Friday was the hardest day I've had yet since becoming a mom...we went to look at daycare centers. :( I realize that most people try to take care of this while they're still pregnant or at the beginning of maternity leave instead of toward the end, but I kept hoping that maybe something would change (i.e. win Powerball) and I wouldn't have to worry about it.
During our childbirth education class we found out that the woman leading the class has raised and home-schooled 9 children of her own and also runs a home daycare, with that many kids of her own she obviously knows what she's doing! We visited her home first and while we weren't crazy about the actual neighborhood her home was perfectly fine. She has the same parenting principles/style that we think we'll eventually adopt so that is a real plus. She has a son and daughter still at home with her all day so we got to see them interacting with the other kids in her care (3 toddlers that she has been watching since they were infants) so that was wonderful, they really seem to enjoy being around the kids and vice versa. Savannah would be the only infant so we know she'd get tons of attention which is something I was really concerned about. With her kids being there it's almost a one-on-one ratio.
We also really liked the center at our church which was a real suprise to me. A co-worker checked it out for her twins and hated it, I'm not sure that she ever disclosed her reasons for not liking it because she didn't want to influence my decision in any way. We spent a long time talking to the director and obviously got a really good feeling about it. The ratio there for infants is 4:1 and they have a very low staff turnover rate, most of the workers have been there 10+ years and the shortest right now is 2 1/2 years.
We also checked out another home and couldn't get out of there fast enough. Everyone told me that we'd know the second we walked into a place whether or not we really wanted more information, it was so true. This particular provider was probably about our age, maybe a little older and seemed nice enough but the whole situation was just odd. Among other things, she has 2 sons - one is starting kindergarten and the other is 2, her mom lives there and has a child that is 2 - yep, she and her mom were pregnant together!
While we haven't made a final decision yet, we are leaning towards the home daycare for now. My mom is able to watch Savannah on Thursdays, Fridays and some Wednesdays and we are able to do a part-time rate with her. I also like that there are not as many children, I'm quite positive that less children has to equal less colds, ear infections, etc.
