Monday, April 23, 2007

Holy Crap!

So I began researching daycares today. And....Wow. I'm sure this comes as no suprise to the vetran parents out there, but They are Insanely Expensive. I could rent my kid their own house for the price of full-time daycare. Honestly. Not that I don't think quality daycare is worth it. But Damn. Makes me so wish that I could just stay home.

Unfortunately, this is impossible. We would not be able to pay our current bills on one income, nevermind the expenses of a child. We need both our paychecks. This is the sad truth. Also, and I know it is difficult to say for sure, as good as staying home sounds, I sort of suspect that it would drive me insane. I was a live-in nanny for 2 years and I know how the days go with nothing but baby talk and bad daytime TV. And everyone says that its different with your own kid, and this is probably true, but I just have the sneaking suspicion that I would love it for a while and then just feel trapped. And so, I am embarking upon this journey into daycare hell from which I may never return. Or it feels that way right now.

So far, there are 4 possibilities as far as daycare centers go- all have extensive waiting lists. Joy. We need to go tour and then get our names down if we think we would actually want our kids to go there. Also, I have an email out to the woman who wrangles all the in-home daycare providers. She has promised to research those that may have openings around when I am due. So maybe we'll get lucky.

But what happens if my maternity leave ends and we still HAVE NO ONE? These are the things that worry me. Even though we realistically have 5 more months of pregnancy to go, I am sort of kicking myself for not starting sooner.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I typed "daycares" in Google, and up popped this immense anti-daycare website.
I just don't know what to think anymore...

Birdie said...

Wow. That's quite the site! Of course a Daycare won't love my child the way I do. How could they? Honestly, I don't think anyone could- my family included. As a former daycare provider and nanny, I know that just because the mother-child bond is not there, it doesn't mean that a provider does not care about my children.

It sucks not to have the choice to stay home myself, but like all parents, I will just have to do the best I can with what I have.