Today was Ian's first full day with his new nanny. After a long saga this year looking for childcare in Durham (including considering starting a place ourselves, an idea killed by the city's unreasonable approach to zoning permits), we finally settled on a nanny share with another family. They have had this nanny (Lisa) for their two kids for the past year. Their 3-year-old son is now starting full time preschool, so Ian will be sharing Lisa with their daughter, who is one month younger than Ian.
Yesterday I took the morning off to spend time with Ian and Lisa and get him settled in. During his morning nap I got to talk with her for a while, and I couldn't be happier with her approach to life and childcare. She seems like a great fit for us. She has a lot of experience with kids, and a calm and reasonable approach. Like us, she thinks kids should be listened to and know that their opinion matters, but still have firm limits when necessary (yes, Ian definitely has opinions, even now). She values child-cued education, healthy food, and interesting experiences. She keeps up with activities at the local libraries, parks, and museums, and we're really excited that Ian will be able to experience all the great things going on in our community during the day.
From my perspective, this arrangement represents a big positive change for me. I no longer have to drive back and forth to Raleigh every day to drop Ian off at daycare, and I don't have to portion and label his food every night. I still prepare everything for him, but it's so much easier to send a few days at a time worth of everything and let Lisa give him the amount he wants each day. Coupled with the changes that come with his one year birthday (switching from breast to cow's milk during the days (no more pumping!), having fewer restrictions on eating, flipping the carseat around, etc.), life as a mommy has suddenly gotten much more manageable. And Ian is such a sweet and interesting little boy these days (even though he's learning to throw tantrums) that Doug and I are really enjoying our time with him!
No comments:
Post a Comment