“Creching” it! : Thoughts of a Mother-to-be
Call up a creche in Dublin and they will tell you that they have a 1 year or a 2 year waiting period. Basically, they want you to tell them about your baby plans when you are planning a baby!
You can’t ignore this one in case you want / need to return to work after your maternity leave is done. One major worry-reliever will be a CRECHE as you get into your ‘Worrier Pose’.
What is a creche? Also known as daycare. They will take care of your baby starting from 3 months until they the kids can leave for college. Not kidding, some creches have a Montessori so they provide that not-so-school yet an educational environment to the kids and can keep them up to the age of 18 years. In case, you are unaware of what is a Montessori, read more about them here.
So, when should you plan to find a creche? Well, tbh, as early as possible in your pregnancy unless you decided to find one before the pregnancy test turned positive. Especially if you are very attached to the idea of that dream creche that you pass by everyday, PLEASE plan ahead.
We started at month 5 of our pregnancy, looking for something for our baby at the age of 10 months or so and we are 60th on the waitlist (think of it, we still have 1 year and 2 months — but we are late). So, we are now going with our Plan B.
Why are these waitlists so crazy? Do all parents register their babies before they are born? No, the reason is that the siblings have the reservation quota which comes with a discount and the ease for the parents to go with the same creche for their kids.
How should you fix up a creche? Contact the creche and find out about the waiting times and ask them to send you the registration form. And if they allow, ask for a viewing appointment. You do want to see which place will be the new home for your moonpie.
What to look for in a creche during the viewing? This list has been curated following the wisdom of many new-mothers & fathers but these crisp three points come from my Israeli friend, Anael Shoshan — who is always on-point about her advice as she is also a “fun” mother to her 3 year old son and 8 month old daughter, all three absolute sweethearts ❤
The critical checklist is of three things -
- Check if the kids at the creche are clean — look for signs such as runny noses, clean faces etc — if they are clean that means the place keeps a good eye on them.
- Find out about their sickness policy — Ideally, any sick kids should not be allowed if they have any contagious disease plus there should be a 48 hours waiting period, once the kid stops taking antibiotics. This will protect all kids from transmitting diseases to each other.
- Do they have an open door policy for parents to visit? — The point is that if they allow you to come in anytime, that means they have nothing to hide. And they are not likely to clear up the mess at the beginning and the end of the day!!
What else? Look for a creche that is :-
- Of course, bright — especially in Ireland for whatever sun/grey light that we get.
- Somewhere close to your house, so twice a day, drop offs and pick ups don’t take a toll on you. Some people look to shift houses for their growing families, if you are one of them, find a good creche and look for houses near it. Not kidding, it’s a genius idea!
- Find out the attrition rates of the creche staff — if they get changed very often, your kid might be a bit distressed with a new face every now and then plus if the staff keeps leaving, it means that they will also be a bit demotivated to work with the kids — not the best environment for a growing child. Think about your client calls — on a bad day or worse a bad appraisal cycle!
- Figure out the kids to staff ratio — max should be 5:1, more than that is mental or needs avenger like super-powers.
- Lastly, ask for their diaper change policy — is it only at certain times or whenever needed? It matters, what helps your kid to come out of that ‘sticky situation’.
Hopefully, this blog that is a bit more specific one, will be helpful for your preggy journey whenever you arrive at this juncture in your life!
