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Prepping for baby's first day at daycare
Filed under: Babies, Work Life, Development/Milestones: Babies, Childcare
So this morning I dropped the wee one off at daycare. Daddy and I strolled him the fifteen minute walk down to the daycare center and hung out while he became acclimated to his new surroundings. It was good that all of us arrived early as there was only one other child there and we essentially had the undivided attention of the care provider.
Well, actually, we didn't get there early by our standards. We'd intended to arrive before our 8:00 AM arrival time in order to fill out extra paperwork and ask all our questions. You know how that goes though--er, went. Last night I'd even pre-packed everything my baby would need for his first day: two changes of clothes, two crib sheets and two blankets, many bibs (he's totally teething), diapers and wipes for the week, diaper rash cream just in case, woobies just in case, three bottles and various bottle parts and three frozen bags of breastmilk.
Each bag of breastmilk needed to be properly labeled with time date and baby's name. These then had to go in another, separate bag at the last minute in which I then placed ice packs.
Everything was supposed to be labeled, but when it came down to it I didn't realize how I was supposed to label everything. My husband in a bout of zealousness cut the tags off nearly everything the baby owns, so there was no way to properly label anything with our initials. Even if the tags had been there I'm not sure if a sharpie was in order or just regular pen. Both seem to have pros and cons. Anyone have any suggestions?
Also, please do not suggest I sew labels into everything. That is a great idea and works for many, but I am the least talented seamstress I've ever seen, not to mention I'd have to come up with everything one needs to carry out such a feat. Seriously, I am terrible. I can't even sew a stitch. I'm pretty handy with a crochet needle, but sewing is not my thing.
And we have seemingly little time to do any project these days, so something like that would surely fall by the wayside.
As for labeling the bottles, since we sterilize them in an Avent sterilizer which goes in the microwave (very handy), I didn't think it would be wise to use a sharpie directly on the bottles or even on labels. The labels, I figured, would also peel off from the heat and humidity of the sterilizer. Any thoughts on this?
Somehow we managed to get everything loaded up onto the new stroller--more on that later, but let's just say it's lighter and slimmer and totally rocks--and out the door at 8:05 AM, not bad for someone who was about to have a nervous breakdown over leaving her baby in the company of strangers. Albeit, they were really nice strangers who wouldn't be so new at the end of the day, but I can assure you I was using the packing and organizing as a way to avoid dealing with my sadness and anxiety.
Luckily the daycare center did everything in its power to make our transition a smooth one. They're very organized there and provided labels for everything. They also already had a cubby set up for the baby as well as a crib with his name on it. We even had mail in our little mini-mailbox for parents.
They also provided a list of what and how much of everything we'd need to bring in. Without that list there is no way I would've had the piece of mind to be able to get everything together. I felt like Mercer was going to France rather than to 5th Avenue!
Of course getting the baby to daycare is one thing; leaving him there is another.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
8-28-2007 @ 9:44AM
Michelle said...Jennifer, I used painter's tape on my childrens' bottles, and then wrote their name and date with a sharpie. You have to replace it each time, but no tape residue on the bottle! When school started this year, I used the p-touch machine (label maker) to put my son's names on his 2 school sippies. Every day they get washed in a hot dishwasher, and, so far, have remained stuck.
I was going to suggest stitching his initials in his clothing. I did this for a very special blanket of my daughter's that I didn't want ruined with sharpie. I am quite crafty, but completely useless when it comes to sewing, but a sturdy, double thread and shaky initials, and I believe the initials are still there after almost 5 yrs.
If your daycare allows, use large ziplock bags with his name written on them, to avoid having to write on his clothes. For his sheets and bibs, very small initials in the corner with a sharpie won't ruin the look of the item, and won't wash off.
I hope you were able to get through your day without too many tears and without stalking the daycare teacher! Many smiles and commiseration tears!
Reply
8-27-2007 @ 9:00PM
muchmorethanamom said...Mabels Labels rock! They have some for almost everything.
Reply
8-28-2007 @ 7:58AM
Melissa said...I've heard nail polish is good for labeling things like bottles.
Reply
8-27-2007 @ 11:09PM
Katrina said...My friend used puffy paint on bottles for daycare and lets just say....almost 2 yrs later we still cant get it to come off (she borrowed my bottles) so my kids have been known to walk around with bottles with another childs name on it LOL. Its ok since Im a SAHM and they didnt get many bottles but I sure know what im using if they ever go to daycare ;)
Reply
8-28-2007 @ 3:02AM
School Teacher said...You can buy labels that you iron on. Saw them in a catalog once, but click on the link to find what is best for you.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=iron+on+labels+and+tags
School Teacher
www.brightminds.wordpress.com
Reply
8-28-2007 @ 8:54AM
Mammacheryl said...Like other posters above, we used masking tape on the bottles every day. It really didn't take much time out of the day. Another mother used dry erase markers, but that didn't seem to work for us. The writing rubbed off right away.
As for blankets and sheets, I'd recommend going to a craft store and getting the iron-on labels. For the extra clothes we packed every day, we just put the items in a freezer-sized ziploc bag that was labeled with our son's name. It stayed in his diaper bag until needed, and the soiled clothes went back in the plastic bag after he was changed right away, so there wasn't an issue with getting his clothes mixed up.
Cheryl at http://redpens-diapers.blogspot.com
Reply
8-28-2007 @ 9:46AM
Jennifer Jordan said...Hi, everyone--and thanks so much for your suggestions! The iron ons sound like a great option if I can find a craft store in NYC. Seriously--I know there's gotta be one around here somewhere.
Michelle, however, made the comment of angels singing on high: LABEL MAKER!!! Now I am finally justified in getting one!
Thanks, everyone!!!
Reply
8-28-2007 @ 1:28PM
hp said...Hm.
My opinion: send stuff you can lose. Originally, I sewed his name into everything fabric I intended to send and keep there (blankets, clothing, etc). They provided labels that survive washing for the bottles.
Both of his nice blankets with his name sewn into them vanished. Various outfits have vanished. One of my (labeled) Medela collection bottles vanished *sob*
Nowadays: I bring extra outfits on Monday, and take accounting of the outfits left in his drawer on Thursday. The extra outfits are all ones I don't like, or he's about to grow out of.
He wears onsies as outfits during the summer; long-sleeved onsies as tops and cheap Target pants during the winter. He has cheap receiving blankets for his daycare blankets.
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