DS starts on Thursday but something feels off

[mylittlesandwich]

DS is 9 months and starts nursery 2 days a week on Thursday. He's had 2 settling sessions which have gone well. It should have been 3 but he got a bad cold and missed one.
The nursery looks nice and the staff seem nice but I don't know, something doesn't feel right. It may well just be that I'm leaving my baby with people I don't know.
I asked today what he'd need for a full day and was told changes of clothes. He's 9 months old so still has milk. I asked about bottles and formula etc what was the best way to give them that. They've said to put powdered formula in his bottle but you can't make bottles up that way round or the quantities won't be right. I just feel like they haven't made an attempt to get to know anything about him before he starts. And yes I do know this is probably a PFB thing and he'll be fine.

Bump

Regarding the bottles, if someone was babysitting my DD, I used to send empty sterilised bottles with little measured out tubs of formula. I'd write on the tub how much was in.

Can you ask for another settling in session to replace the one you missed? At our nursery, you can have as many sessions as you need until you feel comfortable.

It does feel very strange leaving your child at nursery. But it gets easier over time.

They should be following safe bottle making guidelines. I would clarify exactly how they intend to make up bottles because their suggestion indicates issues as you’ve stated.
Call them and have a chat with them about your concerns, a good nursery will listen to you and put your mind at rest, if you still feel uncomfortable after that I’d start looking elsewhere.

Have they asked for details of his routine? They should get all the information about naps, bottles, what he enjoys, what soothes him etc

@Notsofunnynow DH has already very helpfully told them that we don't need another settling session 🙄. That's what I normally do for DS, my sister has been looking after him while we're both at work but she's going back to uni.

@QuacksInTheDark that's my concern I think, if they're not bothered about that part then what else aren't they bothered about? I think I'll give them a call when I'm on my lunch break today and have plenty of time.

@DaffodilSunshine no, they haven't. His settling sessions have just been him playing so he's been happy as Larry. My concerns really are than on Thursday he'll have to eat and nap etc and I don't feel like they know him that well. I don't even know what the nap situation is like at a nursery. It's a room full of babies so it's really noisy. Where do they lie down for naps?

They probably just aren’t worried because they expect to watch him and get him to fit in. Babies do all sorts at home that they don’t at nursery and vice versa. Have a chat with them and get them to explains them bottles thing - they may measure the water separately before it’s added?

My nursery wanted all that information and said they would try their best to mirror what happens at home (as far as is possible in the nursery environment). So they would even want to know things like if they usually had a song sang to them at nap time so they could sing it too. I can't comment on the bottles bit as mine was a year when he started but the lack of other info requested would bother me

I absolutely appreciate that he'll be different at nursery but things like when he has a bottle will be different for lots of babies. I'd also expect them to appreciate that he's only little and I'll be a bit worried about leaving him. It was supposed to be the best nursery in the area and we booked his place long before he was born.

The thing is, you may have his routine and everything down pat at home when it's just you and him, but at nursery everything will be completely different and tbh there is very little chance of him following your routine when he's there!

They'll be with him all day, they'll feed him when he's hungry and put him down for a nap in a quiet place when he's tired, and it won't be anything like it is at home and that's absolutely fine.

Don't know anything about the bottles though as ours is breastfed at home and refuses to take anything with a teat, we just send her with readymade formula and a doidy cup, don't bother with sterilising because she's already licking the floor!

Maybe they have a bottle making machine that you pre program how much water you want and it does it for you? It is really important that you feel you can talk to them and ask questions. Not only is it important for your child to bond with staff it is for you too. There are going to be bumps in the road it's to be expected. Keep the lines of communication open.

It was a worry for nothing at the moment. We're all awaiting the results of a COVID test because I feel awful. So he's not going in today.

Negative results last night so that's him dropped off for his first day! My baby.

How did the first day go? :)

Thanks for checking in. It went well. They said I could call to check on him so I called at lunch time, he'd had his lunch and was off for a nap. He was really happy to see me when I picked him up. They gave me the run down of his day and everything he'd eaten and done. He came home and was so happy and chatty all evening, then at bedtime conked out and slept like a log.

My Ds was on prescription formula when he was at nursery, so I took a tub In to keep there, could you do that? I also took a pack of nappies and baby wipes to keep on his peg with his spare clothes (with his name on) so I didn't have to take it every time time. He used to go for 1 full day and a half day and then it progressed to 3 full days x