Starting the Day Care Search

Snaps816 · February 2016

DH and I have been discussing our options for when it's time for me to go back to work (or not go back, or part time?). So today I started calling daycares in my area. Holy crap was that depressing. Today was seriously the first day in my pregnancy that I've wished I could have a drink!! I was hoping this thread could be a place where we could share about the process of finding appropriate care for our LO's when they arrive, cost considerations, etc. No need to weigh the merits of being a working mom or SAHM, I think we've all read those threads elsewhere, and it gets really judgmental.

So I will kick this off. Bit of background on me: What I am hoping to do is cut back to part time, use a daycare for that part of the week and spend the rest of the time home with my baby. I don't even know if my employer will go for this option, but I am trying to gather the information I need before having that discussion with her. After making my calls today, I learned that the average cost for full time infant care in my area is $1700 per month. That's about $20k per year, or you know, about the cost of tuition at many colleges. Only two centers out of the 6 or so that I called today even offered a part time option. The others offered only full time, so there is no solution for mothers wishing to work part time. Also, those two centers (one of which is my top choice) already had wait lists for January 2017, when I had hoped to enroll. And speaking of wait lists, most of the daycares had those, too. One place, the cheapest place I found, was booked into March of next year. I guess you're supposed to enroll before you conceive?

I was not under the delusion that this would be easy. But I thought I was being smart and starting early enough that availability wouldn't be the problem. I mean, I'm not even out of my first trimester yet, we haven't even told our friends! I thought DH and I would tour some of these places, choose the ones that we liked best based on the atmosphere, safety, convenience, staff, etc. Then we'd reserve a spot or sign up for a waitlist if necessary. But instead today I found myself putting my name down for waitlists at these places, totally sight unseen, just out of desperation. Looks like we may be selecting a daycare just based on where we can find a spot. My next option is to broaden my search area, but that will mean driving out of my way to pick up and drop off my child, and I live in a city where rush hour traffic is no joke. I guess I better look into nanny shares as well, but I don't know if that's in our price range. I really hope I can get a spot at my top choice, the one that offers part time and is right in my neighborhood. But if DH and I can't find a care option that we are comfortable with, I'll be staying home full time. I will not pay $20K a year for something that I don't even want to do anyway.

Curls919 · February 2016

How many days are you looking for? I ask because with DS I was able to find somewhere to take him 2 days/w because they had another child who needed 3 days/w. But sadly, a lot of places would rather have an empty crib that they possibly might fill 5 days a week at some point.

Most places we looked at just told us to give them a heads up if we were planning on using them then once he arrived I called to give his start date and paid the deposit, etc. We actually pulled him out of the first daycare we had him in after a month because while the workers were nice, the policies ended up not being right for us (they had told us they were implementing a "no shoes in the infant room" rule but it never happened - kids were crawling/rolling/lying around on the disgusting floors we were walking on in our snowy boots!) and the office staff never seemed to recognize us as having a child there.

One thing we loved about where we ended up is that everyone just seemed HAPPY. The director, the workers, all the parents. People said hello to each other on the way in/out and just seemed glad that their kids were at this facility. We had toured this same location while I was pregnant but mid-morning (after drop off) and I didn't get a good vibe. It wasn't until we went back months later that we just felt comfortable leaving our child there the next day.

I am now a SAHM (DS had some health issues that led us to pull him from daycare, then eventually me leaving my job) so we won't be doing a daycare search this time around, but I wanted to share my insights from a few years ago when I was in your shoes. We actually had a nanny come to our house 3 days a week when we first pulled him from daycare (I had switched to part time by then) which was also a great situation. It's definitely emotional thinking about leaving your baby somewhere when you haven't even MET your baby yet. But the right place/situation will present itself.

acciobaby123 · February 2016

We had no idea how crazy daycare is even in a small city in the Midwest, most places had an 18 month waiting list for the infant room so you legitimately had to put your name on the wait list almost a year before you conceived.... What?!? I'm glad you've started your search this early, even though the prices aren't what you thought they would be.
I would suggest looking for a part time nanny as it seems like it would work with your schedule the best.
Mad far as the wait lists go, if you found a center you really liked, I would put your name down, and then once baby is born, call every week asking if there is a spot. It doesn't sound like it would get you in faster, but if something just opened up, they are more likely to offer it to you since they know you are 100% going there. Less work for them I guess.

icyshimmerpowder · February 2016

Are there in-home care options in your area? We're going the nanny route this time, but we used to be in a very high cost of living area and in-home places were less expensive and more flexible than day care centers.

kattyleigh · February 2016

Yeah I'm an RN and only work 1 to 2 variable days a week so it worked for us to just hire a nanny for those days. She is incredible, and has become a true family member. Plus, they are in school now so she drives them around to drop off and pick up. Priceless.

cait5413 · February 2016

We're also going through this. We're moving to a new state in May, so I am trying to gather info at this point without doing a site visit, but getting info out of them via email is challenging. And some of the places have 11 month wait lists, so it has definitely been adding stress. I got some recommendations for good ones from my future co-workers, but I still haven't been able to get the info I want from the centers. I really need to call them and try to nail down some more details, but we're also in the process of buying a house, planning the move, and I'm teaching this semester and trying to finish my dissertation. I thought we had time to figure this out, but it seems like you have to do it now. I have been told by a friend that when she was pregnant, she was on several waitlists for daycare and a few of them did have openings sooner than they told her they would due to cancellations.

ThisisNumber3 · February 2016

Daycare is so hard.

For part time, are you open to looking at a nanny or in home sitter or a church based provider? Most of those offer more part time options versus a full time center.

I will say that most places do have a waitlist, but often they do move quickly through the list because people put their name down on multiple lists and then when they are called, they turn down the spot.

Prices for newborn care here range for centers. The larger for-profit centers are usually about $1,000 per month. They have longer hours and nice centers. It does seem like there is high staff turn over. The rooms are larger (more babies, usually the same state ratio (ours is 1:4 under a year)) most rooms have about 12 babies and 3 teachers. The advantage to 3 teachers is that there are extra hands around if help is needed. So often, one teacher could be on the floor playing/rocking 4 babies and the other teacher could be patting two in the cribs.

We ended up for our second at a church center that is pretty large so it offers full time care (but more limited hours). The infant rate is $750 so much cheaper. Same ratios but it seems like the staff is there full time. For example, at the For-profit center, once a few babies left for the night, they would also release a teacher. So they were never paying for more coverage than they needed. At the church, the teachers have their set hours so even if there are only 3-4 babies at the end of the day, there are still all 3 teachers there. It also gave teachers more time to clean up and such.

runsoncoffee · February 2016

I also have begun searching and am in the same boat... undecided if we'll need full or part time care. Some of you mentioned in home providers, does anyone have any advice on where to search for a nanny or in home provider?? I briefly checked out care.com but some people were asking $20/hour, which is more than what I make as a social worker! I'd love to stay home, but it's just not in the cards for us right now.

pelorunningmama · February 2016

I would recommend looking into "Mothers Day Out" programs if you are hoping for more part-time options. We have had DD at the same MDO since she was 6 months. On top of the ratios being better and the teachers holding degrees, the facilities were SO much better than any daycares we looked at. I had multiple breakdowns after looking at daycare facilities in our area. So, we do MDO and found a great nanny on care.com who covers the rest of the hours that I can't be there. Cost wise with the nanny it still ends up in the 20k a year area, but I feel 100% comfortable with the care my daughter receives.

1faceinacrowd · February 2016

Yes, daycare is SO expensive! My daughter is in preschool/daycare and it's $172/week (I live in the midwest; I assume based on the high cost that you live somewhere with higher living expenses?) and it's only more expensive the younger they are. I have to admit that I'm rather lucky because my grandmother has an in-home daycare where my daughter went until she was 3, at which point I moved her into preschool. I called my grandma the weekend we found out just to make sure she'd have an opening when I go back to work in October. We'll still pay her $110/week (she charges $140/week for regular newborns but gives us a discount, obviously). It's nice because I went to her in-home daycare when I was growing up, so I know my children are in good hands.

Have you considered looking into in-home daycares? Many of them can provide you with references from parents whose children go to that person for care and they can give you honest information about their feelings about the provider, and they're usually lower cost than regular daycare centers. My grandma has kids that she babysat since birth who STILL go visit her, even now that they're in their mid-twenties. Look for a provider like that, who has kids who WANT to come back as they get older, and whose parents can say their kids have been going their for years. Also, make sure they're licensed through the state. Best of luck, mama! I know it's super stressful!

1faceinacrowd · February 2016

@court5608 The best way to find in-home providers, in my experience, is word of mouth. Ask around for references to people who have in-home daycares, or for people who know of potential nannys. I can't tell you how many people have told me that they know someone (a friend's daughter, a former daycare provider, etc.) who would love to be a nanny for me (I've considered hiring a nanny just during the summers when our older kids are out of school). My grandma, who runs an in-home daycare, gets most of her new kids via referrals.

kwilliams3402 · February 2016

We're already on three daycare waitlists and will be getting on two more this week for care to start beginning of November 2016, and if those don't pan out, we'll have to go the nanny route for a while. It's just plain nuts.

MamaKSquared · February 2016

Wow! I feel way behind now. DH and I think we have it worked out so that one/both of us will be able to be at home with baby through the end of the year. After that, we're considering multiple options, with daycare being one of them. I guess this is something we should start working on ASAP.

Pepper6 · February 2016

I'm sorry you are having such a tough time with this, daycare is ridiculous. When I was pregnant with DD, we called several day cares that all had wait lists for months, then MIL decided she would watch her. However, after a month, MIL hurt her back and we had to scramble to find a daycare. We were totally freaking out because of the wait lists when I was pregnant, but we called those same centers and they all had immediate openings. We are lucky that DH's work subsidizes a few of the daycare centers and they have full and part-time options as well as drop in rates. When I was first back at work, I was full-time, but switched to only 2 days a week as of a few months ago and it wasn't a problem (though the rate works out to being more per day than full-time).

So it might be something to try and call those centers to see what their immediate availability is. Perhaps the wait lists are so long because people put their names in at multiple places, so when they eventually choose one, the centers may still actually have openings. They might not, but could be worth checking into. Another option would be to see if there are any local mom groups that can recommend in-home child care.

Snaps816 · February 2016

@Curls919 I am thinking 2 or 3 days a week. I'd love to do 2 but I have a feeling my boss won't go for that. I guess I will look into nannies next!

Snaps816 · February 2016

@1faceinacrowd Thanks for the kind words! I guess I will look into in-home day cares and ask around about nannies. Fortunately, we're announcing this weekend, so I'll be free to ask friends and post on neighborhood sites, things like that. Up until now I've been keeping this all private. The in-home care places don't seem to have a lot of web presence!

Snaps816 · February 2016

Question - is anyone a member of Angie's List? I was considering joining for this and other child-related searches, but I'm a little skeptical. Is it worth the membership fee?

Ceventa · February 2016

I'm sorry that you're feeling this way. It does suck, and to feel this way so early sucks even more. It's tough too because you are trying to find a place you are comfortable with leaving your baby, so I totally get it.

Most infant/toddler programs are full time from what I've seen. I currently work at a local university that has a school for young children ranging from infant/toddler-VPK. So I'm lucky in the sense that not only do I have a place right here where I work, but I also receive a discount (hallelujah).

I submitted the application for when I was still preggo with him because I knew they fill up fast. We started him at the school when he was 5 months. He is going to be 2 years old in March and I can truly say that we LOVE his school. His infant/toddler class started with 12 babies and he had 6 teachers the first year (1:2 ratio is mandatory there). I cried the night before I dropped him off feeling horrible that I couldn't stay with him, but after a few days I realized that they took excellent care of him. He received an amazing amount of stimulation all day and he interacted with other kids which I loved. I was fortunately able to visit him on my lunch hour which was amazing since I was right on campus. Now he's going to be 2, he is still with the same group of kids so they almost have the relationship of siblings, and they love each other because every time one of them arrives in the morning they all get excited. Most important, he truly looks happy which to me is everything.

I just placed a call this week to enroll the LO and I'm waiting to hear back from them on the timing. Let's see, I really hope they can both be at the same school. Next year he will be entering preschool, which has a lot more flexibility. They offer 3,4, and 5 day weeks, so let's see what will happen.

From my experience these past 2 years, look for a school that has a strong teacher to child ratio (especially for infant/toddler programs). Search for a school with a strong curriculum, even at that young age. You want to see them make things like tummy time a priority and other exercises that help development. Also fun things like music, reading, learning sounds and colors. The teachers early on start teaching sign language and the kids actually pick it up quick! Before my son could talk be was signing works like "milk", "all done", "please", and "more", which was amazing for communication.

Importantly, you want to see them monitoring development and working with the kids, so you can see how your baby is doing. I receive daily reports on how well he ate, slept, and his diaper changes, as well as daily activities. Also receive quarterly reports on development and how he interacts with teachers and other kids.

Your baby will get sick, it happens when they are with other children. In the first year it felt like every other week he had something. DS has had croupe, hand-foot-and-mouth, colds, stomach bugs, it felt endless. I knew that the school was clean because these teachers were OCD about being clean! The kids share things and stick everything in their mouths, its inevitable. They had mandatory policies about seeing the doc before they could come back, and being sent home with a certain temperature, etc. Still it happens. Now, he hardly comes down with anything, so I guess his immune system is pretty strong.

Sorry for the long post, I just wanted to assure you that as hard as it is to leave your little one, it's totally doable. I'm a mother that works full time and my children go to daycare. I can do this because I truly love where they are/will be. DS receives a level of stimulation that I don't think I can even provide, these teachers are amazing. Find that place for your kid, ask a lot of questions so you can be confident about your choice. Make sure to pop in and check on your LO when you can, they should be willing for you to do that. If they aren't, move on.

Snaps816 · February 2016

@Ceventa Thank you so much for all of your advice! Your place sounds amazing.

Ceventa · February 2016

@Snaps816 Absolutely! Happy to help! Anything you need feel free to let me know :-)

runsoncoffee · February 2016

@1faceinacrowd Thanks for the advice. I'll have to start asking around!! There has to be something out there that will be a good fit! I also plan to use cloth diapers, so I'm not sure how many of the larger daycare centers would accept that. My top choice is to find a nanny!

rvamom90 · February 2016

Just a word of advice if you go the nanny/babysitter route, they are considered your employee. You are responsible for paying employment taxes, etc if you are not paying an agency directly and the employee is paid $2000+/year. Usually tax professionals, CPAs, and payroll companies can help ensure you are IRS compliant. Good luck!

Bubblegum5586 · February 2016

Wow thanks for bringing this up! Here I was thinking we have plenty of time, so I started to reach out to a few and some of 2 year waiting list! Ahhhh!

Snaps816 · February 2016

skelly1990 said:

Just a word of advice if you go the nanny/babysitter route, they are considered your employee. You are responsible for paying employment taxes, etc if you are not paying an agency directly and the employee is paid $2000+/year. Usually tax professionals, CPAs, and payroll companies can help ensure you are IRS compliant. Good luck!

Yeah, this is my main hesitation with going this route. It sounds complicated! Also we live in an apartment and it's not always kept "company-ready" so to speak. I'd feel self-conscious having another person in there all day while we are out. But hopefully I'd get over that if we found the right person.

DoxieLove05 · February 2016

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet but care.com has a lot of in-home options that are much more affordable. I live in southern CA and cost for an infant 5 days a week in a center is $1,500-1,600 a month. The cost for in-home daycare is around $1,000, a much better option (plus a found a few people who will even send you texts and pictures throughout the day with updates).

smilormarie · February 2016

We got really lucky. I don't have an option for part time in my field of work and I was in denial. We have two houses. Upside down on both mortgages and we need two incomes. We waited until a month before I was scheduled to return to work and got recommendation for bright horizons early education center and daycare. We had hoped to use the employer based center at hubby's work but they were closing their doors due to enrollment and most parents were switching to their nearest center which was actually closer to home - win! It was the only place we checked and my husband had to set up the interview and tour. I cried when we made it to the infant room. We were enrolled the month we wanted as they had no wait list and cost was 1366/month full time from 1-24 months, about 15K a year in northern DE. Luckily that tuition dropped to 1266 now that he's two and we'll get a 5% discount on that or something when we enroll baby. I had friends do the daycare search less than a year after we did. They saw bright horizons, kinder care, la petite, home day cares, you name it. All of them reported bright horizons being their top pick but it came down to location and had to settle for a center closer to home. I had some friends purposely choose the cheaper center of all the ones they interviewed, all have had to switch their kids. You get what you pay for at most day cares and if you are paying top dollar, you will most likely see a real commitment to the early education and development of your child. Children seem to adapt best to daycare if you get them started before 6 months. My kid started at 4.5 months and it was noticeable that he was not thrilled with the arrangement the first few weeks (plus he was only part time and didn't get enough exposure to get "used to" the place.) a couple months in we had to go full time because it was not always reliable for my mom to keep him 3 days a week. He blossomed over night with the switch to full time. I miss him so much during the day but he's so smart and we get to just relax and play on the weekends and the couple hours home each night. Quality over quantity for us. I know school is working in skills and doing creative projects with him so I'n not driving myself crazy following homeschool blogs trying to come up with school assignments like I would if I were part time or a SAHM. And school will do whatever we want. We asked to challenge him with the next classroom activities because he got stuck behind in the young 2's room due to teaching staff availability, and they do it. We had him enrolled in ISR swimming and they would get him into a swim diaper, swim suit, and out his clothes back over them for warmth right before I picked him up. We wanted to teach him "right" and "left" at home so school is reinforcing that during the day. Find a school that will work with you to work with your child. And in compromise. We try to follow nap and snack/lunch schedule like school does so he's not all switched around when he returns from a weekend.

Whatever place you decide, be sure to randomly drop in and call and make your presence known. They know my voice as soon as I say hello. I've been the classroom mom already, organizing teacher gifts in May and end of year gifts in Aug. Your kid gets better care when the teachers and admin know you personally.

tips:
- I hate that our school is nut safe. Doing it all over again we have to stay with this school with the next baby but I would have picked one where I could send a pb&j with his lunch. :-(
- the "no shoes in the infant room" gig is a joke. Once baby is crawling, his immune system is getting stronger to handle some dirt and germs. It always felt so stupid to take off shoes and put those stupid booties on when he would crawl around our house and we don't have a no show rule in our own home. Kids need germs to develop healthy immune systems.
- we have a computer system which we have to log in our kid and check him out every day, yes, like a library book. It gives us all a kickback email with that confirmation so I know he got to school and he wasn't accidentally forgotten in daddy's car on a hot day. I would not have thought to seek it out but it is a lifesaver. Otherwise I recommend calling every morning to ask about your kid. Yes, even moms have forgotten their kids in a car all day.
- picking your best daycare option closest to home is great. If you are off work that day, kiddo can still go to school while you get things done at home. If you pick a place near work, you have less incentive to drive all the way to work just to have your kid at daycare that day.
- consider having a back up daycare arranged for days your center is closed.

* and everything @Ceventa said above!
Good luck!

ramoseecology · February 2016

I have an appointment to check out one place on Thursday morning. I'm anticipating wait lists---it's a lot of anxiety! I was planning to be back at work in November so it's concerning about whether I'll find decent care. The day care centers I'm looking at are about $1,150/month.

charmedlifex3 · February 2016

One option we looked into was an au pair. It didn't cost much more than the centers we looked at at first, $350/wk vs 275 and it meant some one devoted exclusively to our baby The rate doesn't change with additional kiddos, but you do need to provide living quarters. We have three bedrooms, plus an office so that wasn't a burden. We also looked at doing a nanny share. The company we looked at pays all travel expenses, health insurance etc included in the rate. We did end up finding a center we really liked (my husband was very picky - he grew up with daycare so he was against "baby jail") And yes, we were looking while we were ttc. I know, I'm a crazy person. But - the center we liked has one spot coming available in August, and they are going to hold it for us until October when my maternity leave ends... Oh! My state had a daycare registry of sorts... All of the local places, their star level and any complaints or violations listed. I emailed the top ten for location and quality. I heard back from four, saw three. I found one we kinda liked, and the center we really liked, and one we weren't comfortable with. So, it can take some doing!

tmk0325 · February 2016

My head is swimming after reading this... We are having two babies and I got laid off last year and haven't found work yet in my field. I'm starting to really lean towards finding something temporary from now until they are born and just call it good after that. Seeing the average costs for one infant is enough that I have serious sticker shock. I can't imagine what it costs for two!!!

Snaps816 · February 2016

tmk0325 said:

My head is swimming after reading this... We are having two babies and I got laid off last year and haven't found work yet in my field. I'm starting to really lean towards finding something temporary from now until they are born and just call it good after that. Seeing the average costs for one infant is enough that I have serious sticker shock. I can't imagine what it costs for two!!!

I don't blame you! Before our first ultrasound, we had discussed the possibility of 2 and I figured I'd probably just stay home if that were the case. The numbers I shared are for where I live, but the costs seem to vary dramatically from place to place, so it might not be that bad where you live. Good luck!

lalalorelai · February 2016

I've only just started the search and I'm quickly learning it varies so much by location. Centers (both traditional and in-home) range anywhere from $150-$250 where I'm at. The few daycare centers I've called have said they usually fill up anywhere from 2-4 months in advance, so I'm ahead of the game.

It's definitely overwhelming. Now that we're talking about it, I've asked a few people for some recommendations. Hopefully we can find something that works in our budget! I won't get more than 6 weeks leave (if I'm lucky) so we'll need something pretty much right away.

cgondek1 · February 2016

Besides word of mouth, what are some other resources to find in home daycares?

kwilliams3402 · February 2016

Are you familiar with NextDoor? A lot of our neighbors seem to search for a nanny via that, and perhaps you can get the same info on in-home daycares in your neighborhood.

Snaps816 · February 2016

kwilliams3402 said:

Are you familiar with NextDoor? A lot of our neighbors seem to search for a nanny via that, and perhaps you can get the same info on in-home daycares in your neighborhood.

Yes! I am planning to ask on there after we announce this weekend. I've just been holding off for the first tri because many of our friends are on there and I use my real name for that account.

echurley · February 2016

I found visiting bunches really helpful. I had heard really good things about a chain, but when I actually visited, the location by me seemed terrible. The daycare I wound up choosing for my son had a pretty awful website, but was awesome when I visited. He's been happily there for 2 years.

charmedlifex3 · February 2016

Yes yes yes to what @echurley said.

We got the welcome packet for the one we ended up going with and I was horrified. The wrong use of "Their" and "There"... misspellings all over the place. It was terrible!

We got there, and in person, it was awesome. The teachers had great rapport with the "students" - the place was well structured and bright.

In person, we ended up loving it. Turns out, its a relatively new center, and the director is trying to do all the PR, communication with parents, book-keeping AND teach the 4 -5 year olds all herself. A few grammar mistakes slipped through the cracks.

Kjohnson1426 · February 2016

I would definitely look into an in home nanny. I used to nanny before kids and the family I worked for did a background check, made sure I was cpr and first aid certified, called 3 references including a pastoral reference and had nanny cams. It was definitely worth it for them. Some people charge a ton but you can find a great nanny in your price range if you look around a bit. Best of luck!!

1faceinacrowd · February 2016

tmk0325 said:

My head is swimming after reading this... We are having two babies and I got laid off last year and haven't found work yet in my field. I'm starting to really lean towards finding something temporary from now until they are born and just call it good after that. Seeing the average costs for one infant is enough that I have serious sticker shock. I can't imagine what it costs for two!!!

Definitely do your research, and do the math. If you make just enough to pay for daycare (or less) then it's absolutely not worth it! Daycare expenses vary quite a bit from state to state, and center to center, so be prepared to make lots of phone calls. Most places give a discount if you have more than one child going there, so make sure to ask about that too.

ThisisNumber3 · February 2016

1faceinacrowd said:

tmk0325 said:

My head is swimming after reading this... We are having two babies and I got laid off last year and haven't found work yet in my field. I'm starting to really lean towards finding something temporary from now until they are born and just call it good after that. Seeing the average costs for one infant is enough that I have serious sticker shock. I can't imagine what it costs for two!!!

Definitely do your research, and do the math. If you make just enough to pay for daycare (or less) then it's absolutely not worth it! Daycare expenses vary quite a bit from state to state, and center to center, so be prepared to make lots of phone calls. Most places give a discount if you have more than one child going there, so make sure to ask about that too.

I will disagree a bit, because even if your take home pay barely covers daycare payments, it still can be worth it to work. Other factors to consider are your health benefits, retirement benefits, long term career path and growth opportunities. There is a lot more than just take home pay that you give up if you stop working.

amccul20 · February 2016

@Snaps816 I know you've already heard this but we knew early on that we were going to cloth diaper, so in our region centers were automatically out of the running. I checked care.com but ultimately found our sitter through and acquaintance on facebook. I just asked all my local friends if they had recommendations or had family / friends with kids at in home daycare centers and went from there.

good luck! it's crazy stressful but you'll figure it out because you have to:)

Bubblegum5586 · February 2016

This all made me panic a bit, but luckily it looks like my aunt will have availability at her home day care. It's not as close as I would like, but worth it knowing I trust the person. She is also giving us a discount that should save us about $100 a month. She will also do anywhere from 2-5 days a week but it is the same daily cost, so hopefully we can make it work where we only need her 4 or maybe even 3 days a week. At least until LO is a little older.

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