WWS12D - Daycare

fireflygirl12 · November 2013

I'll be on maternity leave April-June and can't decide if I should leave DS in daycare or not. I think it would be nice to not have to chase a toddler around when I have a newborn at home, but I'm worried about DS carrying something home from daycare and getting the baby sick. Too paranoid? What would you do/have you done?

AKB090609 · November 2013

When I was a child care provider a lot of families would leave the older child in care at least part time, it gave the child a bit of their usual routine and let the moms get one on one time with the new baby.

hmp1 · November 2013

I left James in daycare for a few reasons. 1) I didn't want to lose our spot. 2) I wanted to keep his routine as much the same as possible and he loves daycare. 3) I wanted the same quality time with the baby as I had with James. 4) I wanted to know I had the possible option to nap during the day when the baby was napping.

fireflygirl12 · November 2013

@hmp1 - Did Leo get sick during the first few months?

I would prefer to leave Wesley in daycare for all of the above reasons, except being afraid to lose his spot. There are quite a few teachers who pull their kids out during the summer, and we would be re-entering in July, so should be OK on that. I'm just worried about the baby getting sick, since I'm sure W would cough right in the their face.

pharmer78 · November 2013

hmp1 said:

I left James in daycare for a few reasons. 1) I didn't want to lose our spot. 2) I wanted to keep his routine as much the same as possible and he loves daycare. 3) I wanted the same quality time with the baby as I had with James. 4) I wanted to know I had the possible option to nap during the day when the baby was napping.

These were my reasons too. Even when my husband was out on his FMLA leave we brought my daughter to daycare, and we took turns taking care of the baby while the other person got to take a nap, get out of the house, have a little free time. It was glorious.

hmp1 · November 2013

fireflygirl12 said:

@hmp1 - Did Leo get sick during the first few months?
I would prefer to leave Wesley in daycare for all of the above reasons, except being afraid to lose his spot. There are quite a few teachers who pull their kids out during the summer, and we would be re-entering in July, so should be OK on that. I'm just worried about the baby getting sick, since I'm sure W would cough right in the their face.

No. James very rarely gets sick now and wasn't out sick at all when I was on maternity leave. I can't remember when I started bathing them together but I know it was when I was still on ML. I was never worried about the germs.

hmp1 · November 2013

mssm2012 said:

I'm struggling with a similar situation. DS is due at the end of March, and I'm out through late June. I'm leaning towards pulling her out of daycare. My reasons: - It's an added expense during maternity leave, and I'd rather save use money for other things. - I'm not going to want to pack up 2 kids while recovering from delivery, drop DD off, and then pick her back up. I'd rather stay in my pj's at home. - Sickness. Daycare recommends keeping her 1-2x/week to maintain a schedule and consistency, but IMO it'll be a big adjustment either way. Kids are easily adaptable, and the other reasons outweigh the benefits. I don't anticipate a problem holding her spot, and suspect I could re-enroll her early if I change my mind while I'm on maternity leave.

Can't your husband do some of that? I did all the drop offs so James could sleep as late as he wanted. We took our time getting off to daycare since there was no schedule I had to follow. I never dressed more than shorts or yoga pants for drop off. My parents were here right after I delivered and took James to daycare, or my husband did the pick ups and drop offs when he was off work. My husband did the pick ups every night that he was in town once he went back to work.

Want a personalized experience?

WWS12D - Daycare

Re: WWS12D - Daycare

Choose Another Board

Search Boards