Child care decisions I could do without

We went to look at a nursery last week and I left feeling rather depressed. I really do not want to put our child in day care but if we want to move to another house we need both salaries coming into the house. The first nursery we looked at was right near Steve’s work so would be very handy. However, first impressions were not good as I lost trust before I even walked out the door after our visit. We were showed around the nursery and although it seemed cleaned there was a lack of noise for a nursery. There was no music or singing and I found that odd. The rooms in the nursery were divided into age’s groups. In the two to three room the children are pretty much left to play on their own, although there are staff around. We were told the children are left to entertain themselves to get them ready for school. I was a little upset at seeing a little girl stood all on her own crying and looking so sad. My heart was torn and this child was not even mine. GOSH, I AM GOING TO BE TERRIBLE I CAN SEE IT NOW. Next, we moved to the baby room where we were greeted by about fourteen babies, and a distinct smell of nappies. There was a separate sleeping area with air conditioning and about eight cots. We were told the sheets are changed each time a baby uses the cot, and all the sterilising equipment and bottles looked extremely clean. The staff member showing us around showed us a form that is given to the parents when they pick their children up. The form describes how the child’s day was including what they ate, when they slept, and a description about the day’s activities. I was very concerned when at 10.00am in the morning I noticed the form had already been filled out for that day. I asked the staff member how they knew the child has had a nice day and eaten all their lunch when it was only 10.00am. A red-faced staff member told me that these forms are filled out whenever there is time to do them, but are changed if they are not correct. Obviously, this answer was just a cover up and that’s where my trust was lost.

I have heard other stories of the same nature from friends, and have been told this is usual practice for a lot of day cares, but frankly I think it’s awful. The whole episode makes me more determined to start my own day care where I can look after our own children and still get a salary. Of course, we cannot look into this until we find a bigger house so I am left still searching for some form of day-care until we are able to change our accommodation circumstances. I will keep you posted on my findings.

Headaches

This week I have been getting a lot of headaches. On Monday I left work early because my head was banging so much. I went home and rested on the bed for most of the afternoon, and although the headache subsided a bit it did not go away completey. I went to work on Tuesday and a colleague of mine mentioned she suffered with pre-elampsia when she was pregnant and one of the signs of that is severe headaches and high blood pressure. Of course, hearing this made me nervous so I immediately made an appointment to see my GP. However, the GP was not able to see me right away so I managed to get an appointment with the nurse. The nurse checked my blood pressure and it was fine 110/70. Her suggestion was for me to get my eyes tested so I went to the optician and he said my eyesight was perfect. I mentioned to the Optician that I was prescribed glasses whilst I lived in America, but when he checked the strength of them he said they are the minimal strength for anyone. He actually said that many Opticians in America will prescribe the prescription I had to folks to add more patients to their list and that even people with perfect sight like me and prescribed these when in fact, there is was no need for them.

To be honest I was not convinced when I was prescribed the glasses in the States because I really could not see the difference. The only thing I did spot was my purse get $250 lighter. Anyway the specs are now in a draw and will stay there until an older age when I will probably be glad of them.

Anyway, back to the headaches. I saw my midwife on Thursday and mentioned the headaches to her and again she checked my blood pressure and it was fine. She thought it was due to sinus problems and told me to cut back on dairy products. Apparently, when you are pregnant you tend to build up more mucus and this can create sinus problems and headaches. She suggested lots of herbal remedies which I have tried. I actually think the headaches are a little better now although they have not completely disappeared. I will make an appointment to see my GP if they have not improved in the next few days. I think my headaches have improved over the weekend…maybe it’s down to work, or maybe that’s just my excuse. I was told to slow down a little, so last night Steve banned me from the kitchen and he made dinner. I have to say dinner was delicious, Spaghetti Bolognese, vegetarian style with garlic bread and pasta. I am so looking forward to the leftovers today. There is only enough Spaghetti Bolognese left for one, so I have taken ownership of it.