Daycare

I won't be returning to work for another 6 months but we've already started looking into daycare for Baby J. I think it's a good idea to stop by prospective daycare facilities unannounced and see what their normal day is like.

The first site I visited unannounced was a nightmare. Kids were crying everywhere. There was no one to greet us. I rang a bell for service and summoned a frazzled young lady who threw a pamphlet at me and told me to make an appointment. After that, I looked about the dingy waiting area and decided to cross this one off my list.

Another one I visited, had kids of all ages walking around and smiling. The staff was engaged and friendly. There was lots of sunlight and cool toys scattered about. I don't necessarily make judgements on first impressions alone but this place went to the top of my list.

I wonder how accurate daycare intuition is. I just read Blink by Malcolm Gladwell not too long ago and I think there's probably a lot to be said for that gut feeling. After all, you are going leave your precious little egg with these people. You should trust them on a gut level.