DS is starting nursery in November - give me your top tips please!

[babyignoramus]

Ds is going to nursery for two full days (not consecutive) a week when I go back to work in Nov. He will be 8 months.

He is weaning at the moment and is on 3 meals a day now, so I'm hoping this will be well established when he goes. The nursery give them breakfast and lunch but not dinner so I need to start moving that back a bit so he's used to having it a little later. He's also reasonably flexible about nap times.

I've never had much use out of the carriers I bought so I'm thinking about back-carrying him there (it's a short walk), so hopefully he'll see that as a treat! Plus it'll save me faffing about with the buggy on the flat stairs when I've got to get ready for work as well.

Any other tips for making their little lives easier during this kind of transition?

Most nurseries offer a settling in time, ask your nursery what they suggest - for mine it was a very gradual build up over a couple of weeks, for others nurseries it can be just one week, but over several days.

Carriers are v useful for nursery transport, we do that usually too.

Hope it goes well .

Thanks numpty (didn't think I'd ever had to type that!!).

He has got some settle sessions booked and they're also very 'drop in when you want' friendly so I'm going to pop in a few times in the weeks leading up. It's not so much the leaving I'm worried about - he's been left with a few different people and been fine, it's more that I don't know how well nurseries tend to stick to routines and/or how much he will need to conform to them.

They do ask for a copy of his routine and have only 6 babies so I'm sure it'll be fine. I have to keep reminding myself that I am paying them, they aren't doing me a favour!!

My top tip - remind yourself often that it doesn't matter if the nursery nurses can't spell (as will probably be evidenced in your daily diary) so long as they love working with babies!

Also, allow yourself lots of time at the end of the day to talk through DS's day with the NNs - they shouldn't mind giving you a blow by blow account

Thanks guys. It's odd - I suddenly feel like a 'real' mum at the school gates!