Nursery drop off with newborn and toddler?

[ShirleyPhallus]

I’m expecting our second child soon and starting to think panic about logistical stuff. One of those questions is how to do the nursery drop off for the older one.

There is a proper enclosed car park at nursery but I am wondering what you do with the little one while dropping the big one off? It seems a bit silly to take them out of the car seat and inside for what is a 2 minute job but then I don’t feel comfortable leaving the baby and am not sure it’s legally on anyway.

What do people do? We have a car seat that you can remove from the car but it’s a cybex one that is really heavy and I’ll have had a c section so don’t feel like that’s a great option. Is the only option really to take the baby in with you and deal with the fallout?

I guess walking isn’t an option? I just walked the mile with the elder dcs in a double buggy or walking (2 and 3) and baby in a sling

I take my little one in - although we usually walk. Would someone from nursery pop to meet you from the car, especially in the early days? Our staff will pick up from a car parked outside if we ring when we arrive in exceptional circumstances.

We can’t walk unfortunately, it’s too far and along a main road

This is a great idea for early days and I’m sure they’d be happy to do it, especially if I park right near the front door

You take the little one out of the car seat, or the car seat itself with baby in it depending on type and take him/her with you. I'm not quite sure what the question is so apologies if I've misunderstood. There's no way on earth that the baby should be left alone or the older one should go in alone so everyone goes together. It's always how people have worked at my nursery and schools.

I'd ask for help for first 2-3 weeks, either partner on paternity leave, family members or also if nursery could pop to the car park to get him, just while the section scar heals. After that I'd put the car seat onto the buggy wheels and wheel baby in and out.

With your first, you often arrange life around them but I found that because I couldn't do that, my second was actually able to settle into our routine quite quickly.

At my nursery parents take baby with them. Either in arms or in the car seat.

Not to nursery, but with mine our car seat didn’t remove, and I just took a sling everywhere when he was smaller, and could put sling on, pop baby in, go into post office or whatever and back out and into car seat. Repeat.

we had an ergo embrace for 0-9/12 months

Does your car seat not clip onto a pram?

Leave them in the car, locking it.

If you are really uncomfortable doing that, pick them up, out of the seat, and carry them in your arm. Either is fine, both work, no-one’s going to be upset with how you do it.

It’s totally normal to worry, but no-one’s breaking into cars to steal babies, and there’s nothing in the car that will harm them.

Yes, but the parking spaces are about 10 metres from the front door so it seems crazy to take the pram out of the boot, clip the adaptors on, take the baby car seat out, clip it all on then walk the 20 paces to the front door, remove the baby to get in the front door then do it all in reverse under a c section recovery!

By the time you're able to drive by yourself after your section you should also be ok to lift the car seat for such a short distance. At least that's what I found as doctors and insurances normally ask you to wait six weeks. It was a bit annoying but I've got used to it now.

All this fuss over 10m??

What does that mean? What fuss?

Fucksticks yes I totally forgot that, I suppose this actually won’t be an issue as I won’t be able to drive anyway! An issue for the DH then ;)

Can your partner or a friend do the drop off for the first few weeks? You can recover at home with the newborn and try and have a snooze?

Yup. That's the only way

When I was in that situation (post c section too) I put a stretchy wrap on before leaving, and popped newborn into wrap to go into nursery which after a bit of practice at home is a super quick transition.

I'd have dh doing drop off and pick up as much as possible tbh

I had a close caboo sling for this, put it on before I left home to save faffing when I got there. Putting newborn into the sling for the few minutes kept her more settled than taking the car seat. On the few occasions I did take the car seat in with me I usually ended up having to put it down on the floor to help my son hang his bag up or sort something out and the baby immediately got prodded by a curious toddler or two, so I went back to using the sling.

Put newborn in a sling

You've said the parking spaces are 10 metres from the front door, and I'm assuming its not a labyrinth of tunnels inside the nursery itself, so yes, seems like you're making a mountain out of a molehill. Pick baby up out of car seat and pop in a sling, or use the pushchair, or just carry the baby. Really seems like a non issue.

I think if you can't carry the car seat then pram is the best option - can you fold it with the adaptors on? Also could nursery staff meet you at the front door so you don't have to try and get in with the pram?
If not, I think a sling is probably the way forward. I had to do it with DC2 when taking DC1 to nursery. It was a total arse, and i hadn't had a c section to deal with as well

I did this with a 16 month old who didn’t walk and following a c section.

As pp said it will be a few weeks until you can drive anyway and when you get there you either get the whole pram out the car (yes even for 10m I did it because I couldn’t carry both of them at the same time) or put newborn in a sling or carry if the oldest will walk. just be mindful that you will have to carry their bags /hold their hand walking across car park so the more secure the baby can be the better.

whatever you do don’t leave the baby locked in the car ffs 🤦🏻‍♀️

Can you see the car from the nursery door? If so, I wouldn't even remove newborn from car. DD's nursery used to let me stop in the driveway when I had newborn and member of staff at door greeting children would watch while I took her inside or they took her in for me.

Alternative is carry carseat inside. As pp pointed out, you should be able to carry seat by the time you can drive