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This week's topic is Day Care for the First-time Parent, with advice and opinions courtesy of Cindy Woodward, mother and Senior Producer for ParentsTalk and Circle 1 Network.
Day Care for the First-time Parent
This is part three of a three-part article. Please take a look at part one for the introduction to Cindy's column.
Nap time
Sheets
Most centers require you to bring sheets for the cribs that they supply. If your center utilizes the small cribs you normally see at hotels, you might want to invest in one or two sheets for that mattress size. It may not matter to some, but I wasn't crazy about the excess that was left when they tried using a regular, baby-bed mattress sheet on a much smaller mattress. The tighter, the better. The sheets that fit the play yards that also function as travel beds seem to do well.
Bumper pads
If your center doesn't provide bumper pads for the bed (most don't), you may want to think about a couple of things. Before baby learns to roll over, decide if you want a "wedge" used. It's the device used to keep baby on his or her back or side during naps. Once baby learns to roll over, this device isn't so effective. If your baby is a "mover and shaker" (moves all over the bed during sleep time), you may want to get a set of bumper pads for the day care cribs.
Sleeping bags
Once your baby passes the one-year mark, many centers move toward sleeping bag replacement of cribs. At this point, you may want to ask where the children sleep and how they handle the "movers and shakers." What precautions are taken to ensure they don't roll into a wall or another sleeping child?
Location
Determine if your center allows babies to sleep in carrier seats, swings or bouncer seats. In our state, the parent must sign something stating permission to allow a sleeping baby to continue napping somewhere other than the crib. I found that during the time I was trying to get my baby to sleep through the night in her crib, my efforts were hindered in part due to her sleeping in a moving swing during daytime naps. If I have another child, I will request that every nap be spent in the crib. It's definitely a personal choice, but something to think about.
Miscellaneous
Labeling
Make sure you label everything with your child's initials. If you don't want to permanently mark something because it can be used for future children, attach (sewing works best) little pieces of cloth with your child's name to the item.
Medicines
Most states require that any type of medicine is taken out of diaper bags and placed in a specific location for the day. This includes over-the-counter medications (diaper rash ointments, teething pain relief gels, etc.) as well as prescribed medicine. Unless you want to purchase double of everything – one for home and one to be left at day care permanently, you'll need to make sure you ask if the medicines have been put back in the carry-home bag at the end of the day. I always kept diaper rash, teething pain, fever reducer and other medicines in a small cosmetic bag labeled with my child's name. Occasionally, I would find that something would be missing from the bag at the end of the day. Because there are only a few brands of diaper rash ointments that everyone uses, I could never determine which tube mixed among all the others was ours. After this, I always attached a small piece of masking tape to the package/tube with initials written in permanent marker.
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