Clueless

I know I mentioned that we have started looking into daycare. I think we have decided that a center is best for us, rather than in-home care. We visited 1 center so far that we really liked, and we've also received 2 recommendations on this place from families in our neighborhood. We were feeling pretty good about everything.

Last night we hung out with some good friends, one of whom is a daycare Director on the other side of town. Unfortunately her center is really not conveniently located for us at all, and is also having some financial troubles that lead her to believe they may not be open long term. We saw them last night partly so we could pick her brain about tips, etc to help in our search. She has been in the industry for 16 years.

She had a list of questions written down, and oh my lord, are we clueless!
Since we have already been to tour the place we like, she was asking us all these questions that she assumed we would be able to answer. How do they heat their bottles? Do they sterilize pacifiers/teething toys, etc? When exactly do they call the parents to come get their kids for? Did we see their last State assessment? How is milk labled in the fridge? Do they ever let babies fall asleep in a swing? What would cause them to fire a staff member? How much staff turnover do they have? We do parents "earn" vacation? How much illness has been through there lately? *SIGH*. It made us feel SO clueless that we didn't know the answer to most of these questions! I wondered if she *really* gets that many new parents come to her center armed with these types of questions, or if she just obviously thinks of them because this is her job. She said yes, most parents do! We really felt the tour we got was pretty thorough, and the woman very knowledgeable.

OMG. D and I were feeling more than a little inadequately prepared for this! Neither he nor I have really been around babies in our lives, save for my junior high babysitting jobs. Luckily she has offered to call there tomorrow and ask these questions for us! I couldn't be more thankful that she is willing to do that. She also warned against being the "cool, laid-back parents", as daycare staff memebers will take advantage of that and think "oh, they won't mind", etc. She said staff members are most willing to follow all the rules when the parents are more hard asses. Good to know! Wow, do we have a lot to learn!