How long did it take your DC to adjust to daycare? What did you do to help?

[Blanca78]

DD is going into daycare three days a week starting this week. To ease her in, I took her by to meet the provider (it's an in-home daycare) week before last, and then she did a half day last week. She was supposed to do another half day but was sleeping when it was time for me to pick her up, so we extended it to a full day.

According to the provider, she was smiley and calm the whole time, and didn't have any trouble going down for naps. However, she only drank 6 oz total (bottles are new to her) the whole day. I'm worried that her not eating much was a sign that she was a little ill at ease or too confused by the bottle. Since that full day, her sleep has been more disturbed than usual, but it could be because we had an out of town guest this weekend (her uncle) and also just the age (she's 20 weeks today).

I'm just wondering if your baby exhibited any disturbance or restlessness or clinginess following daycare, and how long did it last? Anything you did to help him/her adjust? How about the bottle feeding issue--how did your breastfed baby handle transitioning to using a bottle during the day?

TIA!

[KTProvi]

It's totally normal for it to take a few weeks to settle in, but it sounds like she's doing great already.  My little one started at 5 mos, and had never taken a bottle.  I told his teachers that if he didn't eat, they should call me and I'd come over and nurse him.  This only happened a few times (2 or 3) and then he learned to take the bottle.  If you are worried abt her eating and you work close enough to the daycare, this might be an option for you.  It won't last long. 

I have been so impressed w the positive peer pressure effects of daycare - the babies just adapt quickly bc they see their friends doing the same thing.  But if she is eating, even a little, and sleeping and not fussing, I wouldn't worry abt her getting enough food - if she were hungry, she'd cry.  Give it 2 or 3 weeks and I'll bet she'll do great.  My little guy is now 17 mos and he LOVES going to school. 

One thing I think many parents don't know/ practice is that you should drop her off and leave quickly.  Say goodbye, smile, give her a hug, and walk out.  Lingering or looking worried or pausing only makes it confusing and harder for her.  Once you say goodbye, you should leave, so she understands what's happening.  Even if they fuss for a minute, they are always fine as soon as mommy leaves.

good luck, it's always harder on us than on them!

[Blanca78]

Thanks, that is super helpful and reassuring! I was surprised she took a bottle at all, actually. Apparently she couldn't figure out the regular nipples but the "BreastFlow" bottle worked.

I am a little nervous about her reverse cycling, but I hope you're right and she will quickly adapt so that she is eating enough during the day.

I wish I could stop by and nurse her but it's 20 minutes from where I live/work :( When I was pregnant and chose this provider, I didn't think it would be a big deal because I got a good feeling from her and thought the distance was worth it for the right person. Now I wish I'd found someone a little closer, but oh well. DD smiled at her the first time she met her and seemed very calm/comfortable when the provider was holding her, so hopefully it'll work out.

You're right, it was so hard to walk out and leave her! I keep thinking she's going to feel totally deprived of her mommy and worry that she'll think I"m abandoning her.

[KTProvi]

oh good!

also- I really didn't like pumping milk, so I stopped sending bottles at all as soon as I could (I did and do still nurse him at home).  My little guy ate rice cereal at school at 5 mos, and we just kept adding solids/ baby food.  If she really has trouble with the bottle (but it sounds like she's okay), you don't have to rely on it exclusively.

[Blanca78]

Ooh, that brings up another question. I'm really worried about pumping and supply issues--I don't mind pumping at the moment but I can see that doing it enough to keep up my supply (she is a "frequent snacker" type during the day) would get old soon. So when you stopped pumping, did you find you still had enough milk for him at home?

We haven't started solids yet (she is just 20 weeks today) but probably will in the next month or so.
 

Originally Posted by KTProvi 

oh good!

also- I really didn't like pumping milk, so I stopped sending bottles at all as soon as I could (I did and do still nurse him at home).  My little guy ate rice cereal at school at 5 mos, and we just kept adding solids/ baby food.  If she really has trouble with the bottle (but it sounds like she's okay), you don't have to rely on it exclusively.

[pattimomma]

Hi Blanca78,

Abbey is 5 months old now and over the last few weeks I have had trouble pumping enough at work for her to have at grandma's house (I had no problems before that, I have been back at work since she was 6 weeks old). I have started using Motherlove More Milk Plus and that stuff works great for boosting my supply. Grandma does have back up baby formula so Abbey might get a few oz of that when she runs out of breast milk. I never have problems on the weekend just nursing her and she does seem to be reverse cycling some which is fine with me. I will start solids in the next few weeks.

It sounds like your DD is adjusting wonderfully to daycare!

[Skippy918]

My DD just started daycare 2 weeks ago and I went back to work last week on a reduced schedule.  Like you I was worried about her not eating enough.  She did not want anything to do with the bottle while I was off.  Towards the end of her first week, she was taking 2oz in the bottles and by the end of her second week, I upped it to 4.  Now she's actively drinking from the bottle.  Before they were helping her by squeezing the nipple and she was lapping up the milk.  She hasn't been fussy at all and she gets swaddled for naps and is now napping well.  Once we get home, she likes to just nurse for 45-1 hour and then she squeezes in 2-3 more nursing sessions before bedtime. 

As for pumping, I pump before I leave for work and twice at work.  I don't intend to wean off the pump until she's closer to her first birthday. 

[KTProvi]

I never had milk supply issues, but my son comes home at 12:30, so I nurse him to sleep for his mid-day nap.  Again, you're just going to have to give it a few weeks to see how your body and your baby adapt.  Try to breathe through it and not worry too much before there are any problems!  It sounds like everything might be just fine : )

[Blanca78]

Thanks all! Skippy, your story is helpful. I hope we follow suit. She only drank 4.5 oz total yesterday The first two ounces took an hour and she was very fussy. Then they put her down for a nap and when she woke up she drank 2.5 without a problem. She woke up a lot to nurse last night, but yesterday was only her second full day at daycare so I'm hopeful that she'll get used to the bottle over the next couple weeks. She is extremely distractible while eating anyway, lately, so I suggested they try taking her into a really quiet room and seeing if that helps. We will see....

On the upside, she is napping way better for them than she does at home, and they keep raving about how smiley she is!

[Skippy918]

I'm glad that she seems to be doing better.  Just give it some more time and she will be drinking more. 

[DaisyMae08]

Are they warming up the milk?  My son just started at daycare a couple of weeks ago (he is 8 mos old) and didn't do well with bottles at first until I realized that she was giving them to him cold.  Once she started warming up the milk he started sucking them down.

[Blanca78]

Originally Posted by DaisyMae08 

Are they warming up the milk?  My son just started at daycare a couple of weeks ago (he is 8 mos old) and didn't do well with bottles at first until I realized that she was giving them to him cold.  Once she started warming up the milk he started sucking them down.

Hey DaisyMae, sorry, I didn't get notification that there was a new post in this thread, so I'm just now seeing your comment. Thanks for asking! I'm not sure if they are warming it or not. However, it seems like she is gradually improving--on Monday she drank 2 + 2.5 oz, on Wednesday she drank 2 (over the course of a few tries) + 3.5 oz, and on Thursday she drank 3.5 oz in the morning (again over the course of a couple tries) but then in the afternoon sucked down 4.5 oz in short order. So there seems to be an upward trend.

She had a couple hellish nights last week--Tuesday night she was up--I am not kidding--every 25 minutes from 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., then up every 45 minutes until 3:30 a.m., then finally slept from 4 a.m.-8 a.m. I took her to the doctor in case she caught my cold but he said there was nothing wrong with her. And then Thursday night, she slept 9 hours straight, so who knows! The inconsistency is killing me! My guess is that both the sleep and eating disturbances are related to adjusting to daycare, and it may be all over the place for a while until, hopefully, she evens out. So I'm just trying to be patient and trust that over the next few weeks things will settle into more of a routine again.