Holly,
Before our son was born, before we knew he had CF, I was having a heck of a time finding daycare for him. I'd been warned about trying to find good daycare way in advance of his birth. He was due the middle of June and I was looking franticly in February. I called so many and was frantic. There was a daycare center that had a spot available, but they wanted a deposit and the cost of child care was $40-50 more a week than smaller, home based daycares. Finally my husband asked some work aquaintances, who lived in our area and had small children and one directed us to the daycare center. They raved about it.
So when DS was born with CF, I panicked -- would I need to get a nanny, try to find someone to come to our home, we had good jobs, but would we need to move so family could help us out. I was wracking my brain thinking of some SAHM's that I used to work with, wondering if they'd be interested in caring for DS. Spoke to the CF staff at the hospital none of them gave us an indication that we'd have to get a nanny, or that I would have to stay at home --- some stressed small daycares. When we mentioned that I'd already arranged for a daycare center -- a larger daycare with 70-90 children total, the doctor asked how many babies would be in his room, would he be in contact with other children -- specifically germy toddlers. Answer was about 6 babies, toddlers, preschool and afterschool program kids were all separated.
So at 3 months old, DS started his school career and has thrived. They know how to give him enzymes, keep us informed if there are any children out with various bugs, they sneak high calorie things like butter, peanut butter into his food. Once they mixed him a milk shake and told the other kids that somehow the milk got all frothy. I love that they encourage the children to play outdoors, even in the winter time they take them for walks or have activities. My son is 3 year old and he's all boy. Loves to play outside, loves playing with other kids.
My suggestion is if you find a good daycare facility, whether it's just a few kids or a larger facility -- check it out. See what your gut feeling is. I know of another family of a CFer my son's age who lives 90 miles north of us -- their child wasn't diagnosed until she was almost 2 -- they opted to keep their daughter in the daycare center she'd been attending since she was 2 months old.
You have to do what you feel comfortable doing and what you feel is in the best interest of your child. We feel that our son is at a good facility, receiving good care and having a great time and we're able to go to work knowing this.
Liza
