🌱 Program Overview
Our infant program is for babies from birth through 11 months. It runs at our Midway Blvd location, which is open Monday to Friday, 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM. The early start suits families on shift work and families at NAS Whidbey.
Infant care is about one thing before anything else: your baby being safe and settled with someone who knows them. The same teachers are with your baby every day, so they learn the difference between a hungry cry and a tired one, and you are not explaining your child again every morning.
We work to your schedule, not a room schedule. Babies sleep when they are tired and eat when they are hungry. As your baby grows into a predictable rhythm, we follow it, and we tell you what we are seeing so home and here stay in step. Read our tips on nutrition for young children and the family resources available in Oak Harbor.
At a Glance
- ✓ Birth to 11 months
- ✓ Midway Blvd location only
- ✓ Monday to Friday, 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM
- ✓ Staffed to Washington State licensing requirements
- ✓ Safe sleep practices, every nap
- ✓ Breast milk and formula both welcome
- ✓ Photos and updates through our parent app
- ✓ Meals included as your baby starts solids
- ✓ DSHS, MCCYN, MCCYN-PLUS and Child Care Aware accepted
🏠 Inside the Infant Room
The room is built for babies, not borrowed from an older group. Here is what is in it and how we use it.
Cribs for every baby
Each baby has their own crib with a firm mattress and a tight-fitting sheet, and nothing else in it. Cribs are spaced and labeled, and we sanitize bedding between uses.
A feeding corner
A glider and a dedicated feeding and bottle-prep space, away from the play mat, so feeds are calm and unhurried. High chairs come in once your baby is ready for solids.
A changing station
A separate changing and handwashing station, cleaned after every change. Changes are logged in the app with the time, so you can see the pattern over the week.
A soft play area
A padded floor mat with tummy-time space, mirrors, soft blocks and board books, so your baby can roll, reach and push up safely.
Songs, books and talk
We narrate, sing and read to babies all day. It feels like nothing much, and it is the single biggest thing anyone can do for early language.
Fresh air every day
Babies get outside in the stroller or on a blanket in the shade whenever the weather allows, and Whidbey weather allows more than people expect.
😴 Safe Sleep
Every nap, every baby, no exceptions. We follow Washington State licensing requirements and the American Academy of Pediatrics guidance.
-
🛏
On the back, in their own crib
Babies are always placed on their back to sleep, in their own crib, on a firm mattress with a tight-fitting sheet. No blankets, pillows, bumpers or soft toys.
-
👀
Visual checks while they sleep
A teacher stays in the room and checks each sleeping baby regularly. Sleep and wake times go into the app, so you see them before you pick-up.
-
📝
If your baby sleeps differently
Anything other than back sleeping needs written instructions from your child's health care provider. Bring them in and we will build them into your baby's plan.
🍼 Feeding
You decide what your baby eats and when. We keep to it and write down what happened.
-
🥤
Breast milk
Send bottles labeled with your baby's name and the date. We store, warm and handle breast milk to state requirements, and anything unused goes home with you. Parents are welcome to come in and nurse.
-
🍮
Formula
Bring your formula and we will prepare it as directed. Tell us the brand and the mix, and we will not change either without asking you.
-
🍲
Starting solids
We start solids when you tell us your health care provider has cleared it, one food at a time, at the pace you set. Once your baby is on table food, meals are included in tuition like every other program.
-
⚠
Allergies
Tell us at enrollment. Allergies and intolerances are recorded on your baby's plan and posted in the kitchen, and we substitute with advance notice.
👥 Ratios and Staffing
We are licensed by the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families and we staff the infant room to meet its requirements for infant care. The room is never left to a single adult.
Your baby has primary teachers who are with them day to day, which is what makes it possible to read a baby who cannot yet tell you anything. Every teacher in the room holds current pediatric first aid and infant CPR certification and has cleared a Washington DCYF background check.
Our program is rated Early Achievers Level 5, the highest quality rating in Washington State, and is recognized by NAEYC. The infant room is run by the same team, to the same standards.
Daily Updates
Through our parent app you get, the same day:
- ✓ Every bottle, how much and when
- ✓ Every nap, start and finish
- ✓ Every diaper change
- ✓ Solids offered and how it went
- ✓ Photos
- ✓ A note from your teacher
📅 A Day in the Infant Room
Babies are on their own clock, so this is a rhythm rather than a timetable. Feeds and naps happen when your baby needs them, and the rest of the day fits around that.
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 6:00 - 8:00 AM | Arrival, a handoff with your teacher, bottles and naps as needed |
| 8:00 - 9:00 AM | Breakfast for babies on solids, bottles for those not |
| 9:00 - 10:00 AM | Tummy time, floor play, songs and books |
| 10:00 - 11:00 AM | Morning naps, with play for babies who are awake |
| 11:00 - 11:45 AM | Outside in the stroller or on a blanket, weather allowing |
| 11:45 AM - 12:30 PM | Lunch for babies on solids, bottles for those not |
| 12:30 - 2:30 PM | Naps, with quiet one-to-one play for babies who are awake |
| 2:30 - 3:15 PM | Afternoon snack and bottles |
| 3:15 - 4:30 PM | Sensory play, mirrors, soft blocks, reaching and rolling |
| 4:30 - 5:15 PM | Outside or gross motor play indoors |
| 5:15 - 6:00 PM | Evening snack, quiet play, and the day's handoff at pick-up |
🎓 What We Watch For
-
👦
Head control and rolling
Daily tummy time builds the neck and shoulder strength behind rolling, sitting and crawling.
-
💬
First sounds and words
Babbling back, naming what your baby looks at, and responding to every attempt at a sound.
-
🧠
Cause and effect
Dropping, banging, reaching and finding a hidden toy. It looks like mess and it is thinking.
-
💕
Attachment and trust
Responding every time, so your baby learns that a need gets met. Everything else is built on this.
-
🥅
Self-soothing and sleep
Learning to settle, with the routine you use at home rather than a different one here.
-
👋
Noticing other people
Watching faces, smiling back, and reaching for other babies with a teacher close by.
🎒 What to Bring
Please label everything with your baby's name:
-
🧻
Diapers, wipes and cream
A supply of diapers and wipes, plus any cream your baby uses. We will tell you when stocks are running low.
-
🍼
Bottles, milk or formula
Enough bottles for the day, labeled with your baby's name and the date, and your formula if you use it.
-
👜
Spare clothes
Two or three complete changes, appropriate for the season. Everything labeled.
-
🛏
A crib sheet and a sleep sack
A fitted sheet for your baby's crib and a wearable sleep sack if you use one. No loose blankets.
-
💅
Weather bits
Sun hat and sunscreen in summer, a warm layer in winter, since babies go outside too.
-
📋
Paperwork before day one
A completed enrollment packet and a Certificate of Immunization Status. We cannot take your baby without them.
💰 Paying for Infant Care
Infant care is the most expensive care any family buys, because it takes the most adults. Several programs help, and we accept all of them.
-
🇺🇸
Military fee assistance
MCCYN and MCCYN-PLUS, plus Child Care Aware Military. We also waive the $100 registration fee for military families. See our page for military families.
-
🏛
DSHS Working Connections
We are a DSHS provider, SSPS number 587902, and the registration fee is waived for families using a DSHS subsidy.
-
📞
Rates
Infant care starts at $300 per week. The exact rate depends on the days and hours you need, so call or text (360) 682-8920 for a quote. See the tuition page for our other programs.