So this is the deal: I'm exhausted. What else is new?
Work is suddenly being nice to me. You see, another full time nurse quit last Friday, leaving them high and dry. Suddenly they realize - they need me. Badly. There is a nursing shortage and their ads have brought in zilch. So my boss is working with me and indeed gave me last Friday off for the daycare search. She's also agreed to give me half of this Monday off.
I have a long memory for crap like that. I am a very hard-working (always)and loyal employee (when treated right) so I figure turnabout is fair play. Just wait till I have my green card.
As for daycare: I have called and emailed and visited and networked more daycares in the last week than a person should. I found one in particular where I loved the woman who runs it (in-home) and Imri adored her - she was so good with him. Unfortunately, she's full - she thought she might have an opening because one child might not be working out but he may have turned the corner now. Not that I'd wish misfortune on another parent, but I was really hoping that it would work out. I had such a good feeling about this place and about her. She will have an opening in November and she is keeping us in mind. November. *sigh*. But it's fairly close to my work now, who knows where I'll be in November.
I found a larger centre that seemed all right but it was very expensive. You see, most places won't do part-time infant care, so you have to pay for full-time. This centre wanted $280 dollars. A week. Heh. That's nothing. Kinder C@re wanted $335. And they weren't impressive. Not that I begrudge them money for caring for my child but still - when I compare to prices paid by friends in areas that don't get "Montgomery county tax" - well, it's very high.
So I kept looking and finally found a centre in Monrovia (does "Monrovia" sound Sherlock Holmes-ish or is it just me?) which is a tad out of the way but they want far less and it's in a more rural setting with a huge back yard. I'm still not 100% happy - when I walked in, one of the caregivers for the older kids was sitting reading a magazine rather than playing with kids, etc. Not a great sign. But she's not in the infant area and I don't think Imri will be there long enough to fall
I also have a big fear of him being left in a crib for hours. I will have to do some stealth visits, I think - there were a number of babies in their cribs when I arrived. I am going to be very specific with them, as they are watching my child and I am paying their wages - I spoke to the director who was a very lovely young woman and she assured me that there would be no long crib stays but I stayed up half last night worrying. At this stage I'm unsure as to whether I'm just worried or whether it's my gut.
Anyway, I'm going to continue my search for excellence (I've long since given up on perfection)in daycare. Thank you all for your support and offers of help - I wish I lived closer to any number of you. If you do know of great daycare somewhere up the I-270 corridor between Frederick and Montgomery counties, please email me? And to the anon poster who offered help with immigration stuff - could you email me too please? kinneretb@gmail.com
Yeah, gmail has awesome spam filters. I'm not afraid. And btw, if you want a gmail account, email me - I have about 85 left to give away. It puts all the other free email accounts to shame. I love me some gmail.
So there you have it. We start Wednesday. I'll keep you posted.
4 comments:
I'm so glad there are some glimmers of hope on the horizon!
I've been providing childcare for 18 years. My best suggestion is run, do not walk to the nearest home provider you can find that cares for no more than 6 children.
Centers can only do so much. Imagine being in a room of 4 or 8 babies with 1 or 2 people in the room. There's only so much one pair of hands can do. I've juggled up to 3 babies at once, but never with all 3 being in care the same hours. I provide 24 hour care so my kiddos come and go on various shifts.
Anyway.. Yes, you are going to find a lot of people in daycare settings that are not going to dote on your child. But in a center you can count on it.
Don't even get me started on the sheer number of illnesses that are going through those places.
All I can say is WOW on the prices! I provide care for 120 per week for any age child. I know that in parts of my city people have the nerve to charge 180 per week. Personally, I don't want to feel like I am stealing from people..I do want to make a decent living.
That's another reason all parents should be using home providers. We earn more at home than we could ever earn in a center. It gives us more incentive to run good quality programs.
Goodluck!
I know my comment was moderated so you probably saw it in your email.
Sounds like you are doing a great job looking around and from the way it sounds you did find a referral agency to provide you with providers. The centers do charge an outrageous amount and like the pp said they can only do so much. I know when I worked at a big center here in town it was overwhelming and I knew then that I'd never put my kids in a center even though I was only a teenager back then.
Glad your boss is finally being nice about the deal. Sucks that they had to lose someone to realize that you were an important person there. Hope things continue to get better.
What do you mean, November?? That's mad! I hope this centre works for you both and that whatever you choose lets you sleep at night.
Monrovia, YES! Sherlock Holmes, indeed.
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