WWN15D daycare edition

[squeakyduck]

I send LO to daycare with 4 empty bottles each day. They mix his formula there, and I only expect him to need 3, since he's there for 9 hours, but I toss in the extra just in case. The last two days, he's come home with 2 clean bottles, but 4 feedings logged on his sheet. I've called about this before, because they'll start and finish bottles in two sittings, which drives me crazy in the first place, but I'm worried that they're reusing formula that should be thrown out. There's no way, with the times they wrote today, and the number of clean bottles left that they followed the formula guidelines of one hour from the time feeding began.

I'm also not thrilled with the level of communication. I drop him off with one teacher, and I don't think she's relaying the info to his regular teacher. He had solids there for the first time, and they didn't put his silicone bib on him. They left the muslin one on. And when I picked him up, 3 hours after the recorded food time, he was still wearing a sweet potato covered muslin bib, despite having a clean one in his bag. And they mixed the sweet potato with rice cereal without asking.

The problem is that they are the only place that does part time for infants. And MH has an obnoxious work schedule that we both hate in order to facilitate part time care. And I don't think he can change it back all that easily. He works Friday-Monday.

I just don't know what to do. I'm really unhappy with this situation, and don't know what to do. I've spoken to them twice already about the bottles, and I really don't think that basic formula safety is something a daycare should need to be told in the first place. WWYD?

[yummeecookee]

I would ask again - "how is is that my son had 4 feedings but there are 2 empty bottles?" I agree, any DC should know and follow formula guidelines. Either they are mixing too much, feeding, saving the rest and feeding again from the same bottle. Or they are making the right amount, feeding him, but then reusing the bottle for the next feeding ? Who knows. But there is no reason to do that since you supply enough bottles. Is it possible that you could make the bottles ahead of time so that way you know exactly what servings are there?

As far as the feeding solids: just from my own experience - like you said, in the mornings they may not be with their main teacher since teachers and kids get shuffled around during drop offs. So if you have an important point, like not mixing his food, I would write it down and leave a note. You cant rely on the teachers to always get messages to each other unfortunately. Just too much going on.

Good luck. I dont think any of these issues are enough to warrant leaving the DC.

[littleredfish]

Could they be washing and reusing the bottles? I know when DD1 was in daycare they specifically asked for 1 bottle or 1 sippy only because of clutter build up. They just rinsed/washed the bottles there between use.

For the bib, to be honest my kid wears a dirty bib, or slightly dirty clothes most of the day because, well she's a messy baby. They deal with dirty kids all day, maybe they didn't see it as an issue, same with mixing foods.

Do they have a log book where you can write down your preferences down or notes for the day? Daycare usually have these for the purpose of teachers coming in on shift changes etc to make sure they all have the same info.

Like yummeecookee, none of these would be my hill to die on unless you KNEW they weren't following food safety guidelines, in which case I would talk to the director if I knew that.

[sassypantzz]

yummeecookee, hit the nail on the head with everything- +1 to all of that.

[ashleymarie26]

I agree with pp. Definitely worth addressing, but not a hill for me.

Do you have a drop off sheet? Would they be willing to have one for you? When I drop off I fill out half of a sheet with things like: how she slept, when she woke up, when she last ate, what she ate, and anything important to note. They complete the other half during the day with bottles, diapers, naps and activities. Would you be able to add notes to the sheet they are using?

As for the bottles- I'd just ask. Maybe they are rinsing and reusing- less dishes, yay! But if they aren't following the formula guidelines, that's an issue. You won't know the reason unless you ask.

For the bib- I also agree that they probably think dirty kids are NBD. It used to drive me crazy that Ophi would sometimes have boogers under her nose, or a little lunch leftover on her cheek/in her nostrils/on her shirt. But it's seriously hard for me to keep her clean when I only have her...I can't imagine they have time to constantly wipe her nose/face and it doesn't really hurt anything.

If the bib thing really bugs you, I'd just point out that the silicone bib is for meals bc you don't want to stain/mess the muslin ones with food, just drool/formula.

[ashleymarie26]

Also: for the bottles. Do you have a set serving? And do they write down how much he consumes?

For example, we do 6 oz bottles. They write down a time and how much she eats. So I know if she ate 6 oz, the next bottle is obviously not left over. If she doesn't finish a bottle and they try again a half hour later or something, they write "same" to show it was the same bottle.

[mtnmomma13]

+1 yummeecookee. I would just be very direct with them and explain your concerns.

[squeakyduck]

It's not that the bib was dirty, it had food on it for three hours when he had a clean one available. And he chews on them. What else did they ignore for three hours? And it wasn't a little food, it was covered. I'm not that fussy, but this was gross, and was more of a red flag than an actual issue.

They didn't write down that they gave him rice cereal, it was just mentioned in passing. They could have called and asked. We don't use it for a reason. They also gave him teething tablets and didn't log that either.

They don't wash bottles. They send them home with formula in them, despite being asked daily to empty them because they leak.

There is a sheet and we fill it out monthly. We tell them 6 Oz x3. They don't follow that at all. What bothers me is that I should not have had to tell them at all that formula can't be reused after an hour. This is food safety 101. I've told them twice about this and my husband has also mentioned it to them. Spoiled formula causes kidney damage, so it's a really big fucking deal. I'm seriously considering reporting it to the state.

Frankly, I just don't trust them anymore. I've called other daycares and there'should an opening at the other one we liked, so I think we will switch.

[sunfrogger88]

Jun 28, 2016 11:01:51 GMT -5 squeakyduck said:

It's not that the bib was dirty, it had food on it for three hours when he had a clean one available. And he chews on them. What else did they ignore for three hours? And it wasn't a little food, it was covered. I'm not that fussy, but this was gross, and was more of a red flag than an actual issue.

They didn't write down that they gave him rice cereal, it was just mentioned in passing. They could have called and asked. We don't use it for a reason. They also gave him teething tablets and didn't log that either.

They don't wash bottles. They send them home with formula in them, despite being asked daily to empty them because they leak.

There is a sheet and we fill it out monthly. We tell them 6 Oz x3. They don't follow that at all. What bothers me is that I should not have had to tell them at all that formula can't be reused after an hour. This is food safety 101. I've told them twice about this and my husband has also mentioned it to them. Spoiled formula causes kidney damage, so it's a really big fucking deal. I'm seriously considering reporting it to the state.

Frankly, I just don't trust them anymore. I've called other daycares and there'should an opening at the other one we liked, so I think we will switch.

I'm not a DC mom.but if you've lost trust, it's time to switch. Nothing we say or they do will restore it. Hugs!!

[ashleymarie26]

Oh yikes squeakyduck. That's a lot and I didn't know all those details.

With all those things you mentioned, I would be looking for alternate options. I am 100% not okay with the fact that they fed your baby food that you didn't provide or consent too, and even worse for the teething tablets. Shit, my DC won't even put diaper cream on without me filling out a sheet.

Knowing they don't ever wash the bottles, I would agree it's an issue. I only mentioned it bc there have been a handful of times that I forgot a bottle, or miscounted how many they had, so they wash and reuse. If that isn't the case, then I 100% agree this is a very big deal.

[ldubhawksfan]

I don't have DC so I don't know what's normal but your FU sounds like all good reasons that they've lost your trust. Follow your instinct and change places if they are going to listen to your r prayed concerns

[yummeecookee]

sunfrogger88 is right, if youve lost trust beyond repair and you truly dont feel comfortable leaving S there then its time to look elsewhere. I do agree w you on the bottles issue. I dont use formula and even I know that it needs to be dumped after an hour - DC providers should not only know that as a basic but actually be following that rule.
And not writing down all the foods he ate (cereal) or medication administered (teething tabs) would be an issue for me. I hope you had previously given them permission to use the teething tabs.

[littleredfish]

What PP's said. With the added info, I'd lose trust too and it sounds like it's time to move on. I would still voice my reasons for leaving to the director so that the issues can be addressed so they do not continue to happen to other parents.

[squeakyduck]

Jun 28, 2016 12:37:36 GMT -5 yummeecookee said:

sunfrogger88 is right, if youve lost trust beyond repair and you truly dont feel comfortable leaving S there then its time to look elsewhere. I do agree w you on the bottles issue. I dont use formula and even I know that it needs to be dumped after an hour - DC providers should not only know that as a basic but actually be following that rule.
And not writing down all the foods he ate (cereal) or medication administered (teething tabs) would be an issue for me. I hope you had previously given them permission to use the teething tabs.

I supplied the teething tabs, but I need to know when meds are dispensed so I can know when it's safe to give more. What if it had been Tylenol?

When I realized that I sent the Hylands instead of Tylenol because I was worried they'd give it to him when he didn't really need it, is when I realized I didn't trust them.

[squeakyduck]

Thanks everyone. I was really upset, but worried that I wasn't rational. I will absolutely talk to the director before we go. It's the end of the month, so it shouldn't be hard to switch for next week.