Childcare Hunt

I feel like one thing no one warns you about is the wonderful hunt for childcare. Of course you know it’s something that you need to find eventually, but when you have months until your due date, and then a few months of maternity leave left to go, it isn’t exactly at the forefront of your mind.

Come to find out nearly everywhere has waiting lists and infant spots are pretty much always full! I started my hunt in June for a December daycare start date and received so many rejections. The freak out began. I initially felt a little silly reaching out so far in advance, but now was second guessing myself. Was I too late already?!

A few places did have availability, but tended to be the higher priced. (If no one has told you… childcare is unbelievably expensive!) Some places also didn’t have ideal pickup and drop off times. The other issue of doing this during COVID, was that many places are simply unsure of what the circumstances will be in a few more months. Some families were waiting to make up their minds depending on what the public schools were doing for bringing older kids back to school.

I hate to put the search off any longer, but it has honestly turned into a waiting game. It’s stressful, and overwhelming but I know the issue isn’t going to go away until we find something that we are happy with.

Of course there is always the option of finding something temporary until a spot opens up that we really want, though not the most ideal.

I just know how protective we are of who watches our dogs when we go out of town, so the thought of leaving a human child with a stranger is terrifying! It’s also hard being new to town, so we don’t have many people to ask for recommendations. Luckily neighbors have come in handy, as well as local mom groups on Facebook. Otherwise, this is torture!

Here’s to hoping we find something soon so we can check this off our list and move onto the next thing. 😬

Laugh Often – Rachel