Thinking of putting my 19 mo old in preschool..

*Disclaimer*
I know many people on here are working moms and don't have a choice about putting their kids in daycare--please don't take this post the wrong way, everyone's gotta do what they gotta do, and I'm not judging anybody

That being said...my 19 month old has always been home with me. My original plan was to keep her home until September 2012 and take things from there, see how I was doing with all three kids at home and think about sending her to preschool part time then. She's so little and I didn't want to send her out of the house when the babies were born and associate them with being kicked out of the house. BUT...it's REALLY hard being home with all three of them, all the time! I can't go anywhere. It's incredibly stressful having her running around and getting into things and bothering one baby while I'm tied to one spot, nursing/taking care of the other. When she gets upset about something or is having a difficult day it gets REALLY crazy around here. She's a terrible napper, so I don't have a second to myself and she is bored- I don't have time to play with her, we can't go to the park or on nice little trips like before the girls were born, I try to give her attention but you all know what it's like with infant twins around...

So I'm thinking of putting her into a 12-24 mos class at a local preschool, 3 days a week, 830 am till 12 pm. DH would drive one way and I would the other, it's about 15-18 minutes away. It's a luxury that we are not sure we can afford but my sanity isn't really a luxury lol. I think it would be good for her-she's very sociable and inquisitive and energetic and I think she would like being in a structured, fun learning environment. And then I would be able to go places and get things done (like go to target and publix, sooo exciting lol) or maybe get a couple of naps in for me. As I'm writing this it sounds better and better, but the idea of sending my little baby (my big little baby) away makes me feel guilty, plus spending the money to send her would make our budget REALLY tight. On the other hand...all of the above.

Any thoughts/experience?

 

I had mine the other way around, so my twins were 18 months when Hannah arrived. They were already in daycare but the 12 wks I took off work they started going once a week after Hannah was about a week old then 2 days a week as it got closer to me going back( I only work 3 days). It was great! I could clean and run errands and sometimes pick them up early if I got it all done...and nap if I needed too. They got to go outside and play, paint, color and ride bikes and play with other kids!
It was definitely good for all of us

 

Daycare and preschool get a bad rap. It's like we're somehow bad mothers if we even consider that they might be good options for our families. But really... you've already listed a ton of reasons why a part time preschool would be good for your daughter and for you. She's bored. You're tired. You need to get out of the house. Your daughter would do well with some additional stimulation and playtime.

If you can afford it, it sounds like a fantastic idea to me.

 

Sounds good to me. My DD was older than yours when I had my twins, but when I was on mat leave, I still sent her to her to daycare, I could NOT handle all 3 everyday. We were all alot happier by doing this.

 

We send them to daycare 2 days and stay home with me and baby sitter 3 days/week. I work from home. But y job is demanding and so busy. So i have to have full time childcare for them. I have to admit that the days adter i drop them off, i come home so happy. Have all the house all by myself. Its so quite. And i just enjoy it and work.

But one bad thing is they start fetting sick alot. I think we just picked the wrong time to start daycare. This winter, ohio temp has been high, not much snow. So bugs disnt get kills. And spring came too early. The weather suddenly changed. Many many kids got sick with rsv, cold, pneumonia,.. All the nasty stuffs. Doc offices, er, children hospitals are filled full with sick kids. So if your daughter gets sick from daycare,there is high chance she
Will give it to the twins. Could you handle 3 sick kids at the same time? Or just 1 sick kid and the twin? Just something to consider. Other than that, daycare is good for her and good for you 2. Good luck!

 

idril, I really like what you said, thanks for making me feel much better about this!

After today, when I was running on several night of NO sleep, had NO patience for her, she didn't eat much for lunch and was going crazy by the afternoon, till I finally realized she was hungry...it was a very tough day for both of us and we are both suffering, so that pretty much sealed the deal for me. I am going to start her after the Passover holidays and let her finish out the school year, then see how we are holding in the fall. Don't know what is going to happen during the summer, but DH's job is a little less busy, so he will be home more, plus we are going up to my parents for a couple of weeks. If I get desperate I will send her to day camp I guess.

In my head, things will be easier in the fall when the twins are sitting up and eating real food and on a schedule. Is this wishful thinking on my part??

Good point about the sickness, although I live in Florida so I think we have it a little easier here. Right now I will do anything to get some sort of break I think, even risking getting her sick.

 

I put my daughters in preschool starting at 22 months. Prior to that, I had a nanny at our house during my working hours (I work from home). I could just tell they were ready for more socialization with other kids, and they really loved it. I put them in preschool 3 days/week and had a family sitter 2 days/week.

I think it's fine!! She'll have fun.