If you had your newborn in daycare at 12 weeks (or around that time)

I need some help....you know it's not good when the teacher writes on the gram "I need help!!!"

Gregory spits up..a lot...but he's always quiet and smiling about it so the ped says it is what it is and he should outgrown it. I warned them...left a ton of bibs. Daycare stops feeding him when this happens and then writes on his gram that he spit up the entire bottle. I can't imagine that it's the whole bottle

Gregory is a belly sleeper. I told them this and suggested they sleep him on his side because my ped won't sign a release form and apparently his approval is better than mine Looks like they don't sleep him in the crib at all...I think he spends most time in the swing.

So I have the teacher asking me for help and that makes me nervous. I mean, I know he's not the only baby in the room but he needs some attention. He's only 12 weeks old. He can't be in the swing all day and he can't keep going with only 1 - 2 hours of sleep during the entire day (which for him is 11 hours).


I plan on showing the teacher how I swaddle his upper body with the receiving blanket when I feed him for naps, show her how to sleep him in his side and go over our typical day and give her suggestion on what he can do around the room. But here are my questions:

1. How old was your child when they started daycare?

2. What was a typical day like for them?

3. How much did they sleep?

4. What did the teachers do with them all day?

5. Any advice?

Re: If you had your newborn in daycare at 12 weeks (or around that time)

My DD started daycare at 5 months, so she was a bit older than your DS. I know every state is different- but here in CT. it is against regulation to allow a child to sleep anywhere other than his or her crib (or cot once they reach 14 months). Our daycare is not allowed to allow babies to sleep in bouncy seats or swings. I am not sure if NY is the same though. I think going over everything with his teacher is a great idea. Like you said, he is not the only baby in the room, BUT he is your child, and it is important that he gets the best care possible. The poor baby needs to eat and sleep enough- I can't imagine them not cooperating with you to help that happen! Good luck!
If you want any details about my DD's daycare experience when she was younger, feel free to FM me!

Re: If you had your newborn in daycare at 12 weeks (or around that time)

I'll answer the Q's first:

1. How old was your child when they started daycare?

A few days shy of 14 weeks

2. What was a typical day like for them?
Sleep, bottle, burp, swing at the beginning

3. How much did they sleep?
I don't remember but I don't recall it ever seeming like an issue (that overall she wasn't getting enough).

4. What did the teachers do with them all day?
I think Ann got A LOT of attention because she was the new baby. I'd say half of the other kids in the infant room when she started moved up within 4 months.
But when she was that little I really don't think they did anything with her other than the swing or holding her.

5. Any advice?
I was LUCKY. Ann was a belly sleeper from day one. And even though I had to sign the paper about them not putting her on her belly until she could roll on her own (or whatever the "rule" is), the woman who ran the room from 6:30-10:30 was a 70 year old grandma who put Ann on her belly to sleep!!! She'd stay at her crib and watch her!! But she thought it was cruel to force her on her back if she wouldn't sleep.

Message edited 6/3/2010 9:08:24 PM.

Re: If you had your newborn in daycare at 12 weeks (or around that time)

First, I'm sorry you have to deal with this...the stress of leaving your DC at daycare this young is tough enough -- the last thing you want is to think your caare giver may not be the best.

Re: If you had your newborn in daycare at 12 weeks (or around that time)

1. How old was your child when they started daycare?

~Exactly (to the day) 3 months old

2. What was a typical day like for them?

~Some tummy time, bounce time, swing time...mostly just rotating from activity to activity. I know they'd hug and cuddle him through out the day, and rock with him when they gave him a bottle...

3. How much did they sleep?

~My child is 1 tomorrow and doesnt sleep well at daycare AT ALL... he naps EXCELLENT at home... at daycare they only got him to nap in the swing...and now in the older infant room- there is no swing. Most nights after daycare are not pleasant in my house :(

4. What did the teachers do with them all day?

See above (2)

5. Any advice?

Teach them to swaddle him. Ask that they burp him every 1-2oz and leave him in the bouncy 20 min. after eating...

Re: If you had your newborn in daycare at 12 weeks (or around that time)

Thank you all so much for all the responses. I am so emotional right now over this but I know it has more to do with my own guilt leaving him there. In some ways I wish I could be with him to hold him and play with him...and help him sleep.

I'm going to read over the responses again before I talk to the teacher tomorrow.

Re: If you had your newborn in daycare at 12 weeks (or around that time)

My DS was 14 weeks when he started daycare. He still sleeps in the swing at daycare and he will be 10 months tomorrow!! All the kids in his room do. And his teacher usually gets them all to sleep at the same time! No idea how but she does do the same trick you mentioned - wraps a blanket around their upper bodies. When he was that little I know they held him a lot, put him in the bouncy chair and did tummy time.

Re: If you had your newborn in daycare at 12 weeks (or around that time)

1. How old was your child when they started daycare?

8 weeks old

2. What was a typical day like for them?
I dropped him off at like 7:15 am. He would have a bottle at 9 am, 12 pm, 3 pm and DH picked him up at around 3 pm.

3. How much did they sleep?
When he was that young they would let him nap whenever he wanted. He usually would take 2 2 hour naps

4. What did the teachers do with them all day?
DS daycare is wonderful, they had 8 babies in the nursery with three workers. He was a fairly easy baby but I rarely saw him not either being held or in the swing or bouncy. He would only stay in the swing for 1/2 hour or so

5. Any advice? DS was on a schedule that Daycare put him on. He did really well on that schedule. Do you have a nap schedule at home?

Re: If you had your newborn in daycare at 12 weeks (or around that time)

1. How old was your child when they started daycare?
Both DSs were a little older - DS1 was just shy of 5 months, DS2 was 4.5 mos

2. What was a typical day like for them?
For us, the baby room $ucked for sleeping / routines. DS1 was a 'happy spitter' - same as your DS it seems. He spit up EVERYTHING but gained and grew like no one else (literally 90/95% in height and weight forever). They were freaked out about it at the beginning but after a while they started to see that it was what it was - normal for Colin. I would NOT be ok with them stopping the bottle after! Is there anyway you can go in late to work one day and feed him a bottle there, to show them the deal so-to-speak? Otherwise you're going to keep telling them it's normal and they're going to keep insisting it's not.

3. How much did they sleep?
Zilch. Zero. Nada. The 1-2 hours your DS is getting would be cause for celebration in my house (no joke ). Reid slept 45 min yesterday - at home he takes 3.5-4 hours worth of naps every single day. I still don't understand how exactly he manages to stay awake that long - it seems physically impossible to me. Colin was the same. The baby room is terrible for naps b/c it's always loud since they go down on their own schedule and not a class-wide nap like in the older rooms.

4. What did the teachers do with them all day?
Until they can sit up on their own I think it's really difficult. I know Reid spent a lot of his time in the exersaucer and the swing. Colin's baby room had that cushiony plastic stuff they could prop him up against so he could watch the other babies. Bumbo seats too, I think.

5. Any advice?
Two things - change what you can by speaking up but try not to stress what you can't. I'd speak up about them finishing his bottle, that's truly crazy to me that they don't. I get it about the belly sleeping thing - we had the same issue at 2 different daycares and to an extent I can see their point, god forbid something happened. I would try to replicate his home crib as best you can. I originally just brought in cheapy sheets for daycare but soon after went out and bought the exact same jersey knit ones they have at home and also sent in the same blanket, blankey and sheet saver. See if you can install a mobile or soother onto his crib (and make sure they use it!). Request they attempt to put him in the crib at least 2-3 times a day and then if it doesn't work, let him sleep in the swing or wherever he is now.

After all that, don't stress - you'll have done everything possible.

Re: If you had your newborn in daycare at 12 weeks (or around that time)

Sorry Ang, no advice, but lots of hugs

Re: If you had your newborn in daycare at 12 weeks (or around that time)

1. How old was your child when they started daycare?: 12 weeks

2. What was a typical day like for them?: they feed him..do silly crafts like finger painting..show him different textures.. tummy time.. nap.

3. How much did they sleep? My son never slept well at day care.. he usually only sleeps a total of 2 hours a day.

4. What did the teachers do with them all day? played..tummy time...swing sometimes but NEVER to sleep in.

5. Any advice? Speak with your director. They should be able to handle a 12 week old that spits up. This doesn't seem like a difficult task. Your DS seems to be an easy baby except for spitting up. Tell them to wear a smock and deal with it. Tell them to not stop feeding him b/c he spit up..he's probably still hungry. Sleeping...sorry no advice b/c my son doesn't sleep well at daycare.

but speak with the director..def.!!

Good luck!!!

Re: If you had your newborn in daycare at 12 weeks (or around that time)

1. How old was your child when they started daycare?
14 weeks

2. What was a typical day like for them?
swing, bouncy, bottle, sleep, tummy time, playmat, listen to music, sleep more

3. How much did they sleep?
he's a good sleeper and can sleep anywhere. He slept either in the crib or the swing

4. What did the teachers do with them all day?
feed, burp, clean him up, a lot of interaction, etc

5. Any advice?
FIrst off...

I know it's hard to have them so young in daycare and worse that they can't tell you how they're day was. Mason had bad reflux when he was younger. They never really said too much about him spitting up. He was in different clothes and the teacher told me. There's also one boy I remember that threw-up if he didn't burp and they were very patient with him. I don't have much advise, but just a lot of communication with the teachers and call during the day. When he was in the infant A room all the kids were his age and there were usually 3 teachers in there so they all got a lot of special attention.

Re: If you had your newborn in daycare at 12 weeks (or around that time)

1. How old was your child when they started daycare?: 11 weeks

2. What was a typical day like for them? change, feed, sleep, play - like bouncy, tummy time, story time, finger/feet painting.

3. How much did they sleep? My daughter does not sleep well in the crib unless it's night time. She always slept great in the swing or bouncy. I'd say she would sleep 4-5 hours a day at daycare until she got a bit older. Now at 1, she sleeps about 2 hours a day at daycare.

4. What did the teachers do with them all day? simple crafts, tummy time, walks, story time.

5. Any advice? DD was also a happy spitter upper. Dr said it's a laundry problem, not a health problem. Poor kid is probably still hungry if they aren't giving him the rest of his bottle. I would talk to the director. Babies spit up, the teacher should be able to handle that.

Re: If you had your newborn in daycare at 12 weeks (or around that time)

Thank you so much for all of the responses...I am going to read through them but wanted to update...

I am really proud of the teacher...she went home and thought about it and came in with a great attitude today. Turns out she thought that Gregory's bad day was her fault BTDT so I reassured her it was not and that Gregory isn't as uncomfortable with the spit up as we are and we just have to let his system mature. In the meanwhile I gave her a ton of bibs and showed her how I deal with it.

She is going to talk to the director to see if we can fill something out where I give approval and waive liability to sleep him on his belly. I will gladly sign that..I know my boy sleeps well that way. And she is comfortable with it since she slept her kids that way and Gregory shows great neck support.

She had a great attitude today on her own about playing more with him and giving in to the fact that he is alert and likes to be up. I told her and showed her how I wear him out between sleep and she was eager to keep that up.


I feel sooooo much better and hopefully she does too.

Re: If you had your newborn in daycare at 12 weeks (or around that time)

Posted by Ang-Rich

Thank you so much for all of the responses...I am going to read through them but wanted to update...

I am really proud of the teacher...she went home and thought about it and came in with a great attitude today. Turns out she thought that Gregory's bad day was her fault BTDT so I reassured her it was not and that Gregory isn't as uncomfortable with the spit up as we are and we just have to let his system mature. In the meanwhile I gave her a ton of bibs and showed her how I deal with it.

She is going to talk to the director to see if we can fill something out where I give approval and waive liability to sleep him on his belly. I will gladly sign that..I know my boy sleeps well that way. And she is comfortable with it since she slept her kids that way and Gregory shows great neck support.

She had a great attitude today on her own about playing more with him and giving in to the fact that he is alert and likes to be up. I told her and showed her how I wear him out between sleep and she was eager to keep that up.


I feel sooooo much better and hopefully she does too.

Re: If you had your newborn in daycare at 12 weeks (or around that time)

1. How old was your child when they started daycare?
DD was 8 weeks
DS was 12 weeks

2. What was a typical day like for them?
Eat, cat nap, repeat. I rotated him from the floor to the swing to the bouncer and they do the same thing.

3. How much did they sleep?
DS has always been a cat napper--he would sleep 20 minutes out of every hour. At night he would sleep for longer stretches, 2-4 hours each. At 4 months he started STTN, still just did the cat naps. Now, at 6 months the cat naps are longer but only very rarely does he sleep for more than 1 hour straight during the day (at home or day care).

4. What did the teachers do with them all day?
Rotate from floor activities to bouncer to swing and now the exersaucer too. They take them outside for a buggy ride 1-2x a day too. They do activities, which I find funny-but even at this age they do stories and songs and crafts. DS is always "painting" stuff with his handprints and footprints.

5. Any advice?
I think it is a great idea to spend some time with them and show them how you do everything. It will be good for the teachers but more importantly fot your DS since they will be able to better comfort him and attend to his needs.

Also, do you do mylicone drops in his bottles? We started this because DS would spit up whole bottles as well, seemed to help and the ped was fine with it

Re: If you had your newborn in daycare at 12 weeks (or around that time)

1. How old was your child when they started daycare?

They were both 12 weeks

2. What was a typical day like for them?

Eating, sleeping, tummy time, swing and walks in the stroller

3. How much did they sleep?

My DS was a champion sleeper - he would eat and then sleep for a couple of hours, eat and then sleep for a couple of hours...they loved him at daycare - very easy!
My DD is a bit harder - she sleeps, but is very inconsistent. They have a policy that the children can't sleepin the swing, so when they transfer her, she usually wakes up. She is there from 8 -5 so I think she sleeps about 3-4 hours on a good day

4. What did the teachers do with them all day?

Feed her, stroller, swing, tummy time, hold her, bring her outside so she can watch the older kids play

5. Any advice?

Maybe you can teach them how to feed him - ifyou have a method to feed him that doesn't cause his to spit up as much.

Re: If you had your newborn in daycare at 12 weeks (or around that time)

Posted by Ang-Rich

Thank you so much for all of the responses...I am going to read through them but wanted to update...

I am really proud of the teacher...she went home and thought about it and came in with a great attitude today. Turns out she thought that Gregory's bad day was her fault BTDT so I reassured her it was not and that Gregory isn't as uncomfortable with the spit up as we are and we just have to let his system mature. In the meanwhile I gave her a ton of bibs and showed her how I deal with it.

She is going to talk to the director to see if we can fill something out where I give approval and waive liability to sleep him on his belly. I will gladly sign that..I know my boy sleeps well that way. And she is comfortable with it since she slept her kids that way and Gregory shows great neck support.

She had a great attitude today on her own about playing more with him and giving in to the fact that he is alert and likes to be up. I told her and showed her how I wear him out between sleep and she was eager to keep that up.


I feel sooooo much better and hopefully she does too.

Re: If you had your newborn in daycare at 12 weeks (or around that time)

Preggo crashing here but I'm a daycare provider and I'll tell you it sounds like the teacher is not that experienced. I have an 8 month in my care since she was 10 weeks and literally spits up entire bottles all the time and she was very colicky when she was little. An experienced provider will know what to do, hold them, rub and burp their backs. As far as sleeping every child is different but he should get use to the setting and start to take at least 2 1hr naps a day.

You could suggest that she feeds the baby slower, give him a few ounces let him sit for a few minutes and than give the rest of the bottle later on. For sleeping if its a licensed daycare they aren't allowed to put him to sleep on his belly, however do they have bouncy seats, sometimes babies sleep a little better in those than the swing. Sometimes walking them in the stroller and getting them to off to sleep also helps put them in a deeper sleep.

Re: If you had your newborn in daycare at 12 weeks (or around that time)

Posted by Ang-Rich

Thank you so much for all of the responses...I am going to read through them but wanted to update...

I am really proud of the teacher...she went home and thought about it and came in with a great attitude today. Turns out she thought that Gregory's bad day was her fault BTDT so I reassured her it was not and that Gregory isn't as uncomfortable with the spit up as we are and we just have to let his system mature. In the meanwhile I gave her a ton of bibs and showed her how I deal with it.

She is going to talk to the director to see if we can fill something out where I give approval and waive liability to sleep him on his belly. I will gladly sign that..I know my boy sleeps well that way. And she is comfortable with it since she slept her kids that way and Gregory shows great neck support.

She had a great attitude today on her own about playing more with him and giving in to the fact that he is alert and likes to be up. I told her and showed her how I wear him out between sleep and she was eager to keep that up.


I feel sooooo much better and hopefully she does too.

Re: If you had your newborn in daycare at 12 weeks (or around that time)

Sounds like things are moving in the right direction already but I just wanted to offer that my DD was the queen of the happy spitters from birth until about 6 months. The teachers started bringing in extra outfits because she nailed them on a daily basis My school would not allow her to sleep on her belly so my ped signed a release for her to sleep in a bouncy seat so she would be more upright after eating.

She did a lot of tummy time (which she HATED at first) and watching the other kids play. The very best thing for her was when someone donated a baby gym to the room. They would lay her in it and she would reach for the little animals and play for HOURS. Does your daycare have one? If not, maybe you could ask them to get one, or find a low-cost one and bring it in? Does DS like that at home? It was huge for her.

HTH!

Re: If you had your newborn in daycare at 12 weeks (or around that time)

1. How old was your child when they started daycare?
13 wks
2. What was a typical day like for them?
He spent most of the time in the swing, then bouncy then being held
3. How much did they sleep?
3-3 hours a day
4. What did the teachers do with them all day?
At that age not very much. The did some tummy time.
5. Any advice?
DS went through a bout with spitting up. We actually reduced the formula and that worked. If he is spitting up the angle of the swing may help him, laying down would make him spit up more I would think.

He may actually spit up more at day care because it's a new environment, there's a lot of excitement etc.

Re: If you had your newborn in daycare at 12 weeks (or around that time)

1. How old was your child when they started daycare?

8 weeks

2. What was a typical day like for them?

Usually there from 8:30-5:30

3. How much did they sleep?
Very rarely - he wasn't a good sleeper until after his 1st bday

4. What did the teachers do with them all day?

They ran his room like a little class - they had a group time where they would sit or lay together under a play gym thing, or teeth on toys together. They gave them belly time in front of a mirror, read to them, sang to them, took them out in the buggy. Most of the time they just had him sitting in a bouncy watching the other babies in the room, and just hang out and interact with him. He looooved daycare right from the start!

5. Any advice?

I would ask her what SHE is doing...

Re: If you had your newborn in daycare at 12 weeks (or around that time)