Commuting to daycare with an infant

[Anonymous]

Do you do it? How long is your commute? Do you feel guilty about it??? I live in Alex and work in downtown DC...nanny has fallen through and now I'm facing commuting w/ my 4 month old. On good days it takes 20 mins...bad days an hour. I feel horrible already...

[Anonymous]

If you don't think commuting with your infant will work out, try to find a daycare close to home (or at the halfway point or less).

[Anonymous]

OP here...problem is that we just got off waitlists for two great ones in DC (BH Covington Kids and East End) but are waiting and waiting and waiting in Alexandria. Argh!

[Anonymous]

Are you driving or metro? I did this and I never felt guilty. It's more time with your child, and if you metro together, it's time for read books, etc.

[Anonymous]

OP again - driving...just feeling bad about all the carseat time.

[Anonymous]

Don't feel guilty. Just make sure to talk to the baby, play kid-friendly music, etc. I think it's better than another hour and a half in daycare, honestly.

[Anonymous]

Also, fwiw, I have had several friends who had great experiences at Covington kids.

[Anonymous]

Let me put in a plug for a great experience at East End as well!

[Anonymous]

Yes, I had a friend at Covington Kids and said it was wonderful for babies. Great ratio.

[Anonymous]

We do subway and bus. Lots of people drive. You're beating yourself up but most of the other parents at the daycare will be in the same boat as you. Don't sweat it.

[Anonymous]

We lived a block from daycare until DS was almost 2. We moved 30 minutes from daycare and I felt sooooo bad about the daily drive in. He hated it for about 2 weeks. But then it got fun. We sang songs, looked for trucks and buses, etc. Now I love that time with him in the car.

We had DS #2 and he just started at the same daycare. He is only 4 months old. He is usually okay in the car. He cries sometimes and it breaks my heart, but I know that it will get better in time. His brother and I sing songs to him.

Anyway, I think that daycare close to home is probably best, but the commute isn't that bad either, especially once they are about 2 years old.

[Anonymous]

That's really not a lot of carseat time.

[Anonymous]

Time to experiment and find out what kind of music your baby likes! And see how it goes, then if you get off the waitlist at a place in Alexandria, you can switch if you need to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again - driving...just feeling bad about all the carseat time.

Seriously? You kid is sleeping most of the time.

There were be tons of things for you to feel guilty about as a parent. I'm sure you are doing much worse things

[Anonymous]

My infant gets about 90 min extra sleep a day during his commute. He cries sometimes, but it doesn't last long (does make those red lights so much more frustrating though). The other 40 minutes of car time are spent looking at me in the extra large backseat mirror I bought or "talking" to his brother. Not a big deal. Does make for shorter daycare naps, though.