Getting Fired from Daycare Ends Up With A Silver Lining

At the end of January, I was notified (via text) that we were being fired from our daycare and had two weeks to find a new provider.  OK, we weren't fired (but that is what I am calling it) but we were told that starting the 17th of February she would no longer be able to care for Wiggle Bean because she was having knee surgery and would not be able to chase after and pick Wiggle Bean up.  Since Wiggle was the youngest child in care (the next youngest was 4) we were the only ones that needed to find new care.  This made me feel like Wiggle had been singles out and rejected.

I was upset for a number of reasons.  First, We have overlooked many small things that have bothered us.  On more than one occasion, I convinced my husband that we should stick with her when he was fed up and wanted to leave.  Some of the things that bothered us were:

1. When Wiggle was on milk only, she did not seem to eat much but would eat a ton at home.  Some days she would only drink 4 or 8 ounces of milk the entire day.
2. We did not feel she was changing diapers often enough.  The same pack of diapers would last a week at home but would last almost a month at daycare.  She would come home at least once a week with her spare clothes on because of an "overflow (this has not happened once since we changed providers)
3. She would constantly take Wiggle on errands.  Now this was not a problem usually but she would rarely let me know when they were going to leave or where they were going to be so had there been an emergency, I would not have known where to find her.  That and I swear they went to the mall 3 times a week.
4. TV!  One of my main questions when interviewing was how much TV they watch and I was assured that it was very rare.  It seemed that when I went to pick her up they were always watching TV and I did not always approve of the show that was on.  Once I saw MTV Cribs and another time the daycare lady told me that Wiggle liked John and Kate plus Eight.  I gave her the benefits of the doubt, telling my husband that it was probably just how she wound them down at the end of the day before their parents came but it was to frequent for my liking.  Wiggle would either be in front of the TV, computer or stuck in an activity center when we picked her up.

My main concerns were how the major change would affect Wiggle, this lady has been her only care provider (besides us) and how was I going to find a new, qualified, provider in two weeks when it took me over 5 months and a dozen interviews to select our current provider.

Finding a new provider was not going to be easy.  I called a dozen providers in the area and not one of them had an open space for an infant.  Apparently the state of Washington allows for providers to take a higher number of kids if they do not take infants (under 2 years old).  More kids = more money for the provider.  For this reason many were no longer taking infants and those that were still taking infants were full with waiting lists.

We really wanted home care but since we were not having any luck we branched out to centers.  YIKES!  Those places are a fortune, I might has well have stayed home with her. I would have been working just to pay daycare expenses.

Then my receptionist, Jen,  made an off hand comment about her boyfriend being Wiggle Bean's new daycare.  He is co-owner of a popular Portland music venue, so he is a stay at home dad during the day.   I did not think about it much but after mentioning it to my husband it started sounding like a better an better idea.  Wiggle would finally have someone to play with that would be closer to her age and she would get more attention.

We started going there full time on February 15th and it has been a dream.  Wiggle is having a little trouble with the adjustment and some separation issues when I drop her off but she is happy and laughing within a minute of me leaving her.  She plays all day (not alone like she did at her old daycare) with her new BFF Liv.  They go to music class on Mondays, take wagon rides and go on trips to the park.

Jeff is the best Manny I could ever ask for.  He is so attentive to Wiggle Bean and does everything that he can to make sure she is happy and having a great time.  We (Jen and I) get updates throughout the day as to how our girls are doing, what they have eaten and how well they are getting along.

This might be the only time I ever say that I am so glad to have been fired.  I guess every thing does happen for a reason.