What Should I Do?

I would send the diapers. If you want to be certain about the formula then send the bottles premade. Just maybe provide one more bottle then you think she might need and she should be fine. Then you can use that bottle for the next day if she doesn't use it.

Many years ago I worked in a daycare. If you are using a high quality daycare, none of those things should be an issue. I can't imagine why they would use your supplies for another child. Parents always kept thier child's things well supplied. If we did happen to run out of diapers, there were always an emergency supply. I would hope that the daycare would follow your instructions for mixing the formula. If you brought prepared bottles, couldn't you just keep them refridgerated and take home what your daughter doesn't drink? These concerns seem strange to me. Maybe you have heard some bad stories about daycares from other parents. If you don't trust the daycare with diapers, maybe you should think twice about leaving your daughter there.

First, your family shouldn't be bugging you about this. Frankly, if you've chosen a good day care, the staff will be very familiar with formula mixing. As for diapers, I finally came to the conclusion that day cares change diapers more often than you do at home because they usually do it on an every 2 hour schedule (plus in between for poops), so I started buying the cheapest diapers I could find, since they never had time to get full enough to leak. Also, a good day care will be giving you a daily report that will include the times of her diaper changes, so you can keep track of diapers used if you feel a need. On the formula front, you can take the usual number of bottles and keep a package of travel packs at the day care. Enfamil makes a premeasured package for travel that is a good way to take care of any anxiety you might have about the staff measuring properly. That said, I will repeat that I think it's thoughtless of your family to be giving you grief about something that you are no doubt already worried enough about...and, if you are at a quality day care, these things shouldn't be an issue. For example, centers that are accredited through the National Association for the Education of Young Children or other similar groups have minimum education and training standards for staff that should alleviate any concerns you might have.

Good luck and tell them to leave you alone!!

If it is a good day care you should not have to worry about any of that even though of course being mom you will. Every daycare has different rules about what to bring on a daily basis. For me I just took atleast a weeks supply of everything and that is what they requested. They made sure my sons name was on everything that I brought so that it would be used for just him. I'm sure there are occassions where they borrow from one for another but I'm sure that gets returned when the new comes in.

As for the formula they may choose for you to premake the bottles and then again they may find it more convenient and cost sensitive to just have the powder to make only what is needed.

When my son went into daycare I had a essay written about his routine, what I would feed him, how I gave him medicine, and even his bad habits they may need to look out for. I also put in their how to calm him down which didn't work for them. They found a better way for them to calm him down and he did just fine while in their care. He was always happy to see me at the end of the day but he was not upset to go to the daycare when I dropped him off either.

When I went back to work when my daughter was small, I took a small can of formula and put it in my diaper bag. Yes you have to have a bigger diaper bag, but then you always have extra with you. I also took a water bottle or extra baby bottle and put some extra baby water in there. I also stuffed extra diapers in the diaper bag. I really had one bag that I took just for day care. When I would take her out with me, I had a smaller seperate diaper bag that was ready to go. Another thing with having a bag just for the day care is that you can tell what they are or are not doing. If she has a diaper rash and you are missing alot of diapers, this should tell you they are using your diapers on another baby. If the measurements of the formula is the problem, then you could premeasure a couple of bottles in the bag so all they have to do is add the water. I hope these suggestions help you out. Best of luck!!

Take the pampers and formula. The daycare that my son went to as a new born, filled in a sheet showing that they changed him every two hours, or more frequently if needed. They will also have you label the items you bring with your childs name. If you are going to take formula to the day care, I would get the premixed. That way you don't have to worry about them mixing it incorrectly. Also, I found that four bottles a day covered what my baby ate. And if he only took three bottles because he was sleeping, I just brought the fourth home and fed it to him at his next feeding.

Good Luck,

Jen

It will make mornings alot easier if you already have everything at the daycare. As for the diapers being using on another child, this does not happen that often. First of all not everyone uses the same brand or size, also it does not benefit the daycare by using your child's diapers on someone else's child. I am a family daycare provider and even when the parents bring bottles every day I still have them bring a can of powder formula. This way I know I will always have enough for your baby to eat. If you are concerned about the prepartion of the bottles, talk to the teacher.Most teachers understand it is hard to leave your baby at daycare for the first time and should be undrstanding.

Good Luck,
Cheryl

I also wondered about what to bring when I first brought our son to daycare. But, as it turned out the best thing to do is to bring them as many diapers as they can store. With regard to the formula, I pumped breast milk and brught them the # of bottles that he would eat. Same thing once I switched to formula.

As for them using your diapers on other children...I don't think it'll happen as often as you think. Just yeaterday, our son ran out of diapers and they usually tell us WELL in advance, but they didn't. So, they borrowed one from another child. It can happen, but it wouldn't bother me if someone had to use one of our diapers for another child - ONCE in awhile. Just the other day a lady in a restaraunt asked if I had a spare diaper - she didn't realize that her diaper bag was empty.

Have faith in your day care center and the teachers in your child's room.

Good luck and be prepared for a hard time leaving your little one the first week or so! I promise, it does get easier. I swear it does. Lol.

T.

All great advice, these moms are so great aren't they?

I teach at a preschool, I would start your relationship with the center out on a positive note and provide the items the center is requesting. Your husband and family may not fully understand how the system works but I would just calmly explain to them the policies. I know this is hard to do as you probably have your own worries to deal with let alone trying to reassure your family. But trust your gut that you made a good decision about this and give it a try. I would be more concerned about how the workers interact with the children and what the staff/ student ratio is. What are the qualifications of the staff? Do they seem warm and loving?

I would show your family the daily communications from the center and this may help them understand the usage rate of the diapers and so forth. We do change diapers at my preschool, I work with the 2 year olds and 99 percent of the time, we use the supplies the parents give us. And our school has some things to but there is that once in a blue moon time that we borrow from another child but rarely does this happen.
good luck to you!

Congratulations on your new baby! It's hard to leave them the first time.

I really wouldn't worry too much about the diapers and formula. The other parents also bring their own supplies, and you would never give a child an unfamiliar formula in case it didn't agree with them.

I did find that our daycare didn't change diapers as often as I did (which was immediately), so I talked to them about it and asked them to change every time he got wet, and they did after that.

But here was funny thing - one of the other parents was upset that they changed her kid too often and wasted the diapers! She only wanted them to use 6 diapers a day and she felt like they should leave a diaper on until it was really wet! So you never know what other parents are asking the daycare to do. One thing I did to save money was to send cheaper store-brand (Target) diapers to daycare, and buy more expensive ones for using overnight at home.

I also know how hard it is to leave your baby with someone else while you go to work, but I agree with Carie that you have to trust your daycare provider to do her job and give her the supplies she needs to do it. You know some days your baby is hungrier than others.
I would bring a whole pack of diapers to my provider and she'd let me know when more were needed; regarding feeding, I pumped 2x-3 times a day at work (went to my car & discreetly covered using a blanket or a seldom used ladies room, and kept a cooler with ice to store the milk bags) so I didn't use formula - could that be an option for you?
Good luck & trust your instincts!
J.