Congratulations, a little one has arrived! Your leave is coming to an end, and your first day of work is fast approaching… It's an exciting time: your baby is going to daycare for the first time, you're no longer together 24/7, and you'll occasionally miss that one-on-one time when you're (breast)feeding.
Kideo, an extension of home
Approximately two weeks before the first day of care, we will contact you by phone to schedule an intake interview. During this interview, we will discuss your baby's rhythm so we can align it as closely as possible with your home routine. Kideo strives to be an extension of home for a reason. Nutrition will also be discussed during this interview. When your baby is at Kideo, they will be bottle-fed with expressed breast milk or formula. If your baby is formula-fed, we offer Hipp (organic formula). All formula and diapers are included in the Kideo childcare price. For children accustomed to breastfeeding, the transition to bottle-feeding can sometimes be quite challenging. This was also the case with my own daughter. The maternity nurse suggested that I practice bottle-feeding occasionally, about 4-6 weeks after birth. I dutifully did this (about three times), and it went very well. When we went to practice at Grandma's two weeks before I went back to work, the bottle unfortunately wasn't working so well after all. I looked into it and discovered that babies have a sort of reflex to take a bottle for the first three months. However, after this period, they lose this reflex, so they have no idea what to do with a bottle! Help... there I was. Sad baby, sad mom, stress... how was I supposed to manage this at Kideo? Fortunately, Kideo offers the option of breastfeeding on-site. As soon as your baby is awake or shows signs of wanting to feed, the teachers send a message to mom so she can come over to nurse. Did you know you can also schedule your pumping time this way? Isn't that ideal, perhaps because your work is far from Kideo? In the podcast below, we asked lactation consultant Geerte for some tips on practicing with the bottle while breastfeeding. And my daughter? She wouldn't take a bottle anywhere, except with one teacher at Kideo... Luckily, it all worked out. I talk about it in the podcast:
In addition to bottle feeding, your baby will eventually be introduced to other foods. Fresh fruit and vegetable purees are offered daily in the baby group. This way, children learn to explore different tastes and textures and to eat independently. At every stage, we strive to meet your child's needs as best as possible. Parents can read more about this in our nutrition policy (available via the parent portal). We also regularly share delicious recipes and other tips on our website and social media!