We started a few months ago on the look out for crèches for Josh, looking to start him 2 days a week in January. I am not 100% sure what I am venturing back to but to be able to get back into the work place I need to find Josh childcare. It’s funny, before Josh I had my own busy business and was sure that I would be back working within 6 months but it soon became apparent that my current career choice and family life were not going to mix too well and after looking at what we wanted as a family we decided part time was the way to go.

It’s an overwhelming task as first time parents, your handing over your precious commodity to essentially strangers. You enter into the world of hunting unsure what you are looking for and how to benchmark each establishment. Luckily I have a friend who is an ex crèche worker so she gave me a long list of things to look out for.

We searched the area and whittled it down to 4 that had part time available. The 3 we chose were quite different and we viewed them all the same week so we had a good comparison.

The first one was a smaller, older, independent crèche with a strong food ethos. Next up was one of the higher end chain models, I was sure I wasn’t going to like this one but actually liked their structure and facilities, although the outside space was not very good. Finally we decided to visit the 3rd and last one, we passed on the 4th. We really liked this little one, independent but large with good structures. It had great outdoor space and the kids seemed really happy. It is close to
Ian’s work too.. Our only thing was that the weekly menus seemed quite basic but I have to weigh it up as Josh is only going to be there twice a week. He will be minded my my mum 1 day and with me the other 2.

We’ve pretty much made our decision now just need to check the availability of days, pay our deposit and most of all find a job-eek!!!

I am very lucky, I will have had 15 months off and 14 months with our boy but I’m sure it will be no less heart wrenching when I send him off for his first day although I have no doubt he will love being around all the other kids, it will still take some adjustment for all!

Once this and a job is bedded down I can enjoy the rest of my time with this precious boy…