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You are thinking about or you are just enrolled your baby in daycare for the first time and are wondering what do I even bring to daycare for my newborn?

I have been working in a daycare setting for 10+ years and I have learned a thing or two about what moms should be bringing to the classroom on the first day of daycare.

I also have a little one myself, who I had in the infant room at the daycare I worked in.

Take what you want from this list, but these are the things I would bring to make my life and the teachers life easier during the day.

But remember, all of this is NOT absolutely necessary, I will use an RED ASTRO * for the mandatory things down below.

Your newborn’s schedule in writing

Yes, we go by the parents prefered schedule in the infant room.

Feel free to give them any information like what times to eat, burp, and sleep.

They will appreciate the guidance because not every newborn is the same, it’s good to have your baby’s unique schedule that they are used to.

This will make the transition a lot easier for your little one from home to daycare and it will help their teachers get to know them better.

A Cooler for Breastmilk

If you are a breastfeeding mama you can bring your breast milk to daycare and they will put it in the fridge for you.

If you are worried or have a long commute it’s good have a cooler for the breast milk and bottles.

Most moms will bring the breast milk in freezer bags like these and then when the teacher is ready to feed your baby they will put it in the bottle and warm it in a crock pot (usually) or any other type of method that is accepted by you.

It’s really smart to start building a breast milk freezer stash on maternity leave so you are prepared for going back to work.

But if that’s something you didn’t do, you can always try bringing more breast milk on your lunch break if you choose a daycare close to your job. (which i highly recommend for all breastfeeding mamas with baby’s in daycare)

You can find out more about breastfeeding at work here.

Cooler or Bag for Formula and Bottles*

I would totally use something like this for bottles and formula so it’s a little bit bigger and fits everything perfectly.

Most parents (and prefered by the daycare) bring water in the bottles and one or two of these for the formula.

The teacher will prepare the bottle for your baby however you prefer and then put the empty ones back into the bag for you to bring home and disinfect for the next day. Super simple method.

A for bottles and formula is something I’d consider a must have because it just makes everyone’s life easier and more manageable.

Crib Sheet and a Breathable Blanket*

Your newborn will have their own crib so it will be mandatory to provide crib sheets for them.

If you don’t do blankets then skip that part, but if you do (because sometimes we will put blankets on their legs while they are in the swings or gliders) then these are the best ones I have seen that are super soft and breathable.

Most of the time the teachers will have you bring home your baby’s sheets every friday, providing they have not soiled them throughout the week. This is why it’s a good idea to bring extra crib sheets.

You can bring the crib sheets you already have for home or buy one specifically for daycare like these.

Pack of Universal Bibs*

Bibs are definitely essential for the infant room.

A pack of solid bibs like these (on Amazon) is all you need and prepare for bibs to be a community item.

In my preschool we wash the bibs every week and have a ton of bibs that parents brought in when they first enrolled their newborn.

It depends on the daycare on how they handle the bibs, they may only use the ones you brought for your baby or they may share bibs with the classroom.

But don’t worry! We always WASH the bibs in between uses.

Extra Clothes for Cubby*

This goes without saying but maybe you wouldn’t realize how many times you baby will need to be changed throughout the day.

If your baby spits up or has a blow out the clothing that was effected needs to changed immediately.

It’s very good to have at least 5 onsies and 5 pants in their cubby at all times.

I always appreciated the plain packs of onesies and pants you can get on Amazon here.

Bulk Diaper and Wipes*

The daycare you bring your baby to will have ample room for diapers and wipes.

Do not hesitate to bring the bulk packs in! It won’t be too much I promise! Its easier for you as a parent to bring in enough to not have to worry about it for awhile.

This also helps the teachers because we won’t have to result to using a friends diaper and risking your baby being sensitive to a different brand, unless of course you let them know in advance. Which I believe you absolutely should!

You can get bulk diapers and wipes on Amazon here.

Big Tub of Diaper Cream*

Bulk diapers and wipes are good and all but that diaper cream needs to be on hand at all times in the newborn room. This we DO NOT share.

So its better to get a huge tub of it to ensure we always have some available for your little one in case of a horrible ugly rash occurs.

Honestly from doing so many diaper changes and dealing with tons of diaper rashes as a daycare teacher, this diaper rash cream is by far the most effective of the bunch! You can get the BIG TUB OF DIAPER RASH CREAM HERE (on Amazon)

Food and Snacks

I usually brought my sons snacks in a plastic bag, again I stocked up for the teachers so he didn’t run out so easily.

Most daycares will have a snack/food cubby with your baby’s name on it and thats where you put your baby’s food. BUT if the daycare provides food then you can just ignore this section.

Consider yourself one of the lucky ones because when preschool provide food THAT’S AWESOME!

Most of the time babys around 4-6 months old start eating little snacks like Gerber Puffs Cereal; Snacks and my all time favorite (literally I shared these with my baby when he was eating these) are the Happy Baby Yogis, yummy!

If you want to make your baby’s food yourself it is possible to bring that to daycare as well.

Whether you choose glass containers like these or the cool reusable pouches like these I found on Amazon, you can bring them to your newborns class every morning so food is fresh and ready to eat.

Extra Pacifiers

It is also a good idea to bring extra pacifiers for baby considering they use one all the time.

Extra pacifiers are important because sometimes they get lost, and if baby needs a paci well we all know what happens if we can’t find it right away! Am I right or am I right?

Bring around 3 and you will be good to go for awhile I am sure.

Just keep in mind when im telling you to bring all this extra stuff. You do not HAVE TO, but its a good suggestion considering you need to be aware that daycare teachers do not have 20 eyeballs and cannot find everything right away sometimes.

Keep that in mind when bringing things on the first day of daycare, think of it as practice for when your precious little baby goes to kindergarten or even VPK.

They will need to bring school supplies. So consider these things school supplies.

Sunscreen for Outside*

As your newborn gets older they can go outside and play around. Most daycares have an outside area for the infants to crawl around and get some fresh air.

So if you live somewhere (like Florida) you will need to bring some sunscreen for your baby.

Even if you don’t live in a sunny tropical area it is still a good idea to bring sunscreen for when they go outside. Your baby’s skin is sensitive and we want to protect it as much as possible.

The sunscreen I love for baby’s is the Neutrogena Pure & Free Baby Mineral Sunscreen Lotion with Broad Spectrum SPF 50, you can get some on Amazon here if you want.

Lotion for The Sensitive Babies

For some, baby skin is super sensitive and we need to lather up our babies more often than others. If your baby’s skin is not sensitive then you don’t have to bring this item.

My son had horrible eczema so we always brought the Aveeno Baby Eczema Therapy Moisturizing Cream which is literally, the only thing that helped is severe eczema breakouts all the time.

If your baby has severe eczema check out this article here, it goes over everything I did to get rid of and give major relief to my son when he was going through horrible eczema breakouts as a baby.

If your baby just has regular dry skin, I would still consider bringing a lotion especially if you live somewhere where its ALWAYS cold and dry.

A family Photo

Most daycares ask for a family photo to be put on the family tree in the classroom.

If your does not that’s fine, but its cute for the babies to see your picture when you are not around.

This is nothing necessary and i didn’t really do this either until my son was older.

Special Needs Medication*

By law it is required for most daycares to keep special needs medication (like asthma treatments and epipens) in the front office of the preschool.

I know this is something that for most of you is common sense, but for some things I would ask your doctor for extra prescription specifically for the daycare to keep it on hand in case of an emergency.

Good luck with your first day of daycare I know you guys will love it! This is going to be very good for your baby’s development and social skills! Good for you mama for starting the foundation for your babys education earlier!