Settling into a baby room

[lucycole]

Hi baby girl just 3 months and i am starting work soon. Name down for a brilliant nursery walking distance from house so all good....but i am really nervous about leaving her. What can i do to help her settle in? teacher says not to worry, always worse for parents than babies and that the babies quickly adapt. Should i be doing anything to help her though? i want to keep breastfeeding and they say they will let me express milk to give her, is this a good idea? I think it is. Any advcie appreciated.

[AuntieStella]

Back when my DC were born and maternity leave was much, much shorter, it was quite unusual for babies to go to nursery when only several months old. So my first comment is don't worry!

Yes, I expressed and used to leave as much breast milk as possible, but tins of formula as back up (I never managed to produce that much, even though I had unhurried pumping time in a lockable office every lunchtime).

Stay in close touch with the baby room staff, who should be happy to let you know everything about your DD's day when she is still new to it all (OK, if they're trying to say bye bye to several other children at the same time it might not be perfect every day, but the overall impression should be that they have plenty of time to talk to you).

Find out about things like nap schedules there. They should let her sleep when she needs to, but it's quite likely that there are set quiet/sleep times for most children and moving her routine gently to fit in will make things easier in the long run.

Send her in practical clothes that don't matter if they get stained or damaged, and which she can play easily. Expect to lose stuff! If you're leaving a bag of spare clothes, make sure things are named. Make sure you supply everything they ask for (nappies, wipes etc) and label everything.

And don't worry! It is going to be worse for you than for her (carry plenty of tissues the first days you leave her. And don't make the first day you leave her the first day you're back at work, that's way too much stress all at once).

[moviebuff]

Hi lucycole - Have you given childcare a thought? Considering your little one is so young personally I would feel that childcare would suit her better as she can get the one-on-one attention and lesser chances of falling ill - which will make life a lot easier for you now that you're about to start work. My son is 8 months old and I am going back to work in 2 weeks time and I couldn't have been more relieved to see the amount of love and care he receives from my childminder. And there are only 4 other kids apart from my son and their ages range from 10months - 2years - which means my son gets to watch and learn quickly as well from the older kids.
Just thought I'd share my point of view on trying a childminder - Im sure u know whats best for your lil one.

[HSMMaCM]

She is young so she will settle quickly. A blanket smelling of you/home would be good for nap/ comfort times. Expressing is great, but don't worry if you need some backup formula occasionally. The less stress you feel, the less stress your baby will feel. Definitely don't make the first day at nursery your first day at work. Organise something nice to keep you busy that day.

[lucycole]

Hi moviebuff, I did think about childcare, but I worried about leaving her with someone in a house on their own all day. no disrespect meant to all of the wonderful childcarers out there but I wanted to have other people around to check what was going on. I am not sure if that is paranoid though. i also worried about the mix of children baby girl might be with, in terms of age, not anything else. And then I started worrying about health and safety ... and then I started worrying about what if she was taken out and someone took her...etc...etc... I have chosen a nursery that I trust. i like the supervisors there, i like the room staff, i love the room and the grounds, and the inspection was great but at the end of the day i will still have to leave her....it will be hard, and expecially since loads of her little friends are going to be with mummy for ages. i think the guilt is kicking in now....

[lucycole]

THank you HSMMaCm that is such a brilliantly simple idea. a good friend at work suggested a muzzy for night time, but said to use a big pack of muslins and then wash ever night so it does not turn into a stinky mess! that seems to be going down well, although she is too little to be paying much attention to it. maybe if i sent one in with her every day that woudl be a good idea. the nursery did suggest a toy from home, but i think this will be better.

when you expressed, did you start before you went back to work to get used to it. i am so worried about messing up the milk supply that i do not know where to start, but i don't want to leave it too late in case it won't happen. i am worried about formula, what if she likes it more than breast? i read that you should feed for a year to get the most benefit?
I have just realised how many times I said the word worried in the last two posts, did anyone else turn into a nervous wreck?

[cookielove]

At our nursery we allow the parents to come in and breastfed where possible e.g if the parent is available to come over or wants to come over. If the parent is unable to come in when the baby needs a feed then we would bottle feed! Fx your nursery will be able to do this for you.

Things to help her to settle, would be her own blanket from home, things that smell of you, a teddy or anything that she prefers.

[Pico2]

I think a 3 month old may settle more easily than an older baby.

[HSMMaCM]

Don't send in anything precious because it will get lost.