Nannies and daycares and in-home...oh my!

This is a story about the cost of childcare, how it is frakkin expensive, and how it is hard to know the right thing to do.

Jon's shop is coming together, even faster than anticipated, and so I need to start thinking ahead about our daily routines. Right now, we are blessed beyond measure to have my mother-in-law watch Evelyn two days each week, as well as my aunt pitching in one day each week. Knowing that Evelyn has spent every day of her short life with someone who loves her to pieces makes me infinitely happy. The other two days of the week are covered by Jon. I cover no days per week, but, you know, I'm bringing home the bacon and frying it in a pan.

My mother-in-law has said she intends to keep watching Evelyn twice per week. Bless her soul. My aunt has said she will keep watching Evelyn, but her schedule gets a little less predictable as spring and summer approach. Jon's schedule is going to get a lot more tight as construction wraps up and the shop opens. How can we accomodate everyone while still keeping Evelyn out of daycare? Sadly, we can not. Well, not sadly because I am not opposed to daycare. I think it is good for social development and being around kids your age and learning that the world does not revolve around you. Evelyn is really starting to show an interest in playing with other kids and I think having a set group of playmates would be good for her.

So our options are these: nanny, daycare center, or in-home daycare provider. We ruled out nanny since the one person we thought of (our babysitter) already has a full-time job during the day and we don't really want to go finding a nanny. And this is where things get dicey: daycare center, or in-home daycare?

There are a few daycare centers in the area that I would trust, a Kindercare and a fancy Primrose School, both of which have gotten recommendations from people I know, but they are SO expensive. Woah. Kindercare is $75/day with a two day minimum, while Primrose is $95/day with a two day minimum. Really pricey.

In-home care seems the way to go, but it is harder to find a reputable place. There is a lady two doors down our street that runs an in-home daycare, but she is full, and only takes kids three days per week minimum. She is cheap, though, at $35/day, and our other neighbor highly recommends her. I have a girlfriend from high school (Chrissy) who watches kids in her house, and she would take Evelyn for $40/day, but she is preggers and will stop watching kids in July. (Do we really want to uproot Evelyn after a few months? Won't that be hard?) Gr. We found a third in-home place that will watch Evelyn one day per week, came recommended by our babysitter, is licensed and legit and long-term, but she charges $70/day. Oh, sure, she includes all the food, has a very low adult-to-child ratio, and has been in business for nearly a decade, but $70 a day??

So we are deciding. We want to do what is best for Evelyn, while also doing what we can afford. We have been so lucky up to this point, but with Jon's shop just starting up and the immediate financial future a little murky, we don't want to commit to something more than we can handle. And so we are still deciding.

And for anyone who is curious, Colorado has one of the highest cost of childcare as a percent of income. The state is the third-highest for child-care costs for 4-year-olds and ranks eighth for infant day care, at $905 a month, according to 2009 KidsCount in Colorado, published by the Colorado Children's Campaign. Yeah, that's great...