This has been a very busy week. I had to return to work after a fun yet sleepless 10 days of paternity leave. I have to admit, I never thought I would miss Baby Carter's sweet cries for attention or the dangerous yet impressive diaper changing missions, but something about not holding mini-me made me miss him like crazy. My wife plans to return to work in 4 weeks which would require day care for Baby Carter. As a military family, we rate the benefit of on-base day care but the waiting list for infants is 8-12 months. Our second option is a family friend that we trust who also has her own infant to care for. Are two infants too much for a young mom to handle? I have met many parents with twins and triplets so I assume a strong mom can handle caring for multiple infants. Furthermore, how much do we ask a family friend to watch Baby Carter? The base child care program has very reasonable prices but to offer a friend a similar contract may offend her. On the other hand, if she requests a price north of reasonable, it may not be worth the trouble or money to have my wife return to work. Additionally, if my wife does not return to work, she can spend more quality mommy-baby time with Baby Carer. Does anyone have any pointers to add to this discussion?
Care from a friend, pros: easier to call and check-in, more one-on-one attention, more flexible with hours, "home-ier" environment. Cons: if you don't agree you could lose a friend, if she already has an infant, will she be giving yours the same amount of attention as her own?
ReplyDeleteGreat list of pros and cons. I appreciate the feedback. We like her a lot and are convinced she would be great. Luckily, we should only need her for about 6 weeks!
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