4 months

Hi Poonam. I can understand your concerns about keeping your little bundle away from you. I am not a working mom, but have friends who have had to return to work 4 - 6 months post delivery. Here is what one of my friends did- she exclusively breastfed her baby till 2 months and then gradually introduced her baby to the bottle by pumping milk. Once her baby took to the bottle, she introduced him to formula. Her baby faced no problems in adapting to formula as it was very gradual and done over a period of 4 months. She breastfed him only in the mornings and at bedtime. She took plenty of time out in visiting day cares and finding out the services in detail, asked questions and finally settled on one which both her husband and she were comfortable in. She called in everyday to check on her baby's news and at the end of the day, found out in detail what they fed him,when they changed him etc. So, when you decide on a day care, please first look around. Take all your time and ask as many questions as you may have. The most popular place may not be providing the best care. Another option is, you could hire a nanny to come home and look after your daughter while you are away at work. This way, you can be assured of your baby not being exposed to a strange place, about hygiene etc. The only thing here is to find someone extremely reliable and trustworthy as she will be spending time at your house. I think the key things to look out for when deciding on a creche would be safety- look around,check changing tables,mats,cots,toys;Hygiene-take a look at the bottles, sterilizers, diapers, toys, washing area; People-meet the people who will be taking care of your baby-talk to them on what a normal day is like, how often they feed,change,take the babies out (permissions maybe needed from your end),they should give you a feedback everyday when you go to pick your baby up. Hope this helps.

Hi Poonam. I also recommend what Aashna suggested here. I will try to find names of a few creches in Mumbai. My sister lives in Bandra and has colleagues with babies. I will ask her to check with them on some reliable day cares. Will get back to you on this asap so that you can start doing your research on them. Take care :)

Hi Poonam! i would advice against the creche option. its a little early in the day. Ideally, a family member, your parents, in-laws, elderly family members are the best to look for support.

Hi Poonam, I agree with Nitin here. Perhaps the thought of asking a family member (your parents or in laws) may not have occurred to you due to logistical constraints, however, its best to ask for help from family when the baby is so young. In my own experience, the elderly also prefer that the baby is with them than at a creche. If you can work this out, you could keep a house help to assist the elderly in taking care of the baby. On the other hand, as Aashna mentioned, these days some really nice day care places have come up which may charge higher than usual, but do fit the expectations of cognizant urban parents. It is good to check with family first, or perhaps even demand that you need help, we can do that with parents :)

Hey Poonam. I also agree with Nitin & Neetu here. My post above would be recommendable only in the option of family not being able to help out. Leaving your baby with a family member would be ideal. Hope it works out.

Aashna@ I dont have parents & my inlaws are too old to take care of my princess. Nitin & neetu I do agree with u guys , buh thouh I am not that lucky . Anurima@It would be a great help to me if u know any one in Andheri East as its near to my work place.. Thanks everyone

Hi Poonam. I had mentioned to my sister on recommendations for creches. Most of her colleagues sent their kids to creches after the age of 18months to 2 years. So their recommendations are Podar Happy Kids (www. podarhappykids. com, The Tree House, in Andheri E-( http://treehouseplaygroup.net ). I have been to the sites and it is not clear as to whether they have day care services for babies. You could give them a call to find out the details and they may even be able to recommend a few other places. I also found one place over the internet- STAR ANGELS, Ms. Doris Dsouza, contact no. 9892768259. She is in Andheri W. You could try looking through this link for other names as well http://www.netexpress.co.in/yellowpages/display/Creches/Child+Care/Baby+Sitting+Centres/Maharashtra/Mumbai/1/display.aspx

I am not sure if you can see the complete link above.. Please try going to www. netexpress. co. in and search for child care,baby care, creche in Mumbai. A list of names should open up. Hope this helps.