Throughout our entire pregnancy (and probably even before) I said there was no way I would put our child in daycare. I couldn’t imagine leaving my child with someone who wasn’t blood related…or, at the very least, a close friend. I put off looking at daycares, while I was pregnant. I kept telling myself I would do it later. I think I was under the impression that some magical answer would present itself and I wouldn’t have to ever step foot in a daycare.
No magical opportunity presented itself.
I found myself with a newborn, and my maternity leave coming to an end, with no daycare solution. Seeing as my family cannot survive on one income and I have no relatives insane enough to watch my child for 8+ hours a day, for free, I was left having to make a decision. And fast.
Without getting into too much detail, we ended up going through a couple of family friends during Arabella’s first year of life. I was under the (misguided) impression that Arabella would be better served, and taken care of, if someone I knew was taking care of her while we were at work. I selfishly didn’t want her around people I was unfamiliar with. Both of these in-home daycare endeavors ended in disappointment, one even went a step further and ended rather ugly.
It was after two failed attempts at keeping Arabella out of daycare, that my husband was able to get me to tour a local daycare center. I will be 100% honest when I say that a part of me was hoping that we would witness something awful unsavory. Something that would justify my distrust for daycare centers. Something that would allow me to keep my baby out of daycare for longer. However, I didn’t see any of these things. I saw Happy kids. Smart kids. Engaged kids. I met wonderful teachers and assistants that were molding these young minds.
A few days later Arabella started daycare. This memory popped up on Facebook a few days ago and I, surprisingly, got the warm fuzzies.
I was so incredibly nervous for Arabella to go to a daycare center. I had these misconceptions that she would feel alone and she wouldn’t get the kind of attention that she deserves. However, what I have witnessed over the past year has been the opposite of everything that I thought I knew. Arabella has learned so much over this last year; I attribute much of her vocabulary and skills to daycare. She has developed friendships with kids her own age and relationships with some of the best teachers I could ever imagine. Each morning I drop Arabella off, I am leaving part of my heart with a great group of ladies…a group that has earned my trust and respect.
Whenever I hear Arabella quietly singing to herself in the backseat, I say a silent prayer for daycare. Each time she uses her manners, I count my blessings. So much of who my child is becoming is because of daycare. The sad reality is that us working moms/dads rely so heavily on daycare, as our kids spend more time there than at home during the work week. I will admit much of my reservations about daycare was pure selfishness. I didn’t want anyone spending more time with my child, than myself.
It’s not always easy to spend so much time away from your kid(s) but I’m not really sure there is a feeling that compares to seeing them at the end of the day…with a smile (and sometimes a craft) 🙂
My only regret…waiting so long to put Arabella in daycare.
Gifts from daycare…they make the world go ’round.
xo, Jess
