We can’t wait to have you join us as part of our Le Village community. In preparation for your arrival, we want to provide some guidance on how to ready your newborn for Village Care. We want your Wiggler to be as successful as possible as they transition into our classrooms, and these guidelines and tips are strongly recommended to help you prepare.
Before your start-date at Le Village, please begin working on these important developmental keys to readiness!
Bottle Training
If you solely intend to breastfeed your Wiggler for several months, there’s no need to bottle train yet.
If you would like us to bottle feed your Wiggler at any point in the day, or at any point in the future (while you’re unavailable or in a meeting) it’s important to start experimenting with bottles now!
Tips For Bottle Training:
Experiment with a variety of bottles and nipples. Your newborn may try several before they choose a favorite!
Use a slow flow, wide-based bottle nipple, which is similar to the size and shape of your own nipple.
Let your partner have a turn! Your baby is accustomed to getting your breast. A partner or family member may be more successful in introducing the bottle. Your baby can recognize your scent too, so you can even try leaving the house while a family member tries to bottle feed.
For more tips, click here!
Our Nap Recommendations
We will remain flexible to your infant’s schedule. However, you can begin working toward our general classroom schedule at home! Baby’s have similar rhythms based on their development. Here’s our recipe for ultimate success, based on our Wigglers classroom flow (you can find our full schedules here):
(Up for 2-3 hours, down for 1-2 hours.)
Nap at 9:30 am
Nap at 1:30 pm
Catnap at 4:15pm
Crib Training / Solo Play
We love snuggling newborns, but we do need to be able to put your baby down! In order to have the most successful tenure at Le Village, we recommend you begin exploring independent or “solo” play as well as implement some basic crib training.
If you’d prefer to put your baby down yourself you don’t need to worry about crib training yet. That’s the beauty of our space!
What Solo Play Means To Us
While waketime activities should be a family affair with interactions between Mom, Dad and Baby, there should also be some alone time for Baby, allowing them to be totally absorbed in their own world of discovery.
Tips for when and how to introduce independent play into your day:
Make sure Baby is rested, fed and has had ample time with a parent before beginning.
Be close by, and simply lay them down on a blanket and head to the kitchen to slowly make your cup of coffee ;) The idea is that mama is out of sight, but baby is not.
If Baby cries, talk to them from a distance, still out of sight.
Practice “The Pause.” If your baby is upset, wait a minute before immediately picking them up.
Don’t let them get too worked up! If they are hitting the cliff, go over and gently soothe and then restart the independent time.
What Crib Training Means To Us
Our nap-room is darkened with curtains and equipped with a white noise sound machine. 30 minutes prior to nap we will bring your child in to relax in a quiet darkened space.
We will provide 5-10 minutes of one-on-one time (swaddle, snuggles, soothing, etc.) with your infant. We will put your baby down drowsy but awake.
If they’re unable to sleep, they’ll be returned to play and we will notify you right away.
Naptime Tips:
During naptime at Le Village, we use The Five S method, recommended by pediatrician Dr. Harvey Karp.
Swaddle: We use a swaddle. Bring your own that your newborn loves, or we can test one of ours. We will wrap arms snug—straight at the side—but let the hips be loose and flexed. We never place blankets in the crib with our infants. Side or Stomach Position: The back is the only safe sleeping position! However, side or stomach position is the most effective way to soothe. We may hold your baby in the “football hold” while shushing them until they become drowsy. We will then gently lay them on their back in the crib.
Shush: White noise is the best way to imitate womb sounds and we play a white noise machine to even out all noise in our Wigglers space.
Swing: Fast tiny motions are best for soothing!
Suck: Many babies relax best with a pacifier. We recommend one, but they are certainly not required.
Bonus! Lovie: We recommend bringing a lovie for your little. It could be a small bear or even a shirt that smells like you. Feed your little with it and sleep with it overnight for several days. We will soothe with it and pull it from the crib once your little is asleep.
Change is difficult for both you and your newborn! By preparing in the weeks leading up to your start-date, you will be set up for success! If you adhere to these guidelines, we are confident that your newborn’s transition will be so much smoother, and will allow our staff to continue providing top-notch care for all of our Wigglers.
We’re here to help, and we’re so excited for you to find your village.