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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

how often do nurseries change nappies??

81 replies

workinggally · 22/05/2011 12:51

I am thinking of sending my ds to a nursery, haven't visited them yet but I am thinking about what questions I need to ask. I have heard that some have set times for changing babies. If there are 3 babies to a staff member what happens to other babies at this time?

Also I have typically changed my ds's nappy everytime it is wet at all if I have noticed it so not sure how he will cope if he is only changed at set times. Would I be able to ask he is changed more often if there are only set changing times?

OP posts:

steviesmith · 22/05/2011 13:18

I think a good nursery will change nappies really regularly. I agree with caughtinanet it amazed me how many nappies my nursery used to get through.

How a nursery deals with nappy changing is one sign of how well organised they are and how much they care for your child's welfare as a good nursery would never leave your child uncomfortable but it's only one element rather than a deciding factor.

TattyDevine · 22/05/2011 13:20

It might do him good to go to nursery

They change as and when they need it. If they poo, they get changed. If they haven't, but its been about 3 hours or they are starting to walk like John Wayne, they change them.

And I'm pretty convinced that my child, when she goes to nursery, gets more one on one playtime (she's 19 months) in the 6 hours she is there (once a week) than she does in the average 6 hour slot at home. I have a house to run. The nursery nurses are paid to play and that is what they do, and they do it well.

caughtinanet · 22/05/2011 13:20

10 nappies a day? How old is your child? At the risk of being flamed I think that's madness unless there's a reason you haven't told us about.

Spagbolagain · 22/05/2011 13:21

10 nappies a day sounds like a massive amount, and I am not sure that child that has done a wee especially in a disposable, would "expect" to be changed. They wouldn't even feel it. Poo is obviously different and any nursery should change straight away.

bubblecoral · 22/05/2011 13:22

He won't expect to be changed if you don't change him the second he does a wee. He won't even feel wet in disposables. And small babies don't have expectation over nappy changes.

pommedechocolat · 22/05/2011 13:23

Changing after every wee means that you need something else in your life. that's insane and if you're using disposables incredibly expensive.
Dd's nursery changes them 3x between 8 and 5.30. More if more poos occur.

ThePFJ · 22/05/2011 13:23

ROFL TattyDevine... the John Wayne comment just made me spit out my tea laughing.

DontCallMePeanut · 22/05/2011 13:24

Stickytoffee, I disagree about the "one of a crowd" suggestion. DS is at nursery 4 days a week, and whenever I collect him, they can always tell me how much he ate for tea, what he's done, how he's done with the toilet, anything he's done for the first time.

If you find the right nursery, DC are not part of the crowd

newportstateofmind · 22/05/2011 13:24

My ds also gets changed more often at nursery than at home. They also seem to get through an extraordinary amount of Sudocrem.....he comes home slathered in it!

pommedechocolat · 22/05/2011 13:25

Stickytoffee's comment is something my FIl would say, i.e. not worth even registering. A comment from someone ignorant of that which they speak.

RitaMorgan · 22/05/2011 13:27

I've worked in a lot of nurseries and have never seen a child changed 10 times - maybe 2 or 3 times more than the "scheduled" changes but not more than that. If a child has pooed and been changed at 9.30am, they wouldn't be changed again on schedule at 10am.

YankNCock · 22/05/2011 13:27

Our nursery does every 4 hours and whenever they've pooed. My DS is 21 months, how old is your child OP?

DS started going when he was 8 months and they changed him every 3 hours and whenever he'd pooed to start.

At the moment he's there one day a week between 8-5 and he is usually changed 2-3 times. (roughly around 10am and 2pm for the set times)

When I first started leaving him I thought they weren't changing him enough because I always did it more often--then realised I was probably doing it more often than necessary. He's never had nappy rash or anything and enjoys nursery, and I'm much more sensible about wasting nappies.

caughtinanet · 22/05/2011 13:30

pommedechocolat - I had to reread the thread as it hadn't registered with me the firsit time either, I think sticky has had no experience or an unusually bad experience with a nursery.

One thing I have noticed on here but never in RL conversations is the concern about key workers and ratios, I think there is sometimes a misconception as grabaspoon has illustrated that somehow each child only interacts with a limited number of staff members and I wonder what people think happens during a nursery day and wonder if they really think its so regimented.

Lizcat · 22/05/2011 13:31

Again I would agree at the right nursery they are not part of the crowd. I felt that in nurseries with a high number of agency staff they were in the crowd with unfamiliar staff.
DD went to a small nursery who had a bank of staff they could call on if they were short staffed. Nappies were changed every three hours and if they were wet or dirt. The nursery had their own washable nappies and if we sent in one of our own nappies for the end of the day. The only nappy rash we ever had happened at home when DH was in charge .

BertieBotts · 22/05/2011 13:33

I don't think there's anything wrong with changing them a lot, though I would strongly suggest you try reusable nappies - not only is it more environmentally conscious, that must cost you a fortune!

On the toilet training (I suspect the OP is asking about a younger baby though?) Preschool type nurseries will usually require them to be toilet trained because they don't have the facilities to be changing nappies, but a nursery which also takes younger children should be fine with it.

Nurseries do really vary and it's worth looking around a few if you do want to use one, or if you find you aren't comfortable with a nursery, have you considered a childminder, or a nanny perhaps? If you switch to reusable nappies the saving might be enough to cover the jump in cost to a Nanny

RitaMorgan · 22/05/2011 13:35

There are only 6 children under 2 in ds's group at nursery, with 2-3 staff members, so he's not lost in the crowd in a big group. Plus because they are over ratio if one staff member is away/sick/has non-contact time they don't have to bring an unfamiliar person in.

KaraStarbuckThrace · 22/05/2011 13:39

Stickytoffee -what an unhelpful comment. Unless you can provide experience to back that comment up then I suggest you refrain from passing judgement.

Workingsally - DS has been in 3 diff nurseries (all of which I have been happy with, work circumstances changed hence he has moved) since he was 9mths old. DS was changed regularly every 3 hours at set times and also after doing a poo. Cloth nappied so no issue with landfill, all 3 nurseries were fine with using cloth nappies. He seemed perfectly fine - nappies weren't coming back to me soaking wet and there was the number of wet/dirty nappies that I would expect.

The one he is in now were so helpful during potty training, they were brilliant with him, gave me lots of good advice and were happy for us to go cold turkey with him (he was a reluctant one).

Spagbolagain · 22/05/2011 13:39

I have also always felt that at our nursery the staff know my son really well, and treat him as a special individual. Plenty of new words and skills have happened there, and they always tell me all about it, and clearly understand his little personality. And that's all the staff he interacts with, not just his key worker, it seems like a very close team. I think people can be so sweeping and horrible about nurseries, our reality has been so positive.

Original poster

workinggally · 22/05/2011 13:45

My son is 8mth. WIll the nursery deal with BLW too? I'm also worried about that - he only eats finger food and meals can take a long time. I wouldn't want him to go hungry.

wet and hungry OMG - it would be impossible for me to concentrate at work unless I could be sure it wouldn't happen.

OP posts:

ilovedora27 · 22/05/2011 13:55

We do BLW at our nursery and lunch can take an hour or so but thats not a problem we have the time as they are there all day. Also we change nappies more than I ever would at home usually every couple of hours and also when wet/pood.

MovingAndScared · 22/05/2011 13:57

Some nurseires are very good with BLW -and most would be encouraging some finger food from that age. I do think best thing is to go and visit some nurseries, and maybe also look at childminders as well as that can work well as well - and get reassurance from them -when are you planning to go back as it can take a bit of time to find somewhere - and I do wonder if you are looking for excuses not to go back - as someone else said - maybe you do want to look at if you really need/want to?
Also normally you do settling in days at a setting before you go back to work so you would know that your DS is ok

DoMeDon · 22/05/2011 14:00

If your DS does a wee in a disposable he won't be 'wet' as they are so absorbant - in fact they're said to delay potty training as they are so good at keeping babies dry they aren't aware of the sensation of wetness, which is often a trigger for using the toilet.

It does seem wasteful and pointless to change your DS so much (that's not meant as a criticism BTW just compared to what everyone I know does). DD's nursery change every 3 hours - more or less at your request- more if they need to (for poo obv.) At home I change DD whenever she poos and a couple of other times - prob a minimum of 5 and maximum of 7 nappies a day (DD does about 3 or 4 poos a day)

Also DC are very adaptable - he won't let himself go hungry- he'll learn to eat quicker if he needs to. They only have about half an hour for meals but at home we're often sat about for an hour having lunch/dinner - DD never seems hungry from nursery though.

ilovedora27 · 22/05/2011 14:03

Domedon - at our nursery lunch can take an hour or so especially with the under 2s. We just do it at a leisurely pace.

Personally I do worry about landfill as we go through so many nappies I think it is quite wasteful and its not something I would choose to do it at home as frequently.

KaraStarbuckThrace · 22/05/2011 14:03

I had that concern, as DS was also BLW'd. But he adapted very quickly and nursery provided plenty of finger foods. He was given proper fresh cooked food partially mashed (babies still on purees were fed ones provided by home), and they encouraged the ones who could to use spoons and just spoon fed those who needed help.
Best thing is to talk to various nurseries and see what there policies are.

mousymouse · 22/05/2011 14:04

try not to worry too much. dd was blw and started nursery at 9m. staff were happy to give it a go and it works really well. in fact, it makes life for the staff easier if they only have to spoonfeed a smaller number of babies.

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