Nursery jitters!!

[Al991]

Someone please talk me down I’m starting to lose it about my baby starting nursery. Partially what’s worrying me is no one has said anything to me about her starting in a few weeks about what her routine is at home. I know her routine will change at nursery but wouldn’t it be helpful to know what she’s normally like?

please excuse the deranged post that is to follow I am very anxious

• She naps at the same time every day 9.30 and 3 and I’m worried about her ability to cope especially when her first settle in session starts at 9.30 so she’ll be at her worst. Should I change it? Or maybe ask when their nap time is as maybe she can practice napping there?
• is there only 1 nap time or can she still have 2? She gets so overtired when she’s due one
• she is a contact napper and has a bottle before a nap. I’m hoping this will move her away from contact napping (cos she will have to!) but will they be ok to give her a bottle? I know she’s old for it but she’s had some weight issues and I’ve chosen to keep giving her them for 6-12 months longer however long it takes for her to be eating enough to not lose weight.
• ive got no ‘village’ so she’s never spent more than half an hour away from me or my partner
• as mentioned previously she’s reliant on bottles but can’t hold them herself. I have no idea why she is very dexterous. Would someone be able to hold it for her?

She loves other babies, loves playing so she will enjoy it but I’m so worried about practical stuff 🙃

Not to mention she’s finally bloody sleeping through and I’m annoyed cos now we have to change her routine 😂

How old is your little one?

It's very normal to have a lot of nerves - it may help to call the nursery and ask for a time to run through everything and then you can chat through everything with them and let them know she's not really been away from parents for more than an hour before etc so that they can work with you in the process

I was feeling exactly as you are last week, my DD starts at the end of September. But then nursery called to arrange her settling in days and went through a lot with me

We’re on a similar routine to you, and ours have said at this age they’ll follow our routine from home and they have all sorts of places they can sleep (prams/cots/rockers). But every nursery is different so I’d get in touch with them so you can discuss it. We haven’t been asked about our specific routine yet, just that they’d follow it and discuss it with me at her first settling session

Also in the same boat with having just started sleeping through, so totally get the anxiety over not upsetting the routine!

I think the main thing is to remember lots of children start nursery as contact nappers/doing a different routine to nursery and they adapt

We went through the routine when they started, there was loooooads of paperwork (we signed a permission slip for plasters) and the routine was covered in that.

Our nursery follows the home routine. I think my eldest might even have still been on three naps when she started.

Yes, ask them to come for the settle when she wakes up for her nap so she's in good form.

They'll be fine to give bottles.

We've no local family or other support either - nursery became our village. My eldest is at primary school with kids we've known since the baby room and I'm very close friends now with one of the mums. It's been a brilliant experience for all 4 of us.

Babies routines can change frequently so they will have those conversations with you as close to start dates as possible.