First off, I can't believe my baby is cutting 4 TEETH at the same time. The last of the holes in her teeth set (think these are the canines, just looked them up). She already got her molars, so these are the last few to come in. I can't believe it!! She has done pretty well considering. She has been chewing on her fingers and drooling quite a bit when she chews.....and still puts every darn thing in her mouth, but don't think that's due to teething.
I haven't written in a few weeks because I've been...well, super busy. We went to the new city for a week to find housing and care, and also had to get movers set up for next week. Result=looked at 4 houses and 4 apartment complexes. No houses shook out so we are headed to an apartment. Really really not ideal, but I just didn't want to settle for something just okay....especially given the prices. Even though it's temporary I stressed quite a bit about which complex to choose.....the older, less expensive one, or the new more expensive one. End of the day I chose the new one because it is also a bit bigger.
The only thing I have to do now is decide whether to do a 3 month lease or 6 months. 3 months is quite optimistic considering how long I've been looking for housing and haven't really found the one yet. It is also 200/mo more expensive than a 6 month lease.......BUT, I have more flexibility should the right house pop up. Just not sure what to do here. Will see how it feels.
Finding care update:
Backup to the first day were were there....I had visited a church daycare at their satellite location as the director told me there was no openings at their primary location. It was a bummer because the other location was brand new as of last year and more centrally located. So, I went to the satellite location anyway and thought is was just....okay. It was a bit chaotic, lots and lots of kids.....the facility was just so-so, and didn't really feel like she would fit in w/ the age group they wanted to put her with. The kids looked much more "baby", were being fed out of a table w/ 6 holes in it...not a table/chairs where she eats now, some of them had pacifiers, etc..I wanted to keep an open mind but it didn't really feel 'right'.
The next day I visited another center that is tied to a private school. I liked this one a lot--the facility was brand new and the class size was nice and small. The setting was quite calm and the teachers seemed to be very involved, on the floor w/ them, etc.. The downside to this one is price and schedule. They were near as much as my nanny AND, they had major breaks because they followed the school calendar. Between now and May there would be 3 weeks of no care...in addition, the monthly rate did not flex because of these breaks.
On one of the days I also interviewed a nanny. Boy, this was a tough one. I found her through one of the care websites and I met her at Starbu.cks. She had been a nanny for a boy who's mother had passed and the father basically employed her to do everything. Now the boy was older and the father getting remarried. When I first approached her she seemed nice enough....then we went outside to talk more. Cut to the chase.....she didn't ask any questions about the baby.....she didn't ask any questions at all. I tried to pull out of her if there was anything she wanted to know...and it made me nervous so I kept rambling about our background, etc..I just assumed she wasn't interested, which was fine. However, I got an email afterwards saying how she was interested and asked question about salary! My gut was not too keen on her.
So, I was planning to sign her up at the private school because basically we were just running out of time. I had toyed w/ the nanny, but I just was not comfortable w/ her seemingly lack of interest. Yes, the private school was expensive and there was the breaks....but I liked the place and could see her going there.
My one last thought was why don't I just tour the church primary location to see if I wanted to put her in there after the semester was over at the private school. If there was a wait list I wanted to put her on it anyway. I called them this past Monday morning--we were leaving Monday night--and they graciously agreed to let us come and tour.
From the moment we went in, I liked the place. It is a brand new facility tied to the church and there is a great reception area. The assistant came out to get us and she walked us by the indoor playland--it looks like Mc.D.on.alds playland on steroids. It also has a nice wall of windows. Then the director came out and greeted us. I was expecting the 5 minute tour because I assumed no space anyway, but when I asked her what the wait list looked like she said, well, we may have a spot....Um WHAT?! The director over both church locations had told me there was no space.......I was wondering if she did that because they have trouble getting folks to go to satellite location? Anyway, I just played along. I assumed they wanted to check us out as much as we checked them out. Inside I was jumping for joy.
What was so great was she took us past all the classrooms---they are in one big circle hallway, they also have an outdoor play land that is really big and age appropriate. They also have a music/dance room. We even got to go into where her 'class' would be and meet the teacher. It was just the right time when the class was going on a walk so I could hear directly from her how she runs things.
What I liked overall:
Class size/ratio:--they have +1 helper from state ratios. So, for her class size (think 15) they have one main teacher and 2 helpers.
Classroom: decent sized and did not smell at all! I always am leery of the dirty diaper smells
Great facility--play areas inside/outside, music room, and the classrooms
They have 'lessons'-they pick certain colors/shapes/themes each week
They are open from 7am-6pm
price--it is half of what the private school tuition was
There is diversity in her classroom
'Feel' of the place seemed positive
Teacher mentioned her OCD about cleanliness and I can believe it based on the room.
Concerns:
Lunch not provided
Main teacher was somewhat 'stern', didn't smile a lot....but I'm okay w/ that because the helpers seemed quite the opposite. In fact, when I brought baby in the room, one came over and brushed her head w/ her hand and talked w/ us.
Also, not sure if there was anything I missed....?
So, after the tour was over I didn't hesitate and said I wanted to sign her up right then and there. I even ordered her backpack (required) and cot blanket for naptime. I don't normally make decisions like that so quickly, but I did have 2 other schools and a nanny to compare to and it just seemed like the right place for us. I''ll reserve the right to 'see how it goes' and see if any 'issues' come up.
I've learned over time that no place/person is perfect and you have to choose the best you can w/ what is available. What I do know is that she is ready for more interaction/stimulation. I suspect this will be WAY more than she will be prepared for.....so I just hope the transition goes well.
She starts Wed next week. She'll go 1/2 day wed, 1/2 day thurs, then 1/2 or all day Friday. Then all day starting the 27th when I start my new job.
It is such a load off to know where she will be spending her time. I even decided that I would try and see if couldn't change my morning ad to now say part-time caregiver in am. I would love love if someone could come from 7-9, get her ready, breakfast, get lunch, do dishes, etc... then take her at 8:30 for class at 9am. Then I would leave for work at 7:30 and get her at 5:30pm.
This solves a lot for me......so much less stress in the am, and less time for her in daycare as well. It's a perfect job for a college student and 2 have applied already. Will see how that goes. Plus, given the low tuition, I can afford to add this one too.
Now, for baby update......I've been to Dr. for monitoring Thursday and today. I am scheduled to go back in for another appointment on Monday. The labs are looking good, but may need an additional day or two before transfer. Will know more on Monday.
Oh yeah, my movers are coming on Monday too.
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