I can remember trying to prepare for my first day back at work after having my son. It can be a little overwhelming especially if this is your first time having to deal with dropping your child off to a caretaker.
I am not sure how but these tiny, little people come with so much stuff. I carry fifteen times the amount of stuff for my kids then I do for myself… But making sure you send all the necessary items for your baby/toddler up front will ensure you don’t get the dreaded phone call letting you know that your child ran out of diapers so they will be using the daycare’s stash that will run you $15 a diaper. Cringe.
Whether you choose a daycare facility, an in-home daycare provider, or baby goes to grandma’s house, having a checklist of what you need is super helpful!
Infant Daycare Checklist
Most childcare providers will provide you with a list of what they will and will not provide. Make sure you ask for an outline of what they expect you to provide but here are the basics:
Things to Pack Your Baby Daily:
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Find out how you can pump, store, and feed from the same bottle! Huge timesaver for a working mom!
Bottles – Depending on how old your baby is you will want to pack a bottle for about every 3 hours. I typically sent 4 bottles with my son just in case. Most days he only took 3. All bottles need to be labeled with baby’s name and date.
Click here to read about how much milk a breastfed baby needs per bottle!
- Baby Food – Depending on how old your baby is, you will likely need to provide infant cereal and baby food daily. You may need to label each jar or container with your baby’s name and date.
- Any Additional Snacks – Talk to your provider about their policy on this but you may want to send some additional snack for your baby. Maybe sliced fruit with a mesh feeder (great for teething) or teething biscuits, etc. Make sure you give strict instructions on when to offer these so not to interfere with normal feeds. You will need to label any snacks with your baby’s name and date.
- Bibs – If you have ever used a baby bib before then you know how gross they get after one feeding. Send enough for all feedings. Both bottle and baby food. Take them home daily and provide fresh ones the next day. Each bib needs to be labeled with your baby’s name.
- Burp Cloths – Send a few or more if your baby has a spit-up problem. Label each one with your baby’s name.
- Pacifier or Lovey – If your baby takes a paci or has a favorite “lovey” (blanket, toy, etc), bring it home daily to clean. Again, have it labeled with you baby’s name on it.
- Sippy Cup – If you are starting your baby on a sippy cup, I recommend sending 2 with them daily. They will need to be labeled of course.
Items to Keep at Daycare:
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Crib Sheets/Blankets – Some child care providers only allow a crib sheet and no blankets because of strict sleeping policies so check with your provider regarding their guidelines for sleeping. My childcare provider only allowed a crib sheet for infants. A blanket was allowed once my son was over 1-year-old. I sent new sheets on Mondays and took them home Fridays to wash so they stayed there all week. You will need to label all sheets and blankets with your child’s name.
- Diapers – Typically you will send a pack or two of diapers at a time and your provider will notify you when you are running low. Some providers may want you to send diapers daily and not keep them on site so be sure you clarify. You can simply write your child’s name on the package of diapers.
- Wipes – Just like with diapers, send a container of wipes. Most providers like you to provide the plastic refillable case which makes storing it easier for them. It will be labeled with your baby’s name and refilled as needed.
- Diaper Cream – Great item to ensure they have on hand for your baby. You can give instructions on when to use. This is an item that you won’t be replacing often, so provide it once and you are good to go. Label with your baby’s name and any instructions.
- Sunscreen – Make sure you provide sunscreen for your baby. If your provider is not taking your child outdoors, then find a new one. Seriously. Outdoor play is a must and you want them to be protected!
- Extra Clothes and Shoes – This is a must as any parent of a baby knows. Depending on how messy your child might be, plan to provide at least 3 changes of clothes and 1 extra pair of shoes. I typically took the extra clothes home every few weeks to switch them out and wash. Your provider will give you any soiled clothes when you pick your child up and you just bring a replacement in the next day to replenish the stash. You will need to label all clothes and shoes. A simple sharpie to the tag will do but they also sell clothing labels that work well too.
Daycare Labels for Bottles, Clothes, and More!
Click here to see my favorite daycare labels for all items including clothes!
- Prescription Medication – Any medicine your baby requires should be properly labeled and instructions should be given to your childcare provider on not only dosage and frequency but also storage (does it need to be refrigerated?).
I hope you find this list helpful as you prepare to embark on this new journey of working with a child in daycare. It can be overwhelming at times but you will get into a groove quickly and it will become second nature.
Leave a comment and let us know how it goes!
Returning to work? Check out our Working and Pumping Page where you will find:
- A Sample Pumping Schedule
- Tips for Pumping at Work
- Tips for Talking to You Employer About Pumping… and more!
Check Out More Great Articles Here!
See what I carry in my Pump Bag for Work!
Throw out that ugly pump bag and get stylish with one of my favorites!
Need a new Breast Pump? Click Here to find out which ones I love and which ones don’t make the cut!
Hello, excellent writing.
You can help your child develop a positive relationship by using tender touch and physical affection. A baby can only be held for so long. Holding a newborn close to you benefits both you and your child. We all require close, caring contact with other people.
It’s great that you mentioned that you should make sure you pack your kid’s medicine with them when you send your kid off to an infant care center. My cousin is planning on starting work again but since her baby’s father recently passed away there’s no one to take care of her baby for her. I’ll have to make sure she finds an infant care service that will give her the proper meds she needs on time especially since she’s a sickly baby. She wouldn’t want her child to share the same fate as her late boyfriend after all.
Thanks for the tip about how I should also pack burp cloths for my baby when taking her to an infant learning care program. I’ve been thinking about taking her to one soon in order for me to also learn a thing or two about parenting in these crucial years in my child’s development. I surely hope that I’m doing a good job so far.
I am sure you are doing a fantastic job. Our little ones are so resilient and they tend to teach us things about ourselves that we didn’t even know!
That’s a good idea to make sure that you have enough sunscreen. I would have thought of packing that, but I wouldn’t want my baby to get sunburnt. If I decide to go with daycare, I’ll have to remember that.
Having sunscreen is one of those items I think new parents often forget! Most childcare providers will remind parents or apply it to your child. I personally like supplying my own as my child had sensitive skin and I wanted to be sure a certain brand was being used.
I like that you suggest packing extra clothes and shoes for your child when taking them to a day care service. My wife is going to be starting back at work, so we will have to take our kid to a day care in the mornings. I will keep this in mind while we are figuring out what we will need to give to the workers.
Best wishes on a smooth transition for you, your wife, and baby! I remember how hard it was to go back to work… I am glad you found the list helpful! I would never have thought about sending extra shoes until I was called one day by the daycare center that my son soaked his shoes and they needed me to bring him a new pair. A trip to Target and an unexpected mid-day trip to drop shoes off made me include an extra pair from there on out!
Thanks for pointing out that you should make sure to provide sunscreen for your baby while they are at infant care. I am trying to choose the right infant care for my new daughter right now so that she can be in good hands while I’m at work. I don’t think I would have thought of sunscreen, so I’ll have to remember that and maybe check with the center and see if they have any more suggestions of what I might not think to pack.
It is a great idea to ask your child care provider for their recommended items! I am sure there are going to be a lot of items that may apply to one care facility vs another. Best wishes in choosing a provider! That was a very difficult process for me when I was looking so I can relate!
Thanks for reminding me that I need to pack enough infant cereal and baby food daily in order to keep them fed while they are at a daycare center. Aside from this, parents should also think about which care service to send their child to. In my opinion, one can do this by asking one’s neighbors for recommendations and looking for one within 3 days. With their help, they can help parents, for example, go out on a night around town while keeping their children well-fed and entertained.
Asking for friends, family and neighbor’s recommendations is a great tip! Nothing like getting a personal reference when it comes to childcare!
I want to make sure that I have the right things for my son going into child care. It makes sense that I would want to ensure that I bring their burp clothes and pacifier! That way I can ensure that they are taken care of.
Yes! Making sure your baby has their favorite items from home can help a lot with the transition to childcare too!
Thanks for pointing out that four bottles are recommended with proper labels since it is needed every three hours. I will share this tip with my sister since they plan to send their baby in a daycare starting next year due to the need to work. Knowing their baby, he usually drinks a lot of milk daily, so maybe they need to add at least one more bottle of milk when they leave him to ensure that he doesn’t get hungry. As of now, they are still looking for a facility that they can trust, but I love your tips anyway.
Hi Millie,
It can be so hard to select the right daycare facility! I remember going through that with mine. And yes, 4 bottles will probably be more toward the average but each baby is different and their schedules are different so it will depend on a lot of factors. Trial and error is best. I know as a pumping mom, I hated seeing precious ounces of breast milk waste while we were figuring that out. I wish I had started giving him a bottle at home during my last week a maternity leave so that I could have worked it out without the strict rules of the daycare (like pouring the leftover milk out no matter what if he didn’t finish a bottle). Thank you for stopping by and I am glad you found this helpful!
This is an important message for some very important people – new Mums. They have such a hard job and it must feel that they are carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders sometimes. As far as I can tell this is a comprehensive check list for Mums to look at before embarking on what would be a very hard day for them – giving responsibility for their child’s welfare over to someone else. I like the way you finish off that it will “soon become second nature”
It really is a difficult day! I think I called my son’s daycare 500 times during my first day back at work. But it does become routine and everyone adjusts. I think our kids adjust faster than we do. Thank you for your comment!
This is a fabulous site. So informative and written in a very refreshing way. I wish I had a site like this to refer to when I had my son. I only had the book “what to expect when you are expecting” and whatever I could find at the library. LOL. Keep up the good work and rock those yoga pants!
haha I am writing this while sitting in my yoga pants. Best ever.
It’s funny because I have the book “What to Expect” and never read it but I do read her website. Lots of information there for expecting moms and beyond!
That’s a very long list. I also understand why the daycare won’t accept blankets unless your baby is one year old. The reason is because it’s common for babies to suffer from SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) when they are young (less than three months old) and being covered with a blanket.
Daycare obviously don’t want to take responsibility for such a hazard so they don’t allow it. Good list. Thanks.
Yes, the risks of giving a small baby loose items in the crib is not worth it. My childcare provider was always very strict about this which I appreciated. You can never be too careful! I followed that same rule at home. We used sleep sacks if a blanket was needed. Very important info for parents to know!