The daycare dilema

About two months before I was due back at work I was in a bit of a panic, I had put my name on the city's waiting list for daycare and had not heard from any of them.  So I started calling them all, no spots.  So I checked the local online ads, called a few, checked them out... oh dear... not quite what I was looking for.  Then I found one!  Woo hoo!  She was located close, well priced for my budget.  She had a little boy about the same age as my son, perfect!  I said yes lets go for it, but kept an eye on the ads just in case.  Very glad I did. 

A week after I said lets go for it, and a week before he was due to start, she changed her mind.  So back to the drawing board.  I was lucky, I found another place, on the way to work so easy for drop off, and her little guy was a big older but about the same development level.  And she had cats.  Don't ask me really why that was important, I mean it's weird I'm sure but I felt better about the daycare provider having pets.  So we started.

It was a slow transition, took two weeks of gradually taking him for longer times.  And he cried.  A lot.  At drop off and pick up, sobbing as soon as I got him into the car to go there.  And then the comments about starting at 7am, which she'd been fine with but now he was the only one there that early.  Add in everytime I went to pick him up he was strapped in his bouncy/rocking seat with the TV on.  So my mommy feelings were going nuts.  And I started looking again. 

And found another place, right across the street from me!  It costs a lot, more than I wanted to be spending, no subsidy, but she's right across the street!  He loves going, no crying, has fun, she's great with the kids.  They do crafts, he's learning things, and there's 4 other little boys he plays with.  Oh, she has two cats :-)  One is a kitten she got not too long ago who loves to play with the kids.  It's great!  Right?

Except that she's been sick 6 days since I started at the beginning of January.  She also had two days off for dental surgery.  If you're adding it up that's 8 days already, and we're not even done 3 months.  She has 8 days of vacation booked so far for the year, and of course 4 days over Christmas.  I'm finding it difficult.  I only get so much time off in the year, and hate to have to use it all up in such a short time, and to have to still be paying her for the time.  I mean I get she's earning a living at this, but it's a lot of money. 

And so I'm back to my debate, do I stick this out, or do I start looking again.  I have kept his name on the lists with the city for the daycare centres, they don't start until 18 months so it'll be awhile before he can go there any way.  There is one right across the street from work, it would be super convenient, but if I am sick and want to stay home in bed, I'd still be taking him there for the day, and then coming home.  There is one on the way to work, that I wouldn't get subsidized for, but it costs the same as what I'm paying now, and in a year would go down a bit actually.  But he's not on the list. 

I guess for now I'm stuck with what I have, and he is happy and learning a lot there so it's not like he's suffering.  The problem is with me I guess.  Hopefully when the weather gets better she won't be sick so much.  Ah the joys of being a mom! and the difficulty having to make all these decisions with no backup.  Even having to cover all this extra leave on my own. 

I guess it's not all that bad, I do have one friend who has a daughter two months older than my boy, and she still hasn't gone to work because of issues finding daycare, so I've been lucky to find the one I have.  Like I said, she is great, and he loves going there.  I like the location, it's so convenient, I even manage to fit in a quick workout most nights before going to pick him up.  So it's not all bad, just been a bad few months I guess. 

I suppose it doesn't help that I have this desire to be able to stay home with him, to be a stay at home mom, but as a single mom there's no chance of that.  Not unless I win the lottery :-)  Which I guess you have a buy a ticket to do?