Category: Baby

Unfortunately your maternity leave is up and you decided that you want to put your infant in daycare. After being an infant teacher for several years I have come up with a perfect guide on what to know and do for your first day of daycare. When starting daycare you should come in prepared and with a plan. First thing to do is make sure your baby’s first day of school is a couple of days before you actually start to go back to work.

The reason I tell most moms to do this is because it is not easy leaving your baby for the first time and in those first couple of days you can get comfortable with the idea of knowing that if anything is happen to you can be there in a heartbeat as well as passing by to check on them if your feeling a little anxious.

Now when doing a drop by to see how your baby is doing throughout the day please try and not be seen by your child this will only make it harder on you and your baby. When starting daycare you are usually given a packet that tells you everything you need.

One of the first things you should focus on is a daily feeding schedule to provide your teachers with. It is important that you already have your child on the schedule before starting it in daycare so that the day care provider has a better idea of your Child’s wants and needs. Also if after a couple of days the teachers recommend different techniques that can help your child thrive please listen to them. They are just trying to help make your babies time in daycare easier.

Once you have your schedule down you need to pack up all the essentials your baby will need while in daycare. If your child is using formula I suggest bringing the formula to the daycare so that all you have to bring is a certain amount of bottles everyday instead of having to prepare a bottle everyday before you leave your house in the morning. Always bring an extra one just in case  you’re running late one day or have to do a quick errand after pickup.

If you’re using breastmilk it’s best to prepare the bottle beforehand most daycares are not allowed to store frozen milk and have a hard time defrosting them when brought in milk storage bags. As the months go by you will slowly start to introduce food to your baby. If you decide not to make your own it’s best you leave pouches for your baby at the daycare and if you decide to make your own to bring in everyday I would also still bring pouches to leave at daycare just in case of an emergency or if your child just doesn’t want what you brought in that day.

Next thing you will need to do is make sure your baby has everything they need in their cubbies. Always leave at least 3 pairs of extra clothes for your child as well as three sets of bed sheets. Sometimes accidents happen and you always want to be prepared. As you may know sleep sacks are the only thing allowed in the cribs other than pacifiers make sure to have a couple of extra ones as well.

You want your baby to have anything they could possibly need if anything is to happen. You are now ready to take on this adventure with your baby.  Visit our baby blog for more tips and updates!

We all know trying to get your baby to sleep through the night is one of the biggest struggles you face when having a new baby. In those first couple of months you are trying anything just to survive. Trust me you are not the only one who is going through this but I am here to give you some helpful tips to make it easier to get your baby to sleep through the night.

There are different stages when getting your baby to sleep. During those first couple of months of your baby home I highly recommend you getting “Happiest Baby Snoo Smart Sleeper Bassinet”. This bassinet has a built in swaddle that safely keeps your baby in place and also responds to your baby’s cry with a gentle motion and white noise machine replicating the womb to help soothe your baby back to sleep. A bassinet will help you start the sleep training process for when you decide to move your child to her crib. This bassinet is on the pricey side so if you want to get something that is still within your budget and is just as great I recommend getting “ Halo Bassinet Swivel Sleeper Essentia Series”.

This bassinet comes with all the essentials you may need and has a built in soothing center to help sooth your baby back to sleep. As well as a 360 swivel to help you get your baby easier for a feeding or other things your baby might need throughout the night. While bassinets are here to make your life a bit easier a must needed item to help your baby sleep is to swaddle your baby before bed. Swaddling makes your baby feel as if she is back in the womb and stops your baby from waking up.

In the first few months of life newborns have what is called the startle reflex which causes them to wake up interfering with their sleep. Swaddling helps control the startle reflex helping your baby sleep longer. Some parents will sometimes say my baby doesn’t like to be swaddled so this is going to help. Truth is no baby likes to be swaddled but after a couple of times they become accustomed to it and grow to love it. 

So now that we have gotten through our early stages of sleep training let’s get to the part where you finally decide to move your baby into their crib. Moving your baby to their crib is a big step that may seem scary at first but will make things easier for you in the long term. At around 4 months your baby should already be on schedule and this is the perfect time to start a nightly bed routine.

So I like to start by giving my baby a warm bath around 6:30 helping them whine down a little bit before getting ready to go to bed. After your baby is ready I would give her a feeding at around 7pm at this point your baby is full and ready to take a snooze.

Now that you baby is 4 months and most likely has started rolling and turning over it is no longer safe to swaddle her so I recommend getting “The Merlin Sleep Sack” this sleep sack is a game changer. Makes your baby feel like they are swaddled while having the ability to still move their arms and legs.

For parents who are a little nervous about sleeping away from their baby I would get the “ Owlet Smart Sock” . This is a sock you put around your baby’s foot that monitors your baby’s heart rate and oxygen levels while sleeping. After you have your baby ready in their sleep sack I would place them in their crib, turn off the lights and turn on your white noise machine and step out of the room.

These first few couple nights will be rough your baby will mostly cry in the beginning once you leave. It is okay this is normal after 15 minutes if your baby has not yet fallen asleep. And if they still crying, go back into their room and soothe them without picking them up. Rub their chest gently or give them a pacifier to try and get them to calm down. Once they have calmed down, step out of the room and keep doing this till they eventually fall asleep. You will notice that as the nights pass your baby is crying less and less . And starts to  soothe themselves and goes to sleep on their own. Once your baby has been sleeping for a while I recommend doing a dream around 1 0 o’clock.

Take your baby out of the crib, give her a bottle or breastfeed and then put them back in the crib. Most of the time your baby stays asleep during this feed and this helps them sleep throughout the night not feeling the urge to wake up to eat in the middle of the night. All of these tips will ensure your baby gets a good night sleep as well as you get some much needed alone time with your significant other and the sleep you need to have the energy for the next day.