So... after one solid week of daycare, here's the report.
When I take her in the morning, she starts crying as soon as we hit the parking lot. When my wife takes her, she apparently never cries. Unfortunately, my wife goes to work an hour and a half before I do... so if she takes our daughter, poor Zoe has to be there an extra 1.5 hours. Therefore, it seems to have fallen on me to do both the drop-off and pick-up.
Every morning I drop her off, and drive to work upset. The last thing I see before going to work is my daughter crying... reaching her arms out for me to take her with me. After spending 16 months with her, the last thing I want and/or need is to feel like crap for leaving my daughter at daycare. But what choice do I have? Quit my job (which I really enjoy)? Let my wife take her?
This sucks.
After she's there for a while, she apparently calms down and settles in. My wife calls twice a day to check up on her. When I pick her up, she seems relatively entertained... but ready to leave as soon as I enter.
She's also had a perpetual cold since starting school. I guess that comes with the territory.
Oh... and dig this... the cost of this daycare is $170 per week, REGARDLESS of how many days you take your child. For example, this week my daughter will only spend two days in daycare (because of the holiday), and we still have to shell out $170.
They told us to "look at it like tuition."
I thought I had 17 years before I had to start paying her "tuition."
