Must Have Infant Items?

[Sugar Magnolia]

Looks like we will be taking the plunge into accepting infants. It is becoming too difficult to retain 4 and 5 year olds due to the advent of free Voluntary Pre Kindergarten. My facility is too small to participate in VPK.
What are some MUST HAVE items to care for infants? Besides cribs and high chairs. Do you feel a rocking chair is essential? What about toys? What about those foam gross motor cushion things? Do you provide formula and baby food? We do not have a certified commercial kitchen, so we don't provide cooked meals here, parents currently bring lunches and we provide snacks. Most of you don't provide diapers, right? Any other essential purchasers you can think of? Thanks ladies!

[Willow]

A sling. Nothing beats growing an extra pair of arms when you have other children to tend to.

I provide all infant foods and formula.

I do not provide diapers and wipes.

Love boppy pillows for tummy time and they make for nice climb over cushions once forward movement kicks in.

Loads of rattlers, blocks and sensory explorative manipulatives. I have enough that I can pull ones that get used/gross out of rotation daily to pitch in the dishwasher at night.

[butterfly]

cribs and high chairs are all that I need. - and bibs. I have some other baby "equipment" left from when my own kids were babies but it doesn't get used. I'd rather encourage floor time than have them stuck in a contraption of some sort.

I think slings would be nice, but I don't think it would work with licensing here.

I do provide baby food and formula - requirement of the food program, otherwise I wouldn't.

I provide wipes for all the kids, but no diapers.

[Sugar Magnolia]

Thank you Willow!! Great suggestions. How many infants do you do? I will limit to.3 maximum. How much does formula and baby food cost you per week? Do you buy formula brands by parent request? Or does everyone drink the same formula? I'm sure I'll have many questions, the last time I cared for an infant was my son 10 years ago!:: Amnesia!

[Sugar Magnolia]

cribs and high chairs are all that I need. - and bibs. I have some other baby "equipment" left from when my own kids were babies but it doesn't get used. I'd rather encourage floor time than have them stuck in a contraption of some sort.

I think slings would be nice, but I don't think it would work with licensing here.

I do provide baby food and formula - requirement of the food program, otherwise I wouldn't.

I provide wipes for all the kids, but no diapers.

I don't participate in the food program, because I don't cook meals, parents provide lunch. I deduct snack purchases from my taxes currently. Wondering if the food program will let me do infant food-formula, but not meals for older kids. ??

[MarinaVanessa]

The only supplies that I provide for infants is formula but that's because I provide meals ans am part of the food program so you don't have to worry about that. I'd have the parents provide that.

As for equipment these are the things that I can't live without:

A swing: for when they're awake

Fisher Price Rock n Play (I took the straps out): if they get tired of the swing or I have more than one infant. Also great to take outside. Light and easy to carry. Love that they fold flat.

IKEA style highchairs: I like their simplicity and the fact that they have no cushioning or material to wipe, scrub and where food can get trapped. I can take my highchairs outside, hose them down, scrub them completely, spray them with bleach, hose them once more and then set them out to dry. No material to remove and wash then to put back. Easy peezy. I just put a folded towel around the infants that need extra support or padding.

Moby or other sling and other carriers: I have a Moby for the really little infants and I also have another carrier for when they get a little bigger. Some infants are fine in a Moby until they're ready for the stroller and others don't like to be pressed against the body so much.

Boppy: Saves my arms and makes bottle feeding a breeze. I also use it to put on the floor (on a blanket) for the smaller infants during tummy time. It elevates them and in my experience they tend to do tummy time longer and get less frustrated when they're smaller (2-3 months).

Glider: I don't have one but OH HO I WISH I DID!! I think it would relax me and the babies both to be able to glide while I feed or hold them in a glider.

Baby Gym Play Mats: I have two so I can switch them up or for when I have two infants. I like that I can attach toys that hang over their heads and also that they fold up flat and I can tuck them away when I'm not using them.

Sit & Stand Stroller: I like this particular stroller because every car seat that I have tried on it can latch right to the seat and tray. This is wonderful when you have infants that can't hold their heads up for long periods of time. Just strap them in their car seats and snap them in the stroller. I love that you can have tons of combinations. Snap two car seats in for two infants, snap one car seat in and have a small toddler in the other seat, pull the back seat out altogether and have an older toddler sit that way etc. I love that it's in a straight line instead of side by side which means you can get through narrow doors and down narrow sidewalks better.

Infant Car Seats: Personally I like having my own car seats so I always know that I can get out when I want (walking with a stroller or in my van). That being said I love the Britax car seats because you can use them from 4-30 lbs. One car seat for no matter what age, all you have to do is face it the right way depending on the child. But if you have the room you can always have the parents leave their own car seats with you if you don't want to buy your own car seats.

Several Formula Dispensers with Dividers: I love these because I can go out on walks and take formula with me without having to prepare bottles before I go and risk them going bad. I just pack the bottles with water and put enough formula in each divider for one bottle and take it with me so that I can make a bottle when the baby is hungry.


As far as toys, here are my favorites because of safety, cleaning ease etc:

Cloth Baby Dolls

Small Realistic Looking Stuffed Animals

Nesting Toys

Stacking Rings

Textured Mouthing Toys

Soft Tactile Balls: You don't have to buy these particular ones as long as they are soft and have different materials, make noise etc. These are easy enough for 4 month olds to start grasping but all kids love balls. By far this is my favorite infant toy. I have tons of different sized balls made from different materials.


Soft Blocks: The small infants can build their grasping skills and the older infants can safely stack them without hurting themselves. Again, anything similar would work.


Now this is just me but I personally don't get any of the toys that are electronic. For me, I like the toys where the children play with the toys vs the toys entertain the children.

I have other infant toys but these are the ones that get pulled out and played with most often.

[BrooklynM]

I love having a rocking chair personally, especially for feeding time. I did it without it for a while and let me tell you, I was missing out! Here are some of my must haves:

Boppy pillow for feeding
Boppy tummy play pad (you can use it for tummy time-its awesome and comes with a mini boppy for them)-http://www.amazon.com/Boppy-Tummy-Play-Pad-Stripe/dp/B00457X7E0/ref=sr_1_2?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1383852187&sr=1-2&keywords=boppy+tummy+time
LOTS of bibs, these are my favorite- http://www.amazon.com/Standard-Wonde...bs+for+infants
LOTS of burp cloths- these are my favorite-http://www.amazon.com/Swaddle-Design-Baby-Burpies-Circles/dp/B002V45UGM/ref=sr_1_15?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1383852384&sr=1-15&keywords=burp+cloths
Sleepsacks- I have parents provide these, but I also have a couple on hand just in case as well.
Extra gate to seperate the older ones off from the infants


I don't provide formula or diapers. I do puree my own baby food. For formula, I just have the parents provide the bottles- at least enough for how many feedings they will have for the day. For example, if they typically drink 4 bottles in a day, they need to provide me with 4 bottles that they leave here. That way I can just wash all of the bottles at once at the end of the day. Speaking of washing bottles- you will need a bottle brush- I recommend this one- http://www.amazon.com/OXO-Bottle-Nip...s=bottle+brush and I have "The Lawn" drying rack which I LOVE- http://www.amazon.com/Boon-Lawn-Coun...wn+drying+rack

Those are a few of my favorite things!

[butterfly]

I don't participate in the food program, because I don't cook meals, parents provide lunch. I deduct snack purchases from my taxes currently. Wondering if the food program will let me do infant food-formula, but not meals for older kids. ??

here, I'm able to claim some kids and not others.

but honestly, if you are providing jar food and formula - I'm not sure it's worth it financially. I only provide generic formula and I make my own baby food from what I'm serveing the other kids. If I had to purchase all of it, I don't think the food program would end covering it all. It would just be easier to have the parents provide it all.

[Willow]

Thank you Willow!! Great suggestions. How many infants do you do? I will limit to.3 maximum. How much does formula and baby food cost you per week? Do you buy formula brands by parent request? Or does everyone drink the same formula? I'm sure I'll have many questions, the last time I cared for an infant was my son 10 years ago!:: Amnesia!

My license limits me to 3 under the age of 2, only 2 of those can be under the age of 1. I have had two under the age of 1 and handled it well but I also keep a smaller group (5/6 children of all ages total).

I personally provide any formula a parent requests (except for the really expensive stuff like the nutramigen type formulas or prescription). My food program however only requires I offer one brand (has to be iron fortified) and generic is fine. If parents don't want to use that kind they can bring their own and I still get credit for serving it.

I'm in a tier 1 area, not sure how much I spend each week but I know I end up making money on what I provide. Depending on brand a can of formula runs $15/20 and easily lasts a couple of weeks depending on the age and needs of the baby. Walmart and Target carries really inexpensive purred food and snacks although I make much of my own here (carrots, peas, green beans and squash are the easiest). If I had to buy it all I'd still say it would only run me $1 or 2/day again depending on age

[Sugar Magnolia]

Marina and Brooklyn! Thank you sooooo much! Invaluable suggestions! Thanks a million times! lovethis:hug:

[Sugar Magnolia]

My license limits me to 3 under the age of 2, only 2 of those can be under the age of 1. I have had two under the age of 1 and handled it well but I also keep a smaller group (5/6 children of all ages total).

I personally provide any formula a parent requests (except for the really expensive stuff like the nutramigen type formulas or prescription). My food program however only requires I offer one brand (has to be iron fortified) and generic is fine. If parents don't want to use that kind they can bring their own and I still get credit for serving it.

I'm in a tier 1 area, not sure how much I spend each week but I know I end up making money on what I provide. Depending on brand a can of formula runs $15/20 and easily lasts a couple of weeks depending on the age and needs of the baby. Walmart and Target carries really inexpensive purred food and snacks although I make much of my own here (carrots, peas, green beans and squash are the easiest). If I had to buy it all I'd still say it would only run me $1 or 2/day again depending on age

Awesome! I think I will invest in a food processor and make my own baby food, but I THINK that may require the whole certified kitchen thing.

[Willow]

Awesome! I think I will invest in a food processor and make my own baby food, but I THINK that may require the whole certified kitchen thing.

Maybe skip it then and have parents just bring a stash of the already made stuff. They store easy enough and don't have to be refrigerated like homemade stuff needs to be

[Sugar Magnolia]

Willow, yep I checked regs and any food prepared by an individual or at home.requires the commercial kitchen for centers. :confused: I can have a standard frig and microwave but only.for cold.storage and heating foods. I will buy store bought baby food. Regs also prohibit swings and other forms of containment like exercisers or bouncy things. That's ok by me, never used those with my kids anyways.

[Blackcat31]

Willow, yep I checked regs and any food prepared by an individual or at home.requires the commercial kitchen for centers. :confused: I can have a standard frig and microwave but only.for cold.storage and heating foods. I will buy store bought baby food. Regs also prohibit swings and other forms of containment like exercisers or bouncy things. That's ok by me, never used those with my kids anyways.

If you decide to allow parents to bring pre-made bottles....be aware that prefilled bottles can lead to parents adding things to bottles that shouldn't be in them....kwim?

Maybe it's just me being paranoid but when I have infants, I require the parent bring 2 new in the package bottles to leave here and then I will mix the bottles. For breastfed babes, I just required at least 2 days of frozen milk. Just in case....

Store bought baby food is super cheap and honestly, most my kiddos are only in the premade baby food stage for a very short time before they are able to begin eating table foods like the other kids.

[Sugar Magnolia]

If you decide to allow parents to bring pre-made bottles....be aware that prefilled bottles can lead to parents adding things to bottles that shouldn't be in them....kwim?

Maybe it's just me being paranoid but when I have infants, I require the parent bring 2 new in the package bottles to leave here and then I will mix the bottles. For breastfed babes, I just required at least 2 days of frozen milk. Just in case....

Store bought baby food is super cheap and honestly, most my kiddos are only in the premade baby food stage for a very short time before they are able to begin eating table foods like the other kids.

True that!