News at Home: Stress!
So this started off pretty stressful. My husband had off for Veteran’s Day, but he was on call and got so many calls, it probably would have been easier if he just was at work – at least then we weren’t trying to do other things. He got called out at least once every night this week. I was so thankful when Friday came and his turn on call was over (they take Friday – Thursday).
To make matters worse, Dante started the week super fussy. By Wednesday night/Thursday morning he was doing much better. But 3 days of a fussy baby is a lot. Especially when your husband isn’t able to give you night time relief because he keeps getting called out.
This week was also the week of trying to find Dante’s daycare. We had high hopes for a daycare 3 minutes from the house because it was the most affordable one we had found – just under $900/mo. Yeah, that’s cheap for daycare, can you believe it?! Anyway, we went on Monday to tour it and I left feeling sick and even more stressed. Because I could NOT leave Dante there, but was every place we can afford going to be like that? I called another daycare after we got home that I had received a recommendation for. When I’d called on Friday they said they MIGHT have one spot and to call Monday. Well they had a spot!
So I went to see that daycare on Tuesday and it was such a relief – like what I was expecting. But the price, although we can technically afford it, is high. $252/week – so between 1000 and 1250 a month (depending on 4 or 5 week months). And that started controversy between me and my husband. He agrees that we want Dante safe, but he is furious that it costs so much. Our only other option is my sister-in-law, but she lives 20-25 minutes in the opposite direction of my job. So we argued and stressed over that for a couple days. We’re still not 100% decided, but we turned in paperwork to hold his spot. There is a daycare at my new job, but the wait list for infants is until about March. So we’ll see.
I also had to turn in my notice this week at my old job, which was stressful. I wasn’t sure how they would respond and, even though this is the right decision, I felt pretty guilty. I went up to the school on Thursday and talked with my principals… and it went pretty well. They are happy for me, though my AP looked a little ill (probably because of the stress of having to find a replacement for me). I got to see my kids – they’re doing great! – and talk with several teachers. It was so good to see everyone and I know I’m going to miss it there, even though it’s the move I need to make for my family. I’ll be going back to the school over their Winter Break to get all my things, since I told them they could keep it for the semester so that things are less disruptive for the students.
Oh and my brother’s birthday was this week (11/13)! Sunday’s family night dinner we surprised him with a cake and a gift. Then on his actual birthday we went out to lunch with my mom. That was a disaster – she is so much drama and somehow managed to talk so much shit that Philip almost walked out (he would have if I hadn’t asked him not to, since I couldn’t easily storm out with Dante). Thankfully we recovered from lunch and had a pretty good afternoon.
So that was my week – lots of big things happening and pretty stressful. I’ve started practicing our morning routine and Dante has already given me 3 different scenarios lol! Which is exactly why I need to practice, so that I won’t be late my first day of work. Y’all start praying to whatever you believe in for me – 12/2 is going to be hard. He’ll start daycare and I’ll start a brand new job. I want to cry thinking about it, even though I’m so ready to go to work. I just don’t want to leave him.
Blog News
With all the stress I haven’t done a great job blogging this week. Hoping to do better this week. I do have a plan for when I go back to work, though. I plan to blog on my hour long lunch break (hour!! as a teacher, that’s like an eternity!).
For the #HoHoHoRAT I’ve finished another book and am halfway through 2 more. The book I finished is for my #ReadASeries challenge as well, so I’m making good progress there.
COYER sign-ups are live! I’m super excited about this COYER and have already started setting up buddy reads. Hope you can join us! Sign up now 🙂
Last Week on the Blog
- [15 Nov] Fit Readers Update ~ November 3 – 9
- [16 Nov] Goodreads Books of the Year! #BBB
- [17 Nov] Sunday Post with Berls | Stress!
Coming Next Week From Me
We shall see… FitReaders update for sure, COYER sign up hopefully, and a few reviews maybe 🙂
Oh goodness, sorry it was such a stressful week. I hope this week is better with your husband not being on call. And hopefully an good agreement can be reached about the daycare issue. I get where he’s coming from, because the cost is exorbitant, but there’s no real way around that aspect. The sister-in-law would be good but the distance is obviously an issue.
I remember when I switched from daycare to school + after school care with my oldest. It was like a huge pay raise! Daycare is so expensive but a lot of times that cost is passed on to the employees which makes for better trained staff and less turnover which was huge for me. The mom of a friend of mine told me when I was looking at day cares to not focus on the teachers but focus on the director/assistant director. Daycare at the best of time has a high turnover for teachers but the director and assistant director tend to stick around longer and they set the tone for the place and do the hiring. It’s one of those decisions that makes your brain hurt no matter what you do! Hope you have a bit of a calmer week!
Thanks Katherine! And you’re so right, I’m okay with the cost going to the workers and meaning that Dante will get better care. The daycare we’ve landed on has really low turnover, which is nice. The teachers in his room have been there for 5 years, 3 years, and 2.5 years! But man, when he starts school it will get SO much cheaper!!
Hope you’re having a great week 🙂
Sorry things were stressful, but it sounded like it’s working its way out for you. The daycare thing is tough. I remember I wasn’t prepared for making that decision and how many factors are involved. Hopefully you and the hubs will come to a decision that works for your family soon. Keep your head up – you are doing great! xo
Thanks Jen! Yeah, picking daycare is a lot harder than I anticipated. I think it’s hard because you have this list of things to look for and somehow when you see them, your supposed to know if this place is going to be able to take care of the most important person in your life for 10-12 hours a day! And just knowing that Dante won’t be able to tell me if he’s unhappy there really stresses me out. And then there’s cost- I know I could get a premiere place and feel great, but I can’t afford it. I do think we’ve found a good daycare though. I feel okay about leaving him there. I don’t think I’ll feel great about anywhere.
I can’t imagine the stress of finding a place that you trust within the cost you can afford. I was so lucky that my neighbour was a stay at home mom and she was able to look after my children when I went back to work. I hope you get things sorted out and have a better week coming up.
Thanks Carla! Yes, it is really stressful. We’ve tried to find someone here in our apartment complex because it would be super convenient and my husband could check in at any time. But we’d still want to know them pretty well, so that didn’t happen. Hopefully this daycare will work well, it’s what I have the best feeling about.
I hope you’re having a great week!
Oh you sure did have a humdinger of a week. Hopefully the daycare question can be settled soon so that will be handled for Dante’s wellbeing and mom and dad’s as well. And, yay for birthdays coming once a year so family dramas aren’t a regular thing. 🙂 I’ll definitely be sending up prayers and wishing you well as you approach your new family and job routine.
Way to go on both challenges. I have one more that I want to finish for HoHoHoRAT and one more for the Series challenge. I spent an hour at the clinic and then another 45 minutes at the pharmacy for our latest family sickie, but used it to get closer to finished with my book. 🙂
Have a good week, Berls!
Thanks Sophia, I appreciate it. I think we’ve figured it out and only time will tell if it’s the right decision.
Ugh, no fun with all the time at the doctor, but yay on using it to get some reading done! I hope everyone is feeling better at your home 🙂 Have a great week (what’s left of it lol)!
I am sending you giant hugs, Berls. I wish you luck with the daycare situation. I started looking for daycare when I was about six months pregnant, interviewing providers (I had a huge list of questions, LOL) and went with someone that came highly recommended by a coworker who was very protective of her children. It was near my work, as opposed to my home, which made it possible for me to go on my lunch breaks to breastfeed her and see her. It was so hard leaving her at first. Having her so close though was nice. Finding the right place is so important–for the safety of your child most of all, but also for your piece of mind. One thing I recommend is don’t be afraid to stop in unannounced sometimes. Whether it’s family or a daycare. Also, if you do go with a licensed daycare, check the references, and maybe reach out to licensing to see if the home has many complaints. Some licensing agencies will give you that information, some might not. I was lucky in that one of my coworker’s brothers works for licensing and, while he wouldn’t give me details about homes, he did say things like “I would never leave my kids there” (in reference to the daycare right across the street from my home) and “That home is on the top five best list for the area.” Given what I do for a living, hearing all the horror stories, I was very picky. The prices for daycare are astronomical. It gets a little better when the child is school age, but not by much. At least in my experience.
I am glad the news of your leaving your old position went well. I imagine that’s a relief to have behind you now. I hope your new start on your new job goes well.
Take care of yourself and I hope this week will be less stressful for you.
Thank you for the advice 🙂 I was able to look up all the inspections at the daycare we’re going with and they have done really well. They have had “lost points” but for things like parents not turning in shot records or not having an emergency contact on file. And all those things were fixed by next inspection. To me, those were parents not doing what they were supposed to, more than the daycare. Though it would be best if they were vigilant about making parents keep up with this stuff and if the parents were the responsible sort, but for all I know it was one parent. At least there were no safety infractions or anything – that’s what’s most important. And I like d the way the one teacher interacted with Dante. At the end of the day, I’m know I’m going to struggle no matter where I leave him, right? But if my gut feels pretty good about this place, it’s the way to go I guess. I hope.
Hope you’re having a great week!
You are getting out of the home/baby bubble and more into the world. Which will be stressful but you can handle it. Daycare is tough. I wanted home care but I didn’t like any of them. I hope you find a good solution. Maybe what you get will be short-term and you can get him into the daycare at work in March? Is that a reasonable cost? An hour lunch is a long one! That should be great for making phone calls, and doing a few blog things. Enjoy this last time and home. Try to relax a bit and read!
Anne – Books of My Heart Here is my Sunday Post
It’s crazy – on one hand I’m SO looking forward to it and on the other I’m dreading it. I think I’m ready to be with adults and have a job again – I LIKE working. But I wish I didn’t have to leave Dante. I would have loved to get a nanny. My husband works right here at our apartment complex, so he could check in all the time. But nannies we could afford didn’t have the credentials I wanted – CPR, certifications, etc. Just because my husband would be around doesn’t mean that we don’t need a certain level of qualification… so I think daycare is going to be better. And I do have a good feeling about the one we found.
I hope you’re having a great week 🙂
Wow. It definitely sounds like a stressful week. I hope this upcoming week is more chill for you and the family.
That is definitely a stressed-fill week. I hope you and your husband can come to an agreement on the daycare! I’m glad that turning in your resignation went better than expected. One less thing to worry about 💕
Thanks Genesis. I think we’re there and are going with the daycare. But gah it’s hard :/
I hope you’re having a great week!