Must Have Infant Items?

[Angelsj]

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.

I don't buy baby food, but I have never checked the regs for that...
Sugar, if you just mash up potatoes or carrots or something, does that also require a kitchen license? I would think if you can cook food for the kids, you could smash stuff with a fork and it would be the same??
But then we all have silly laws we have to follow here and there.
So far, I haven't had moms that wanted early eaters, so we transition around 7-8 months with soft finger foods, boiled potato cubes, carrot cubes, apple cubes, baby cheerios; you get the idea.

[sharlan]

If you don't provide food for the older kids, I wouldn't provide food for the infants either. Before I joined the food program, I would have my parents provide a week's worth of food on Mondays. I always kept a small stash, just in case, but never told the parents.

I have my parents provide diapers, extra clothing, receiving blankets, bottles (at least 3, preferably 4), and formula. I provide the wipes, bedding, and anything else I need. I do not allow diaper bags to go back and forth.

My must haves have always been:

a pack and play w/ several fitted sheets for sleeping
a swing, but at the current price of swings, I may not buy one for my newest
rocking chair for my back
a superyard to keep the other kids away from the baby
soft toys for the older infants
a floor mat for tummy time

I have added a boppy pillow and a bumbo seat to be used on the floor only for older infants.

I have always had the parents provide formula, but now being on the food program, I will offer a brand. BUT my most important thing with formula is I make however much I need for the day in the AM and place it in the fridge. I then heat up however much the baby needs at feeding time. I have found that when I make the formula in advance, I have much less trouble with reflux and spit up.

[LoraJenkins]

Personally I have cribs, bouncers, high chairs, baby slings, boppys, bottles, swaddling blankets, lovies, white noise machine or CD player with lullabies, board books, bumbos, baby play zones and floor toys. I also supply all baby food and cloth diapers. I do not use a rocking chair or walker. I have cared for 5 infants at once before and the above were my essentials.

[kindertouch]

Slings or an ergonomic carrier is really a must! It is always nice to have an extra hand when the need arises. Rattle toys and a rocker would be helpful too. Baby things should be provided by the parents but I think you can provide for the wipes and other baby toiletries.

[Unregistered]

I work in the baby room at a daycare center when I'm not in the toddler 1 room, so I'll just make a list of the items in there. It's set up for four infants.

Furniture:
-4 cribs w/ mattresses and crib sheets
-One rocking chair
-two baby swings
-two jumpers
-a bunch of toys that are good for small motor skills, and make sounds/music with color.
-a few boppie pillows for tummy time and feeding. (gotta love them!)
-Refrigerator for bottles

Provide formula? No.
Provide diapers? No.

Hope this helped!

[LaLa1923]

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.

Where did you get those toys?

[Lyss]

I don't provide baby food or formula (not on food program anyways). Maybe its just my area/parents but the last 2 infants I've had the parents preferred to bring their own anyway. Both were mainly breastfed but also had reflux and supplemented with special formula. Also both did baby led weaning (no store bought/pureed baby food) and only wanted foods from local farmers markets. In my area its 50/50 split on providers who do and don't provide food/formula and its never been an issue.

I only have a boppy and infant toys like MV suggested. Oh and white noise cd (waterfall) for nap.

[kathiemarie]

Where did you get those toys?

I know for sure Lakeshore has them.

[MarinaVanessa]

I know for sure Lakeshore has them.

Yup Lakeshore Learning supplies the ones that I posted and although I do have them I DID NOT buy them at store prices. I got mine from another daycare provider that retired and had a provider only yard sale. I got the ball set and blocks for $10 each. Even in used condition they're great and have held up the last 3 years. I love that I can throw them in the washing machine to clean them and then in the dryer.

I buy as much as I can from yard sales, on craigslist or from thrift stores. We have a Lakeshore Learning store in my city and I've gone in there many times to look through their clearance so I know what they have and when I go out to yard sales, thrift stores and check CL I can recognize the Lakeshore stuff. I got one of those Lakeshore cash registers that you get for $40 at a kid's swap meet for $5. I got the wooden blocks with the colored plastic panes ($50) for $15 from Craigslist.

[Sugar Magnolia]

I work in the baby room at a daycare center when I'm not in the toddler 1 room, so I'll just make a list of the items in there. It's set up for four infants.

Furniture:
-4 cribs w/ mattresses and crib sheets
-One rocking chair
-two baby swings
-two jumpers
-a bunch of toys that are good for small motor skills, and make sounds/music with color.
-a few boppie pillows for tummy time and feeding. (gotta love them!)
-Refrigerator for bottles

Provide formula? No.
Provide diapers? No.

Hope this helped!

Yes it did! Thank you!