We are #44 on The List

When Papa Bean suggested way back on Week 13 that we get on the wait list for the day care facility at his office, I admit, I thought he was a little nuts. Sign up for day care for a baby who won't even be born for another 6 months? Insanity!

But, apparently, that's what you do.

So we are on the wait list for the Bright Horizons day care center at his office. There are six siblings on the wait list, who get in first. Then there are 50-something other babies on the wait list and we are #44. Some people on the wait list (two that we know of personally) are only on the list as a back up. Considering that we probably won't need care until January, we should be OK.

So on Thursday, we took a tour of the facility so that I could see where we are planning to send Lima Bean every day. Here are some observations and things that we learned:

• Security is intense. Visitors must show a government I.D. to get in the door, then show it again at the desk and have your photo taken for a temporary badge. Parents are welcome to drop by anytime, without an appointment. And once you are accepted and your child starts at the center, you can undergo security clearance to get a permanent pass.

• The center just opened a little more than a year ago, so it's very nice and new. A definite plus. Plus it's on the ground floor, has an outside playground and lots of windows with lots of light. The infants go outside for occasional stroller rides. Otherwise, they play and nap in their areas with the caregivers.

• Speaking of caregivers, according to D.C. law there is a maximum of four babies for every caregiver. And there must always be two caregivers present in the room, even if there is only one baby.

• The infant area is for children aged 6 weeks to 1 year old. There are 16 spots for infants and the area is divided in half so that eight babies are on the right side and eight are on the left. On each side is a play area next to a sleeping room in which each infant has their own crib, identified by their name and a photo. In between the two infant areas is a kitchen and two changing tables.

• The infant area is a no-shoe environment in which everyone must wear house shoes or disposable booties that cover their shoes/socks. And everyone who enters must wash their hands immediately using the hand sanitizer.

• For food, parents can look at the menu of provided food and select what their child will eat. Or, they can prepare and send their own food for their child to eat. For babies, you can send formula milk or breast milk, up to you. Breast milk is kept in a separate fridge and each bottle is labeled with the child's name, photo and a color tape that assigned to them to make it easier to identify who gets what.

• Each baby also has a cubby hole where parents can keep an extra change of clothes or other supplies. Parents supply the diapers and they can be either disposable or cloth, whatever you prefer.

• The caregivers keep a portfolio/journal for each baby where they note any observations for the parents and include photos for the parents to enjoy. Also, every day, a log (below) is filled out that tells you what time the baby ate, what they ate, what time they slept, and when they were changed, and anything else that happened.

• The caregivers try to put the babies down for naps on your preferred schedule, but that doesn't always happen. They always lay the baby down on their back. If the baby is able to roll over, that is noted on their sheet so that they'll know that a baby found on their stomach rolled over. They don't go around turning the babies over to their back though.

• The babies will move up at about age 1, depending on the openings. When they move up, they center tries to get them all on the same nap schedule. The next group is made up of toddlers who are age 1 and 2. There are toilets for them to explore but some don't get potty trained until later. But if they want to learn, they can learn.

• The next group is the children age 3 up to age 5. They go for walks and play in the playground and have a computer and arts and crafts. The children leave the center around this time for preschool and/or kindergarten.

All in all, we were very impressed with the center and I think it'll be a good place for Lima Bean to spend his or her days. It's a definite bonus that it's right downstairs from Papa Bean's office because that will make dropping off and picking up much easier. Plus, he can go visit anytime!

So, in retrospect, it was a good thing that we signed up at Week 13. I just hope that we signed up in time! But, really, it would have been strange to sign up any earlier. (The other couple on the tour with us isn't even pregnant yet!)

I'm all for planning ahead, but paying $100 to get on the wait list before I was even pregnant? Um, overkill.