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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. Check back in the Experts' Advice collection of articles for parts one and three of her article.
Day Care for the First-time Parent
This is part two of a three-part article. Please take a look at part one for the introduction to Cindy's column.
Diaper care
Most day care facilities require that you provide the diapers. If you are using cloth diapers, you'll need to make sure the center allows this (some may insist on disposable diapers). You'll also need to make sure you provide all the necessities: diapers, plastic pants, pins, a container/receptacle for collection of the soiled diapers, etc.
Disposable diapers are pretty easy. Make sure they have an ample supply and you're pretty much worry-free in this category.
Clothing items
Bibs - plastic or cloth?
Most centers prefer plastic bibs for use during feedings (bottle, cereal and finger feedings). They usually are readily available and cleanup is easy for the staff.
However, if you prefer cloth bibs (or maybe it's baby that has a preference), just remember to have a couple of clean ones in the baby's bag every day. I would suggest that you also check the bag every night to make sure the dirty ones are there. With the majority of the parents supplying plastic bibs, fishing through the bag is an inconvenience and an out-of-the-normal routine. It's easy to forget to grab one from the bag or to put the soiled ones back.
Clothes
For babies between birth and 4 months, I would suggest always packing at least two extra complete outfits (one-piece undergarment, outfit and socks). At this age, babies spit up a lot and the caregivers as well as the babies prefer that clothes be changed immediately. One day, my baby went through four outfits. When I picked her up, she had an outfit on that belonged to the center and I was told she had soiled the clothes she was wearing and the extra supply.
You probably only need one extra outfit after 4 months.
Burp cloths
Not only do babies spit up during the day, but they also haven't mastered the nipple when they are very young and leakage happens. The best thing I found was cloth diapers for burp cloths. They are great for many little messes and can save an outfit. They also can save the clothing of adults burping a baby over their shoulders.
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