Adventures in Searching for Daycare

Although our child is still "loading," there is so much to do to prepare for its arrival in this world. And, the preparation goes beyond having the essentials, like a bed to sleep in, diapers, clothing. One of these essentials is infant daycare. And, boy, we are finding it is a doozy of an effort.

As a full-time working woman, I am taking maternity leave, but then will be heading back to work full-time. I commute more than 20 miles to work so we are searching for a daycare nearby the office so I can check on the baby and breastfeed during day. The first obstacle and narrowing of the search - proxmity to the office.

We will not be using daycare every day of the week because my husband is home part of the week. Wonderful savings, right? Perhaps. As long as the daycare will even consider taking a child part-time, aka not a full five days. I have discovered that daycares don't really like to take children less than 5 days a week. Infants especially. Obstacle number two - willingness to take a child part-time.

Of course, we want the best for a our child. A licensed, up-to-date, clean, safe environment. Shouldn't be too much to ask. Luckily our state has a department that monitors child care facilities to ensure they are staying current with safety and health requirements - and they post each site's report online. But, when viewing the latest visits to some of the sites, my throat seized up and anxiety snuck up on me. Some locations had 17 to as many as 30 violations. EEk! Obstacle number three - safe and licensed provider.

When you put just these three obstacles together, the choices are significantly limited. How do parents do this? I am afraid to add my other wish list items -- national certification, leans toward the organic in cleaning supplies, caregivers have degrees in child development. Is my wish list unrealistic? I emailed a fellow executive mom and she is also in the process of searching for a daycare. We shared tips and findings. Knowing I have a comrade in this search has helped, but my anxiety hasn't lessened. Thank goodness, I am 25 weeks right now. We still have some time.

We are touring a daycare next week and then plan to tour two or three more for comparison. I am sure everything will work out -- these things usually do. But, in the meantime, I am attempting to tackle this little adventure one step at a time without the use of relaxation techniques learned in yoga.

I didn't even think about the search for a pediatrician today (this might have sent me over the edge).