Daycare Dilemma

We are in the midst of deciding what to do regarding childcare for this summer. Tim is done teaching June 18^th and doesn’t go back until the end of August. He has applied to teach summer school, which would be Tu/Wed/Th, but we’re waiting to hear about that. Wouldn’t it be awesome if Conor only had to go to daycare 3 days a week and could spend M and F home with dad? It would be awesome for all of us to have a break from the daycare grind, even if only 2 days a week.

Not possible. GH won’t accept a Tu/Wed/Th schedule because M/F only spots are hard to fill. If we do drop his schedule down they can’t guarantee there will be a full time spot in the fall. I can’t get a straight answer about what the chances of there being a FT spot are. We’ve been very happy with our daycare situation so far and don’t really want to be stuck scrambling in the fall. But the idea of Conor going to daycare while Tim sits at home watching World Cup makes my stomach turn, and yet might be our best option.

It feels like this decision rests squarely on my shoulders but there’s really not an obvious answer. I don’t know what to do, so in typical fashion I made a PROS/CONS list of our options:

Option 1 – Keep Conor in daycare 5 days/week regardless of Tim’s schedule.

PROS: No stress about childcare for fall. Conor continues his routine and stays accustomed to daycare.

CONS: No break from the daycare grind. No break from $$$ daycare bills. Why is baby in daycare when one parent isn’t working? Tim doesn’t get to spend extra time with Conor.

Option 2 – Drop Conor down to 3 or 4 days a week for July/August (3 days a week will only work if Tim doesn’t teach summer school).

PROS: Some $ saved. Will have at least part time child care secured for fall. Conor stays acclimated to daycare. Some break from daycare grind. Tim gets to spend some extra time with Conor.

CONS: Full time child care for fall at risk. Still paying for at least some childcare days when parent is not working. $$$ saved for 4 days/week is minimal, probably not worth the risk esp. if Tim doesn’t teach summer school. Conor’s schedule becomes more hectic as his days are more variable.

Option 3 – Withdraw Conor from daycare for the summer (only if Tim doesn’t teach summer school.)

PROS: Major $$$ saved. Tim gets to spend tons of time with Conor. Break from daycare grind. There are other (cheaper) childcare options for fall.

CONS: Childcare for fall at risk. Stress of finding new daycare for fall – do they have openings full time, will it be as good as GH, will Conor adjust okay, will is be as convenient to work?

So, great. That really didn’t help at all. This all hinges of course on whether Tim ends up teaching summer school and who knows when that decision will be made. If he does, the financial aspect makes less impact but it’s hard to put a value on Conor’s experience in all this. We only have a couple weeks to decide this because we need to make any changes to his contract a month in advance.

Sorry for such a downer post but if anyone has input I’m all ears.

Big Boy(a guest blog by Conor)

Hello blog readers, Conorman here. I thought you might enjoy some pictures of my day yesterday. Here I am hanging out at school in my big boy clothes.

Here I am just checking my email and making some phone calls.

What else have I been up to? Oh, not much, just some STANDING AT MY MUSIC TABLE ALL BY MYSELF for a LONG time!!!!!

1 month of school

Conor has been in daycare for a month now and it's going really well. Every day we get a report like this one:

It's reassuring to see that he's eating and napping well each day. (This particular day he got to take a bath in the sink because of that "uncontained" BM at 12:40pm, which I was told he thoroughly enjoyed.) They do let us know if he's fussy, but most days they say he's been very happy.

Thursday's notes said, "Conor had a really great day, he must have been tired because he took a long morning nap! This morning we blew bubbles, Conor really enjoyed that! His eyes got so big and he would wave his arms and babble each time a bubble came near!"

They do lots of neat activities - playing in the sensory table with water or sand, going for walks (inside for now, around the building to see the other classrooms), painting, playing with innertubes and beach balls for "Beach Day", sledding, and playing with musical instruments. All of the toys are seperated into little baskets by type and he seems to like them a lot. We also get to see pictures of him periodically - here he is with Sandra working on his second painting:

They call him "Conor Man" and most days it's just he and the girls - there's only one other little boy now who only goes two days a week. Even at such a young age, he is starting to be very social with the other babies - often when I pick him up he's playing and chatting with another baby.

I do miss him very much during the day, but I know he is well taken care of and is having a fun, safe time at school. I'm very glad he's at a place where we are confident in his care and his well being and I really think GH lives up to it's reputation.

Beach Day at school

Took this when I dropped him off this morning. Tired boy, blurry picture, but I still think it's 100% adorable.

First cold

Conor has his first cold :(

"Welcome to daycare! Here's your free tote bag and complimentary rhinovirus infection."

Other than the copious amounts of snot and boogers in his nose and the occasional cough, he doesn't really seem too bothered by it. I hope he gets better soon!

First Day of School

Conor started daycare today. We were all up early to get ready, load up (why does it take 4 more bags than usual to get a 19 lb person through the day???), and were off before dawn. There were plenty of tears (mine, not his). His teacher called an hour after dropoff to say he was doing great, and having fun playing with bubbles.

When I called at lunch he was sleeping - that nap ended up going 1.5h, a rarity at home. He was napping again when I picked him up. He drank every bit of his four bottles and even had some sweet potatoes and oatmeal. The teachers took pictures of his first day for us and it looks like he had a blast. He made a new friend, David, an adorable 12 month old whose favorite word is "lights". He liked watching David walk and giggled when he heard him talk. Unfortunately David will be moving to the toddler room soon, so hopefully Conor will like his other classmates as much.

I hope tomorrow goes as well!