Daycare Drama

So, I'm a terrible blogger.  I wait until I have so much to write about, that my blogs are daunting to read.  Therefore, I have made a list and I will try to get them all written in the next few weeks, as individual blogs.   I know, I know....I suck!  I'm going to try harder! ;)

Back to my 1 subject of the day:  Daycare Drama

When we moved from Lexington and left Cam's daycare, Creation Kingdom, I was literally in tears.  That is no joke.  I actually cried weeks prior to the move on multiple drop off/pick ups.  Luckily, Ms. Samantha & Ms. Brittany are super sweet and were very consoling.   Ms. Brittany even stayed late (waiting in her car) on Cam's last day just to see me.  Of course, I cried.  The environment, the large room, the teachers and the way the day was constructed academically was exactly what I wanted in a 'daycare'.   The papers sent home not only told me when he peed/pooped/ate/nap, it also said what they did for the day under the categories "mind" "body" "spirit" and ....something else.  But, I liked to see a one-phrase description of something he did. For example, it would say "blowing bubbles"  "playing with a friend"  "Scripture reading" etc....Plus, they also did baby sign language. 

We chose Westport Rd Baptist Church Childcare (WRBC) based primarily on word-of-mouth, which for me, usually goes a long way.  We knew a handful of people that currently use the daycare and they all seem to love it.  I'm not here to talk bad about the daycare, because I honestly think it's more of our expectations and not just the daycare itself.  It's an older church with a school gym, which Shannon loved, plus the typical layout of a daycare.  

We had looked at The Gardener School and Vanguard Academy, both of which we liked as well.  The Gardener School was out, due to it being $275/week.  Of course it was nice, but the location and price were not the best.  Vanguard was brand new (<2yr) when we originally looked, so of course it was nice.  (Kind of like Creation Kingdom) The building was still being worked on when we first toured the place in Feb 2011, but we liked it.    So, we put our name on the waiting lists for Vanguard and WRBC.   WRBC called us first and we took the spot, especially with our quick move to Louisville.  We were happy we got into the daycare we've been on a wait list for, for over 1 year. 

So DAY ONE......I walk into the daycare (flustered already because we had just moved to Louisville on that Saturday and I had NO idea where I was going, plus I was starting a new rotation) and there is no front desk.   I had a code to get the front door open, but then I just stood there, bamboozled (I had not been there in over a year, Shannon is the one that went 2 weeks prior to turn in the paperwork and see the infant room).  So, I make my way to the left and randomly walk down the hall, unsure where to go.  (At this point, my emotions are getting the best of me thinking about how unorganized this place is......).   A lady directs me to the right room.  She was the director and walked me into the "crawler room".   I walk in and all these kids are crawling around the place.  So, there stands the director, me, and everyone in the crawler room.  I see Cam's name on the front door, on his new cubby, and on his bed.  They obviously knew he was coming.  WE, ON THE OTHER HAND, were told we were going to be in the infant room.  Cam was 6mo old.  He was (and still is not) crawling.  I informed everyone in that room that that was NOT the room we were shown 2 weeks prior and we should had been informed.  Then, to make matters worse,  as bad as this sounds, the crawler room teacher (remember I had not met any of them at this point) barely spoke English.  My facial expressions and direct regards to the director not doing her job must have been obvious.  I left in tears.  When picking him up, I had numerous employees asking me if I had a better day. 

Needless to say, they already had STRIKE ONE from day one. 

Here are just some of the things I don't like in the short 8 weeks of being there:
1) Come to find out, they moved him due to not having enough babies in the infant room, so it would have been just him.   Guess what? I don't care.  Don't you dare think it's OK to put my child in a room without telling me!!!
2) The room is half the size of CK's infant room
3) Everything is just older
4) They don't have good organization in the frig with all the bottles.  It's a small (dorm room size) frig and all the bottles are piled in there.  At CK, they had small baskets with their names on them, which you'd put the bottles/food.
5) They only take 2 naps a day in that room (Cam was taking 4 a day)
6) In the first 4 weeks, Influenza, Hand Foot & Mouth (6 of the 8 kids), & RSV were being spread around in just his room.  (Thank goodness he was saved from all of them...  breast milk baby!!)
7) They put the babies on their bellies to sleep.
8) Did I mention all the kids are mobile BUT Cam!!  
9) The sheet only says when he peed/pooped/ate/slept
10) While in casual conversation, one of the teachers says they are getting new cribs because "the ones we have now are not at regulation so they can't even be donated".   OHH great, my child is sleeping in a crib, on his belly in a non-regulation bed.  Awesome!!!  
11) No baby sign language
12) The director sucks.
13) A friend's ONE YEAR old (that is in the same room as Cam) fell and hit her head and had a golf-ball size knot on her forehead.  The parents were not told of this, but when the girl woke up from a nap puking 4 hours later, the parents got a call saying "your child is sick, vomiting, you need to come get her"  and when he showed up, saw the knot.   REALLY!?!?  Thank goodness the vomiting was actually due to her being sick and not a concussion (although she did have to go to the ER and have a CT).  STRIKE TWO
14)  Just last week, I went to get Cam @ 430 and he still had TWO full bottles in the frig.  I asked why the paper says he ate bfast bottle (2oz) and lunch (6oz) and how I managed to still have 2 full 6oz bottles when I only brought 3 6oz bottles!?  HMMMMM....  So my child is being fed someone else's food (thank goodness he's the only one in that room on breast milk) OR they actually aren't looking at the oz in the bottle and he only had 2oz then 4oz.   Regardless, they didn't pay attention (AGAIN!).
15) They feed them like every 2 hours. We had Cam on a very routine schedule and it worked.  I'll get his paper back and it'll say 2oz 830a, 4oz 10a, bfast food 11a, 6oz 1230, food 130, etc.... great, ruin the eat, sleep, play schedule we've worked hard on!!
16) They didn't inform us when one of his teachers moved to a new room and a week later, a new girl from a different room, came there.  Excuse me, I'd like to know when my child has a new teacher.  Is it that hard to print out 8-10 copies of a printed letter.  Again, I blame the director. 

I will say there are a few things I do like:
1) One of the teachers (Yes, thank goodness there are 3 other teachers I can fully understand) takes pictures and prints them out and puts them all over the classroom and gives us pictures too! 
2) They supply the wipes.

So, the BIG 'accident'.  
Thursday, April 5th.  They were closed on Good Friday.  I didn't have to be at the clinic until 10am.  I know they like the kids there by 9 to get them all fed prior to their 930 buggy ride.  But, I fed Cam at home and it was 9:15 when I arrived with him.  The buggy was parked outside the Crawler Room door.  The teacher was loading the children into the buggy.  I signed him in, put his stuff up and handed him to her, as she was going to put him in the buggy and I left.  (It was now 9:20).  I go home to drop Kneesa off and put my makeup on ...leave for clinic at 9:45.  At 9:50, I get a phone call from WRBC.  I thought that was odd they were calling.  I answered it to the Ass't Director informing me that Cameron "fell out of the buggy onto the ground and they think I should take him to the doctor".   I FLIPPED OUT.   I had already stopped crying by the time I got there.  I was shaking, sick to my stomach and anger flaring through my nose.  I walked into the Asst Director's office were the teacher, Cam, director & Ass't director were waiting for me.  I asked HOW DARE they NOT call me immediately and wait almost an hour!!!  I informed them how unacceptable that was and brought up how unhappy we are with other things and truly disappointed in this facility. Hello, I was probably still in the freaking parking lot when it happened (if thats how it happened) and I don't get called!? The teacher was just filling out the accident report when I got there, so were they going to hide it from me until they noticed how fussy he was!?!?!?
 Cam was sleeping and I ranted and raved about how they should have called because now he's asleep and he shouldn't be if he had a concussion.  The teacher was in tears crying. I knew she was sorry, but she couldn't tell me "how" he fell.  She said "I was putting him in the buggy and he wiggled down and fell to the ground.  I'm not sure what he hit, I think his hands caught him"   REALLY, my 8mo purposely stretched his arms out to catch his fall!?!?  Are you kidding me!??!  (Of course I didn't put 2 and 2 together until after we got home because I couldn't comprehend anything they were saying). 

Here's the buggy.  I didn't even ask what level he was on, it makes me sick to think he might have been on the top tier.   HOW could he have "wiggled and fell" if she buckled him in immediately!?  I just don't think they told the truth.  STRIKE THREE!!!!

We took him to the doctor and thank God he checked out fine neurologically.  He was super fussy and wouldn't take his pacy.  I noticed a big blood blister (hematoma) under his tongue.   I told the nurse and the doctor came in.   She checked his mouth and teeth and said she doesn't think it warrants an diagnostic testing, but to watch it and hopefully it will go down in size and not have to be drained. 

2 days of feeding him through a syringe because he couldn't suck on a bottle or pacy and lack of sleep was horrible for everyone.  

Shannon went that day and got the paperwork for Vanguard. 

They don't have an opening until June 4th.  Do you know how sick I was dropping him off that following Monday?  It was terrible.  I'm speaking to the teachers again, but I have nothing to say to the director.  She is terrible.  She does not run a daycare they way it should be ran.  

Needless to say, we are patiently waiting for June 4th.