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December 2015 Moms
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Daycare! How are you coping?

NellieHarringtonCarterNellieHarringtonCarter member
in December 2015 Moms
My DD started daycare today, and as expected, I'm preoccupied and a little anxious about it. It's an in-home daycare, and the provider is watching 6 other kids, all older (by next month, she'll only be watching 4 other kids), but I feel completely confident that my DD is in good hands. (I feel a lot better than the other daycare that had one lady watching 10 other kids).

But I still worry. I've read too many articles about SIDS and percentages and daycare and all of that, so I'm paranoid and antsy.
When did y'all put your new babies in daycare? What kind? And how long did it take for the anxious feeling to go away? 
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Re: Daycare! How are you coping?

  • ATolentino89ATolentino89 member
    DS has been in daycare for 8 weeks on Wednesday. He is in a center and only goes 3 days a week but after having a few issues with the daycare I am just now feeling less anxious. Every day at 5 I wait for my husband to call me and assure me that everything went fine. 
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  • MomofEv+1MomofEv+1 member
    I have a 4 year old and 14 week old in an in home. I trust our provider and know how much she loves my girls. The anxiety comes and goes even after all this time. But the worst of it went away in a matter of weeks. 
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  • misamimamisamima member
    We start a new daycare center in 2 weeks for DD (2.5 yr old) and LO who will be 13 weeks. I'm freaking out. DD was in an in home daycare starting at 13 weeks and we loved it there. But we're pulling her out due to the provider's ongoing health issues. But anyway, anxiety is through the roof. Not only because I'm leaving my sweet baby behind, but also because I'm concerned with how the toddler will adjust to a new setting. I could cry. 
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  • Mags128Mags128 member
    DS has been in daycare for a week but DD has gone there for over 2 years. It's an in home daycare so I know the owner well and feel comfortable now. But I know with DD it took a couple weeks. It's just learning their system and how they do things. But we love them now.
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  • ATolentino89ATolentino89 member
    What are the advantages/disadvantages of at home daycares? I was wanting to look into the but I don't know where to find them or if they are worth switching to. Is it generally less expensive and more beneficial to baby?
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  • breezypipbreezypip member
    I'm starting week 3 of DD in daycare. She started going at 12 weeks when I started back to work. She's at a center down the street from our house 4 days/week, and by law they have a 3:1 ratio of child to caregiver for infants. So far everything seems to be going well. She's always happy when I pick her up and the girls that take care of her seem very nice and caring. But I'm still anxious and feeling guilty leaving her, so I don't know when that goes away.
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  • MomofEv+1MomofEv+1 member
    I think there are advantages/disadvantages to both in home and centers. I'm in MN where the cost of daycare is high but so is the quality. We ultimately went with an in home daycare both because we felt comfortable with the provider, she was referred by friends, and it was within our budget. She isn't as structured or organized as a center, which could be good or bad depending on your outlook. They also get exposure to kids in a wide age range. At times this has been good or bad. We decided to go with full-time preschool next year for our older child to get her better prepared for kindergarten. 
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  • BP1979BP1979 member
    How much are y'all paying per week for in home? I have a daycare lined up for when I go back to work in April, but it's really prefer a home daycare. The only one I've been able to find is the same price as the center. I'd think without all the overhead the cost for in home would be lower. Am I wrong? 
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  • taysuntaysun member
    BP1979 said:
    How much are y'all paying per week for in home? I have a daycare lined up for when I go back to work in April, but it's really prefer a home daycare. The only one I've been able to find is the same price as the center. I'd think without all the overhead the cost for in home would be lower. Am I wrong? 
    It depends on your area and what laws there are and qualifications in home caretakers are required to have, as well as demand. 
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  • HoldmommaHoldmomma member
    edited March 2016
    I have 2 kids in an in home daycare. We pay $9/hr which is considered a good deal in my area. It varies greatly according to region so it is better to ask locals what they are paying if you are comfortable. 

    And to the original question, overall things are going great at daycare. Our childcare provider loves the kids, and cares for them well. My kids have had every virus going around though. Part of it is the season, and part is being around other kids on a daily basis. 
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  • alysa03alysa03 member
    Holdmomma said:
    I have 2 kids in an in home daycare. We pay $9/hr which is considered a good deal in my area. It varies greatly according to region so it is better to ask locals what they are paying if you are comfortable. 

    And to the original question, overall things are going great at daycare. Our childcare provider loves the kids, and cares for them well. My kids have had every virus going around though. Part of it is the season, and part is being around other kids on a daily basis. 
    Is that $9/hr per head??? I couldn't even imagine...I'm beyond glad I don't have to put my little guy in day care... In my area prices range from $1.75-$3/hr per head 

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  • HoldmommaHoldmomma member
    @alysa03 I pay $9 for both. It was $7/hr for just one kid so now I feel like I'm getting a steal. We decided to wait another year on preschool though because I didn't want to split up the kids and pay the one-child rate at two different places.
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  • ATolentino89ATolentino89 member
    I will add this to my original post: To help us cope, I wake up 15 minutes early to get everything ready earlier (bags packed in car everyone ready to walk out the door) to have that 15 minutes of snuggle time/last minute nursing/dancing to music with DS. Those quiet,slow minutes help us relax before the running around and separation. It makes my work day much easier and he tends to have better days at daycare.  Sure, I could be sleeping but this seems like a better thing to do with my time. 
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  • NellieHarringtonCarterNellieHarringtonCarter member

    I'm glad to hear that almost everyone is having an easy time with day care! My DD's first day at day care was great, though she did sleep most of the time, and I picked her up two hours early. I don't think the older kids get much education at the home. I think they mostly play and maybe watch a little tv, but I really don't care about that. My kid is 3 months old! I'll worry about her getting an education at day care when she's like 1.5 or 2.

    @ATolentino89 Like PPs have said, there are advantages and disadvantages to both. In my mind, the advantages to a center is that the babies are separate from the older kids, and there are usually more people available to help out if things get a little crazy. Centers are usually more secure as well. My first daughter didn't go into daycare until she was 2, but she went to a center, and one of the complaints I had is that there were a ton of kids there and a really high turn over rate. At one point, she had a different caregiver every week for three weeks straight.

    For in-home care, it's usually cheaper, and there is a little more consistency and personal care given. It depends on the caregiver, since I know of a few people that ONLY take 3-4 babies (depending on state laws), but in general, there is usually one (maybe two) people watching kids of a variety of ages, all of whom have different needs and behavior issues, etc. Plus, sometimes security is an issue. Who else lives there? Are they gone during the day, or separate from the kids? Are friends coming and going during the day?

    @BP1979 Right now for in home care, I am paying $110/week for full time care. For infants in my area (Fort Wayne, IN), care centers ranged from $185 to $246 a week (I didn't even check out La Petite). The two other in-home care places I checked charged $3.50-4.50/hour for part-time, or $140 full time.

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  • wetherbeeewetherbeee member
    My LO is not in daycare yet, as my work is allowing me to work part-time from home to watch him until he's 6 months. However, I'm finding myself incredibly frustrated and stressed out being home with him all day. The fact that I'm house-ridden every single day is driving me a little bit crazy, and I really miss my job. Is it selfish of me to put him in daycare early? I'm feeling incredibly guilty even considering it but i'm so frustrated everyday that I'm worried he can sense it. I just miss my job and want some normalcy back in my life!
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  • ATolentino89ATolentino89 member
    @wetherbeee I don't think it's selfish at all. What about doing it part time? It will help you get some normalcy back along with cutting down on the frustration. I had an extra daycare day and dropped DS off so I could do all the housework so that when I did have him we could really spend quality time together and I wasn't worried about juggling the two. 
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  • chewie5990chewie5990 member
    Today was my LOs first day of daycare and my first day back at work. I woke up at 4:30am and cried until I arrived at work at 8:30am. It was tough and exhausting. However as the day went on I felt better and more comfortable with my decision to go back to work. When I dropped him off I felt like I could never do it again, but when I picked him up after work and saw how well cared for he was and talked to the teachers about how he did and I felt a lot more at ease. I looked at picture of him all day and missed him terribly, but I also enjoyed adult interaction and loved the warm welcome I received from all my students. Anyone who hasn't gone back yet I highly suggest starting mid week..only 2 more days until the weekend makes it a little easier :) 
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  • amye02amye02 member
    I had a horrible experience with the first center, but SO and I found a new one and even though it's  $400/ week I know the Director loves Jackson and he has amazing teachers. I still call though,  every day when I am on lunch. I get excited about picking him up and seeing him light up when he sees me. 
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  • LizzyJones22LizzyJones22 member
    We started daycare on Monday, and DD goes MWF's.  Monday was hard.  I cried like a baby when we dropped her off, but she was fine.  The daycare center we take her too has an app they use to send pictures/memories/daily reports with what she ate, diapers, and naps so that made taking her Wednesday a LOT easier.  They also have a live camera service that I pay $25 a month for an it has been worth every penny.  I keep it up at work and check on her a lot.  I am still anxious though! (5th day back at work)  Just really excited to get home everyday and see her! It's like leaving my right arm at daycare...I feel like part of me is missing. 
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