS1 will be 2.5 and DS2 9m) and 1.5 days with a nanny at home.

Any tips for things I can do to make it as easy as possible for DD to settle......

Am starting to get her used to half an hour a day in the bouncy chair, plus regular time with toys on the mat without me.

I think I will probably start to wean her a bit before Jan as she's a big, hungry baby

Also wondered about trying to get her to nap at similar times to the 9m old.

What do you suggest. Don't want to over-engineer the poor child but if there are things I can usefully do.....?

Many thanks

I think the most important thing is that they are comfortable with their future carers, is there any way you can do some settling in days, where you aren't there for a few hours, with the friend and nanny? That way your DD will be used to them.

I wouldn't worry about engineering nap times or playtimes as I'm sure your DD will fit into a new routine pretty quickly or the providers will be able to fit around her. My childminder (who looks after 4 other children) follows DS's routine that we have at home and this works well.

HTH!

i don;t think there is anything you can do as such other than a few settling in visits in late december to get her use to the sights and sounds and smells of her cm.
It will be strange for her to be around other children at first so i think your cm's dc should be there for the visits too.

Bear in mind that it does take longer for a child to settle if they are only with other carer for two days a week.
Can I ask why you aren't using the nanny for the two days your dd will be at the cm's or vice versa. Why have two types of care for your dd to get use to rather than one? It sounds a complicated arrangement.

I do think that it is easier for a 6 month old to go to a new carer than a 9-10 month old as a 6 month old may not have separation anxiety yet.