Baby starting with childminder at 5 months

[fledermaus]

DC2 will be starting with a childminder at 5.5 months, quite a bit younger than DC1 who was 12 months and only went half days. Is there anything I need to think about with a baby this young?

I'm a bit concerned that she won't be self-settling, is still napping a lot, has a lot of milk/only just started on solids...

If anything I would say it will be quicker to settle at this age as they are t in the separation anxiety stage. I've minded a baby from 6 mths and she slotted in brilliantly - short naps on school runs or in the buggy at playgroups & no problem doing milk feeds whilst out & about. If cm is happy & confident taking in a little one I wouldn't worry - it will undoubted be harder for you than your DC

My DS started at 5.5 months and fitted in amazingly. He adapted to having his naps when they were out and it was a positive experience all round.

I also agree that settling in will be easy at this age. Any little hints and tips you can give your CM will help (ie one of my new mindees likes 'Hush Little Baby Don't Say a Word' at naptime). Little things like preferring to sit up when drinking milk, or enjoying having their feet tickled are always handy tips.

Please be aware though that your CM will also have to look after other children, so lying beside baby to get them to sleep is unlikely to be an option (for example).

I have nannied for children of that age and the one thing I can remember is that feeding initially was a bit of an issue. Do not panic if DC2 goes on hunger strike, they may well refuse the bottle from someone new, especially if they are mostly breast fed at home. This is temporary and they will usually consume enough to keep themselves going, then they guzzle once you have them. So I would feed them well before you go and be prepared to feed them well on collection.

After a few weeks it will be fine as she will have got used to the childminder.

Oh god, breastfeeding -> bottles is a whole nother thing to think about

Yes, am hoping the whole settling in process will be easy, and she is a pretty easygoing baby generally.

She sleeps pretty easily in a pram at the moment, so hopefully can sleep on the school run. At home I either do some rocking/patting before putting her in a cot or she falls asleep in a baby swing. I will work on her going to sleep in the cot at lunch time though as this is what the CM's other babies do.

Babies are happy to mix the two, though you may need to express during the day to avoid leakage at work.

All three of mine point blank refused bottles prior to starting with CM. They were all fine within 2 days and happy to switch between breast and bottle. Funny children...

She's ok taking occasional bottles already, so that's a bonus at least!

Same view here - as a child-minder, I find that settling in a 5 month old is easy. The only think I'd like to point out is that you will have to be flexible in terms of when your child sleeps, especially if the child-minder has to do school runs. So have a chat with her before, ask her what time it would be convenient for your child to sleep, and try to start your baby on the schedule a few days before he starts. It's hard when the parents say 'DS has to sleep from 8:45 to 9:30' and are very specific about nap time.