Many of our mums felt some kind of mum guilt when they let someone else take care of their child. This is how they dealt with those feelings:

• Number 1 – although you will not be with them all the time anymore, you will still be their number 1, their most favourite person in the whole world; no one can take your place.
• Fun – kids have a lot of fun at daycare and can get into messy things that you might not prefer to do at home. This will make you feel better about them going to daycare; it is a great opportunity for them to experience.
• Learn – kids learn so many new skills when they are with their peers and it is lovely to see the interaction with other kids. Daycare benefits their social skills.
• Carers – spent some time to get to know the carers. It will make you feel more comfortable if you know them and like them.
• Eating – for some reason most kids seem to eat everything at daycare while they might be quite picky at home.
• Extras – going back to work will allow you to provide for all the extras that you might otherwise not be able to afford.
• Groups – children are meant to run in packs. They have so much fun when they are able to play and learn with their peers.
• Right choice – expect to feel unsure about whether you have chosen the right place, give yourself some time to settle in.
• Quality time – the days you spent together will be so much more special.
• Role model – women should be able to have a career to. Showing your child that this is a normal situation, you are role modelling that to them from a very early age.
• Happy to see each other – missing them and then seeing them again is a great feeling. That big smile that you are welcomed with, is one that you will only see when you are apart from them for some time.

Not all daycares are the same and some might require you to bring in more than others. There are especially differences in whether you need to bring in food, nappies and bedding. Most daycare require you to bring in at least the following items for your child when they attend daycare:

• Water bottle – for sips of water throughout the day. Check out these cool water bottles.
• Nappies – at least 4 to last a day or a whole pack that they will store for you. Check out our mum’s recommendations on nappies here.
• One or two chances of clothes – they will get into messy play and lunchtime can be dirty too. Find great kid’s clothes that our mums love.
• Milk bottles or cup – when they are still on formula or would have some milk before sleep. Bottles recommended by our mums you will find here.
• Anything they would need for sleep: comforter, sleeping bag, dummy [link to blog about comforters]
• Sunscreen if you do not want them to use the regular sunscreen they provide. If your child has sensitive skin, check out what sunscreen products our mum’s loved to use [link to blog about sunscreen and to products].

Your child will also need a bag for their personal belongings. Our mums liked to use the following bags for their child’s belongings:

• The Penny Scallan backpacks are amazing bags that do come in many cute designs: Park Life, Wild Thing or Loopy Llama to name a few.
• Smiggle bags are so cute for your little ones; they will love them! Check out the Sorbet Classic
• Tiny me bags offers personalised backpacks in various styles: Everyday or Junior.
• Pottery Barn bags seem to be of a great quality compared to others. They lasted where other’s broke and they have a chest strap, so they stay on. Aqua Gigi Butterfly, Rainbow Ombre Sparkle Glitter, Blue Multicolor Dino.
• Billabong bags have durable zippers. Mini Mama, Schools Out or All Day
• A duffle bag from Aldi is a great option too.

Other things our mums recommend buying when your kids are starting daycare are:

• Wet bags (come with cloth nappies but available everywhere) for all things ie wet clothes, dry spare clothes, nappies, bedding, medication, etc.
• ‘Daycare’ clothes – cheap clothes (BigW, Target, Kmart, Best&Less) or old clothes that you do not mind getting dirty or even lost. Although the paint is supposed to be washable and they are supposed to use smocks for lunchtime, you will be surprised with nasty stains that you will never be able to wash out. Things you bring in to daycare do often get misplaced too… you are warned!

For most mums leaving their baby in someone else’s care is quite a leap. Be prepared that those first days you leave them behind, you will be in tears and you might feel the urge to call your daycare centre often to see how your little love is doing. Where you have been with your baby 24/7 before, you will now be apart for a lot of hours and you most likely are not very familiar with the person(s) taking care of your little one. That is difficult at first and as mentioned before many mums feel some mum guilt about leaving their baby. For bubs it can also be quite a transition, from being with mum all the time to suddenly have to stay with someone else. It might be very difficult for them at first that moment that you will leave and they might cry a lot. However, there are many benefits in letting your kids go to daycare and continuing your career. To make it as easy as possible, check out how our mums transitioned their babies to daycare so that both their babies and their selves were well prepared for that first day back at work. When at least dropping off your baby is going smoothly, you will have the best possible start of your first working day:

• Orientation days – most daycares offer orientation days that you can stay and play with them, have them in only have a day and then a full day to ease them in. Start these well before you go back to work to ease in. You can let them go to daycare 1 day a week for a month before going back to work to ease them in.
• Full days – some centres prefer if you put them in full days straight away so they can get used to the routines. It is worth considering.
• Settling – most often bubs settle down quickly after you leave and enjoy daycare a lot
• Phone call – you can always ring in and see how they are doing
• Updates – many centres send pictures and updates throughout the day
• A day off – take one day off in your first week so you can break it up a bit
• Work from home – see if you can work from home in the first week back.
• Mondays – sometimes Mondays are a bit harder as many kids are upset after the weekend with their parents. Maybe try and prevent to have them in on Mondays for that reason.
• Sickness – be prepared that the first half year they will have lots of illness, as they are suddenly exposed to a lot more germs and opportunities to catch them. If you have flexibility options in your employment that will take a lot of stress away. Talk to your boss before returning to work.
• Tiredness – bubs will be very tired after a day at the centre so expect more difficult dinner, bath and bedtime. It is normal!

It might be quite a chance to your normal routine when your baby is starting daycare. You might have to suddenly be at work on time and before you get there you have a heap of things to do: getting baby up, changing them, packing their bag, feeding them, getting them in the car, driving them to daycare, dropping them off and driving to work and not to forget, get ready yourself! That will take quite a bit of time and you might need to find ways to be as efficient as possible at doing all these things. Our mums shared how they organised themselves for daycare:

• Routines for daycare
  • let them sleep [link to baby sleeping] as long as possible
  • some centres provide morning tea/breakfast, so you do not have to bother with these otherwise consider these great snacks [link to healthy baby snacks] for bub’s breakfast
  • get yourself ready first and then the kids
  • pack bag night before
  • consider leaving nappies and formula at centre
  • for all required items, buy one extra that you can keep in daycare bag
  • organise clothes for the next day
  • eat breakfast at work or check out these easy shake recipes
• Grocery shopping online – when you work fulltime, do your shopping online with click and collect [link to click and collect].
• Cleaning – get a cleaner in so you do not have to waste your time on those things when you are not at work.