Baby Going to Daycare...

I leave PLENTY of time to get my child settled in. I visit with the day care provider for a bit. When I leave I always give hugs and kisses goodbye. I dont think my kid needs it as much as I do but I am sure it makes her feel special. Some of the other kids would want hugs and kisses (I will give them high 5's) and the sitter told me most parents don't do that. It is tough at first but you'll settle in soon enough. good luck

I am lucky in the fact that I have family that watches my daughter while I work... Although it's only 2days a week ( we couldn't afford day care anyways) it's nice to know she's with family... But in sure the place u chose is perfect... =D... One thing I do the make mornings a little easier is to have everything ready to go for the morning... My work clothes, diaper bag packed, coats out, etc... That way I can get up, get ready and go...

Oh boy... We'll let me start by saying that my son LOVED daycare! He loved being around the other kids, the variety of toys, and getting to play outside everyday! That said, this is going to be tough... I was an emotional wreck! I always dropped him off because his daycare was near my work so my husband never had to go through the drop off. It was so hard, but I knew that a few minutes after I left, he was just fine.
So tips:
1. Leave early enough to spend a little time before leaving! I would bring him in, put his things in his cubby, debrief with the caretaker if he had a rough night or when he ate last, and rock him in their glider a few minutes before leaving. I didn't want to just "drop him off."
2. When you pick her up, your attention needs to be 100% on her! Spend a few minutes holding/cuddling/talking to her before asking the caretaker how she ate/slept.
3. Try not to get emotional in front of her! It will only make her nervous and upset. Save the sobbing for the car after you've dropped her off. You may want to skip mascara the first week! LOL!

First, let me say it's going to be okay. Second, it's okay to cry!

My daughter started daycare about the same age as yours. I teach and needed to return to work. The first week is going to be h*** o* you and hubby. She will love it by the way! After a week or so you will settle into a routine and it won't feel so bad. My daughter is now 5 and begs to go to school on summer vacation because she misses her friends! Also, think of all the really neat things you will expose her to. My daughter learned baby sign language at her daycare which was great! I found that she also learned skills from watching the other kids like cruising. Being a working mom is hard but daycare isn't the end of the world. Again, my daughter loves going! As for fun rituals I would decided on how your morning is going to go and stick with that routine. If you are rushed or stressed she will pick up on it. We do the same routine every morning and usually have a smooth drop off. People talk about the separation anxiety and peeling kids off of them. We never had that. As soon as she could run she would run to her classroom and hardly look back! Sometimes I wish she missed me more ;) Oh, and it's okay to call the daycare as many times as you need to! I usually called in the car on the way to work if I was worried about something and would sometimes even call later in the afternoon just to check on her. Finally, I sent a throw away camera in her diaper bag for the teacher to take pictures of her during the day. Not every day of course but just when they thought about it or on a special occasion. I loved getting them developed and seeing what her day was like.

Oh, I'm sorry. This is sad, I know. I would get up a little earlier in the mornings with my little ones so that I wouldn't have to rush around to get us all ready. Then, I would feed the baby and rock her while singing happy songs. It made the transition calm and positive. I had time with her and she was nurtured and ready to go. Good luck, and know that it will get easier.

The first week will most likely be the most difficult on ALL Of you. The baby may not eat or sleep well and you will feel like the worst parent for dropping them off for the day...at least I did. Turns out, they REALLY are ok :) And I have found that from a social and a seperation perspective, my children are better having been out of the home from a young age. Don't get me wrong, they have long days and some times they just want to stay home, and on occasion we have a family day and we all skip work, school & Pre-school because we NEED that. Our kids NEVER cry when they are dropped off and they LOVE having a sitter...I thinks it's because they are use to not being with us 24/7. We end up cherishing the time we get to be together because we do have to be away from one another during the day.

You are doing a good thing for your daughter!! And she will LOVE being around other kids and playing. Plus she will be much more willing and understanding when it comes to sharing than the kids that are use to having things all to themselves.

I put my son in daycare when he was 2 months old (he's in 3rd grade now). It was a friend of a friend so I was comfortable with it but I also felt guilty. Within 5 minutes of dropping him off another little boy came over to see him and sneezed on him. I cried all the way to work. But guess what? My son loved it (and built up his immunity). I would tell him he was going to school. He learned from the older kids and he taught the younger kids when he got bigger. As long as your daughter knows you're coming every day to take her home she'll be fine and you'll be fine. The good news is that my son had no problem when he started real school. He said "bye see you later" - he wasn't crying like a lot of the other kids who had never been away from their mothers. He knew how to socialize and behave in a classroom. He knew we would pick him up after school.

You just have to tell yourself that you're doing what's best for your family by going to work. You will feel guilty but there are definite benefits that your daughter will get from this experience. Good luck!

Talk to yourself -- a lot. Really. Do what you need to do to be as positive & excited as possible -- leave the tension & negativity out of your voice. Be excited! What a great opportunity for your daughter to be surrounded by people who care for her and about her! The more you think about the positive, the better the transition will be for everyone. Expect it to take a while for you, your husband and your daughter to get in this new groove -- ind of like it took you a while to get into a rhythm when your daughter was born. Also, remember that this is as transition for the daycare as well. It'll take a little bit for the providers to get to know your daughter & your family.

When my daughter was this age (and attending day care full time), I used to take her in a little early & nurse her before heading off to work. It gave her a way to settle in with the daycare while Mom was still around. It gave me a chance to get to know the care providers better and understand how things worked there. I just sat in a rocker in the corner with a lightweight receiving blanket over my shoulder & my daughter's head for about 20 minutes. Worked for us! And the lead teacher in the daycare was terrific & very open to the idea.

It WILL be OK -- really! A quality day care shouldn't make you said but excited for what it can do for your daughter -- and it can become a great resource for a mom as well.

actually i had no trouble with this particular transition - i had a much harder time with separation anxiety when he was 2-4, hearing him cry for me EVERY DAY and having to peel him off me lol.

BUT i do know the sadness from leaving them. it will be okay. so many of us do it. once you get back to work you'll be so busy the time will fly. and there's NOTHING like going to pick them up and seeing that huge grin like you are the best gift they could possibly ask to see. EVERY afternoon :)

(ps, DEFINITELY do as much as you can the night before, and give yourself plenty of time. i now get up at 5 am every morning, not needing to be at work till 8. people think i am crazy but i HAVE to have a relaxed morning or my whole day is shot!)