Daniel and I are really lucky to have his mother watching the little one until she is six months, but that means we need to find a daycare soon as the months are ticking by fast!

We went and toured Bright Horizons near our house and while it’s beautiful with great curriculum and SO convenient, the price is outrageous. I don’t think the location can justify paying so much.

We have two others to tour, both currently have a waiting list with one fairly close and one further than we would like, but both with everything we are looking for in a daycare. Both come HIGHLY recommended but each come at a cost. Daniel and I will just have to discuss what we can and cannot give up when it comes to a daycare. Before we had Maisie, daycare was one stress that slowed me down from wanting to have a baby. How crazy is that – daycare?! It’s the cost. Everyone wants to give their kid the best and when you can’t afford to send them where you want to send them it’s stressful and sad.

It’s so maddening how much daycare costs. I was reading a book before Maisie was born called “Bringing Up Bebe.” The book is written by an American woman who raises her daughter in Paris. She goes on to explain several differences in how the French women raise children. While I don’t agree with everything in the book, the daycare part really stuck with me.

“The French have all kinds of public services that surely help make having kids more appealing and less stressful. Parents don’t have to pay for preschool, worry about health insurance, or save for college.

Many get monthly cash allotments—wired directly into their bank accounts—just for having kids.”

They don’t have to pay for preschool and daycare is subsidized by the state on a sliding scale for people based on income so everyone can afford it. The author goes on to say she had her reservations about a government program for her child, but that she was pleasantly surprised with the care her daughter received and ended up sending three kids there. Want to read more from her on daycare in the United States? Read here.

So we continue our search and although it might put us in the poor house, it’s all for the babe and that’s really what life is all about now.