Prepping for the baby is hard enough work, but over the past few weeks we’ve began taking on even more tasks to prepare for when he’s actually in the world. We haven’t really made any solid decisions about it yet, but we do know that we are at least going to need some form of daycare once maternity leave is up. I began the process by digging deep into Google Maps for listings of daycare centers. The big chains are easy to find, but smaller independent centers are another story, and home daycares are pretty much nonexistent. I discovered that each county in Michigan has a community center dedicated to helping parents find childcare. While the Oakland County center was quite useful and provided us with a whole list of candidates, the Waynce County center was virtually useless. Next, I sent out a mass email to all of the places I found, asking them detailed questions about their policies & rates. We then narrowed down the list and scheduled appointments to tour each location that we were interest in. We’ve seen a lot of places now, and some really impressed us, while others were just plain awful. We’ve been to many daycare centers, but only 2 home daycares, one of which was terrible, and one that was really fantastic. It seems like the only way to find good home daycares is through recommendations by friends and coworkers, and we really don’t know anyone who uses any! So in the end, I’m glad we did all this now, because it would certainly be much more difficult to find time after the baby is born. Still, I don’t think we’ll be able to make any real decisions until we actually meet our son, and know what it really feels like to be parents.