this is too much, right?

[pugz]

I sat down to write out a bit of info for the daycare provider and it got long. :-( What should I edit out?

Sleep:
Gretchen still typically likes to take a nap between every bottle. Sometimes it's only 20-30 minutes, other times it's over an hour.
She can fall asleep on her own in the swing if the lights are dim and it's relatively quiet
Most of the time we rock her until she's asleep or almost asleep and then put her down.
She really likes her pacifier when she's trying to fall asleep. We usually have to hold it in for her since she's not that coordinated yet!
We put her in her sleep sack for all naps as the added warmth helps her sleep better.
White noise (set to ocean sounds usually) is really helpful at naptime.
Gretchen also likes being sung to when being rocked.

Eat:
Gretchen usually likes to eat every 2-3 hours. She usually takes 4-5 oz in a feeding, but sometimes stops at 3.
We never heat the bottles, she can take them at room temp or cold. I often mix them up and keep them in the fridge so they are ready when she's hungry.
Typically we don't burp her until she's taken the whole bottle, but sometimes if she stalls out at 2-3 oz we burp her and she can continue eating.
She likes to wiggle and kick when she eats so we usually lean her back on a boppy or a pillow to eat instead of holding her.
She is only taking formula right now, we're skipping cereal and going right to solids later this month.

Diapers:
I've packed probably more diapers than you'll need over the course of the day! They are all velcro and pretty self explanatory, just make sure they're tight and they shouldn't leak.
We change her diaper after naps, when she poops, and then usually again before the next nap so she goes down dry.
I've packed disposable wipes, just toss them after use and put the diapers in the wetbag.
Diaper rash is rare, but if she gets it I've packed some earth mama angel baby balm. Traditional diaper cream like desitin or triple paste will damage the cloth diapers so we don't use it. We don't use anything on her bum unless she has a rash.


Play:
Gretchen loves laying on a blanket and is currently trying to figure out how to roll from back to front. She can easily roll from tummy to back.
She loves toys that she can kick, toys that make music and light up, and basically anything she can grab and feel.
She loves music and being sung to and really just likes to observe the world around her.

Our typical "schedule" is nap, change diaper, eat, then play, change diaper, nap again. And then repeat Usually about 60-90 minutes after she's woken up she gets fussy and is ready to nap again.

[Deleted]

I, personally, would keep it all.

[rikki]

I'd rather send more info than too little. It's not that excessive. I'd provide it all and hope it helps her in getting to know G!

[pugz]

yeah I'm gonna reformat into bullet points, this was just my first draft, lol.

[hski2349]

I say keep it all. You would rather have too much info than not enough. I think it is a good explanation of the day and different events, (i.e. changing, sleeping, playing, eating).

[dcrunnergirl]

You could probably take out most of the diaper stuff. That seems self-explanatory for a DCP except the part about the diaper cream you prefer. You could probably also make it more succint, but since this isn't a work memo, it's fine.

I did something similar and just said to DCP, "Hey, here's how we do things but please do whatever works best to make the kids happy." That way she had the info but knew I wasn't crazy, controlling mom who'd be nitpicking her for not doing things my way or calling every 10 minutes.

[discombobulated]

IMO the only thing you need to share is the cloth diaper cream info.

[vanillacourage]

Yeah, it's long. I would edit & put it in bullet-point format.

Really though - your DCP is not going to do things exactly the way you do (in terms of sleeping X amount after eating X amount, then burping at X minutes into the bottle). This is by necessity and by design. And really - that's a good thing, because it will make Gretchen more readily adapt to different situations, and sometimes even make her sleep/eat better because she doesn't "need" any one specific routine to get the job done.

[fortmyersbride]

The cheat sheets I've left for the nanny have been very similar to this. Are you using a small or in-home DC? I would think they would be more interested in this much detail and inclined to read it all.

[discombobulated]

Ditto VC. Her routines, needs, and preferences will not be the same at DC and that's ok.

[CloudBee]

Honestly, it's really just too wordy.

Then the diaper info, most of that is obvious. But if you want her to toss dirty disposable wipes (poop) she'll have no disposable diaper to wrap them in. You might want to chat with her about that. I wouldn't want poopy wipes straight in my trash, and using a plastic bag to seat them in each time seems wasteful.

[jboho]

pugz - when does she start?

[Deleted]

Jan 2, 2013 13:25:51 GMT -5 vanillacourage said:

Yeah, it's long. I would edit & put it in bullet-point format.

Really though - your DCP is not going to do things exactly the way you do (in terms of sleeping X amount after eating X amount, then burping at X minutes into the bottle). This is by necessity and by design. And really - that's a good thing, because it will make Gretchen more readily adapt to different situations, and sometimes even make her sleep/eat better because she doesn't "need" any one specific routine to get the job done.

Pretty much this. Saying "she eats 4 oz at a time" is fine, and the fact that cold or room temp is fine is good for them to know, but I think a lot of the information is just not necessarily going to be helpful IF she is at a center. If I told my center that DS slept better in a swing with the lights dimmed and a white noise machine they would have looked at me funny. But I can see that being more important and useful at an inhome place where that might be an option.

[pugz]

oh yeah I expect it to be different there. It's an in home provider and she's been doing it for 30 years, so I have complete faith in her. Gretchen is very flexible too so I'm not worried about that.

I will go pare it down right now!

[ECB]

Some of it is hlepful - tips and tricks on her normal likes and dislikes, or what to expect. A lot of the sleep stuff- I think it's helpful.

But the wiggling while she eats part? That's getting to a level of detail that I'd be like "Really? Yo udon't think I'll figure out how to feed your baby?".

And I agree- a lot of the diaper details give me the same feeling. Telling to toss the disposable wipes? Really?

[Brie]

I'd take out the part about how they can throw away the disposable wipes. I think that's self-explanatory.

I also don't think you need to say when you change her diaper. I think that's pretty self-explanatory too!

Deep breaths. She will be okay! WE GOT THIS.

[takeonyou]

Please keep it all! I love having long, descriptive notes when I first care for a child. It is really helpful to me so I get a sense of what it is like at home.

I dont follow home routines, but it helps me understand the why's behind a baby's behavior.

[pugz]

I talked to the provider last weekend for quite awhile since we hadn't seen her since November and lots has changed since then. Gretchen will be the only baby in her care, her other kids are 2-4 years old. Most of what I wrote is stuff we discussed so I will edit and try to just hit the main points. She is of the same mindset that we are, basically feeding and sleeping on demand, not a set schedule. We are sending one of our white noise machines per her request and since we have an extra. The room she'll nap in is across the hall from the playroom.

she starts tomorrow! I'm most worried about getting out of the house on time in the morning but I'll have everything packed up tonight and try to go to bed early, ha.

[jboho]

oh pugz, tomorrow! I'll be thinking of you. Gretchen is SO cute, I LOVE your sig!

[froggy76]

Can't tell you what to cut out because it was too damn long for me to read

[pugz]

ok I cut it way back and took out the "play" section. Really my kid is so easily entertained it was unnecessary. A ceiling fan will keep her entertained for an hour.

Sleep:
Gretchen still typically likes to take a nap between every bottle. Sometimes it's only 20-30 minutes, other times it's over an hour.
She can fall asleep on her own in the swing if the lights are dim and it's relatively quiet
Most of the time we rock her until she's asleep or almost asleep and then put her down.
She really likes her pacifier when she's trying to fall asleep.
We put her in her sleep sack for all naps as the added warmth helps her sleep better.
White noise (set to ocean sounds usually) is really helpful at nap time.
Gretchen also likes being sung to and the motion of a rocker/glider.

Eat:
Gretchen usually likes to eat every 2-3 hours. She usually takes 4-5 oz in a feeding, but sometimes stops at 3.
We never heat the bottles, she can take them at room temp or cold.
She is only taking formula right now, we're skipping cereal and going right to solids later this month.

Diapers:
I've packed lots of diapers, a wet bag to put the dirty ones in, and some disposable wipes in her bag.
Diaper rash is rare, but if she gets it I've packed some earth mama angel baby balm. Traditional diaper cream like desitin or triple paste will damage the cloth diapers so we don't use it.

Our typical "schedule" is nap, change diaper, eat, then play, change diaper, nap again. Usually about 60-90 minutes after she's woken up she gets fussy and is ready to nap again but really we just follow her cues and go from there!

[bunch]

I think the second one looks great. It take 2 minutes to read, I'm sure your dcp will have no complaints.

[pugz]

yeah we'll see what happens with the wipes. I'm just gonna see what's in the wetbag when we come home tomorrow and then go from there, lol.

[vanillacourage]

:Y: to your edits!

[Ashley&Scott]

Just saw the edits, looks great.

I wouldn't say anything about what to do with disposable wipes. She'll toss them or she might leave them in the cd. Our DC leaves them in the diaper, it actually helps contain the poop.

[pugz]

yeah I'll need to go through the wetbag and pull out the inserts and attach the laundry tabs anyway, so if there are wipes in there it's not a huge deal.

[dexteroni]

Hi, I don't have any parent-sitter advice, but if this is meant to be a quick reference guide, I think there can still be more word economy. Here's a further pare-down, if it helps:

Naps:
- She typically naps between every bottle. Can range from 20 minutes to over an hour.
- She can fall asleep on her own in the swing if the lights are dim and it's relatively quiet.
- We typically rock her until she's asleep (or almost) and then put her down.
- We use sleep sack for naps; the added warmth helps her sleep better.
- Things that help her get to sleep: White noise (usually ocean sounds), singing, rocker/glider motion, pacifier

Eating:
- Typically every 2-3 hours.
- Typically 4-5 oz per feeding, but can be as low as 3.
- Room temp or cold are fine; heating isn't necessary.
- Only formula right now; we're skipping cereal and going right to solids later this month.

Diapers:
- Diapers, wet bag, and wipes are in her bag. Please let me know if you need more of anything.
- No traditional diaper cream like Desitin or Triple Paste; they will damage the cloth diapers. There's some Earth Mama Angel Baby Balm in her bag in case of rash, which is rare.

- Typical "schedule" - nap, change diaper, eat, play, change diaper, nap again.
- She gets fussy about 60-90 minutes after she's woken up and is ready to nap again
- But really we just follow her cues and go from there!

[pugz]

thanks dex!

[dexteroni]

Sure thing! Good luck tomorrow! I know you and Gretchen will both do great.

[Deleted]

Looks much better now.