June 7, 2012

The Frightening Daycare Search

Tuesday marked our first day of our daycare search. Well, the officially going into various daycares part of it at least. We knew what to expect, seeing as we went through the same thing when Gwyneth was barely three months old.

I was a wreck back then, imagining anyone but us taking care of our baby girl. I remember my mom giving us a pep talk  and crying in a Starbucks before we ventured out to meet our first daycare lady.

I had an idea in my head at how terrible daycares could be and the first woman we interviewed lived right up to that expectation. She asked to hold our newborn infant after meeting us for two minutes. She showed us around her house which was in disrepair and her husband came barging in telling us all about how he had his sheriff’s card and a terrible cough. She shared way too much information finalizing our decision to run as fast as we could when she assured us that sometimes the babies will of course come into the bathroom with her.

We met and interviewed several other women who were all over sharers. One even told my husband she had to schedule at a certain time because she was going to get “her pap.” No joke. I just uncovered a post I never published about this entire situation, you can read it here.

Finally, we landed on a dream come true (you can read more here) a woman starting her own daycare after working with the university for years. She was our age, sweet as could be and understood our desire for more than just a babysitter. She understood how difficult it was to leave your baby with someone else and let me be the worry-wart mother who called five times a day. She sent us pictures with updates (more here). She was amazing to the point that when it came to me staying home I questioned my abilities vs. hers.

Sadly she no longer runs a daycare so we’re back to square one.

We made our list of daycares and the usual fears crept back up. But this time we were slightly at ease knowing there were true gems tucked away somewhere, we just had to find them.

Unfortunately we did not find any of these places today. We saw 8 month old babies left to cry on a floor, a toddler left to “throw a fit” in a crib after waking up from a nap frightened. We saw shoes put on wrong feet, dingy poorly lit rooms and pathetic playgrounds. When asked about credentials we were assured of experience without a lick of relevant education. We drove past many without even going in.


Lucky for us, we have time. Time to shop around and hunt for that gem we know exists. Somewhere out there is the perfect person to care for our daughter. We just need to keep looking or at least that’s what I keep telling myself. Because after Tuesday, I was clamoring for anyway to get out of having to send Gywneth anywhere and was ready to call and unaccept my job. Fortunately for us, my husband is a little less overdramatic and emotional and has a steady head.  Damn that responsible, intelligent husband of mine, DAMN HIM!

So we're still on the hunt. Please let it get easier, PLEASE.

Have a daycare to recommend in South Reno or Carson? Please please please leave a comment, we need all the help we can get.

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