Hellobee Boards

@Foodnerd81: They advertised their huge consignment sale and I went last year and they gave out flyers about their program. We met with the director this spring and got to visit the classrooms and meet everyone and immediately fell in love with the place. The main churches in our area that run them are Presbyterian or Methodist. LO is attending the Methodist one!

It's just enough time for me to grocery shop or do errands. Which is soooo much fun with a toddler haha

DD1 will be starting in a 2 1/2 yr program, 2 days a week. I now have a 4 week old and i think it will be great for DD1 to have a structured activity and her own thing now that the baby is here.

We did 3-day preschool for LO1 this past fall. She started at 2.5 and LO2 came about 6 weeks later. It was great for both her (stimulation, fun, and something that was her own thing that stayed consistent after the baby arrived) and for me to have the couple days a week with just LO2.

I had worked FT when LO1 was little though so I knew she was used to daycare and that I wouldn't be able to keep her as entertained as she was used to, esp with a new baby.

I stay at home and my son is going to a toddler program at a preschool starting this fall. He is going Tuesday mornings from 9-1130. The age is 18 months to 2.5. He will be 18 months. Next fall we might do two days.

I want to do a mom's day out program but it makes me nervous. She's only ever been left at church or with family and I'm scared she would flip out. I really think she would flourish going to a structured environment a fee times a week but I just can't pull the trigger. She'll be 2 next month

@Foodnerd81: don't feel guilty. A SAHM is a 24-hour job, and it's ok to take a break. DH said to me the other day that if I didn't get some "me time," I'd certainly be in violation of some labor laws. I love seeing all the things LO learns at preschool, and I'd really feel like I was missing out on LO2's earliest days if I didn't get some alone time with him during the week.

@Foodnerd81: i never heard of pre-k letting you choose how many days they go?

Oh, I forgot to mention this. I don't SAH but DH does. We managed to find a daycare that will let us put our LO in for as little as one half day per week (for $20). We usually put her in for 1-2 days per week ($32/each). I just have to let them know by the end of Wednesday what I am planning for next week. It helps him get a break and LO has thrived with the socialization. Baby #2 will be here in November when DD is almost 3.5 so she will start preschool next month and we are pulling her out of daycare at the end of this month. We plan to put our second child in around 6-9 months at the same daycare if they have openings.

LO1 was 22 months old when LO2 was born. I did not put her in any kind of preschool or daycare. She's now 3, and will start 6 hours of preschool a week in the Fall.

@Foodnerd81: well, I wasn't ok at first, because I had pretty severe PPD, and LO1 was really jealous. But, then I got much better and it's been so fun to have them both with me! I'm actually pretty sad LO1 will be away from us a bit this year, though it will be fun to have some one on one time with LO2.

If I were to do it again, I'd still keep them both home with me, though a bit more grandparent help, like a day or night they could take my toddler while I had the new baby, would have been nice! I think you'll be fine, if you decide to keep both home with you, and if you decide to send your oldest to preschool, that's cool too, and you'll love the bonding time with your newbie: