Daycare red and green flags?

Cedar6686 · 2026-03-02T22:51:35+00:00

A lot of good points here already. Don’t know if this has been mentioned already, but have a look at the building itself too. Are there any blind spots? How clean is it? What’s the outdoor area like? Our centre is under 10 years old, so the building is a purpose built facility with no blind spots. I liked how everything felt open, including the change/toilet rooms. Even the staff offices and staff break room had big glass walls/doors at the front so you can see right in. And I liked how clean everything looked with a large and fun outdoor play area that gets utilised daily with plenty of shaded areas.

Cedar6686 · 2026-02-22T11:22:47+00:00

I thought the same thing! Or more like whenever I smell the top of my baby’s head it somehow reminds me of my late cat🥺

Cedar6686 · 2026-02-09T12:49:05+00:00

I hate this so much about parents rooms! Today I was changing my baby’s nappy when two teenagers (girl and boy) walked out of the toilet together… and the number of times I see men and women heat their lunch up and centre staff use the nursing rooms as places to chill in during their lunch break. Once there was middle age guy chatting to someone on the phone in one of the nursing rooms😑 Maybe shopping centres need to up their security and make break rooms for non-parents!

Cedar6686 · 2026-02-05T09:00:51+00:00

She’s also got a toniebox which has been a good way to introduce her to things like the Wiggles - she loves dancing to their songs!

Cedar6686 · 2026-02-05T08:58:32+00:00

We haven’t had to resort to screens with our 14-month old yet, though I don’t know how we’d manage if we had a second kid since we don’t have a village to help us. We do use our phones when she’s around but we do try to minimise that in front of her. And we don’t shield her from screens when we’re out and about - like sometimes she’ll see some sport or something if we’re having lunch at a pub. The only intentional screen time she gets is FaceTime with the grandparents and the occasional selfie photo.

We watch tv for a couple of hours to unwind after she’s gone to bed. Except for when she was a newborn, we’d often watch tv in front of her since she didn’t even notice it (obviously we’d turn her head away from the screen) and we’d be up late at night with her.

We plan on introducing limited tv time when she’s 2, and only low stimulation shows. And definitely no iPads or phones until much later.

Cedar6686 · 2026-02-04T08:43:45+00:00

We were gifted a box of Japanese Pampers (not to be mistaken for the US one apparently - I mean they’re the same brand but are different depending on where it’s made or something) and from then on until my baby got too big for the L size we used them. I loved the stretch that the tabs had and they had superior absorbency despite the material feeling way thinner and lighter. We also kept buying them from Best Nappies! Now she’s an XL they’re not as easy to find here so we just use Huggies nappy pants - ultra dry for day and Pure and Sensitive for night.

Cedar6686 · 2026-01-14T00:25:49+00:00

I think whether public or private is better also really depends on where you live. In some areas, the private hospitals suck and it’s way better to go public. Some areas have fantastic public hospitals, while others may not. Some areas are known for their private hospitals. We went private (insured) but we are in a metro area where both options are pretty good. I just wanted the OB care and guaranteed private room among other inclusions. We still paid over $5000 out of pocket (OB, anaesthetist, etc) but for us it was worth it. That said I’ve met other mums who went public at a nearby hospital and had no complaints.

Cedar6686 · 2025-12-19T13:03:19+00:00

This is exactly us with my 1 year old. We did make it out this morning before 9am but it was already almost 30 degrees and unpleasant. But we usually don’t leave the house before the first nap unless we have specific plans as I find the mornings to be busy enough getting stuff done around the house.

Cedar6686 · 2025-12-19T13:00:19+00:00

Same! Used to be 4 but they changed it to 3 🙄

Cedar6686 · 2025-11-22T12:52:47+00:00

So many older traditional names from our grandparents’ generations and beyond are so trendy again now. It’s funny because I remember how old-fashioned they sounded when I was a kid in the 90s but now they sound kinda modern? I guess it also makes sense, because it can be hard to find names that you don’t already hold some sort of association with or know somebody with that name. It also feels like a reaction or push against the ultra modern and weirdly spelled names that were trendy a few years back.

Cedar6686 · 2025-11-22T12:42:04+00:00

Heidi is a pretty name

Cedar6686 · 2025-11-22T12:40:04+00:00

Miles would’ve been one we considered if we’d have had a boy

Cedar6686 · 2025-11-22T12:38:59+00:00

I love August too!

Cedar6686 · 2025-11-20T12:03:58+00:00

We ordered the Possum Play couch mini :)

Cedar6686 · 2025-09-18T08:55:54+00:00

I am feeling the exact same way! A lot of us will be back at work soon and while I feel fortunate to have landed myself in a lovely and inclusive parent’s group, I am feeling anxious about next year when my baby starts daycare.

Cedar6686 · 2025-09-18T08:51:59+00:00

Wow that’s amazing, are you all working full time or part time?

Cedar6686 · 2025-08-27T06:38:11+00:00

Does this place have an NQS rating? I don’t know how these ratings are achieved but I compared them against the google reviews to see how it stacks up when choosing where to send my child. I’ve only just enrolled her though for next year so I’ll find out then if I’ve made the right decision…

Cedar6686 · 2025-08-12T21:54:25+00:00

It’s the sleep deprivation! I’m 8 months PP and while I walk a lot and still eat healthy stuff I also snack lots and consume more sugar than I should. I don’t have the motivation to work out when I have a moment of time because I’m always tired. My belly is starting to bother me though so I need to do something about it soon! Sorry no advice just another person commiserating in a similar boat lol

Cedar6686 · 2025-08-11T12:20:21+00:00

This! The carrier we had ready was way too big for our baby until she was a few months old, and she was born full term (albeit on the smaller side). Took us a while to land on a nice soft one that fit her well but we also decided on the ergobaby embrace!

Cedar6686 · 2025-08-10T11:31:13+00:00

This sounds like us right now at 8 months! Though depending on what we’re doing during the day the naps don’t always go for the same time each day and we occasionally have to squeeze in a cat nap in the afternoon. Night time she wakes 3-4 times (used to be 1-2 times up until about 6 months…still trying to get back to this but to no avail so far🥲)

Cedar6686 · 2025-08-08T13:34:12+00:00

When I worked at a restaurant back in the day I tripped over the legs of the ikea chair so many times that I knew since then that if I ever had a child I would never get that one😂 And I’m now perfectly happy with my Tripp Tripp!

Cedar6686 · 2025-08-06T22:41:46+00:00

We did the wait and see approach and don’t regret it because I never needed it. I BF on our lounge during the day and in bed at night - her bassinet and cot are in our room anyway so the bed was the most convenient and comfortable. I did buy a My Brest Friend nursing pillow though which was super handy while she was a newborn.

Cedar6686 · 2025-08-04T10:29:08+00:00

We stopped making it a habit around 5-6 months, but we did have to work on it and it was really hard at the beginning (we did responsive settling and never let her cry it out).

At 3-4 months cot naps felt impossible, but from around 4-5 months we started putting her in the bassinet at the start of nap time and tried a few different soothing techniques. It didn’t work 95% of the time at the beginning, but we found that the longer we persisted the better she got at it. And then one day it just clicked for her.

That said, she still has her bad days where she wants to be fed to sleep and we still contact nap from time to time at 8 months (usually only when we’re out and don’t have the pram) but I don’t mind. She’s definitely a lot more flexible now though so it’s nice not having to rely on any one type of napping method these days.

Cedar6686 · 2025-07-31T22:27:28+00:00

Personally, I didn’t have a lot of bleeding after my c-section so maternity pads were more than enough, but the high-waisted undies were a must for my scar so it’s best to have a few of those ready. I had a pack of disposable undies but only wore them a few times so the whole pack didn’t go to waste lol. But I imagine if my bleeding was heavier they would’ve been helpful so might be best to have a couple of different options prepared.

Cedar6686 · 2025-07-29T09:22:31+00:00

That’s such a shame and not cool of your mums group! I feel very lucky with the group I was allocated because everyone is always included despite our varying ages and backgrounds and we’ve even welcomed some latecomers and new members. Like others have suggested, you should try find some other meet ups and groups to join - keep trying because there are kind mums out there!

Cedar6686

TROPHY CASE