Some days, I think I focus too much on what needs to be done instead of stopping to appreciate the little things in life. I make such a difference to my kid, he loves that I read books and play toys all day long. He knows that when he wakes from his naps, it’s going to be me that comes through his door with a smile.

Isn’t it amazing when you’re having a bad day, all it takes is a big hug from your child to wipe that negative feeling away momentarily. Also, the sound of laughter has such a calming effect. These are the precious moments that instantly make a mom feel overwhelmed with love, which can easily lead to tears.

It’s so funny, a few years ago my worries consisted of project deadlines, gossiping co-workers and demanding bosses, now I have this little person to teach morals and values to. Although some do not feel that being a stay at home mom is a real job, I encourage them to sit back and think about the lessons being taught every single day. Children are a product of their surroundings.

First of all, I want to start off by saying I am not opposed to the idea of sending a child to daycare. My son went to a very reputable facility from weeks 12 to 21 of his life. I was a working mom and really didn’t have a choice (family lived too far away and staying home wasn’t an option). During those nine weeks, my little guy had a constant cold in addition to contracting a skin rash, pink eye and two ear infections. My pediatrician’s office felt like my second home! Thank goodness I breast fed him, I couldn’t imagine how sick he may have been without receiving my antibodies!

As previously mentioned, my son had a continuous cold that he just couldn’t shake. I remember driving to daycare and every single time he’d sneeze, I’d have to pull over and wipe his nose (otherwise, he was a gooey mess when we arrived). Over time, I became a pro at wiping while driving! I specifically asked the care takers to please wipe his nose if they heard him sneeze because of the snot log that would shoot out. On two occasions when I picked him up, there was dried crust all over his face so I knew he had laid in it. I was beyond furious of course, but always received excuse after excuse.

Don’t get me wrong, the care takers were wonderful people that I grew very close to. I cannot even imagine taking care of 7 or 8 infants at one time (shoot me now). I’m sure it would be tough to pinpoint which infant sneezed and run to the rescue with a kleenex, especially since there was a pretty strict schedule to follow.

The pink eye epidemic is what set me over the edge. I remember dropping my son off one morning and hearing the care takers converse with a dad about his daughter’s eyes. They were mentioning mucus and that he may need to take her to the doctor. Why not send her home right then and there if you think it’s a possibility? Instead, she stayed and infected several of the babies, including my son.

I spoke with the daycare director to inquire about cleanliness. I wanted to know how frequently toys were wiped down after a sick baby chewed on them, hands were washed, etc. I was told the care providers did their best to wipe down toys when a sick child played with them, but it was impossible every single time. Also, I was informed that a baby would have his or her hands wiped at each diaper change, which I knew was not true since I frequently witnessed diaper changes and did not see this happening.

The bottom line is, no one can take care of your baby the way that you can. I am also very aware that a baby cannot live in a bubble either. There are pro’s and con’s for sending children to daycare (building up their immune system, socialization, trained staff providing care, etc.). For those who have family members that help with your children, you are very blessed!

My son was 21 weeks old when I was laid-off. He went back to daycare only on two occasions when I had interviews (and literally, only for a maximum of 2 hours each time), and wouldn’t you know he got an ear infection? It killed me to see him sick again and this was one of the main reasons my husband and I decided I was going to be a stay at home mom (SAHM). He is now almost 13 months old and hasn’t been sick since being pulled out of daycare!

What type of childcare do you use? Do you have experience with daycare? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for visiting The Unemployed Mom!

I have come to know Elance very well since being laid off from my full-time job.  One of my parenting magazines recommended Elance as a way for stay at home moms’ (aka SAHM) to make a little extra money. Elance is an online resource that allows users to either provide specific services or hire a provider for a specific task (e.g. administrative work, database management, programming, graphic design, etc.).  

I first signed up with Elance thinking I could make a little extra money performing administrative tasks.  I completed the timely tutorials and set-up my personal account only to realize that I do not have time while chasing around a crawling baby. However, as mentioned in my First Official Post, I can attest to the success of using Elance to hire a service provider.

Having six years of experience with a world renowned hotel company, I understand the importance of brand identity.  I felt it was essential to have a logo that represented who “The Unemployed Mom” is.  I posted my logo requirements and shared a summary of my blog concept.  I identified the price point, my expectations and the duration for accepting bids.  Various graphic designers then placed bids on my job. From that point, I reviewed their bids as well as their qualifications.  

Elance’s site is very easy to navigate so I had no trouble familiarizing myself with the bid features.  Elance also provides a Private Message Board (aka PMB) so the client and bidders can communicate privately. The PMB is a terrific resource, again very easy to use and follow.

Since I am an avid eBay and Etsy user, I already know the importance of feedback.  Elance has a feedback feature which helped me to identify the designers’ credentials.  Elance also allows the designers to showcase their portfolio, which in my particular case proved to be the item that “sealed the deal”.  I awarded the job, created project milestones, escrowed funds via my American Express, and worked with my designer on the logo creation.  My logo and favicon were created and the job was closed prior to the original timeline communicated from my graphic designer.

Note: I did receive bids from providers that did not meet my expectations. It was obvious when a bidder did not read my requirements because there was no personalization in their bid.   Also, some of the bids were very low (in the $50 range), but I am a firm believer in “you get what you pay for”.   These low bidding designers would have been fine if I wanted a generic clipart logo.  All in all, I was pleased as a first time Elance user and without hesitation, I recommend the site!  My experience was extremely positive and I plan on using Elance in the future for both providing services and hiring service providers.