Question for working moms....

abh1977

I REALLY need to find a day care and a pedi.  We live about 25 minutes from where we work, and we both work FT, fairly normal schedules.  I'm assuming it's most convenient to have a day care and a pedi that are more convenient for work, right?  Or should I look for them closer to home for some reason I can't think of?  Thanks!!!

katattack615

We've always focused on home so that it's convenient for both of us.  There are days that I work from home and she still goes to daycare, so I like that it's less than 5 mins away.  We picked a pedi that's a little farther away, but we loved her, so we decided it didn't matter.

christym0606

We chose closer to home for both.  Makes the drive a little easier (DD hates being in the car), and I like having the pedi close to home for when she's sick (its only 1.5 blocks from our house, actually!).  As far as routine pedi appointments go, I try to schedule them early morning or late afternoon so I can leave directly from, or head back straight to home.

MrsShackleford

Like pp, we chose to be closer to home.

That said, our initial daycare was very convenient, but we learned that we preferred to be somewhere with lower ratios.  Our current daycare is a little out of our way, but it was worth it for better care.

bobcatsteph

We picked close to home for both. I don't think commuting to work with DD would be very fun right now and I would hate to have to take a sick LO all the way downtown instead of a few miles down the road.

SarahPLiz

Our Pedi is 2 blocks away, but daycare is actually 10 minutes further away than work. Its the right place at the right price with the right people for him, though, so its worth it to me. 

PrincessBrideSarah

I'm a stay at home mom, but I would try to get somewhere close to home. If your child hates the car, you will be very glad to have as little car time as possible. One of my girls hates the car, and one loves the car. The one that hates the car will cry until she gags and once cried until she vomited.

Also, if you are going in for a sick visit, you or your DH won't be going to work that day anyway. 

As for day care, I have known working friends who take advantage of having a work day off and then using day care for child care while they run errands, do chores, or even have a date day. So, close to home makes more sense for those days. 

 Also, you are probably more likely to change your work location than your home location. 

abh1977

Glad I asked!  If it matters, I own a small-business (retail) and really don't get vacation or sick time.  Which is why I thought easy access to day care from work might be best so I could be there quickly if needed, but now I'm second-guessing that.   A pedi closer to home does make more sense now that several of you mention it.

rssnlvr

We chose closer to work for both. I also work about 25 minutes from home, but the kids' daycare is only about 5 min from work. I was able to go nurse them on my lunch break when they were itty bitty. I like that I can get to them in 5 min flat if there were an emergency. I like that I can work longer before leaving to take them to a pedi appt (as opposed to closer to home, in which case I'd have to leave work like 30 min earlier). The longish commute has proven valuable--they can sneak an extra nap in at the end of the day and because they both ride in the car so much, they are both excellent car kids. Andplusalso, talking with DD on the way home, telling stories, singing songs, etc, is one of the favorite parts of my day. As a working mom, I get such limited time with them as it is, I wouldn't want to give that time with them up. 

But mainly, I just like the security of knowing they are both so close to me during the day. 

abh1977

PrincessBrideSarah:

 Also, you are probably more likely to change your work location than your home location. 

I wish!  See previous post about being a small-business owner.    However, everything else about being closer to home is making total sense now.  I appreciate all of the input!

ditzydi_2000

Well as far as daycare, we don't have to worry about that because MIL watches DS.  But it does help that she is 5 minutes away because i honestly don't think I could calmly drive any farther than that if DS was having a meltdown in the backseat.  So something to keep in mind. 

 

As far as the pedi goes, we chose one that is close to home too and I usually try and get the latest appt they have available so then we can all just head straight home.  Especially if he has to get shots and then that way I can be home to see if he happens to have any sort of reaction.  Also DH is NOT a morning person so trying to get out of the house for a morning appt is kind of like wrangling two kids instead of the one. 

sweetdreams2000

We haven't finalized, but we're picking closer to home mainly b/c 1) I work from home sometimes, and 2) when I do go to the office, DH and I work in opposite sides of the city.  With my work schedule, it would make it really difficult to have drop off and pick up duties.  For ped, I'm guessing we'll go close to home for the same reason - but I haven't done much research on that yet.