Our summer is shaping up before our eyes. Between Stetsi's arrival, visits from Bieganskys and Mathers and Fines and Dahls, and weddings that will take us to Maui, Malibu and Montana, it's going to be a hectic summer. Hopefully Stetsi is social and loves to travel like her parents...
We went to visit a day care Wednesday morning. It's hard for me to find a positive in it, but I guess the kids there did seem happy. I think growing up with a stay-at-home Mom makes me look at day care with a critical eye, but it does seem to work out all right for a lot of people. Just imagining handing off Stetsi to other people for 30 or 40 hours a week where there are four kids per "teacher" is tough. At this point we don't know Nicole's return to work plans, we're just going to see how it feels after a couple of months and make a decision. But it seems that daycares have long waitlists (the one we visited apparently has a waitlist of about 40 for infants), so we at least need to cover our bases. And to add an extra layer of uncertainty, we will probably move within 6 months of Stetsi's arrival, so we're not sure what neighborhood to aim for. I guess we'll need to step up and figure it out pretty soon.
On a lighter note, we were amused in this week's doctor visit (every other week now) when the doctor put his hands on Nicole's belly for about two seconds and then announced "well her butt's up here, head's down here, and legs are over here". We just looked at him like "how the heck did you know that?" and he said something like "feel a million abdomens and you'll know". Then he showed us how to tell what's where, and how to move her head around. Haven't quite figured all that out, but she's definitely acting like she's going to be a soccer star, kicking all over the place.
I'll leave you with a picture of me with my sympathy pregnancy belly. Nicole says I'm bad at sympathy.
If that was your impression on your tour, it sounds like you guys haven't found the right daycare yet... At Noras, they make me feel like she's their favorite baby. Now I know that other parents at the daycare feel the same way about their kids (that they're the favorite) - but it helps me actively feel that i'm doing a good thing for my daughter by having her spend time with the other kids and her teachers. She plays, gets to try out new things I wouldn't have thought of, and has more people who love her.
ReplyDeleteI do think full time daycare would be tough (i like my gig because I spend more days with Nora then away from her), but part time seems ideal to me. I also feel like work gives me a break so I come back refreshed and ready to be a better mom. And if it's a break that pays me tens of thousands of dollars, all the better!
My mom when back to work when I was 2 (though she took some time off when each of my sisters were born) - and I remember really liking going to daycare. My dad says every night he'd ask me "what do you want to talk about" and I'd say "nursery school" and tell him how much fun I had.
Just wanted to share another perspective that it can actually be a positive experience for a family - a lot more then something to tolerate to get a paycheck. Whatever you guys decide, I'm sure it will be a good decision that works for your family.