Day [S]Cares

For many years prior to this one, I have heard the woes and frustrations expressed by my friends, family and random parents lamenting over the search for "The One". And now, I can fully empathize and understand why.

Whatever you want to call these places - daycare, childcare, school, child center - the differences from one place to another, regardless of location and price, drastically differ.

Below, I impart what I've seen so far from some of my dayscares to dreamcares (without naming names, of course):

• When we're talking about daycares, franchises aren't all bad. You see consistency and stricter guidelines implemented at each that provide some reliability and assurance of quality.
• More money does NOT necessarily mean more quality or peace of mind and vice versa.
• Infant rooms MUST have clean floors. Clean means no outside shoes allowed, no wet substances and no food.
• Location, location, location.  I will be bringing two infants to daycare. I don't want them to be in the first room from the front door (that is also coincidentally NOT locked or attended by anyone).
• Show Me Organization! It goes without saying that you probably don't want your child sleeping on someone else's linens but how about eating your hard earned breastmilk? I don't want to see mismatched and disorganized food bins and fridges as much as I don't like to see strewn bags of belongings all over hallway floors.
• ABCs. I'm not talking about learning them. I'm talking about the credentials backing up the people I will be paying to watch and care for my new additions. I want to know that everyone is educated in childcare, certified in CPR and experienced in working with infants.
• Ratios. You never thought you'd have to know this math stuff after school was over, right? Well, brush up on your ratio know how. I'm not entirely comfortable if they tell me that they are always maxed out with the number of infants that the state allows and short on the number of caregivers consistently available at any given time.
• Open Door Policy. If I'm nearby, I'd like the option to stop by anytime to check in on my babies. I can understand if they'd like notice of a visit though. All in all, most places where you would be bringing infants have this policy in place.
• Schedules & Feedings. What time is drop off? What time is pick up? What is the feeding schedule? Now, to each facility's credit so far, each had fairly flexible pick-up/drop-off availability and tried to match your feeding schedule as closely as possible.

We have a few more tours to take and haven't committed to any one place in particular quite yet. When what you are most concerned with is cleanliness, professionalism and organization, it doesn't seem like a lot to ask for in a daycare but as I've already seen, those terms are highly subjective and open to interpretation.

I'm not rushing or worried about not finding "The One" (yet) but we'd like to be prepared and check this off of our list of things to do.

"A goal without a plan is just a wish."  ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

First Baby Items

Alright, I had previously resisted purchasing any baby related items because I didn't want to jinx things. I admit it! I was a little more than slightly paranoid but I gave in to an expectant mother's normal level of excitement and let myself ENJOY the entire experience (albeit a bit late).

So ... what did I get, you ask?

Coach Baby Bag

Ok, this isn't a recent purchase. Ken purchased this for me as a surprise a few months ago. It had a lot more meaning than just a plain old diaper bag. I had said after losing our first baby and during treatment for this current one that if I was ever to get pregnant and have a healthy baby, I deserve a Coach Baby Bag (cause I am a yuppie fan of Coach - I can admit it without shame).

Ken giving me this bag only a few months into a new pregnancy was his way of saying that "It was going to be ok" and to allow myself to be more excited than anxious about being pregnant.

This bag is PURDY and I LOVE it but the symbolism it represents to me is worth more than both of those things.

Chicco Cortina KeyFit Travel System

Babies R Us was offering a great trade in offer at their stores this past weekend. You trade in your old baby item for a 25% coupon towards a new item. The caveat was that it had to be used the same day.

We had several of Emma's old things she had long outgrown and hadn't gotten around to throwing out. We traded in her old stroller and VOILA! Here we have a brand new travel system.

I did a lot of searching and this was rated the most easiest to use.

Personally, it had to pass the idiot test first.
Namely, me.

I opened and closed the stroller by myself. The car seat was light and easy to maneuver. I was able to put it in and out of the stroller without too much trouble. The stroller itself has great mobility and the upper shades were removable and able to close both frontwards and backwards.

Bottomline: Ease of use outweighs any points lost for lack of aesthetics.

Graco Duo Dinner Highchair

In searching for a highchair, it was important to find something I could use for at least a few years.

Hey, what can I say? I'm a gal who likes to get my money's worth!

We also bought this little gem at 25% off. It was the clear winner out of the highchairs available at Babies R Us. I didn't care about being matchy-matchy with my stroller, playpen and whatever else is supposed to match. No one ever rarely sees these things all together to comment if they DON'T match!! Another marketing ploy!!!

But I digress.

This highchair starts out as a normal highchair and then converts into a toddler booster seat. It seems to hold infant in snugly and reclines for comfort (I had to resist asking a woman with a baby to try this out in the store). There is a footrest and I played around with the model in the store to test out the wheels. It's not built for rough terrain but all kitchen floors will love the smooth operator, Duo Dinner.

Bottomline: Cost is low given the length of use one would get from this combination highchair and booster seat.

We also bought our first outfit and all I'll say is that it does have a professional sports affiliation (of course).

Any expectant or current moms out there, send me your recommendations and suggestions! If you're anything like me, reading reviews, consumer reports and recalls eats up a lot of my free time at home these days. Any positive experiences with products are much appreciated!!