Searching for daycares

Yes, it may seem a little early, given that we haven't even had our first ultrasound yet. But here in the Beehive State, aka Utah, aka the place with the largest families in the nation where you see a pregnant woman on every street corner and in every grocery store aisle, it is never too early to start tracking down a good daycare.

This was the one tip my boss passed along to me when I shared the news of my pregnancy with her a couple weeks back. "This is going to sound crazy, but you need to start looking for daycares. It's a different world here in Utah."

She wasn't kidding. Today we went on our first tours of two childcare centers. We're learning, especially for infant care, there are several waiting lists (the directors of these centers didn't bat an eye when I said I was due in September --I was half expecting them to laugh at me, but they assured me I was "right on schedule" in starting to secure childcare). Many places are only licensed to handle ages two and up, so we are glad we are giving ourselves plenty of time to research our options.

We're also learning that it's nerve wracking to try to find a place where we'll feel comfortable leaving the baby. Our first stop today was at LaPetite Academy in Cottonwood Heights. I hate to rag on the place, but I left in a panic, wondering if all daycare facilities are like that, then maybe I should figure out a way to quit my job and become a stay-at-home mom.

Luckily, our faith was restored when we visited My Children's Academy, also in Cottonwood Heights, not far from our house in Holladay. (www.mychildrensacademy.com). We were very impressed with the facility, the teachers and the quality of the tour and information we were given. There aren't any infant spots available for several more months, but we are at least on the waiting list to get the baby in after the new year, when our maternity leave is up. (I am taking 12 weeks and Joe will likely take three weeks when my time is up to be at home with the baby). She thought we would have a good chance of getting in, although there are a few pregnant women due around the same time that are on the list ahead of us. It is comforting to know we have one option that we like, and we will working on lining up a few more tours in coming weeks in case things don't pan out at My Children's Academy.

Utah has a nice referral service at http://www.cssutah.org/ and we have learned a lot about questions to ask and things to look for in a childcare provider. And being a reporter, of course I know where to go to find out all the dirt on these places. The Salt Lake Tribune sponsors a Web site called Utah's Right, which posts citations for all of the daycare facilities in the state. Pretty handy to know if you are dealing with small infractions (leaving a bottle of glue out on the table) or scarier stuff (leaving infants unattended for too long). I think the site the Tribune manages, http://www.utahsright.com/h_childcare.php, is a God send and I hope more parents out there take advantage. It's also handy to be a cops reporter and know how to run someone's criminal background. I'm sure the teachers at these places are great, but paranoid me will probably "run their names through the system" just the same. You never can be too sure. :-)

I'm glad we are getting a jump on plans. It is crazy to me that in a couple more weeks the pregnancy is 1/3 done already. While Joe says, "Don't worry, we have six months" to get things done, I tend to say "Oh my God! We only have six months! We have to figure this out!" Good thing we balance eachother out like that.