*Baby Corner*

[Eveline 9]

Well, it's DOD daycare. Considering the lowest enlisted rank makes around 800 Dollars a month, they have to make it affordable for everybody.

ETA: OK, i was wrong, it's 1300 Dollars for the lowest rank with lowest 'years of service' but it's still not a whole lot of money and I guess you can only afford that if you live in base housing and don't have to pay for rent and stuff.

Edited June 18, 2009 by Eveline

[Nessa 23]

Well, it's DOD daycare. Considering the lowest enlisted rank makes around 800 Dollars a month, they have to make it affordable for everybody.

ETA: OK, i was wrong, it's 1300 Dollars for the lowest rank with lowest 'years of service' but it's still not a whole lot of money and I guess you can only afford that if you live in base housing and don't have to pay for rent and stuff.

they still have to pay for housing. as far as i'm concerned the military gives u some kind of ''allowance'' and you use part of that to pay rent

[Eveline 9]

If you live on post you don't pay, if you live off post you get BAH (basic allowance for housing) which is usually the average of what an appartment or house cost for a month to rent.

[Mommy2ZaidnSalma 11]

Stef, When I was looking for long term child care for Zaid I found a lot of ads on craigslist. In home day care and such. I interviewed a ton of women that I loved. Mostly stay at home moms who were merely looking for a playmate for their kid while making an extra buck. The rates were anywhere from 5$ an hour up to 12$ an hour, or flat rate days that varied from 30-45$. Thankfully, I ran into an old friend and her mom is who I found, It worked out perfect bc her Mom was sending 2 kids off to indergarten that she had been watching since birth so she needed to fill some spots. Zaid loves it there. His friends there are 8 months and 2 years old. He loves interacting with the other kids and the women who takes care of him really adores him, which definitly was important to me. Leaving him the first few weeks was hard but I feel not only I, but Zaid as well will benefit from spending time away from me and DH.

[sara535 15]

Honestly, I think daycare is much harder on us mommies than it is on the kids. In fact, sometime between the ages of 1 and 2 (and I do think it varies by child) I beleive it actually is very beneficial for the kids to be at some kind of daycare - they need the social interaction and the stimulation of being in a different environment. I just returned to work and put Amirah in a daycare (home based but licensed by the state). she was VERY upset the first week because it was such a huge change for her but now, a month into it, she is so happy. she talks about the kids to me at home - well, 'talks' means she says their names - and when we get there she runs to the door. All the kids are happy to see her and hug her. They spend the day singing and playing outside and having story time, and when I pick her up I have a few hours of good time with her before she passes out exhausted. she rarely wakes up in the night anymore due, I think, to having such full days. She eats better, she sleeps better, her vocabulary is improving by the hour almost, and I can kind of see her confidence starting to develop as she learns that she can do things and thrive without me.

I think what Eveline says kinda hits the nail on the head - we as mothers feel bad for missing important moments and having to be told about them, but honestly I dont think our kids miss us being there nearly as much as we would like to believe....

[Nessa 23]

i had a dream Ben said his first word, but i can't remember what it was, it was something totally random like peanut. then i told him to say mommy or mamãe, i don't remember if my dream was in english or portuguese, but i remember he said mommy or mamãe whatever the case was after i told him to. lol

Honestly, I think daycare is much harder on us mommies than it is on the kids. In fact, sometime between the ages of 1 and 2 (and I do think it varies by child) I beleive it actually is very beneficial for the kids to be at some kind of daycare - they need the social interaction and the stimulation of being in a different environment.

it's been hard on me, and it'll get even worse when he has to be there for over 10 hours a day. i agree the social interaction is good for them, but when they're a toddler, not an infant and most definitely not a newborn.

[sara535 15]

I agree with that Nessa, it is harder as an infant. In my post I was definitely thinking of when they are a little older but its much harder with the little babies...

[Anna C. 4]

Keep in my mind that the base daycare isn't always the best. I toured one during a spouse orientation at Maxwell AFB, AL. It was yucky, there were way too little care providers per child. With yucky I mean things like mold in the bathrooms, things were falling apart, old dirty plastic toys everywhere. They would not allow cloth diapers on the infants/toddlers there and prefer you bring formula instead of pumped breast milk cause that has to be in the fridge and that is too much work. Probably that daycare center was really bad and not all of them are like that, but I was quite shocked! I know at Vandenberg AFB CA lots of in home providers were there and I know people liked that a lot. They are on base in the base housing and do small groups of children. I heard good things about that. It is cheapo like base daycare.

We are considering preschool for Jona like twice a week once he is 2. There are two Montessori preschools in town who have an excellent reputation and it is not that expensive (I think like $400 a month, which is good for preschools). I as a kid HATED daycare with all my heart. I loved being sick so I could stay at home. My sisters hated it too. I was fine with school, but daycare was horrible. They forced us to clean our plates which was the most horrible thing for me. My parents never forced us to eat. They did at daycare. So I do not remember happy socializing, but rather jail-like conditions. I know it is different for everyone and I am sure no daycare center nowadays forces children to eat or puts them in a closet when they misbehave (happened to my sister for refusing to eat chicken stew). Sorry for the vent, but those are some really bad memories!!!!

Jona is sick for the first time, poor little guy. It is just like a virus, fever, irritability, but that's it. He wants to be held a lot and sleep and eat. He plays for a bit, then nurses and sleeps again. I feel so sorry for him. But he'll be fine again soon. How do you survive multiple illnisses with your kiddos? It worries me so much! I would pay anything if I could be sick for him...

[Eveline 9]

I just heard a story about a montessori school the other day where the teacher took the kids pacis and blankets and forced them to sleep without their loveys. One mom actually found out that her baby cried for 45 minutes until he fell asleep. She took him out that daycare and takes him somewhere else now.

I love your mother's day out. The teacher is somehow related to my husband, she is very nice, rubs Adam's back until he goes to sleep. They don't have to eat up (I think that was an east German thing...just like forcing left handed kids to write with their right hand) or whatever.

[chri'stina 190]

All the kiddos are looking adorable, as usual, in the signature pictures! Can't believe how big some of them are getting!!

[Vi Mazzella 4]

My mom is leaving tonight, we are completely sad + hubby doesn't want me to take Sofia to Peru next January, she is leaving this country happy and at the same time sad, she adores my little one.

[Nessa 23]

I just heard a story about a montessori school the other day where the teacher took the kids pacis and blankets and forced them to sleep without their loveys. One mom actually found out that her baby cried for 45 minutes until he fell asleep. She took him out that daycare and takes him somewhere else now.

#######

the other day i saw this baby at Ben's daycare she was with one leg outside her crib and i had to tell the woman about it. like #######?

@vi:

[chnst 6]

I just heard a story about a montessori school the other day where the teacher took the kids pacis and blankets and forced them to sleep without their loveys. One mom actually found out that her baby cried for 45 minutes until he fell asleep. She took him out that daycare and takes him somewhere else now.

I love your mother's day out. The teacher is somehow related to my husband, she is very nice, rubs Adam's back until he goes to sleep. They don't have to eat up (I think that was an east German thing...just like forcing left handed kids to write with their right hand) or whatever.

hey whats up with the german daycare??? I have similar experiences... I loved going there, but when the teacher was sick, the "laundry lady" would substitute and boy she was mean! I remember sitting in front of a plate full of liver for hours until my mom picked me up. I didn't want to eat, so I wasn't allowed to get up, not even the bathroom! Back then no one ever heard of ADD, I swear I had this as a child (might still have it!). I hated nap-time, couldn't lay still so she caught me awake one day, dragged me out in an empty room and hit me! Didn't get much better when I started school and they didn't like that I was a leftie, so the teach tied my left arm behind my back and made me write with my right-hand. I was extremely stubborn and refused to write anything with my right hand so they eventually gave up on me.

If someone did this to my kid, I would go nuts. Maybe that's where my trust issues with caregivers stem from. Luckily I found a daycare I am comfortable with and my MIL is very good with Ben too. He will start 2 half days in the fall and MIL will take over the rest. I'm sure he'll love hanging out with other kids. He is fascinated by other children when we go to the park or the mall.

@Vi: oh no, sorry that your mom couldn't persuade the hubby.... Sorry that she's leaving... Maybe he'll change his mind. Why is he so against the trip? My husband has always been extremely supportive of me going to Germany. If Mommy isn't happy, no one is happy. Good luck, I hope you find a compromise.

[MARM 7]

Just stopped by in this thread to share a sad happening and give a safety reminder for everyone with infants/babies:

My friend just lost her baby today...he was 8 months old. She was carrying him in her arms down the stairs from the second floor in her house to the first floor and he fell out of her arms and hit his head on the last step down the stairs. He suffered from internal head injuries and was on life support for one day and then he passed away...

Babies have a tendency to propel themselves to a certain distance beginning at around the time when they start to sit or sometimes even before that, please be careful with your precious little ones...my friend is not careless not even a first time mother...this was her second child...just be extra careful carrying your infants down steps or stairs and do not leave them unsupervised, even for a second.

Hope everyone has a good weekend, lots of love for the little ones...

MARM

[Chrissy25 0]

Just stopped by in this thread to share a sad happening and give a safety reminder for everyone with infants/babies:

My friend just lost her baby today...he was 8 months old. She was carrying him in her arms down the stairs from the second floor in her house to the first floor and he fell out of her arms and hit his head on the last step down the stairs. He suffered from internal head injuries and was on life support for one day and then he passed away...

Babies have a tendency to propel themselves to a certain distance beginning at around the time when they start to sit or sometimes even before that, please be careful with your precious little ones...my friend is not careless not even a first time mother...this was her second child...just be extra careful carrying your infants down steps or stairs and do not leave them unsupervised, even for a second.

Hope everyone has a good weekend, lots of love for the little ones...

MARM

oh my goodness i am so sorry to hear this, my thoughts are with your friend