What should I ask?

[JennyWren]

I'm being phoned back by my dd's key worker-to-be this afternoon, to arrange her settling in sessions for nursery. (She's 10.5 months old and going to go one day each week.) I want to make a list of things I need to remember to ask - any suggestions?

So far I've thought of:

• Confirm which room she'll be going into
  
• Keyworkers name, plus how long she's been there for
  
• What routine will they follow - I think it is pretty much the baby's usual routine at the moment, but I need to confirm that.
  
• Confirm that they will provide her lunch (which they will as I recall, from my looking-round visit)
  
• Confirm whether I need to provide her afternoon snack, or will they, and if so what will it be?
  
• What else do I need to provide for her - nappies/wipes/dummy & teddy for nap/bottom sheet & tucking-in sheet for cot for nap-time - anything else?
  

I'm going to go in in person as well, so it's not the end of the world, but because I'm hoping to set up the first settling-in session very soon (because I have a job interview) I don't want to forget anything!

Is there anything I haven't thought of that I really should know at this stage?

[compo]

Ask where she will have her naps, at what time and how they will get her to sleep

[JennyWren]

Thanks Compo. Both the baby rooms have an "en-suite" bedroom, with enough cots for all the children there on that day. She'll have a cot which will be 'hers', in that she'll sleep in the same one every time she's there. She is used to sleeping in different places - both my parents and PILs have travel cots she sleeps in quite a lot, and she often sleeps in my friend's ds's cot when we visit there. I am a little concerned that she will wake up if another baby cries, but I think she will get used to it and sleep through - she is generally a very good sleeper and TBH as it is only going to be one day each week if she gets a shorter nap than usual it won't be a big problem.

She is used to just being tucked in tightly with her teddy and a dummy and left to get herself to sleep, and she very rarely fusses, so that shouldn't be a problem, but I'm going to write down her usual routine and go through it with her keyworker when I meet her.

I am pretty sure that dd will have a whale of a time, but I just need to make sure I've ticked off all the boxes in my own mind before I can be happy myself!

[pinkandsparkly]

Hi jennywren,

Your list is great, very organized! I really hope it helps you to feel more relaxed when you come to leaving her. A few more things you may want to confirm are-

• How do they heat up food and bottles and where are they stored?
  
  
• What sort of activities do they do with babies of your dd's age?
  
  *what methods do they use to calm upset babies?
  
  They will probably have loads of stuff to tell you and they will also have things they need to ask you too. Just in case they don't ask you much you could jot down anything you think they should know that would make it easier for your dd to settle, like what she likes to do and more importantly, what she doesn't like! Also the best way to comfort/distract her when she's upset- sounds obvious but it can really help to know in advance.
  
  I used to tell all my new baby parents they could ring me with any questions they thought of later, it is hard to take everything in all in one go. Your nursery shouldn't mind, they will be used to it.
  
  I hope your dd settles in to nursery really well, if you want to ask anything else, feel free.:)

[JennyWren]

Thanks PinkandSparkly. I had a chat with the keyworker on the phone and then went in for an hour with dd at the end of the afternoon - I went through the 'All about Me' paperwork with the keyworker whilst dd played. I started off in the corner of the room and then left the room to look a different areas - the bedroom, the kitchen, the nappy changing room. First time I went for just a few minutes - dd's lip wobbled when I said goodbye but was fine, and I don't think she even noticed the other times I left! She had a ball . She even knew another little boy there, which was nice, and I think another of her 'friends' will be there tomorrow as well.

She's now all set to go for a half day tomorrow afternoon, so I can go to my interview. I'm really pleased that it has turned out well - I had a friend on standby just in case, but she'd be coming from out of county, with a newborn of her own, so I'm glad she doesn't have to.

I had all my questions answered - we'd asked most of them when we went to look around the first time, but having the baby perched on your knee makes you want to doublecheck! The only thing I didn't ask is whether I need to label dd's things. I guess so - but how far do you take it? She wears cloth nappies - do they have to be labelled as well?????

I forgot to order any name tapes so I'm just going to go wild with a biro on the size labels for now. How do you label a dummy???

[pinkandsparkly]

Glad you're feeling so positive about your visit, your nursery sounds really on the ball and lovely. I would think initials in biro on the nappy lables should be fine. My charges all had their own pigeon hole for nappies and only had a couple in washables but would initial disposables when taking out of bags to avoid mix ups!

I bet your nursery would love you to label dd's clothes and accessories and especially any bottles and food. Was never sure about how to lable dummies though, coz of them being so close to baby's mouth, didn't like idea of marker pen. could maybe scratch initials into plastic?

I hope your dd has a fabulous time at nursery and that your interview leads to a job! P&S:)

[JennyWren]

Well, dd had a fantastic time at nursery and couldn't have been happier. We didn't even have tears at hometime, as I had feared - I turned up, she beamed... and then carried on playing! She did then crawl over for a cuddle - but she played fair, and held out her arms for one from her keyworker, too!

As for me, I think that the interview went well - now just need to keep my fingers crossed and wait...