Childcare Already

[LaurenAnanas]

So now one more person knows about my pregnancy: the director of the daycare center at my workplace.

Yes, I had to get on the waitlist at 4 weeks gestation, to have even a fighting chance of getting the baby in. It was really nice. They showed me the nursing area (which looked comfortable and well loved and used) and told me about their open door policy for nursing and visits, etc... All the kids looked happy, it was super clean, and it was obvious that the staff was happy. And it's only two floors below my office.

I'm still not used to being pregnant, let alone the idea of a real live baby, but I just wrote a check for a deposit for a daycare wait list.

Edited to add: I did all this hoping that we might get a slot in June of 2009, when the baby would be ~7 months old... That seems so far away!

[Alison]

I was told when my first was one week old that I really should have put him on the lists when I was still pg--and I'm in Canada, so I didn't need a spot til DS was 1 year old! I put him on at 1 week, and did get into the centre I really wanted, but I think that's partly because they have a "flexible" waiting list--if you show interest, call to check up on where you are, stay in touch, schedule a visit, know other kids in the centre, all those things, then you move up the list. With this one, I probably will go on the list before he/she is born, but I also think I've got a better chance of getting in, because siblings get priority--it holds with the whole family philosophy at the daycare.

Good luck getting into yours. It sounds lovely! I'd love to have a workplace daycare.

[Bella Catalina]

Wow that is crazy... then again I am a SAHM so I have no concept. That sounds like a wonderful place - if I was working I would love a DC in my place of work. Do you mind me asking what sort of comapny you work for and how many employees that you need to put your child on the list this early?

[LaurenAnanas]

I work for a government agency, with about 2,000 people on site. In addition to just being convenient, the daycare is well run and well priced, so it's pretty popular.

Luckily, my MIL has a friend who runs a preschool, so she knows all about local daycare providers through her students and their parents. I've already got a few names from her, but there's no need to jump so quickly on those, thank goodness.

In my previous career as a middle school teacher at a horrible school, there was no question that I'd quit for a few years and be a SAHM. Now, however, I have a great low-stress job that I love, with very flexible leave and part-time options. The on-site daycare just kinda gilds the lily!

[starkyld]

I work for a government agency, with about 2,000 people on site.

Ah. I had actually been wondering if we worked in the same medical complex, but it sounds like that's not the case. Glad you've got such a flexible set-up--it sounds lovely!