Daycare

So I toured the daycare facility that we are looking at sending Peanut to for 2 days a week. My gracious in laws will watch her 2 days and then I have a day off during the week so 2 days was all we needed. First off it is VERY challenging to find part time daycare for a child under the age of 2 so my options were limited. This particular daycare had a good reputation and my neighbor sends both of her girls there and will send her third there as well. Now keep in mind that I loved that I had to look for a daycare but hated it at the same time.

The staff was very friendly when I arrived. The place was clean and well kept. They have security cameras around the perimeter and in each room so everything is monitored. If Peanut does something while we aren't there like take a step or roll over and we want to see it all we have to do is ask. I thought that was pretty neat. All the doors require a 4 digit code to get in and the doors of all the rooms have alarms on them so if a child is trying to escape staff will hear it. All the play yards are fenced in and it is far from any street really which is nice.

The director showed me around the rooms and introduced me to the staff. Lot's of sleeping babies while I was there. The caregiver to child ratio is 4 infants to 1 staff member and then there are floaters that go between rooms when needed and 5 additional administrative staff on hand in case there is chaos which I was assured has never happened.

The walls are all brightly colored and there were lots of toys and interactive activities in each room. There is a curriculum even for the infants. They have different developmental things they work on each day and that curriculum gets more intense as the children get older.

I was assured that the staff would follow whatever schedule we have Peanut on in terms of naps and food. We will provide them with a crib sheet, bottles, diapers, wipes and anything else she will need. The staff will also write up a daily sheet about what Peanut was doing that day to go home with us.

Overall I really liked the place. I could see us taking Peanut there and being happy with our choice. So when I asked when we would need to make a commitment to hold our spot for August, I was told the sooner the better. Wow! Who knew I had to plan that far in advance. Well, I took a leap of faith today and registered Peanut for daycare staring in August. I paid the registration fee and first month to hold our spot. I am still a little shell shocked that I had to sign my baby girl up for daycare and I haven't even met her yet. I guess before you know it I will be evaluating preschools and getting her signed up for that too.