Hi ☺
Although EmJ is only 4 weeks old now, she will be going to nursery one day a week soon as I am starting my masters part time and hubby is back at work. A lot of nurseries don't take babies less than 6 months old, but we did manage to find a couple that take younger babies.
I won't give the name of the first one we went to as I really didn't like it. We arranged a visit with this nursery as it is close to where we live, and close to where I work so would be easy to take her there after my maternity leave.
We were buzzed into the building and there was no reception area just a very small hallway which we were asked to wait in. The baby room was upstairs and there was no disabled access (we aren't disabled but we had EmJ in the pushchair and were made to take her out to carry her up the very steep stairs and leave the pushchair unattended downstairs). I hate stairs usually so I was extra worried carrying EmJ up and down them!
We were told to take our shoes off and leave them outside the baby room (very difficult to put them back on while holding a baby!). The room itself was small, and had no baby chairs or anything for EmJ to be able to sit in, and we were told she would be put on the floor with the other babies (the youngest of which was 6 months older than EmJ ). Straightaway I didn't like this idea as older babies play with toys and throw them about etc so if EmJ was just lying on the floor she could be accidentally hit etc. There was a lot of toys there but they were all dirty and old looking, and the babies aren't allowed to take any of their own toys or comfort blankets in which I wasn't happy with as when she is older she may use her comfort blankets that we have for her and I wouldn't want her being distressed.
We were shown a sample menu,which she wouldn't be having as she's still on breast milk. We asked if we could express milk and bring that in and we were told we could but formula is preferred- although we have to measure the formula into one bottle and the water into another for them to then mix later! There wasn't any chairs for her to sit in while being fed so someone would have to hold her, and we were told that if the staff were busy she would have to wait to be fed! I also didn't like this as she is young when she said hungry she needs food! I hate the idea of her crying for food and being ignored!!
The sleep area was just very thin mats on the floor, and each child has a sheet to use as a blanket. I don't really like the idea of her sleeping on the floor either but we were told we weren't allowed to bring anything in for her to sleep in.
There was a sensory room which had an interactive floor which was quite good but the babies go in in groups, and are only allowed 15 minutes in there so she wouldn't see much benefit from it as the room was really small so the older babies would probably be using the floor so she wouldn't have much room.
Overall I didn't like the nursery and I didn't feel that she would be stimulated enough to progress and learn things. I also didn't feel like she would be safe enough in that I think she would get accidentally hurt by other babies playing. I didn't feel that this nursery provides enough for babies of her age, or even babies less than 6 months old, despite them claiming to accept younger babies.
Hubby told me he didn't know what to expect from a nursery so he didn't know whether that one was good or bad. I also don't know what to expect but I told him that we had to look at another one before agreeing to send her anywhere as I didn't think the standards there were good enough and I wanted to see if they were all the same.
So we arranged a visit for Mini Me's nursery. We had to be buzzed into the building at this one too but this time we were buzzed into a reception area which immediately made me feel more comfortable. We were introduced to the girl going to be showing us around, let's call her Amy (not her real name). Amy buzzed us into the main part of the building and led us to the baby room, which had a ramp going to it and a place to store pushchairs if needed. I was able to leave EmJ in the pushchair and bring her round with us.
The baby room was massive and split into two parts. One part was carpeted and used for story time, singing and playing with toys, and the other part had wood flooring and was used for activities like painting and playing with squirty cream and sprinkles or playdough etc. We were told that although EmJ is too young for some of the activities, she would be put in a baby chair and mobiles or toys would be provided to keep her stimulated. And if they were painting they would put her feet in it and let her be held over some paper to do her own painting so she would feel involved and would be getting sensory stimulation as would getting the feel of the paint on her feet. There would be plenty of toys for her to play with suitable for her age, and there was also an outdoor area with toys, soft play,ball pool, sand pit and water to play with as well as soft tarmac and grass.
They would feed her whatever we wanted, breast milk or formula, and they would store it how we wanted it to be stored. They would also work around her routine, so if she wanted to eat every 3 hours they would feed her every 3 hours rather than making her wait for the other kids to be having their lunch. She could also sleep when she wanted to and play when she wanted to. Everything is very focused on making the child comfortable. They even assess the needs of each baby individually so if one baby needs lots of cuddles they get lots of cuddles whereas if another baby wants to just play all the time and not be fussed over they let him play.
They have a special sleep room where every baby has their own cot, and if you don't want your baby to sleep in a cot they will accommodate that too. The babies are allowed comfort blankets or toys that help them to feel safe and secure too.
There is a nursery rhyme cd constantly played in the background which I like as it gives a more relaxing atmosphere.
Everything we were told, and everything we saw made me feel like this was the perfect nursery for EmJ. I am happy that EmJ will be kept stimulated and will learn new things all of the time. Each child gets a book which is filled in at the end of the day with what they ate and what they did that day, and at the end of the month every baby gets a copy of photos of them achieving something or playing throughout the month. The baby is regularly assessed by them to make sure that they are progressing and learning everything they are meant to, and they work with the health visitor to ensure the baby is progressing the way they are meant to.
This nursery also offers 2 two hour free trials so that we can decide whether we want EmJ to go there, for EmJ to get a feel for it and so we can see how she settles in and which staff member she bonds with as they will become her key person and rather than just assign her someone they let the baby decide.
Overall I absolutely loved this nursery despite it being a lot further away. Both nurseries were the same price and I would be able to take emj there and still make it to uni or work on time.
I genuinely feel that EmJ will flourish there, they have lots of things for her to do and seem to genuinely care about each baby and know everything about them. She will be stimulated using sensory activities and baby toys suitable for her age which I love.
We have decided to send EmJ to Mini Me's nursery as for the same price it is a million times better than the other one and I am so pleased I insisted on seeing another nursery. I think a mothers intuition knows best, including whether a nursery is good enough or not so never doubt yourself if you're going through the same as me! If I hadn't been so fussy about what I thought the nursery should have for babies we would have sent EmJ to the first nursery and she may have been hurt or not stimulated enough.
Trust your instincts as you will more than likely be right.
💖xxx
No comments:
Post a Comment