Did you worry a lot about how your DC would settle in at nursery?

[MrsWB]

My DS, aged 11 months, is about to start nursery. It is a nice small nursery, with a friendly atmosphere, and a staff ratio of 1:2 in the baby room which is good. But I am getting quite anxious about how he will find it. He is quite happy to go to other adults, so not clingy to me in that way, but he gets upset when other babies cry, and sometimes finds it overwhelming when there is a lot of noise, which there is bound to be at a nursery.

Did any of you have similar worries about your DC? And how did things work out? Any reassurance welcome........

[scottishmummy]

did some starter sessions -they went well
remember your wee one will be contributing to making noise and loving it. three will be staff to remove the awake and alert children from the asleep one's

ime, take in a familiar blanket for sleep time. some other familiar objects

my wee one loves nursery - has made friends. loves the staff and range of activities

so good luck, chances are you will worry more than ds

[atalantis]

Hello MrsWB. My 7mo DS is about to start nursery and I'm losing sleep over it. Like you, I really do like the nursery he's going to, but I'm still very anxious about how he'll find it. He's only going part time, but I'm finding it difficult to contemplate leaving him at all at the moment. I don't really have anything to say to lessen your worries, but just wanted to express my sympathy and solidariy Good luck!

[CountTo10]

I felt like this when ds1 started at nursery - he was 5mths but we did some settling in sessions and I gave them a full run down of things that settled him, favourite songs, how he like to be rocked that sort of thing and he had his fave teddy with him when he went. His was also a small nursery which is why he chose it and actually he got used to it really quickly and loved it and still does at 3.5!! I think if you explain your fears and times when he can be unsettled and what you do to avoid it or calm him when it happens then that should help as it will be techniques he recognises it. I do defo think its worse for the parent than the child!!

[MrsWB]

Thanks for all your encouraging messages and good tips. They've made me feel much better. We're going tomorrow for a settling in morning. We actually had one morning there last week, which is when he was meant to start settling in, but I found out later that day he had chickenpox so he hasn't been back. He was pretty miserable that morning, (which I think is partly why I started worrying about it so much) but hopefully at least some of that was because he wasn't well.

Atalantis good luck. I can sympathise with the losing sleep as I have been too. I hope it all goes ok for you. The nursery told me that babies settle much better when they're under 8 months old, so your DS's age might help.

[catstar]

MrsWB and Atalantis - my DD started nursery last week at just under 8 months old. Like you I was worried and lost a lot of sleep over it but she seems to have settled there very well. We did a few phasing in days and I have always taken her to lots of baby groups etc to get her used to the noise etc. When I left her this morning there was an older baby having a real tantrum which did make her cry a bit, so I think the noise is still a bit of an issue. Like anything I'm sure it won't be in a few weeks!

We also took in a gro-bag and a duplicate favourite cuddly toy, and I think this helped.

I think I've found it harder to settle back into work than she has at nursery ! Good luck!

[cmotdibbler]

DS started nursery at 4.5 months - he adored it, and has done ever since (now 22 months). As he's full time, I've seen quite a number of new babies start - and the mums are always the ones crying ! As long as they go regularly enough, the children love the interactions and things to see.
I have to say that he never takes anything to nursery - he seemed to sort out his own 'going to sleep' patterns with them - for instance I discovered that he always had a muslin to sleep with at nursery, which he had no interest at all in at home.