Yesterday, after literally worrying myself sick about Carolyn at daycare, I dropped by around 5:30 to pick her up.
I was relieved to see her - she seemed to be ok.
Upon closer inspection, I realized she had the wrong pacifier in her mouth.
The baby next to her had her clearly marked paci instead.
Strike One.
The daycare worker handed me a bag with Carolyn's dirty bottles in it.
Except only half of them were hers.
The other half weren't marked.
Strike Two.
Then I picked up my child.
And found that she was covered head-to-toe in dried spit-up.
On her face.
And her hands.
And her shirt.
Her shirt and bib were soaking wet.
Strike Three.
LIVID does not begin to describe how I felt.
I mean, I think I'm a semi-rational person.
I understand that there are a lot of babies to be taken care of.
I understand that my baby spits up more than all the other babies combined.
But come on.
I'd brought extra clothes for her.
How hard is it to change her?
I'd brought extra burp rags for her.
How hard is it to wipe her face?
I'm not even asking you to hold her and love her.
I'm just asking that you keep her semi-clean and free of bodily-fluid crust.
You wouldn't leave spilled milk curd on your own shirt, would you? Or on your face? Or on your hands?
I talked to one of the workers about it this morning and she acted like it was no big deal stating that sometimes things just get so crazy when it's busy and the usual staff isn't in the rooms.
So tell me, am I overreacting to want to pull her out of that daycare as soon as possible?
Is this normal?
I've made up my mind to give them until Friday to straighten up.
If they don't, it's on to Plan F. Not that I have a Plan F, but I've already been through Plans A-E.
Needless to say, I can't concentrate on anything at work today.
I just want to go get my baby, take her home, snuggle her, and tell her how sorry I am.
8 comments:
If you start giving massages, I'll post your number on FB for you! I know a ton of people in Beaumont and I don't mind giving a shout out for you...especially so you can be home with your baby. Let me know your contact info if you start working at that spa. xoxo
Wow. I think are right to be a little bit nervous! That doesn't sound like they are even doing much for her! :( I'm so sorry Erin!
I would be upset too! You are paying money to them in the first place so they should be doing their job. Secondly, that is just horrible. And sad! What about finding a daycare in Nederland or somewhere in the midcounty area? I know it is a little farther of a drive but still there are some good ones down over there!
Ummm...yeah, that daycare is not okay in my book!!! I don't care how busy you are..it takes 2 seconds to wipe a face! It takes 2 minutes to change clothes! It takes .2 milliseconds to use your conscience and think about other people's children!!! Oi...I wish I lived closer and I'd be your babysitter...
I am not impressed either, especially with their attitude. However, I like that you're at least giving them until Friday. I reeeally appreciate "second chance" parents who let me try again when I make stupid mistakes. I know from my current childcare experience (that the parents DO NOT pay for...though they sometimes claim they do) it really does just get SO crazy, and it's hard to keep up with 40 crazy children and 5 screaming babies, with kids in and out all the time (depending on their parent's workout). But at the same time, they do not have 40 screaming children with their crying babies, so maybe their actions are inexcusable. Binkies I could excuse if they were unmarked, but bottles? That is a little more funky to me. If the parents don't mark their baby's bottle I usually put the kid's name on the bottom with a sharpie.
I am always super embarrassed when the parents come pick up their children right before I'm about to clean them up or wipe their nose or whatever, because some of them get the impression that I NEVER wipe noses...which I wish was true. At the very least I am overly apologetic in those circumstances to try and show that I really am doing the best I can, especially if we are short staffed.
So, I guess what all this rambling means is that if they aren't concerned, then maybe you should be. Mid-County area might not be such a bad idea...I haven't heard too many complaints. And it is significantly less ghetto than Beaumont.
How much do you pay per week?
I don't care how busy and crazy things got, that is absolutely NO excuse for babies having wrong pacifiers and bottles especially if they are marked. The individual caregiver assigned to Carolyn should also only have a maximum of 3 other babies and in my opinion even if the kids are screaming a person should be able to keep pacifiers and bottles straight between four babies at a time. They should also be able to keep the babies semi-clean. Basically, I would be really frustrated also. Good Luck!
NOT okay at all! You are certainly not overreacting. Obviously someone there is either too overwhelmed with the number or charges, or just not paying enough attention to the infants to make sure that they are 1. using the correct pacis and 2. clean. Either that or they just don't care. Whichever is the case, I'd be worried. Let us know how it turns out!
I think your main beef should be with the administration side of things...the should hire more workers.
Post a Comment