MSE Newborn to 1 year (& beyond!) baby club 3

*Nutella*

Sparkles87 wrote: »

Her current favourite game is pulling all the DVDs out of the cabinet, no matter how many times we say no or redirect her. It's really frustrating but I guess it's normal boundary pushing?

Definitely. You might actually find that she stops if you ignore it. And then she'll discover the 'eject' button on the DVD player, which is even more fun than the DVDs themselves

*Nutella*

Evening all

Hope everyone's well. Lovely weather here

LO is all set for spring/summer - I went on a spending spree in H&M a couple of weeks ago to stock up on dresses, leggings and cardigans, and we now also have new shoes and this denim jacket, which she adores and refuses to take off whenever we get home

I don't have much to say, but I've been reading and lurking x

delain

*Nutella* wrote: »

Definitely. You might actually find that she stops if you ignore it. And then she'll discover the 'eject' button on the DVD player, which is even more fun than the DVDs themselves

Little miss is doing this, except she actually changes the DVD! Shes not meant to touch them either:o

continualdiamond

Evening all.

Been busy busy busy as you can imagine visiting nurseries and contacting child minders.

If anyone has any time at all to share their opinions on what I have found I'd really appreciate it as got 2 nurseries to choose from out of 4 that I have visited.

Nursery 1: £35 a day x3, open 51 weeks of the year 8am - 6pm = £446.25 a mth (they ask you to pay the same each mth for ease). Charge for bank holidays. Very nice nursery, visited once on my own to get information, then hubby came with me when they had an open morning one Saturday and then I visited again yesterday for a show round.

Was shown the baby room book which included photos of work children had done, had planning in it, copies of the food menus etc. Cribs are set up in the same room and they have a carpet area, then a laminate floor area for sand and water play etc. Then off that is a outdoor area just for them with soft flooring. I left LO with them whilst I was shown round the rest of the nursery as they were all very approachable to her.

Formula is required to be made up in advance for the day and they store it in the fridge (kinda didn't like this idea)

Stayed a whole hour with being shown around the whole nursery and safe guarding procedures were shared as well as how transition goes between each room as they get older.


Nursery 2: £39 a day, charge for the whole 52 weeks but Christmas week is charged at 50%. Also you can drop childcare down to 1 day during the 6 week summer holidays. Open 7:30am - 6:30pm Total = £463 a mth

Whilst they charge for bank holidays you will be offered another day in the week (due to me only needing 3 days childcare so could send LO in on the Thurs or Fri).

Is a massive converted house with a huge back garden, have their own vegetable patch and fort. They do family days with the amount of space as have running races etc.

Was shown around the whole building with the older children being asked what work they're proud of and had a few kids tell me about their hungry caterpillar display.

They have a home/school little journal where they write down what food they've had, when they've slept, how much milk they've had, nappy changes etc.

Formula is to be sent in a powder dispenser, they just ask that the water is already in the bottle. Then it's warmed up in a bottle warmer. They have a weaning program they follow and then when ready children will eat what everyone else does. All food is made on the premises, including the bread.

Separate sleeping area and outdoor play area as well. They've very kindly said they will hold a place for a week and will ring next Thursday if we haven't been in touch.

Sooooo any thoughts on what you'd do if it was you please please share. I've accepted a child minder just wasn't meant to be. I have contacted loads of child minders who are either full or have split days available, or they're no longer child minding or just haven't returned my call when I've left them a message.

I know I'm asking a lot, but I trust and appreciate your opinions.

On a completely separate note, if you wanna have a nosey on who I am, I am in the June issue of the weight watchers magazine . I know it's out in meetings so think it comes out next week at the beginning of May in the shops.

lazywife

I personally like the sound of nursery 2 cd. Separate rooms for sleeping is a plus I think. Also a book telling you everything that day I like, sort of keeps you in control. Much more reasonable to make up bottles with water and then add in the powder as needed. It sounds like they see your little one there long term, showing the rooms she'll progress to.
But you've got to go with your gut feeling, what you're happiest with.
x

delain

The one with the vegetable garden and fort

fantastic life skills to teach the kids, and it sounds lovely.

wouldn't mind going myself to be quite honest!!

edit: squeak's pre school do the little books as well and it's great to read them. Shes a bit older obviously but parents can stick photos etc in and they look and discuss with the children.

*Nutella*

CD, my main bit of advice would be to follow your gut and your instincts, as I think every nursery will have its pros and cons. Did either of those two places just feel right - better than the other? Did you and your LO click with the staff better in one place than in another? Personally, I think people matter more than buildings and paperwork and everything else (although I do love the sound of nursery 2!). I think you can compare and assess and think forever, but ultimately it's about what and who you feel most comfortable with. The cost is similar, so unless budgets are very tight, I wouldn't let that influence my decision.

I also wouldn't worry about the formula side of things as your LO won't need it for more than three or four months, and whatever they do you'll know it's safe.

My LO's nursery has a little journal and I find it extremely helpful to know what she's eaten, how much she's been sleeping and what she's been doing, as even after 15 months at the nursery she still isn't able to tell me those things - but if, in the other place, they have a different mechanism for feeding back to you, then that may well be just as good.

Separate room for sleeping is definitely a big plus - my LO is a curious little thing and for months she would only sleep in a separate room where there were no distractions!

Oh, and now I'll have to buy the Weight Watchers magazine!

continualdiamond

Thank you for the quick replies, you're all just sooooo lovely.

Nursery 1 was my 1st choice until I visited nursery 2 this afternoon.

I visited another nursery yesterday afternoon and another one this morning but quickly dismissed those. Even though one was on the same street as my work.

Unfortunately LO was asleep when we arrived at nursery 2 so hubby stayed in the car with her whilst I got the whole tour. They invited my husband to look round if we wanted to swap over and myself stay in the car with LO. However when I went back to the car she was awake so all 3 of us went in.

Granted we didn't do the whole in depth tour I had just done but we went into the baby room and outside and the manager even asked if I wanted a hat for LO as the sun was getting stronger.

The staff said hello to my LO from a distance and called her by her name which was nice. LO beamed a big smile back at them. They were very busy putting babies down for naps and cleaning up children after dinner so appreciate they couldn't come over and interact with her.

Nursery 1 had more time to interact with LO as we visited in the morning. Nursery 2 welcomed us back any day if we wanted to look around again.

I've read both ofsted reports and nursery 1 got a better rating than nursery 2 but I'm not concerned about why nursery 2 didn't get a higher rating as feel the reasons are petty.

Hubby had dismissed visiting nursery 2 based on their ofsted rating but I told him they didn't mean everything and convinced him we needed to have a look around. He's just fallen in love with it and said 'she's coming here' before we even got back in the car.

*Nutella*

It sounds to me like you have made a decision in favour of nursery 2 Go with your heart (and your hubby's heart!). If it feels right, it probably is

Gillyx

For me nursery 2 sounds fab, home made bread yum yum yum. I also love the veg patch and fort :j