Nanny or Daycare?

[Anonymous]

Nanny for sure. And ask your MIL or aunt to be around as much as possible for oversight. It’s nice to have a family member around before kids are verbal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. He will be close to 6 months when I go back to work. We can afford both options, but I don't know if a nanny is worth the added expense. My husband is very concerned about hiring a nanny because we don't have many days we can take off ( I'm a nurse, and he's in finance). I'm sure many people have great experiences with nannies, but the couples we know that hired nanny ether switched to daycare, or ended up going through 1-2 nannies before finding one that worked. My husband thinks we should go with the daycare close to us and we can see how it works. We can hire a nanny if it doesn't work out.

We are both clean and we do have a housekeeper. I know some posters mentioned perks of having the nanny do babu laundry and bottles, but that won't be needed. I will do laundry, and we just put the bottles in the dishwasher and run it at night. I'm not that concerned about packing up for daycare because it's only an 8 mile walk.

It sounds like you’ve made your decision op! You don’t find the perks of a nanny compelling so I would just go with daycare and call it a day. These decisions are extremely personal and each family is going to like different arrangements for different reasons so you really have to follow what works for your family - that’s the most important thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a hard one - you seem to have really open eyes about it that neither option is without it's downsides. If you get an amazing nanny, it's wonderful. If your nanny ends up being not very reliable or just okay, or lots of back and forth employer/employee issues it can be difficult. What is the ratio of babies to caregivers in the daycare? And how many babies in one room? If 1:3 and only say, 6 babies in the room than I might try daycare since you can have MIL help out one day which we've found to be wonderful for baby bonding with grandma. I'm a daycare mom, but switched from a center to a home daycare because our center just had too many babies in one room (too busy, too much illness). Home daycare has been a good happy medium for us, but we straight up could not afford a nanny.

Looking back, if we truly could afford a nanny without it hurting much, I would do that for the first 2 years for the same reasons pp said - illness and also naps - just so much more flexibility to make sure your baby gets the sleep they need as many don't sleep well in daycare if it's one room and the baby is expected to sleep in the bright room (another reason we moved to home daycare). The illness is so hard on everyone and much harder when they are that little. But if it's a good daycare with low ratios.. so close to your house, it might be great too. And they will get the illnesses at some point so it's ok to just do it. It's just harder when they are little.

OP here. Both daycares have 12 students ( 6 weeks - 15 months) with 4 teachers. 3 babies to 1 daycare worker. We are not interested in a home daycare as we like knowing that daycare workers have full background checks, the facility is secure, and we can access multiple cameras throughout the day.

Just to clarify op- I wasn’t suggesting you do home daycare, it was the happy medium for us since we couldn’t afford a nanny. I’m sure you didn’t mean this to sound judgmental but to clarify in case any of your friends use a home daycare at some point - I also like to know my daycare workers have a full background check (?), of course. Home daycares have regulations in Virginia too, our home daycare worker is a former nanny, teacher, and certainly has a background check. You may have some misconceptions about home daycares, but wasn’t at all saying you should go to home daycare just that some of the reasons we switched from a center like napping flexibility etc may be considerations for why you’d prefer a nanny.

OP here. I definitely wasn't putting down home daycares. I'm not in DC. I've known people who have used in-home daycares and usually it's many kids to one lady running it. I'm sure they're qualified, but I prefer either having a nanny with nanny cams, or using a daycare where they have cameras I can check.

If you’re not in the dc area it’s true it might be different - some states don’t have great regulations for home daycares and that is certainly very problematic and can make them risky. Regulations in the dc area are very similar to centers - so the ratio in my home daycare for example with two caregivers is the same as what you said your center daycare is, for example. Anyway it’s really irrelevant to your question at this point but I do want to clear up misinformation as in the dc area they can be a great option for families. it’s completely ok to have different preferences and as I said above I think you have made your decision! Hope you have a good transition back to work.

[Anonymous]

I think a daycare with an 8 minute walk is also extremely convenient. My kids went to daycare starting at six months at a daycare center a few minutes walk from our house and it has been great. I work from home one day a week and was able to go and nurse instead of pump that day. And it’s never closed (in six years of daycare I think 2x there has been an emergency closure due to water in the neighborhood shutting down and one day with a/c breaking in summer). And I can drop off my kid as soon as it opens and then go for a run before work, if I need to.

My oldest kid did get sick her first year- lots of bugs going around- but it was overall very worth it to our family.

Finally, I have no personal experience with nannies but have friends who have- a good caregiver whether nanny or daycare is literally worth it’s weight in gold. You need to trust and rely on your child’s caregivers at every stage of their childhood, honestly, especially that young. It’s not black and white like- daycares are better or nannies are better.

Good luck OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Daycare. Definitely. I’ve done it all. For one child, daycare is so much better. I would personally wait until 6 months though. Are you able to take extended maternity leave?

Your child will get sick more, so you will definitely need backup care.

Being an employer is stressful.

This is true but studies have shown that those same toddlers in group care grow up to be less sick than their elementary school peers years later. I'd rather have them exposed to the germs earlier than miss school later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. He will be close to 6 months when I go back to work. We can afford both options, but I don't know if a nanny is worth the added expense. My husband is very concerned about hiring a nanny because we don't have many days we can take off ( I'm a nurse, and he's in finance). I'm sure many people have great experiences with nannies, but the couples we know that hired nanny ether switched to daycare, or ended up going through 1-2 nannies before finding one that worked. My husband thinks we should go with the daycare close to us and we can see how it works. We can hire a nanny if it doesn't work out.

We are both clean and we do have a housekeeper. I know some posters mentioned perks of having the nanny do babu laundry and bottles, but that won't be needed. I will do laundry, and we just put the bottles in the dishwasher and run it at night. I'm not that concerned about packing up for daycare because it's only an 8 mile walk.

What do you mean you don't know how many days you can take off? If your child is sick, they can't go to daycare, but they can stay home with a nanny. I took WAY fewer sick days than my friends whose kids were in daycare and I had a nanny.

[Anonymous]

Both have pros and cons and both are fine!!

[Anonymous]

Strong daycare advocate! You have to do what's best for your child and your situation, but I'd absolutely try daycare first. In my experience, nannies make things easier for parents but daycare is easier for infants/kids in the long run.

[Anonymous]

I love our daycare. Our kids have been in it since 7 months - the oldest is now 4 and will stay for pre-k year as well.

We took a day off the other day and went to a play place where two nannies were sitting chatting while their charges ran around completely unsupervised. Made me so happy my kids are in daycare so I don't have to worry about one person only being in charge of my kids.

[Anonymous]

If I had a highly reputable daycare that close to my home I would choose it. You can always switch to a nanny later on if you don't like the daycare. It's harder to get into daycares after you've passed up a spot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Strong daycare advocate! You have to do what's best for your child and your situation, but I'd absolutely try daycare first. In my experience, nannies make things easier for parents but daycare is easier for infants/kids in the long run.

Not the op but I’m super curious why you feel it’s better for kids if you want expand! I’m a daycare mom FWIW but always felt like if we could afford a nanny it might have been ideal in the first two years so just curious!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. He will be close to 6 months when I go back to work. We can afford both options, but I don't know if a nanny is worth the added expense. My husband is very concerned about hiring a nanny because we don't have many days we can take off ( I'm a nurse, and he's in finance). I'm sure many people have great experiences with nannies, but the couples we know that hired nanny ether switched to daycare, or ended up going through 1-2 nannies before finding one that worked. My husband thinks we should go with the daycare close to us and we can see how it works. We can hire a nanny if it doesn't work out.

We are both clean and we do have a housekeeper. I know some posters mentioned perks of having the nanny do babu laundry and bottles, but that won't be needed. I will do laundry, and we just put the bottles in the dishwasher and run it at night. I'm not that concerned about packing up for daycare because it's only an 8 mile walk.

What do you mean you don't know how many days you can take off? If your child is sick, they can't go to daycare, but they can stay home with a nanny. I took WAY fewer sick days than my friends whose kids were in daycare and I had a nanny.

OP here. I took an extended maternity leave and my husband took paternity leave. We don’t have much time ever we can take off if the nanny calls off, etc., My MIlL and backup sitters will be there if we need someone to watch him while he’s home from daycare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. He will be close to 6 months when I go back to work. We can afford both options, but I don't know if a nanny is worth the added expense. My husband is very concerned about hiring a nanny because we don't have many days we can take off ( I'm a nurse, and he's in finance). I'm sure many people have great experiences with nannies, but the couples we know that hired nanny ether switched to daycare, or ended up going through 1-2 nannies before finding one that worked. My husband thinks we should go with the daycare close to us and we can see how it works. We can hire a nanny if it doesn't work out.

We are both clean and we do have a housekeeper. I know some posters mentioned perks of having the nanny do babu laundry and bottles, but that won't be needed. I will do laundry, and we just put the bottles in the dishwasher and run it at night. I'm not that concerned about packing up for daycare because it's only an 8 mile walk.

What do you mean you don't know how many days you can take off? If your child is sick, they can't go to daycare, but they can stay home with a nanny. I took WAY fewer sick days than my friends whose kids were in daycare and I had a nanny.

OP here. I took an extended maternity leave and my husband took paternity leave. We don’t have much time ever we can take off if the nanny calls off, etc., My MIlL and backup sitters will be there if we need someone to watch him while he’s home from daycare.

Them your mother in law and sitters would also be available if the nanny ever called in sick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. He will be close to 6 months when I go back to work. We can afford both options, but I don't know if a nanny is worth the added expense. My husband is very concerned about hiring a nanny because we don't have many days we can take off ( I'm a nurse, and he's in finance). I'm sure many people have great experiences with nannies, but the couples we know that hired nanny ether switched to daycare, or ended up going through 1-2 nannies before finding one that worked. My husband thinks we should go with the daycare close to us and we can see how it works. We can hire a nanny if it doesn't work out.

We are both clean and we do have a housekeeper. I know some posters mentioned perks of having the nanny do babu laundry and bottles, but that won't be needed. I will do laundry, and we just put the bottles in the dishwasher and run it at night. I'm not that concerned about packing up for daycare because it's only an 8 mile walk.

What do you mean you don't know how many days you can take off? If your child is sick, they can't go to daycare, but they can stay home with a nanny. I took WAY fewer sick days than my friends whose kids were in daycare and I had a nanny.

OP here. I took an extended maternity leave and my husband took paternity leave. We don’t have much time ever we can take off if the nanny calls off, etc., My MIlL and backup sitters will be there if we need someone to watch him while he’s home from daycare.

Them your mother in law and sitters would also be available if the nanny ever called in sick.

They want to do daycare. Why do you care so much? Daycare are just as good. There are pros and cons to both, but daycare is fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. He will be close to 6 months when I go back to work. We can afford both options, but I don't know if a nanny is worth the added expense. My husband is very concerned about hiring a nanny because we don't have many days we can take off ( I'm a nurse, and he's in finance). I'm sure many people have great experiences with nannies, but the couples we know that hired nanny ether switched to daycare, or ended up going through 1-2 nannies before finding one that worked. My husband thinks we should go with the daycare close to us and we can see how it works. We can hire a nanny if it doesn't work out.

We are both clean and we do have a housekeeper. I know some posters mentioned perks of having the nanny do babu laundry and bottles, but that won't be needed. I will do laundry, and we just put the bottles in the dishwasher and run it at night. I'm not that concerned about packing up for daycare because it's only an 8 mile walk.

What do you mean you don't know how many days you can take off? If your child is sick, they can't go to daycare, but they can stay home with a nanny. I took WAY fewer sick days than my friends whose kids were in daycare and I had a nanny.

OP here. I took an extended maternity leave and my husband took paternity leave. We don’t have much time ever we can take off if the nanny calls off, etc., My MIlL and backup sitters will be there if we need someone to watch him while he’s home from daycare.

Them your mother in law and sitters would also be available if the nanny ever called in sick.

They want to do daycare. Why do you care so much? Daycare are just as good. There are pros and cons to both, but daycare is fine.

I disagree that “daycare is just as good” for an infant, but agree that OP should go with daycare. OP seems very price conscious ($18/hour will only get you a mediocre nanny in the DMV, and OP is haggling over 36 hours vs. 40) so daycare is the best option for her.