Baby planning

We've been going to a LOT of pre-baby appointments lately. There's the weekly exam at OBGYN Associates with the midwives. Then there is our weekly Bradley class, and the bi-weekly appointment with Lauren, our doula. There's the random occasional birthing class (with my yoga teacher).

And on top of those, we've been visiting and touring daycare centers and the local pediatricians.

The good news is that at this point we know who will be Lentil's pediatrician (well, we at least know the practice; we'll choose his/her primary care doctor after s/he is born). When it comes down to it, we didn't actually have all that much choice of pediatricians. We are all on Nate's Cornell student health insurance now, and they only offer two local choices. After talking to my coworkers who have kids, we decided to meet with Northeast Pediatrics first, since they had the best reputation. Last week, Nate and I met their nurse administrator who gave us the lowdown and impressed us with her passion and enthusiasm for her job. It was a pretty easy decision to make.

Daycare is a whole other can of worms. So far, we've toured the two biggest (and most expensive/"best") daycare centers in Ithaca. My coworker, Robin, has two kids (and a third on the way) in IC3, and she loves it. Nate and I were really impressed by the place. They keep infants in rooms of 6 or less, all within 6 months of age of each other, and the babies stay with the same kids and teachers for at least the first 2 years they are there.  Their facilities are awesome, with lots of indoor and outdoor play space. It's a locally owned and operated facility, too, and most of their teachers have been there for years (seriously, at least 3 have been here for 10+ years and their turnover rate is very low). The other option is the Cornell Child Care Center, which also has great new facilities, a slightly lower price, and is more conveniently located (we could get there on a bus that runs on campus about every 10 minutes). They are owned by Cornell, but operated by an international childcare organization called Bright Horizons, which gives them more of an institutionalized feel. Babies are in rooms of up to 8 kids ranging from newborn to 2 years.

Luckily, we don't plan on putting Lentil in daycare until the summer or fall, so we still have time to explore less formal options. I want to look at some family group centers (in people's homes) and we're also open to finding another couple or two with flexible schedules like us who might be interested in trading care. We'll see...

Until the fall, our plan is to split Lentil's care between me and Nate and helpers. I have to go back to work in early January, but I'll be working from home half-time, and in the office half-time for the entire spring semester (at least). Nate doesn't start classes until the last week of January, so that will help with my transition back to work for a couple weeks. My parents are coming to Lentil-sit for the month of February, which will also ease the transition for Nate back to school. And hopefully by March, when we are on our own again, we'll have all the scheduling kinks worked out and be able to juggle Lentil at home between the two of us.