Remind me that I am doing the right thing.

Aerochyck

Before DS was born, I researched all of the day cares extensively.  DH and I picked a home day care because it was the best fit.  The lady who runs the day care, her family and the other families that use her have become an extension of our family and I am so happy that we choose them.  DD now goes there as well and they both have a great time.

My issue is with work.  The one limitation with this day care situation is that she works from 8 am until 5 pm.  We knew this going in and due to her "Limited" hours we pay an excellent rate.  I do all of the drop off and pick ups since DH works 10 hour shifts.

My job is very demanding and I need to be putting in more that the current 8 hour day. I have two choices going forward. The first is that I could use one of the day care centres (more $, taking the kids away from what they know) this seems to me like I would be taking the easy way out.  Or I can leave them where they are and just put in the extra hours at the end of the day after they have gone to bed or get up early in the morning.  All I need is an extra 2 hours or so. 

My MIL and mother are insisting that I should go with the day care centre but I am so comfortable with where my children are right now.  I think that I should just suck it up and keep going with what we have been doing.

Thoughts?

luvmagoldn

If it were me, and I was able to put in more hours from home in the evening, I would go with that.  Finding child care you are comfortable with is such a blessing. I wouldn't trade that for convenience if I had other options.

azuremama

Well, there's nothing wrong with taking the easy way out per se.  But if you like where you are, childcare-wise, and you don't mind doing a little extra work from home, why not try it out and see how it goes?  If it doesn't work, you can always make the change in a month or two. 

Bella427

If you love the current DCP and the kids do too, I would try to work from home for a couple of hours after they go to bed.  If it doesn't work you can always switch later.  No need to disrupt their routine until you're sure though!

muchlovenicole

azuremama:

Well, there's nothing wrong with taking the easy way out per se.  But if you like where you are, childcare-wise, and you don't mind doing a little extra work from home, why not try it out and see how it goes?  If it doesn't work, you can always make the change in a month or two. 

 

I completely agree, maybe try the work from home in the evening route first and you can always change later if you find it is not working.  Having a routine that works for everyone in the family makes returning to work so much easier, and it seems like staying with the same in-home care and working from home would disrupt your morning/evening routine less too. 

wbl

Definitely I'd leave them where they are and work from home.  H and I work from home every night of the week after the kids go to bed, and it's not that bad.  At least try it for a while and see how it works before doing the switch to a center, since you're loving their current DCP.

 

wendyj

azuremama:

Well, there's nothing wrong with taking the easy way out per se.  But if you like where you are, childcare-wise, and you don't mind doing a little extra work from home, why not try it out and see how it goes?  If it doesn't work, you can always make the change in a month or two. 

I agree. If you are able to do it from home at night, and it's not too stressful on you, then do it. It's so hard to find great care at an affordable price, especially for 2 LO's.

mtnrider

Ditto what PP's said.  It's worth the limited hours and distruption when your DCP is sick or on vacation to keep the kids in a daycare they love.

shouldbworkin

Is your LO almost a year old now?  We switched our kids to a center when DD had just turned 1 y/o and DS was 3.  Our daycare was closing and, honestly, it couldn't have come at a better time.  We found a daycare that offered FT preschool and even some PS for my toddler (just half days) for the same price that we were paying for FT in home daycare.  So, right there, it saved me about $3k b/c I was going to put DS in PT PS somewhere else and still pay for his FT inhome daycare too.  I was glad that they had the one on one attention when they were little, but at 1 and 3 y/o, it was a good time to move to a center for them. 

I think it also depends on your company.  At my former company, doing work at home would have been fine.  At my current company, I would be missed a lot if I left at 4:30 every day.

Aerochyck

Thanks for the input everyone.  Working from home in the evening is definitely accepted and I don't need to be "in" the office to do my job.

DS will be going to Kindergarten in the fall so it's only for 10 months or so.