Settling in at nursery Post Reply

[LuluDaffodil]

Hi there,

First time mum here, in need of help from you lovely people.

Just wondered if anyone was settling in their baby at nursery and willing to share how to adapt to a new routine and manage the tears/upsets that come along with it?

I've just started settling in my baby girl and so far her meal times and sleep times are all over the place (or non existent for the latter). For example, every morning I tell the nursery staff what time she should have her milk and at the end of the day I am told she had it 2h30 later than when she was supposed to. She's has some food in the meantime but she is a baby and milk is important at that age. I'm not sure how to approach this with the nursery as I appreciate the centre has its own routine and a lot of children to deal with. My daughter may just have to adapt to that new routine.

I would love to discuss with people in the same situation and how they either managed to get the centre to follow their routine or get their child to adapt to a new routine.

Thanks in advance xx

[supergirl]

I second Petal. You must voice any concerns you may have with the nursery and it is their job to make sure they are following your child's own routine especially if your child is a baby hence in the baby room.
The first few weeks are hard but it goes get easier (for you!), honest.

Good luck. Sx

[LuluDaffodil]

Thank you so much both.

My daughter is 5 months and a half. She used to be such a happy baby but has been crying at home ever since we started her at nursery (she used to sleep 4h at least in the day and only slept 15min at nursery). I guess it will take some adjusting as you say which is why I'm really keen for the nursery to strictly follow the home routine (to make it a little bit easier on her; one big change is enough). I will be chatting to her key person as I'm sure they are doing their best and it does take some time to adjust.

Good luck with settling in your second child at nursery. It's so much more stressful than I had anticipated!!!

Xxx

[Shamummy]

It will take some time to adjust, but the nursery should be following your current routine as best they can. There is usually a natural awake and sleep time, even in the baby room, but the staff should be well drilled at managing sleep for the babies who still need naps outside of the usual 1-3pm for the older ones. My daughter took a good couple of months to be able to sleep well in the nursery, but she got by on several cat naps during the day at first.

Definitely speak to the staff, as milk should be as close as possible to the times you specify. Sometimes you might see it being 15 minutes out for various reasons but anything more is too much. Have you enquired whether all staff have been drilled on the timings, as sometimes it may just get missed because key worker is on break or not there. You are completely entitled to raise this with the nursery manager if you think you need to.

It can be a bit of a calamity starting, and the main thing is that the staff are listening to you and you see changes being made. It may just be simple lack of communication on either side. If it is a good nursery, things will settle down and the staff will get to know your little one well and start giving you tips about what should be done and when!

Good luck.

[avcr33d]

Voice your concerns calmly with her key person. If a child is under one year then they should be following your home routine.

As someone that has worked in a nursery, it's important to remember that there are a lot of other children expecting their needs to be met too, sometimes at exactly the same time.
Nursery work is stressful, and parents that treat staff with respect is highly important.

They should definitely be trying to follow your home routine though, so I would suggest talking to your LO's key person.