Strategy for settling in 15 month old?

[geordieminx]

I have been at home with ds since day 1, and as we have no family near by he is really only used to dp and I. He is quite sociable, have been to baby classes/playgroups etc but I've never really left him more than once or twice with my mum.

I am due to be starting work (possibly) in August, have found a nursery, but am just wondering what the best way to go about settling him in would be - Although he is very easy going he can be clingy and if he gets upset then its usually only me that can settle him.... I know this isnt ideal but just the way it has happened with lack of family nearby/friends willing to babysit.

Any tips/hints/plans would be greatly appreciated.

TIA

You sound just like me last year!

I won't lie - it was tough, but the nursery's plan worked out well. 2 weeks before she was due to start I took her in every other day. Started with playing there with her for just 1 hour. Next time I left for 1 hour (she cried - a lot ). Built up the time I left her by half an hour each visit. She cried every time for the 2 weeks however the feedback was she settled better each time and usually stopped crying pretty quickly.

Also suggest looking at how long he is due to be in nursery each day. Dd was booked in for 8-5 but I couldn't face leaving her that long to begin with so dh and I did opposite shifts at work (fortunately we can do this without too much hassle from work) This meant dd was in from 11-4 for the first week (she goes 2 days a week).

Build it up gradually is my best tip - trust in the staff and always say goodbye rather than sneak out. He will be fine and it will be a lot harder on you than him!

btw dd adores nursery now - after 3 weeks she was pretty much knocking other children over in her rush to get in

Just re-read my post - How nurotic do I sound??? He is a {{{whispers}}}}} PFB... but not really... he plays outside in the rain, has had at least on macdonalds and watchs ceebeebies

anyone else?

Do the nursery have a usual settling in plan?

i had several settling in sessions with DS when he started - first time i stayed with him in the room, then he went in on his own and i stayed in the building and so on

make sure you get introduced to his key worker

it will be fine - much harder for you

My DS started nursery at just under 12 months and 3 months later is very settled there. I left him for half an hour on the first day and then 1-2 hours for a couple more days, then he did two half days. Then he started doing 3 days a week.

He always cried when I left, but stopped when I went out of sight. It is only in the last couple of weeks that he doesn't cry on drop off (most of the time anyway).

Be prepared for there to be tears most days for a while but it doesn't mean they are unhappy there. I consoled myself by seeing how he was still very settled and happy at home, and nursery said he'd been fine there, and he ate and slept there, so all in all I decided he must be ok even though he didn't like saying goodbye in the morning.

He still gets very tired after a nursery day but less than he did at the beginning.

A tip I was given, which helped me, was not to overanalyse in the early days, but just wait until 2 months in and then see how things are and most of the time it will be fine.