take good care of my baby

Remember the bit about how awesome I am at worrying? Well, two weeks ago I fixated on child care. I'm planning to stay home for 4-6 months and then head back to my job. I don't love the idea of handing baby boy Tater off to someone else, but I can't see myself as a stay-at-home mom. Granted, there's no telling what I will see myself as when I have a real live Tater in my hands and not in my belly. But I really love my job. And if there is an ideal working mom job out there, I have it. The hours are incredibly flexible and predictable. And I have the option of going part-time. Also, I feel like I just got my law degree. I want to use it. I'm pretty sure all of the banks holding my student loans also want me to use it. So for now, finding a fabulous day care center is the plan.

A year in advance seems ridiculously early to start thinking about this stuff, but somewhere along the way I picked up that young parents living in big cities are supposed to freak out about pre-school education really far ahead of time. Wait lists, testing, kissing up to administrators. No clue where I learned this, as none of my friends have personally shared similar experiences with me. I probably saw it on TV and tucked it into my subconscious filed under "true things" and "things I will definitely worry about one day."

One of the problems with having to think about childcare this far in advance is I have no idea what matters. Right now all I want is a healthy baby with a reasonably sized skull. I don't know the difference between various educational theories and programs. I have a sense that feeding and sleeping schedules are hugely important, but don't ask me to explain why. So I turned to the online parent networks to get a sense of what other parents think about the potential centers. No idea who these folks are, but I'm blindly relying on their opinions. Thanks, strangers.

We narrowed the list down to two options and scheduled tours. One is in the neighborhood and my friend Kristin's son attends their preschool part-time. I like her son a lot. He is polite and well-adjusted and generally adorable. She and her husband get all the credit for this, but she has not complained about the childcare center reversing their efforts. Promising. The other is a bit further away, but en route to work.

I toured the Children's Learning Center on Tuesday sans Brad (he was traveling for work). It is gloriously nearby -- walking distance in warm weather. Two rooms for tiny babies, one room for babies who are 8mo - 14mo, and another room for tykes who are 14mo-2yrs. They provide organic baby food for the babies who have reached the solids stage. And once they are eating really solid food, they have an organic caterer. I looked at the menu. I need an organic caterer of my own. They also do a parents-night-out once a month and lots of events for the parents to get to know each other. I anticipate eagerly seeking out solidarity with other working moms. Smiles.

Oh, and they get bonus points for flattery. As I was leaving, the director let me know that we're in a great position to secure a spot. Apparently I'm a bit ahead of the game -- most people looking for fall 2011 spots won't show up until the spring when the list is considerably longer. Happily gave myself a pat on the back. I am always running late. Early feels good.

The second center we checked out is called the Little Green Treehouse. It is insanely eco-friendly. Cloth diapers, organic caterer with four menus (vegan and gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, and carnivore). All of the toys are non-toxic and most are fair trade. The mattresses are organic, the bouncers are made with bamboo. I was in heaven. There are five baby rooms, with babies ranging from tiny to 14mo.

Both centers personalize the crib areas with big colorful name tags and family photos. It was simultaneously heart-warming and depressing. I will definitely have to take scrapbooking 101 to ensure that Tater's decoration is up-to-par. The monthly fees are almost identical, but I would have to start driving to work if we selected LGT (adding the expense of monthly downtown parking). It wouldn't make a huge difference, as we are resigned to dedicating the vast majority of my salary to childcare.

The one shocker was having a pay a big chunk of change to be put on the LGT waitlist. $200. Insanity. No, it doesn't go towards tuition. It's just a $200 waitlist fee. I suppose it helps to ensure only serious parents sign up. But they could achieve that with a considerably smaller price tag. I think it's really just a brilliant way to pad their bank account. I've been trying to dream up a similar rouse even since. The CLC list, on the other hand, was free. Free! I'm beginning to think that that's a word which will rarely be associated with parenthood. CLC will catch on soon enough. Perhaps I'll clue them in as soon as I am taken off their waitlist.

The other big difference is the pick-up time. CLC is open until 630, LGT until 6. I didn't ask at CLC, but LGT charges $5 per minute if you pick your child up after 6:05 p.m. As I am never early for anything (see above), and rarely on time, Brad commented that we would need to budget an extra $400 a year, minimum, to pay the late fees. Oy.

Both places charge $1000 to secure a spot once they are ready to take you off the waitlist. But at CLC it is refundable (if you decide to go with another option or to stay at home). Not so at LGT. Unsurprising (I believe CLC was started by an educator while LGT was started by an money-savvy entrepreneur). Also, LGT only takes full-time babies, while CLC lets you go part-time if you so desire.

So we are leaning towards CLC, but we would be happy clams with either option. And I'm just relieved that we can stop worrying about this for the time being. We are in a good position on both lists, so I'm confident that something will work out. And CLC handles registrations in December, so we may be sitting pretty in less than two months. Ahhh. One worry down, an infinite number to go.