Two DOJ employees expecting twins — daycare downtown?

[Anonymous]

I’m hoping for some up-to-date guidance about daycare options for federal employees in downtown DC or in the Capitol Hill area.

1 - What is the likelihood of getting into a federal daycare (Just Us Kids, FTC, Commerce, etc)?
2 - Is daycare or a nanny or au pair a better option with twins?
3 - What will be the cost of daycare vs nanny vs an pair annually?
4 - There are so many daycare centers - if you were me, what waitlists would you get on?

Thanks in advance for any and all help and information you are willing to share.

[Anonymous]

Nanny is much easier than getting two sets of everything ready for daycare and packing up two babies everyday.

[Anonymous]

Friends who have had twins have all had nannies. I agree with what the previous poster said that packing up two infants each morning is probably difficult. I also think financially two infant daycares is likely similar to the cost of a nanny, and easier for you. I would definitely ask on some specific twin Facebook groups although I know the calculation can be different here than other places. You’d also be trying to find two slots in a daycare making it harder. Friends got off the HHS daycare when kid was about 1 year old. I don’t think au pair is an option, they typically don’t do infants in general but also you’ll probably be looking for a nanny with twin experience. So yeah all in all I would research nannies and maybe get on the federal daycare lists, you may end up doing nanny for the first year and then getting off the list and then could make the calculation then. That’s what the friends in HHS did that I mentioned. I will say though transition to daycare at 1 can be a rough age, changing the routine at that age is a bit rough so don’t want to throw that out without mentioning that

[Anonymous]

With twin babies a nanny is often easier but more expensive. You pay for the extra commuting time for example (that is the time it takes to get yo work) but you benefit from having someone who can take care of a mildly sick child. Twins may not get sick at the same time and that can lead to lots of days out of daycare that someone has to stay home from work. Nannies usually prefer twins to shares because it is easier to deal with one family so it will be easier to find one. A cousin has twins and found a nanny to be easier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With twin babies a nanny is often easier but more expensive. You pay for the extra commuting time for example (that is the time it takes to get yo work) but you benefit from having someone who can take care of a mildly sick child. Twins may not get sick at the same time and that can lead to lots of days out of daycare that someone has to stay home from work. Nannies usually prefer twins to shares because it is easier to deal with one family so it will be easier to find one. A cousin has twins and found a nanny to be easier.

this post is right on

[Anonymous]

Not an au pair. They don’t have the experience to handle rein infants. You want a professional, more experienced nanny.

Nanny may not cost that much more than two center spots in northwest, esp if you can stagger schedules to avoid nanny overtime.

[Anonymous]

Definitely consider a nanny, but if you want to get on lists, get on them NOW. All of them that are reasonable for your commute.

[Anonymous]

If you decide to go the daycare route and want to stick near your office you can tour/waitlist at Triangle Tots, IRS Bright Horizons (you can waitlist at both of these with one fee since they're both BH). Monthly as a fed they're around $1800-1900 for one child, not sure what the sibling discount is/if there is one. You have a good chance at getting into IRS BH. For Triangle Tots you will need to call and ask once a week. They have a long waitlist, but it seems like they give the spot to whoever expresses repeated interest.

Another option is USDA's Child Development center at 14th and Independence. It's a lot cheaper for feds and they do occasionally get into the non-USDA part of the waitlist. It's around $1500 a month for infants. There were a few sets of twins when we were there as well. The waitlist fee is $25 so it doesn't hurt to waitlist there and see if you can get spots.

[Anonymous]

Twin mom here. We did a nanny until our girls turned 3 and then moved to daycare center. This worked really well for us. It was more expensive, but I can't imagine getting two infants out the door in the AM. Also, please consider the possibility that your twins may be preemies and need extra care and attention early on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Twin mom here. We did a nanny until our girls turned 3 and then moved to daycare center. This worked really well for us. It was more expensive, but I can't imagine getting two infants out the door in the AM. Also, please consider the possibility that your twins may be preemies and need extra care and attention early on.

I think this is a very good point. Hopefully it won’t be the case, but if you do have preemies often daycare is not recommended and might be added stress to have to pull an audible.