I have had the amazing privilege of being able to take an entire year off of work to spend it with my daughter.  I am a teacher and I gave birth to my daughter at the beginning of August.  It was right about this time a year ago that my school and I came to the mutual decision that I would return to the classroom for the 2014 school year.  During my pregnancy, over the summer months, I had lots of time to think and I absolutely had my concerns and  doubts about being home with her for an entire year.  How would I fill my days, what would we do every day, would I be pulling my hair out?  Well here I am, 7 months in and time is flying!  And worse, the time has come to start thinking about where my daughter will be when school starts for me in the fall.

So far, I have looked at 2 day care centers and I on my drive back home, I cried the entire time!  I know that it will have to happen, I know that she will be fine, but it is all of a sudden hitting me that someone else will be spending all day every day with my daughter, watching her grow, watching her change and it just breaks my heart.  I also feel very naive and inexperienced when it comes to the day care search process.  I want to make sure I am asking the right questions and looking for all the qualities that make for an ideal place to send my daughter.  My first choice would ideally be a nanny or at least a nanny share with another mom but unfortunately, from a financial standpoint I do not think that will work for us.  My second choice is to send her to an at home day care center, a place that to me is the next best thing to having her home with me. I have not found a place yet – I am still searching.  I also, despite my husbands best wishes, may just decide to never go back to work