Note - before you read this - this is not a forum for debate on day care vs. one of us staying at home. That was a personal decision made by us, and you don't get a vote. Anybody who posts about how we're bad parents for using day care (or who even implies it) will not only have their posts deleted, but they will also be cut out of my life. No exceptions.
Hubby-poo and I started the daunting task of figuring out who is going to care for our baby while we are at work. This is a difficult decision, because, well, it's our baby! We want to make sure she gets the best possible care that she can. We also want to make sure that wherever we go, they do things our way (even if we don't know what 'our way' is yet).
We went on our first tour last week - a place called Bright Horizons inside of the corporate JC Penney building across the street from work. It was nice. The babies seemed happy, although since it was late on a Friday afternoon it was pretty empty (evidently JCP becomes a ghost town on Fridays as well). The director was really knowledgeable and seemed really into taking care of children. She said that the teachers were the same way, that they all had that special patience that is required for the specialized task of child care.
It was a nice place, overall. It was clean, bright, well-organized, etc. The only thing that left a little something to be desired is the teacher:baby ratio is 1:4, which is a few too many babies per teacher for my taste. But I guess they're babies, and spend most of their time sleeping, so that's probably okay. They are happy to take my pumped milk, and keep all of the different babies' stuff separate. They have space to keep diapers for the entire week, so we don't need to bring a new stash every day. And they let us put pictures all around the crib, that way we can make sure she remembers our faces while she's hanging out without us.
The other problem is that it's pretty pricey. It's FAR less than either of us makes in a year, so it's still a worthwhile financial call. But it's not cheap. But I guess that's to be expected.
There are a few more I want to check out - one Montessori that many of my coworkers use, and one at another company. And then maybe one more beyond that. Also, we may check out a few in-home places in our neighborhood (which we still need to research). Since we have a back-up child care benefit, I'm less nervous about using in-home care because we have a back-up plan for when they go on vacation / get sick / etc. I just need to find a licensed / insured / certified place in our neighborhood.
But I am glad that I feel good about the one place I have taken a look at so far. It makes me feel much better about the world.
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2 comments:
I think you're going to find the price of the place will trend with the ratios. Although, JCP maintains the state-required ratio and is still pricey. There goes that theory...
I just wanted to tell you, though, that you're likely going to feel the best about your decision if you just go with your gut feel. Take your checklists of course, but remember that you've got mom instincts now. I went to one place that had everything right on paper, but something just felt off for me. Another place that someone had RAVED about I wanted to run far, far away from. It's pretty bazarre.
Oh, and needless to say I think you're a terrible mother for subjecting your child to daycare. :P
Debbie is right... things can look great on paper, or what have you, but in the end, go with your gut. Granted I lost my job so daycare wasn't an option for us, but when we were looking at Preschools a few months ago, the one we selected was great all around, but what made our decision was how we felt there, and how relaxed we saw Julianne was as we toured it. Good luck, kiddo... you terrible, terrible human being ;-P
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