Since the Nanny Project fell through, I immediately started implementing another action plan. I deal with everything through making plans. As long as there is a plan in place, I feel like I’m in control and have no time to waste on bemoaning anything.
Plan #2 is looking into local day cares. Klara and I already visited one today and we are going on a tour of another one tomorrow. This Day Care #1 has in its favor the fact that a friend’s granddaughter has been attending it since she was 12 weeks old, and she loves it. She is the cutest, brightest, happiest 3-year-old girl I know in this town, so that’s a plus.
When I ask the girl’s mother about this day care, she always tells me that, “It’s the most expensive one. Expensive! It’s expensive!” And yes, at $309 per week, this is expensive not only in our region but pretty much everywhere. They don’t do part-time care but said they don’t mind me bringing Klara in only twice a week, as long as I pay. They also don’t mind me coming in during the day to play with Klara.
I have no idea what the explanation for the high price is and I don’t much care. They were telling me something about their educational program but I tuned out. I’m a walking educational program myself, so what do I care about their educational programs? I mean, it’s good they have it but whatever.
One thing I didn’t like was the food. Of course, food is not that relevant to Klara now, but what they feed the toddlers is way too American for my liking. And I wouldn’t mortify my kid by giving her special meals that would make her feel different. (Unless she asked me to do that, of course.) But hey, crappy food for lunch twice a week is not that big of a deal.
We don’t know anybody at Day care #2 that we are visiting tomorrow but it’s located in a really beautiful wooded area away from the highway.
Clarissa's Blog 
One thing I didn’t like was the food. Of course, food is not that relevant to Klara now, but what they feed the toddlers is way too American for my liking. And I wouldn’t mortify my kid by giving her special meals that would make her feel different. (Unless she asked me to do that, of course.) But hey, crappy food for lunch twice a week is not that big of a deal.
I only noticed this stuff when I was school age and other kids pointed it out to me. I would neither go all out with special meals nor would I avoid it. It depends on whether the food is crappy bland or crappy unhealthy.
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Processed cheese, a tired looking hamburger patty, and one of those buns that are sold in bulk for eternal keeping.
But hey, a kid can’t go through life never having seen a slice of processed cheese. 🙂 Or not a slice but whatever they are called.A square?
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And yes, at $309 per week, this is expensive not only in our region but pretty much everywhere.
It’s very region-dependent. Infant care at the center where my kids went is about $2,400 per month, so twice what you’d pay, and I am not even on the coasts where I hear it’s even more. (Only now that my kid’s 5 do I pay $1200/month.)
No part-time care is a huge plus IMHO. First, it means Klara has her own crib and doesn’t share with another kid who is there the other half the time. Second, it’s being used by actual working parents. If it’s also the most expensive daycare around, it also means that parents are working professionals like you, which means you might make parent friends and their lifestyles will be similar to your and N’s.
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That’s true, this is a great plus of the daycare option. It will save me the trouble of organizing sociability opportunities for Klara, which is something that I was dreading. Thanks for the support!
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I wouldn’t pay over 300 a week for two days. Really if you’re paying that much, then having her there daily is the only way it seems worthwhile. Even if she’s there the same number of hours, but daily, it would feel like you were getting your money’s worth. So instead of two 8-9- hour days, doing five 3-4-hour days would give her (and you) a more consistent routine.
I know you’ve had nanny trouble but if you’re expecting to pay basically 15/hour for two days of care, you might be able to attract a student who needs the money and would be very happy with 15/hour.
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I’m not paying for care, to be honest. I’m paying to be able to spend as much time with her as possible and still be in the classroom 6 hours a week. I thought it would make the most sense to have somebody stay at my house with the baby for the few hours I’m on campus but it turns out its impossible to rely on a person actually to be here when agreed. And if older women turned out to be flakes without exception, how can I trust a student not to flake out on me? I can’t sit here, wondering if she’ll show up every time I need to be in class. My nervous system doesn’t have the capacity to process such situations on a regular basis.
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