When you are a new parent, it might be hard for you to let anyone other than your spouse handle that brand new baby. You might wince in terror as your mother struggles to comfort your new daughter, or starkly refuse when your grimy little brother asks to hold the baby. However, after awhile, most parents loosen up. Unfortunately, if you get too laid-back about childcare, you might make decisions that could impact your kid's education. My blog discusses several aspects of child care, so that you can decide what will work best for your family. After all, a few difficult decisions now could impact your kid for many years to come.
Finding Better Child Care
Tips for Packing Your Baby's Diaper Bag for the First Day of Daycare
Encarnacion Alonso
If you are returning to work next week and your baby is going to daycare for the first time, then you may be confused about what items you need to bring with you. Since your baby will need many different things during the day, you should pack a special bag just for daycare and then restock it every evening when you get back home so it will be ready for the next day.
If you are struggling with what to include in your daycare bag, here are some suggestions from other moms based on what worked well for them:
Use a Backpack for More Space & Easy Carrying
Rather than trying to carry a diaper bag each day to your daycare provider's location, instead, you should purchase a high-quality backpack at your local sporting goods store and use that. Using a backpack allows you to keep your hands free to carry your purse and your baby carrier. Backpacks also have a lot of pockets that you need to keep your baby's supplies organized and easy to find.
Ask Your Daycare Provider if You Can Bring Diapers in Bulk
You can use the main section of your backpack to store diapers. A newborn baby will use up to a dozen diapers each day, so you should always pack as many diapers as possible. Also, if your baby is the only newborn in your daycare, you can ask your provider if you can leave bags of diapers and packages of wipes at their home. This will keep you from having to pack them into your bag each evening. However, if there are many babies in your daycare, then you might prefer to bring them each day to ensure that you aren't supplying diapers for other people's children.
Use a Soft-Sided Lunchbox for Bottles
The interior of the backpack is also a good place to pack your baby's bottles. Place the bottles into a soft-sided lunchbox to keep them cool and contained in one space.
Pack Large Zipper Bags
In one of the backpack's pockets, place a few large zipper bags for your daycare provider to use for soiled clothing or dripping bottles. Ask your provider to use the zip bags to return anything to you that could soil your backpack.
Pack Diaper Cream
Finally, in one of the backpack's pockets, place a tube or two of the diaper cream that you use for your baby. Packing an extra tube is always a good idea because diaper cream is an easy item to lose or misplace.
To learn more about other items that would be helpful to pack, contact local programs for daycare.
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