My love/hate relationship with daycare

[sep509bride]

DD has been going to a wonderful DC full-time since she was 3 months old. She has always loved it, and I have always been very happy with the center. She's extremely social and never hesitates to join in with other kids (to the point of awkwardness sometimes when they aren't necessarily looking for another playmate) and I attribute a lot of this to her experience at DC.

The problem is, she loves it so much that she never wants to leave. I've written previously about our struggles with DC pick up - it got better for a couple weeks after vacation but now it's back to crying whenever I show up. It's hard to show up every day and immediately hear, "No, Mommy!" She also seems so stir crazy whenever we're home on the weekends and there's nobody but me to play with. (DH is in law school so he's tied up with studying.) She listens a lot better to her teachers than she does with me also, which can really test my patience.

All of this makes me wonder how things might have been different if I stayed at home. I plan to go part-time when LO#2 arrives, so I'm hoping this will be a good balance for our family and not just make DD lose her marbles (Or me for that matter!) But I see other kids at DC who are happy when their parents pick them up, so I'm sure that's not the whole story. And on the rare occasion that DH picks her up she is all smiles.

I just really hope we can someday move past this phase and she doesn't always see me as the wet blanket killer of fun.

I suppose this was more of a vent than a question, but I'd love to hear if any others have gone through something similar. Or if you ever wonder how things might be different if ___.

[TheEleventhHour]

DS was in DC full time from 10 months old until 2 months ago. Often times he'd get upset when I got there because he wanted to keep playing with his friends. Now I have been home with him since he stopped daycare. He still has moments where he gets upset to see me because he knows I am about to take him to his room to nap or tell him it is bedtime. Basically, if I am going to interrupt his fun he wants me nowhere around him! I am sure it is just a phase just like how he'd always cry at DC drop off. It sucks when he screams "NO!" and bats me away from him but I figure it will pass. Toddlers can be little jerks a lot of the time

Hugs! I am sure she will not always see you as the wet blanket Maybe staying home once LO2 arrives a bit more will help give you a better balance too!

[littleheaven]

dd has been going to daycare since 3 months old as well....and day 1 we handed her to the teacher and soph was all "don't let the door hit you on the way out!"
sometimes she fights us (well dh bc i don't think i can handle drop off) to be dropped off, but always comes running when one of us picks her up...sometimes if she's playing she'll continue playing, but more often than not, she's the last one there
i have love hate too...i hate that it's so expensive, but i love that she's getting interaction with other kids...and even though i'm not sure how we're going to afford 2 kids in day care (esp with my job in limbo) i don't want to pull her from dc...was thinking maybe sending them part time too
she listens to them better, she naps during the day when she's there...she'll wear clothes that don't have minnie mouse on them (i send her to school in pj tops most of the time since she fights me getting dressed)
but i sometimes wonder how it would be if i was home with her more often and took her places...we hardly take her anywhere bc she can't sit still, fights us in the stroller, won't hold hands or stay close...but when she's with my sister (every friday) they to go the store or the mall and she stays in the stroller, or cart, doesn't fight my sister at all...
and i wonder if she would be better out with us if we took her out more....would she listen better to us if we had her home more....since when we d have her home we just want to play with her to make up for the time we're at work....