No sympathy for you for that schedule....I work full time as a single mom & that means I have to do drop off and pick up every day without fail. Only exceptions in 3+ years were 2 occassions when I was out of town on work trip and 2 times when out of town family did pick up after I recovered from minor surgery.

Put on your big girl panties & do it! Millions of other people do..

Your DD or DS will get sick ALL THE TIME. So instead of dropping off/picking up, you might be staying home because your DD/DS is sick or you got whatever they have and you are sick. My DD and I have been sick almost the entire time she has been in daycare. It's F-ing miserable. If you can, keep the nanny!

My husband does both drop off and pick up these days, even though his commute is a little longer, because he has way more flexibility with face time at the office. In deciding on daycare options, we chose an in-home daycare who lives just a few streets down. That makes is wonderful bc on days where spouse is traveling or simply can't make it on time, I can just scoop up the kiddo and it isn't out of the way. The key for us is trying to pre as much the night before (our lunches, coffee pot, and baby bag) so mornings we aren't saddled with that. Good luck!

Another poster here, not understanding what exactly will be miserable about this situation. This is what people do at daycare right, drop off and pick up their child? This is normal OP....

My husband has a schedule similar to yours, except it only takes him half an hour to get to work. He does drop off and pick up and is not miserable at all.

I did it for several years when we only had one, DC was in a downtown DC daycare, and DH commuted from MD to VA on the beltway. Now DH works downtown and mostly does dropoff for 2 kids. I liked the routine of doing both, and I got to talk to DC's teachers whereas now I don't see the primary caregivers most days and don't get as much information. This was more important when the kids were younger, and I had more food and development questions about their days.

I agree with PPs that your DH needs to be available occassionally for pickup or dropoff. DH would cover for me when I had late meetings. Beware, though, that because he worked so far in the other direction, DH often just worked from home rather than dealing with the commute in and out of the city.

Overall, I'd recommend it if you really like the daycare.

I do both. In terms of needing to work longer hours for a special project or whatnot, I assume you can leave your kids for a longer day? If you are picking them up at 4:30, seems like the daycare is probably open later than that. Also, even though 90% of the time I do both, my husband will do one or the other on occasions where I have a conflict (including meeting friends for a weeknight dinner or some standing plan). Make sure your husband signs up for that, even if it is out of his way, every once in a while.

The other thing that helps is that my husband exclusively does baths. So even though I walk in the door first with my son and my husband meets us at home, I get a break while they do bath and have some time to get a little dinner started for the two of us (right now we eat after my son goes to sleep) or just to sit on my butt and check my email. It does make for a long day doing it all, so if your husband can make do with some trade offs it really helps. At first I was sad to give up baths but now I love it. I usually go up for the bedtime routine post-bath.

I also like seeing the teachers every day and getting updates in person, and also I know all the kids and the other parents. Definitely a plus to being there twice a day.

Lastly it depends on the age of your kid. It sucked a lot more when my son was an infant b/c drop off took longer (diaper change etc -- was required that parents do the first diaper change at drop off), but now as a toddler it is pretty quick. My son actually does a lot better if I don't stay too long -- easier adjustment.

Good luck!

I actually love to do drop off and pick up. I get to see my kids into their rooms, talk to their teachers and friends, see them playing, see the schedule for the day, etc. - plus I get a little extra time with them before heading to work. And for pick up, I love how happy they are when I get there and I get to hear about their day, see their pictures, get announcements, and bring home their stuff. From doing this for so many years, I now know the teachers well, know all their little friends well, and have made friends with other parents. DH offers to do either and I rarely take him up on it - kinda crazy, but it's a special part of my day.

You will be fine.

Anonymous wrote:OP, since you have a reduced work schedule, and most posters here work 40 or more hours, it will seem to most people like you have it easy.

You do have it somewhat easy, but it will still suck a little bit.

Yes, agree.

You do have it easy, as PP rightly notes.

Good for you! Why do you think this schedule is an issue?

OP, since you have a reduced work schedule, and most posters here work 40 or more hours, it will seem to most people like you have it easy.

You do have it somewhat easy, but it will still suck a little bit.

What time does your spouse come home? Finding balance between spouses for both work and childcare becomes more difficult when one parent is pretty much entirely in charge of drop-offs and pick-ups. I did (and continue to) do both, and it's become too easy for DH to stay late at work without thinking about the consequences of not being home for dinner.

Anonymous wrote:17:15 here again.
I guess I should say . . . I don't think it's doing both dropoff and pickup that makes it hard, I think it's my commute and the fact that DC is with me during my commute.

The fact that I'm single adds to it too, as I don't have someone that can prep/cook dinner while we're on our way home, or do bathtime or the dishes while I finish up work.

I think if your commute is short and/or your spouse is around to help out with the evening crush, that makes a difference.

Okay, that makes sense. I am lucky because daycare is at my work so it doesn't add any extra time. Plus we live 2 miles from work. It would suck to have to do a long commute.

17:15 here again.
I guess I should say . . . I don't think it's doing both dropoff and pickup that makes it hard, I think it's my commute and the fact that DC is with me during my commute.

The fact that I'm single adds to it too, as I don't have someone that can prep/cook dinner while we're on our way home, or do bathtime or the dishes while I finish up work.

I think if your commute is short and/or your spouse is around to help out with the evening crush, that makes a difference.