We toured a daycare center near us in Brooklyn Heights yesterday - Imagine Early Learning Center. They take babies from 3 months up to 5 years old. The facility itself was decent - they rent space on the first floor of an old church. They've been there for 10 years or so. Overall I have to say I was impressed with the setup, the care, the teachers, etc. Obviously our top interest was the infant class. They take 8 babies for 3 instructors. The babies usually stay in the infant class until the new school year - moving up to the 1 year old class in September - so they're often more like 16 months or something by then. It continues on from there with 2 instructors for 10 1 year olds. Then 2 instructors each for 2 classes of 10 2 year olds. Then I think it was 3 instructors for the preschool, which is ages 3 to 5 - and I think they said they have 23 kids in there.
Almost all meals, snacks, and supplies are brought by the parents, including crib decorations and sheets. I guess that allows the parents to have the most say in what their children get, so that seemed like a pretty good idea. Each kid gets a take home sheet every day with pertinent information on meals, diapers, and anything else relevant.
There is of course a waiting list - and the likelihood of getting in there before September is quite slim - and it's even possible that we wouldn't get in starting in September. But they are in the process of opening a new center in DUMBO. So if that happens this summer, then we'd be pretty likely to get a spot in one or the other by September. We're certainly not completely decided on daycare versus nanny, but we wanted to get on the wait list to keep our options open. And it was nice to see that this was definitely an option we'd consider.
Last night's childbirth prep class was mostly on infant care, although we did review some other topics from past classes. Each couple got a doll to undress, bathe, diaper, dress, and swaddle. We definitely learned some helpful things about bathing a newborn and some supplies we should get - like cotton balls and rubbing alcohol swabs. There was also a bit of instruction about breastfeeding positions and other do's and don'ts. That was helpful, but I'm glad we're signed up for the breastfeeding class next week, as I feel like there's lots more to learn and everyone tells me how difficult it can be for the first few weeks.
We've got one class left, which is really just a tour of the hospital. I'm definitely glad we took the class - I think it was well worth the money.
Off to the doctor for my 34 week appointment - I'll post any news from that later or tomorrow.
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