What to expect?

[mummynumnum]

My dd, 6mths starts at nursery tomorrow 4 days a week. What should I expect from the first week at nursery. Feeling v anxious.

Sorry, I have only just seen this. If you're anything like me, you will feel terrible today. If your dd cried when you left (my ds did, and I sobbed my heart out in the car!) ring the nursery to see how she is doing. It is a change for both of you and is so hard to start with as you've spent so much time together, but I have no worries about my ds now, depsite having some guilty days and worried nights at the beginning. For the first week or two, I rang my ds's nursery during the day to see how he was. They took photos of him playing and smiling to show me, as it was tears when I left in the morning and tears when I picked him up. Even now there are days when he is a bit clingy at drop off, but most days when I arrive to pick him up, he looks up from whatever he's doing, then carries on with it!
In the early days, I used to stay a bit longer at drop off, sit down and play for a while until he was busy doing something and then go, but I know that some nurseries don't think that that is the best way to get through the initial settling in period - more just prolonging the goodbye, but it worked for us.
Good luck!! It does get easier!!!

Well it depends a bit on the kid. At 6 mon ths she may be too young for seperation anxiety.

has she had settling in visits? I found those really good to make DS familiar with the place.

Here's my tips:
She's a bit young yet but talk to her in a positive voice about nursery - and when you get there point to the door/room and say I wonder what lovely toys there are today?

make sure you always hand DD over to the same nursery worker - she should have a key worker assigned anyway.

Do a short but sweet goodbye routine and do the same thing every time.

Make sure you pack her a FULL change of clothes and plenty of nappies!

Give yourself 10 minutes extra for pick up so you can admire what she is playing with.

Ignore the tears at goodbye time - if they are really distressing (for you) ring up half an hour later and check she is okay; 10-1 she'll be happily playing.

Adjust home routine to mesh with nursery routine.

GOOD LUCK!

DD had another settling in session today. It was a 5 hour session and she did well. A few tears around nap time, but they actually managed to get dd in the cot to sleep for 40mins, which is something I struggle with.

She is going for 8 hours tomorrow, so that may be a tough day.

I found it tough today, but I am a school teacher and the dc are back tomorow, so I am hoping that they will distract me.

Thanks for your support-Just need to hear it will all be ok.

How is your dd doing at nursery? How are you feeling being back at work? Hope both the above are ok!

She has done well. It was my day off today and was ever so happy to be at home with her, but like being back at work to and even did some work this eve!!

DD appears to like the nursery. Watches everything, eats everything and even sleeps in their cot, which she never does for me in the daytime. She bumped her face on the first day, which made me panic when they first showed me, but tried to be rational about it and did not become hysterical . Keep telling myself accidents happen!

Just read a thread on dc getting ill when they first go to nursery, so this is my new worry!

It never stops does it !