Canada Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Starting to look into daycare...
Today
I requested info from a couple of daycares, just so I have some more
information towards making my decision about whether or not to return to work next May, and got this reply from one of
them: "The waiting time for infant care is approximately one to one and
a half years. The current fee is $58.50 per day." Good lord. I would
have had to sign Andrew up when I was three months pregnant to be sure
to get a spot by the time I need to go back to work. And the fee is quite a large percentage of my take-home pay.
If the wait time is typical then I've already missed the boat, and if the cost is typical then I'm not sure it's even worthwhile for me to go back. Pretty much what I suspected. I know I could probably find cheaper at an in-home daycare, but I think I'd only feel comfortable with that situation if I had a personal reference to one.
Well, obviously I'll figure something out if I have to, but... I think this is confirming that I don't really want to. DH's income pays our bills and buys our food. Whatever I bring in is discretional spending and savings. We could manage if I can get a bit of freelance income every month.
Life is complicated. You know what would make it simpler? Winning the lottery.
Re: Starting to look into daycare...
Yes it would! Or having a money tree in the backyard.
Sorry the daycare situation is more complicated than it should be.
The wait time here is about 18 months as well. We looked at once place that was $1400/month. Ummmm no. We ended up going with an in home daycare that a coworker of mine uses.
Have you looked at WeeWatch?
No, I haven't. I will!
People told me to start looking as soon as I announced I was pregnant. We have our names on a few lists, but there are only a few in our neighbourhood that take infants, and some of those are super specialized (i.e. one we called was for babies who's mothers have substance abuse problems).
It's so expensive too, the one at my work (which only actually takes 10 babies a yr and even though I got on the wait list when I was 4 months pregnant, I probably won't get in to anyway), is $1800 a month!!! It's also open to students (they charge them slightly less - I still think it's about $1600/month for infants though). It's sooo expensive! I am sure students get some subidies, but still $1600 is so pricey! Especially for full time students who likely have little income coming in.
Anyway, I feel your pain... I found one place near my house that I like (it's connected with the school our kids will eventually go to). But they don't take them until 18 months, so I may try to find something else for 12 -18 months until baby can go there.
Another thing that bothers me about the cost is the fact that so many women end up staying home with baby, because it makes more sense financially., But then people wonder why there are so few women in senior positions at companies? Of course there aren't - if they leave work to stay home how are they ever going to advance??? *sigh*
The wait times are crazy! That is one of the reasons that we have left Julian in daycare while I've been on Mat leave and also why I am going back to work when Lexi will be 7 months old( that is when the same daycare provider will have a baby spot open).
If we hadn't done it this way then I probably wouldn't have been able to go back to work until Julian at least one of the kids goes to school.
This is exactly why I won't get pregnant until I know I can stay home. It's not worth it to have a child and stick them in daycare just for your salary to go to daycare.
I say, if you can do it, stay home. No one says you can't find some way to make income from home.
I started looking just out of curiosity and was surprised to find the wait times for some places. We're for sure going the dayhome route for cost purposes and once I get a good reference when I narrow down my choices we'll be on a list. In a perfect world, I would be staying home, but there is just no way to make that happen. And if I don't go back I have to pay my work the top up that they offer us for the first 17 weeks.
I'm still hoping the SAHM's on my street will get an idea to take our LO for some extra cash so I can feel good about where the money is going and know exactly who has my kid.