As the half way mark grows closer and closer, I feel a bit paralyzed.
I've been asked by several people if we've started buying anything or what we've planned so far. I got nothing! Aside from the whole diaper thing, which is really the only decision I think I’ve actually made. I've thought about nursery furniture, about bedding, about paint colors, and that's kind of where I stop. Everything else is WAY too overwhelming for me!
My biggest concern, this thing called childcare. As much as I would LOVE to be able to stay at home with MJ, like many families it's just not a possibility financially. Dave has told me for years he wants to be a stay at home dad and start a Daddy Daycare (this from the man who has only changed ONE diaper in his life) once I get a “really” good paying job or we win the lottery…in today’s economy I tell him to not hold his breath, for either!
So where and how to we begin?
Where do we start? It seriously seems like 2012 is a crazy baby boom and many of our friends are pregnant with their second. I know in-home childcare can only have so many infants so I know we need to get on this ASAP. But again, I have no idea how or what to do.
How do we find someone we trust and pick someone to watch our unborn child, who we have yet to even met. Hell I don't even know if I’ll be dressing MJ in pink or blue, how do I decide who will be caring for him or her for 8 hours a day? I don't know where to begin to look or what questions I even need to ask. With thinking about this constantly for the last few weeks and laying in bed for hours terrified by this, what have I done so far? This is where the paralysis comes into play, nothing! Still nothing!
Where’s the “New Mommy Cheat Sheet” on what to do and where to start?
5 comments:
It is a very decision to make. we looked at in-home daycares and centers but for us having a nanny come to us was the perfect solution. Whatever you choose ask LOTS of questions and make sure you feel comfortable doing so. Watch the caregivers in action and get feedback from other moms. Good luck and I hope you find the perfect fit for you.
begin looking at daycares TODAY!!! it is surprising, but they fill up insanely fast!! ask all of your mommy friends/coworkers for a good list to start from.
we decided to go with a center because i feel more comfortable knowing that there is more than one person watching my baby- who holds an in-home person accountable? my mom did in-home when i was little, so i am not knocking them- but i feel more comfortable at a center.
i visited an in-home that a coworker really liked. it wasn't for me. they had air fresheners plugged in- overwhelming smell for an infant (in my opinion). they had animals- what if mine becomes allergic? what about hair? too much of a liability for me. babies slept in the basement (fire? musty smell. can you hear them?!). plus, she wanted 10 vacation days a year and we had to pick up by 4:30. no and no. daycare centers are open all the time- rarely have weather delays and are open most holidays. plus they'll come in with a cohort group and stay with them- socializing, they make friends, you make friends!
nursery and registering- we did at about 25-30 weeks. we didn't find out so we painted the nursery grey and had turquoise, lime green, orange accents and black furniture. ...but it is hard to find sheets like that at target/babies r us- everything that is neutral is brown. so i registered for white sheets/blankets and tonys grandma made our colored sheets :)
is this enough??? :)
We also had hoped to have one of us stay home, but it is looking less and less likely. So we're going to start looking into daycare too.
Once of the things that some of my friends have done is talk to their friends that already have nannies and decided to do a nanny share. You get the benefit of knowing that the nanny is well-trusted, socialization for your child, and usually it's less expensive too. I think we are going to look into that as well as into traditional daycare centers.
Good Luck!
I never really have even considered a nanny, I guess I've always thought it just sounds more expensive!
Tina - I've never heard of a nanny share. If you share with your friends I'm assuming you just have them all at one house? That's a new concept to me, I must have more info!
Mak - You can never give me too much info ;) I know there are pluses and minuses to both in-home and daycare centers...guess we just need to start getting started calling and interviewing both to see what we prefer and are most comfortable with. BTW did you ever post pics of your finished nursery?? I absolutely LOVE grey and plan to have that color in the nursery either gender, I want to see how yours turned out?
Don't worry Bren, I was the same way with Jackson. I didn't buy a thing until we found out we were having a boy, then the planning and purchasing began! You will have plenty of time to get to all that.
As far as finding a good daycare, we were so lucky that Pam had an opening. I can ask her tonight to check with her little community of sitters to see who may have openings that you could meet with. Pam is very selective of who she refers, so hopefully you could find one you like. We were extremely worried about this, it is such a big decision, and we couldn't even think of what we should ask about when we interviewed with Pam. I ended up googling it and found a ton of really good questions online to help me through the process.
I'll let you know what I hear from Pam.
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