Daycare at office building v. 2-3 days telework

[grandma5657]

ETA thanks all for your thoughtful input!

I am having my second soon and shopping around for the LO’s daycare. There is a great center at the same building my office is. Should I enroll my infant there, or look for somewhere close to home?

The center at work has rates $3-400 cheaper than most other centers, and I love the idea that I can go nurse her throughout the work day.

But they only offer full-time daycare (5days a week) so that means I will give up my telework days, which are 2-3 days per week. I probably will have to give up the train commute for the short term, and traffic is usually bad, and can add 1.5 hours of drive time and and stress to every day.

My toddler will be at a preschool close to home, where they speak my mother tongue. Because of that language component, we’ll be keeping the toddler there, and not at my work building’s daycare. It’s looking unlikely that preschool will have spots anytime soon for the infants room.

Does anyone have relevant experience?

 

[mvhope]

@grandma5657 I would choose a center near the house. The commute, more days in the office, etc are not worth it. Plus having it in your building makes it harder for someone else to help you by doing drop off and pick up.

 

[yupyup]

@grandma5657 It sounds like one possible convenience brings about many inconveniences. I don't think I would do it if we were in your shoes. The commute + additional in-office days would be the dealbreaker for me.

 

[kristenk89]

@grandma5657 We chose a center close to our house. 1. It allows my husband to share the drop offs/pick ups, and 2. is much more convenient 3/5 days of the week when I WFH 3. Limits LO’s time in the car to bare minimum which was a godsend when she was an infant with a 6pm bedtime.

 

[evangelin]

@grandma5657 I think the flexibility of WFH and having a center close to the house would be more feasible in the long run, but up to you if that is worth the extra cost.

The other thing I would consider is, would your child be able to handle the long commutes to the center at the office? My son (esp when younger) hated being in the car, so I would be SO stressed listening to a screaming child in the car on the way home from work everyday.

 

[grandma5657]

@evangelin That’s a great point, I haven’t thought about that. Already forgot those newborn days’ car rides. The thought of having to pump less and nurse more had me excited…