When you have a baby for the first time, it's all fun and games until your maternity leave ends and…read moreyou have to come to terms with joining back the real world of work life. While my mat leave was NOT a vacation, neither is taking care of my little one, and doing the research to figure out if daycare, nanny or aupair fits the bill for your family is such a personal decision, not everything is one size fits all.
Our research started when I was 6 months pregnant and I started touring several daycares in the area along with Montessori schools to just get an idea what the heck we were dealing with, securities instilled, and how daycare works. We went to tour 3 places, all of which I had first hand feedback from existing coworkers from all places. Primrose's director Ms. Artus shared we should even look up all the daycares on the Texas state site to check for infractions of which we found none. :) yay. Plus a short drive from our home makes it an easy pick up and drop off.
First thing is, while costs are high, this is not something we were afraid of when we factored in the many amenities and learnings we expected from a daycare, the professionals that know how to take care of our LO better than we can with some tips and tricks, and also wanting something more than a daycare where your kiddo just goes through the motions day by day.
It's only been 3 weeks, and I'm still on my maternity leave but as I re-enter the workforce next week, and leave my babe for realsies, I trust he's in the best of hands, I've dropped him off and popped in on occasion, and I've always seen him shown with love. So many other perks include, him socializing with other babies. They change him very frequently and can even examine his bowel movements and ask if he has breast milk since we do nurse our little one at home but give daycare formula since my pumping milk doesn't produce enough. I love how attentive and observant they are without us knowing what to share. He has his own crib, collage of people who love him and play area and I love how I get to see all the little ones grow and learn along side our babe. We are the first in our friends to have a baby so it's hard to get kiddos for him to engage with even as a newborn or even know how to do it all. Don't fret, the primrose staff is super helpful and SO good at what they do. I commend Ms. Mary of the young infants class and all the staff assistants that help. I love seeing our little one grow and learn so many things that I would struggle to even think of except for survive, go on stroller walks and naps.
They've instilled structure, helped me understand as a first time parent what to look for, extra outfits, diaper cream, and all the things I never knew for taking care of my baby. It honestly feels like my own little village of caretakers that watch out for my LO, and this genuinely can really show how much that means to me. They've got so many happy kiddos that fill the halls and the community really seems great from our short time here, the calendar is filled with activities and field trips the different age groups take so you know what fun they're in for. Parents night out is a thing too, whoo hoo! Love it so far, and we hope our son thrives and grows well here for ages to come.
I look forward to updating as he moves into the next classrooms so I can share our growth and experience but we love it here.