oh, day care

In May of last year, I landed the best job ever. I actually look forward to going to work most days. This has never been the case before. In June of last year, I suspected I was pregnant. A trip to the doctor resulted in a negative test. It was both a let-down and a relief. A new job and a new baby? Maybe not the best combination. By July, I figured I was pregnant or something was wrong. Pregnant, as it turned out.

And now, as we head down the road to parenthood, we also head down the road to day care. I never went to day care myself; my mom stayed at home and I always wanted to do the same. Nathan, on the other hand, grew up going to several day cares and sitters. When I hear about how often they had to find a new place or person to watch him and his brother, I think, “Nightmare! I don’t want to be doing that for the next 10 to 12 years! I want to raise my own children!”

However.

I have to realize that Nathan and his brother (and parents) survived the day care ordeal. I’ve also had to realize that I don’t really want to give up my job if I don’t have to give it up. So, I’ve been looking into day cares.

Day Care Number 1 was a bright, shining example of, well, day care. The staff was friendly and super knowledgeable, it was clean and open, the programs for different age groups were stimulating and wonderful, and I loved it. Unfortunately, you pay quite a bit for that kind of greatness.

Day Care Number 2 paled in comparison. I arrived to a director who seemed surprised to see me, even though I’d made an appointment. I wasn’t introduced to anyone (including the director!). Infant care was explained and seemed adequate, but that was it…Number 1 gave me an overview of every age group and Number 2 did not. Everything appeared to be clean, but it didn’t have the bright openness of Number 1. But (and a big but) it’s affordable. Sigh.

I called Day Care Number 3, only to find out that there are no openings. The lady I spoke with said I sounded “really young.” I wasn’t sure what to say to that, so I just kind of laughed. Guess that’s out.

I’ve been unable to find other day cares for babies in the area we live in, so we’re most likely to choose Number 2. We’re trying to stay away from private care because we’re not really going to have anyone to rely on if a private home care person gets sick or takes a vacation. And it doesn’t help that we know several people with babies who had negative private care experiences.

It’s just not what I imagined for myself as a mother. I never seriously considered being a working mother until I saw the positive pregnancy test. The kicker is that I only work part time. I won't even be away from the kid for 40 hours a week! But I had really, truly never given much thought to being a working mom. So this has been a lot about trying to change my perspective.