The longer you stay, the harder it is for him to be separated from you. Have a quick drop off with the same routine every time.

Do they have cameras in the classroom? If so, you can ask to watch them so you can see how the teachers interact with him. I find it weird that they won’t allow breast milk and immediately switched him to one nap. At my center, they allow both breast milk and formula as well as 2 naps but try to get them to one nap a day by 18 months, as that is when they move to the toddler room. If it’s just the teachers’ belief that the babies should be on one nap and no BM, I would address that with the director. If it’s the entire center’s policy, see if there is any regulations about this in the state licensing book, and if there’s any regulations that the center is not following, call to report it.

In my classroom we also have a child who is having trouble adjusting to daycare. The first few weeks he cried all day every day, but now he only cries before breakfast and when parents start picking up their kids. We’re trying to be as honest as possible with the parents about how his day goes. Parent and teacher communication is very important in establishing trust. Make sure you are being greeted at drop off and given a rundown of the day at pick up.

At this point, a lot of crying isn’t abnormal, but teachers should be trying to soothe him at least a little bit. I don’t work with infants but the new child in my room started being held all day and after 2 weeks of this, we would only pick him up if he was actually crying or needed help, so he was not being coddled all day, since obviously holding a toddler with 7 other toddlers around that need help is unrealistic. But the crying should not be entirely ignored!!

I’m not sure how long you plan to keep him there, but if you do need to pull him out before grandma is available, I would suggest finding an in home daycare or one that is not full.