We interrupt this Cebu broadcast to flip forward a year in time. The year where I got back and got myself all pregnant with this baby girl and decided that she needs to find a really good daycare that will keep her safe, happy and healthy.
And maybe let me use cloth diapers and my own breast milk and will hold her and love her (almost) as much as I do.
A friend from work sent me the link to her back-up daycare. Wait! Back-up daycare? This was not a term I was familiar with, but it makes sense if you do in-home care and your provider gets sick or goes on vacation. When I was little, if *I* got sick, I went to the hospital daycare, where they watch you all day and be sure you get better. My parents would both visit on their lunch hour and I would be all excited about hospital food, even when I had a fever. I can't remember what my bro and sis did--probably someone stayed home with them, but by then my mom only worked part time.
I am still exploring my options. Option 1 was going to a center on the opposite end of my downtown. It's a nice little walk (15 minutes?) to it but I did it in no time. Their hours are 6:00 AM to 6:30 PM, which is pretty flexible and nice. I could still get to a happy hour, have a beer, and get the baby after work. I know that sounds like my priorities are misguided, but I am just thinking ahead. Mommy needs happy hour sometimes.
Option 1 is New Horizons daycare. They let you use cloth diapers, breast milk, provide all food and formula, have a daily curriculum and list of naps & diaper changes and dispositions daily. And even their 3 month olds have all of the baby stuff, like mirror time and baby sign. I laughed a bit at this point. My 3 month old will be hoping to hold her head up, she has no chance of learning baby sign at this age. But it's cool that they do it.
Option 1 was completely certified, has a 4-to-1 ratio and the baby would be in a room with only 7 other babies, ages 6 weeks to 16 months. Surprisingly, they would have one opening in May---but it goes quickly. They also provide low-income daycare for people on county assistance, so it is diverse, but it comes at the cost of....
Brace yourselves.
$345 a week.
You read that right. That says week, not month or biweekly.
So yeah, that's how they stay in business, because people like me also have to pay for the other people who receive subsidized daycare. I sound like a bitter Republican there & I don't mean to. But $345 is a LOT of money weekly, though the rates do go down once the baby gets older.
Option 2 is another day care down the street from me that looks ghetto but is so close that I could walk there and probably isn't ghetto on the inside.
Option 3 is finding a good in-home care provider, but I am not sure I am comfortable with this yet unless it's someone I know--and let's face it, I only know one person that I would trust with my baby like that. There have been a lot of newspaper stories about uncertified and unsafe in-home care providers *WHO HAVE KILLED BABIES BY ACCIDENTAL SUFFOCATION* in their care. Putting the baby on an adult bed, face down, to sleep is not ok. Putting the baby on a thick blanket, face down, is not ok.
I just don't trust anyone not to do stupid stuff with my child. I know this is a common fear.
Option 4 is finding a good in-home nanny for the first few years. I like option 4, but I know I would have to pay the nanny vacation time and it might be just as expensive as option 1.
Anyway, I am sure we'll find something, but now is the time to do it because spots in May are filling QUICKLY and it's still 7 months away. Of course, living in the city is a perk, because every suburban center has a waiting list a mile long.
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