Bust a Move — We Found Childcare!

Remember how I was freaking out about sending my kid to a hoarder for childcare?

Well, this week’s experience was pretty much the opposite of that. It was actually the EXACT experience that I wish that tour had been.

When my original childcare option for Friday’s fell through, my mom so nicely stepped in and added another day to her schedule. So instead of watching Jack for three days a week, she was now committed to four days. It was super awesome of her to take on the extra day, but I felt terribly guilty about it. Even though I thoroughly appreciate her taking care of my son, I didn’t want to be a burden on her or take advantage of her in any way.

So I started looking for other childcare options.

I was kind of scared of using another in-home childcare, seeing how they may not be exactly what they seem. So, I held off on researching them for the time being.

A nanny coming to our house sounds pretty great; since we wouldn’t have to pack up the baby and drop him off first thing in the morning. It could be a bit pricy though, even at $10 an hour we’re talking almost $500 a month for just one day a week. With this option, I was a bit nervous about having a stranger in our home on a weekly basis. Sure, the nanny may be incredibly awesome and act like another member of our family. But she could also totally ignore our kid while eating everything in the pantry and watching TV all day. Also, if she had to call out sick at the last minute it would leave us in a bind.

So, we were back to looking at childcare options in our area. Unfortunately many places will not accept an infant on a part-time basis, so that really narrowed our choices down for us.

However, I’m so happy to say that we found the perfect place! I don’t feel comfortable releasing the name of the center, since I’m not doing a big ol’ official review or anything. And, um… hello this is my kid we’re taking about and I should keep up some sort of security. However, we went on a tour yesterday and the place was fantastic.

Here are some of the things I loved:

• They have a security system in place so random people can’t just wander in and pet the children.
• There is a separate room for each age group with age-appropriate toys and classroom activities.
• The children all seemed to be happy, comfortable and having a great time.
• The place was super neat and clean. Yay, no hoarding!
• The lady in charge of the infant’s room was awesome.
• The price for two days a week (their minimum) works for us and was less expensive than a 1 day a week nanny.

Here is what we didn’t like:

• The center is in the opposite direction of our jobs.

With just one thing on the “con” list, we knew we found a winner. In fact, once my husband and I got to the car we just sat there saying, “I LOVE it!” over and over.

Now THAT is the feeling I wanted to have when I left a tour of my son’s childcare!

We are really excited for Jack to have the chance to interact with other children in a safe and clean environment. Since we plan on him being our only child, it is really great for him to spend time with other kids. One of the best parts is it will give my mom a bit of a break… knocking her back down to just two days a week. Still a great amount of time for Grammy/Jack bonding, but a little more breathing room too.

It’s going to suck to have to drive extra two mornings a week, but my husband and I will split it so it shouldn’t be too bad. I’m also going to have to come in to work early on those days so that I can leave early and pick Jack up by 6:00. The childcare place is pretty strict about pick up times and I don’t want them to sell my kid into slavery if I’m late.

So after a couple weeks of stressing out about this, I’m happy to have a solution! Oh, and I’m also happy that I now have a reason to go and buy an incredibly adorable baby Halloween costume.

Speaking of, anyone have any fun costume ideas? I saw another family dressed up like the Incredibles a few years ago and have been threatening my husband with family costumes ever since.

Related articles

• Trusting Your Gut (pocketfulofjoules.com)
• Dealing with the Rising Cost of Childcare (money.usnews.com)
• Combining a Career with Children (parentalchoiceuk.com)