Daycare switch?

[Lanie]

Hi ladies, I''m 12 weeks pregnant, but I''ve been doing the agonizing search for a daycare center. I''ve started calling around and have noticed that I''m already behind on some waiting lists...some of them are 12 months! So I''m behind the game already. I live and work in a big city, and daycares are pretty much super nice, or super gross and not much in between.

I''m a teacher, and don''t want to fork over the money during that first summer. Subsequent summers, I realize I can''t hop my baby around otherwise I''ll lose my spot. This is my question. I''m due end of December, by the way, and would be returning to school beginning of March.

Daycare A is 5 minutes from my school, but it''s pricey. I would only need to put the baby in daycare for 3 months until school lets out. I like that it''s 5 minutes away so as a nervous first time mommy, I think I''ll have a little more piece of mind. I don''t want to pay the high price for longer though, because I don''t see the justification. It''s super high tech, and that''s just not something I''m willing to pay for (or can afford). They have a policy that you give them 30 days notice to remove your child.

Could I then switch him/her to a different daycare that I''ve already been on the waiting list for (Daycare B) starting in August when I would need it again? Daycare B is a great place, but it''s far from my work, close to my house. And it''s about 200 bucks cheaper a month. And above all, I feel very comfortable with my baby staying there.

So this is my plan...Daycare A for March, April, May. Daycare B for August until they start school. Is this possible? This is one of those things that looks great on paper to me, but you never know if it is something that can''t be done, or there''s some kind of law where you can''t switch daycares...I don''t know. I don''t want to regret this. Please help!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I would go for daycare B. My daycare has 9 month contracts so I won''t have to pay for summers if I didn''t want to send her. Maybe there is one in your area that does that too.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Would a nanny be an option for the first three months, then daycare after the summer?

 

[phoenixgirl]

Lanie, I'm a teacher too. I had Claire in late October, and the daycare we wanted to get into claimed to have a one year waiting list (and I didn't even contact them until July!). But then it turns out this is just something they say to, I guess, appear exclusive and in-demand. There have been many open spots since we've come.

But since we were so anxious to get Claire into the center, we didn't ask about the summer and just assumed we'd have to pay to keep our spot, and I figured, well, I could drop her off a few times a week for "me" time or to go grocery shopping or for a jog or whatever. When we got the fine print later, it turned out that we could have un-enrolled her over the summer and re-enrolled her in the fall after paying something like $50 to hold our spot. So many parents are teachers that they don't want to ostracize that segment of the population by being unreasonable about summers off.

We chose a daycare near home because DH and I both drop her off and work in different directions, and the daycares are nicer in my neighborhood than around where I teach.

This is all irrelevant now, though, because I've decided to stay home with her.

I'm positive that there aren't any laws about switching daycares. You just might not want to tell them that's what you're doing . . . just say you're pulling the baby out for the summer and then will decide what to do in the fall.

I think your various ideas sound good, but I'll just throw out there that it might be easier to stick with the same center for the long haul . . . you won't have to figure out all the forms a second time and your baby might get attached to the workers and other babies.

 

[Lanie]

Thanks girls for the responses!

Tacori -- I have asked every single one around if they do 9 month contracts, and they have all laughed at me. It didn''t sound like it was that big of a deal, but that must not be popular in my area. Believe me though, that''s one of my first questions! I asked some of the other teachers at my school, and they said if I find one to let them know!

LV -- Hey! I originally wanted a nanny, but they are VERY expensive. More than I originally thought (starting about 1500 a month which would be 8 dollars an hour!) , and that''s not something we can afford. I''m still looking around for someone trustworthy that isn''t super expensive, and definitely looking into a nanny share or someone that is trustworthy that is watching 2 or 3 kids in their home.

phoenixgirl -- I didn''t even think of "the waiting list" as a marketing ploy. That''s a really good point. And I know that even if there was a said waiting list, some moms drop out and chose somewhere else, some moms end up staying at home, etc. I also didn''t think about any attachment a baby would have to the other kids or workers there. That''s an extremely good point.

OK so maybe I can rephrase the question...how important is it to be super close to your infant in daycare? Is say, 20-30 minutes away something that will eat away at me? I am realistic to know that if a super emergency arises, they would call 911, but I''m talking about something they would need you to come over for, such as baby is puking and needs to go home right away. Are there times when you might have to run over there, or is that something out of the norm? I hope to breastfeed, so I don''t know how that would affect anything either. My DH is a little closer and could be there in 15 minutes if he is in the office and not off campus. Also, my school is too far to slip over there during my lunch break and come back in time for class.

 

[phoenixgirl]

Lanie, I think that 99% of the time 20-30 minutes will be fine. We have not had any instances where we had to pick Claire up faster than that. One time they asked us to pick her up because she just wasn''t herself (turns out it was the onset of separation anxiety . . . nothing was medically wrong with her), and I couldn''t leave school and DH was an hour away heading out of town for business. He turned around and got her an hour later, and that was fine.

So, having the baby close to work but far from home would mean the baby is with you more of the day but in the car for longer. On one hand, you might be anxious to see your baby at the end of the day and not want to have to wait another 30 minutes after you leave work. On the other hand, driving your baby isn''t really quality time, and if your baby doesn''t like the car, it could be annoying . . .

So my instinct is to say go for the one that''s close to home.


Re breastfeeding -- if you could leave work and pop over there during lunch, then that''s a consideration. Then I''d do the Daycare A/Daycare B plan. But I am someone who has driven herself a little crazy trying to keep up the breastfeeding despite having to pump 4x a day to have enough for two bottles the next day. How long could you be gone? (We only have 30 minutes for lunch.) If you don''t have a full hour, then you probably won''t have time to pop over there and breastfeed, which can take 20-30 minutes for a 3 month old (although some are faster). You might be better off eating lunch and pumping for the next day during that time (pumping usually takes 10-15 minutes).


Whatever you decide, just remember that it''s only a couple of months until the summer, so even if none of the options are ideal, you can make it work. That''s what I keep telling myself!

 

[swingirl]

Personally, I preferred my daycare closer to home than to work. Less time in the car for the baby. Less distance to travel when you might have to pick up a sick baby take him home. If you are ever really sick and need to stay home from work it is much easier to run your baby to daycare and come back home.