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Santas little helper!
xp: questions to ask a daycare/vent
The first part is a vent. Skip over, i just needed to get that out.
Let me start off with saying im a single mother. I wasnt going to have Brayden in daycare this early, but it seems like the family i had originally planed him being with are being a little more difficult than i had hoped. My job is really early in the morning, i get that. But i do not find it easy that i have to drive around the state at the weee hour in the morning to drop him off. Im a nursing assistant at a hospital, and that hospital is conveniently only 8 minutes from my house. I loved it when i was pregnant, didnt take me very long to get to work. But now, that has changed.
I work 4 days, two days i work
7am-7pm, and two days i work 3pm-11pm. I did this so i could be home
with LO for three days, and that i could spend two afternoons with him.
The 3-11 is not a problem, its later on in the day so i have time to
sleep in and still spend time with LO. The 7-7 is going to be tough, but
when i told my family about my new hours, everyone jumped on the idea
of everyone else switching to watch him. So i never looked into daycare
and didnt prepare myself. My grandparents told me they could watch him
the days i worked 7am-7pm, they would watch him until 4pm, when my mom
would come get him and bring him back to my house until i got home. My
sister had said she could watch him on her days off, Tuesday &
Thursday. So for this week i had set it up that the days i work 7-7 were
Tuesday and Thursday. Now she cant do it, and its back to my
grandparents.
My sister lives about 10 mins from my house, 20 minutes from the
hospital. My grandparents live 45 mins in the total opposite direction. I
have to drive past the hospital and through early morning traffic to
get to their house. My grandparents want me to drive the 45 mins to go
drop him off in the morning. This would mean i would have to leave at
430-5am. I would get to their house by 5:45 (depending on traffic), drop
him off and head the 45 mins trip back to this area to get to the
parking lot by 6:40 (again, depending on traffic), to not miss the
shuttle to the hospital, to clock in by 7. I had asked if they could at
least meet me halfway, they said "its too early." There only solution is
i sleep at their house for those two days. Im 22 years old, i have my
own place and do everything on my own. Sleeping at my grandparents
house, is just honestly not an option. A futon in a small room where my
pictures from grade school stare me down, not the life i had planed out.
They do not want to sleep here though, and dont understand why i do not
want to sleep there. Not only would if be harder to get LO on a
routine, Its not my our house. He wont have his own room, his crib, his
swing & Id have to lugg around the pack and play.
So in general, the days that i work 7am-7pm, hes going into daycare. Now i have to find a daycare center near me, that opens around 630.
How did you find your daycare center?
What questions did you ask them before going to view it?
What are the most important questions to ask when looking for a daycare center?
I
have: age, hours, prices, staff ratio, licensed, and if he has to be
there the same days every week, but if there are other important
questions i should ask? My son is 6 weeks old, he will probably be
around 8 weeks when i finally get him into a place.
Santas little helper!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: xp: questions to ask a daycare/vent
Yikes.
Well... if I were in your shoes, I would probably sleep those 2 nights at your grandparent's house. Free daycare 2 days a week, and you're a young single mom with a tough schedule? I would jump on that.
As to this... "to not miss the shuttle to the hospital, to clock in by 7. I had asked if they could at least meet me halfway, they said "its too early." There only solution is i sleep at their house for those two days. Im 22 years old, i have my own place and do everything on my own. Sleeping at my grandparents house, is just honestly not an option. A futon in a small room where my pictures from grade school stare me down, not the life i had planed out." ... I hate to be blunt, but you have a child now, it's not going to be easy, but you need to do what is best for your child. You are goign to make all kinds of sacrifices in the coming years... you'll gove up sleep, money, time to yourself, etc, so your child can have a great life. You might just have to wake up extra early to make this daycare work out for you. if I was providing childcare for you, I also would not wake up super early and meet them halfway. I think you are expecting too much from your grandparents, honestly.
Can you afford to spend $600-$1000+ on daycare?
To answer your questions...
I found my in-home daycare on craigslist. I emailed about 15 places, talked on the phone to about 6 places, and went to actually meet with 2 places. I knew as soon as I met her that she was "the one".
I don't know what hospital you work at but my hospital has daycare and at a discounted price for employees.
ETA: I saw your post on 0-3 that you work at Yale. St. Raphaels had daycare and is only 6 blocks away. My friends really like it. Does Yale have one?
Yale has one, and that was my "go to" until i had called to ask about prices, and they told me it was for 3mo+. Do you know the name of the daycare your friend likes? St rays is right down the street, so it would be in the same location that i was looking for.
Santas little helper!
Swallow your pride and stay with Grandparents 2 days a week. I was a single mom for a year I know exactly how tough it is and free daycare? You can't beat that! Even if it's just for a couple months until you can get LO into your works daycare.