Veronica, make sure you write these questions down to take with you or you will forget. Most daycare centres try to stick with your routine however you may find that the room has a routine and that your DD will settle in to that. Funnily enough kids can adapt to having one routine at home and a different one at childcare. They will also often do what the other kids are doing - just because the others are doing it! Eg. DD doesn't eat certain foods at home but will at childcare because all the other are eating it!!
Be prepared to be completely preoccupied and worried for the first week or so about how she is going and also ring them as many times a day as you need to to make yourself feel more comfortable.
It's hard but both of you will get used to it and you will probably find that she has so much fun that some days she will even forget to say goodbye to you (a very bittersweet moment!).
Cool. I will write up a list of questions to ask them tomorrow when we go in to check the place out.
But do you think I should encourage them to give DD a bottle before a nap time? I am going to try and get her to sleep without a breastfeed and see how we go. I've just started trying today and DD is still playing in her cot when I know she is tired!! I'm just afraid I am not going to have enough milk for her to make up all these bottles and she hates formula!!
I left DS in FDC from 8 months and cause there were only 5 children and noone else under1 his carer rocked him to sleep until he started to go off by himself. I bf him before work and when I picked him up and he drank water at FDC but I only worked 3 days from 8-3pm.
When DS started daycare at 11mths (and until about 17-18mths) I bf'ed him to sleep at home. He wouldn't sleep in the cot room at daycare, so he was patted to sleep in the babies' room on a cushion by one of the carers. Now he still sleeps in the babies' room on a cushion, and is moving to the toddler room where they bring out mattresses at sleep time, so he won't have much adjusting to do! I stopped sending ebm at about 16mths, partially 'cause I realised he wasn't having it before his sleep so it wasn't being used as a sleep cue.
DS cried when I left him, but he'd stop before I left the centre so I didn't feel like I was leaving him there to cry all day, I knew it was more to say "I like being with you Mum! Don't go.............oh look sand, fun"
2. Write yourself a list of questions you would like answered by the day care staff for your tour on thursday.
3. When my 2 started day care they were fine! My youngest was just 1 when he started and he was fine. they all go through their own little stages! my youngest was a bit of a sook the 1st 2 weeks but was then fine where as my oldest was fine the 1st 2 weeks and then a sook for 2 weeks after that! they were only there 2 days a week but now they both love it and the carers love them!
As the other girls have said, all of the childcare centres operate slighly differently, so your tour will answer a lot of your worries, I'm sure.
My 3 attend an ABC centre (which I am VERY happy with). Olivia started at 14 months, Charlie at 12 months and Lexie at 7 months. All 3 now go 2 days a week, whilst I work.
All 3 of the adapted really well....but I was terriefied of the same things as you: will they be happy without me, will they be OK, will they sleep without our little rituals?
Of course they are all fine. The first weeks were harder on me than on them I think!
We went and checked out the daycare this morning and I am happy with it, although this centre is smaller than the one I first wanted DD to go in. They answered all my questions and I am feeling really good about it all.
I am sure that DD will be fine, it'll be me thats going to have it tough getting used to working again!!
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