Having a child with cerebral palsy has also posed a big question for us as to how to find child care for our kids. We really lucked out with our first daycare and we miss them terribly. We enrolled James in a regular daycare when he was about 10 months old. At that time we didn't know he had cerebral palsy, but we did know he had developmental delays. The daycare worked with us and we decided to put James in his age appropriate room. We had the most amazing teachers in that room. One of them is in this picture with James and he just loved her! She continued to care for James at his second daycare when our first daycare closed. She really understood his needs and took a special interest in him. It did help that her mom had worked with special needs, and that was something she always had an interest in. Our third daycare was a home daycare which worked well too. Now that we're in Fargo, I just can't find an affordable hourly daycare that has openings for us. We're on several waiting lists but until that time we've had a nanny. She's been great. We love that we don't have to pack the kids up and take them somewhere and they get to be in their own environment.
With all of our child care situations we always have to explain James and his abilities. I often find myself telling people that James really is easy to care for despite his condition. He's a lot like taking care of an infant-but easier. However, this is in my eyes. I know he makes some people uncomfortable but usually with time, they find he's quite easy to care for once you get to know him. To me that seems a lot like any other kid. It takes awhile to understand what makes them tick, and once you figure that out, life is much easier.
As we approach the fall and the new school year, our nanny will be going to college. She'll only be available some of the days we need her and so we are faced with finding a new child care situation again. I found a child care center that takes part time kids and specifically they take kids with special needs, but their rates and about double what we pay right now for our nanny. We love the idea of a child care center with a curriculum for both of our kids, but we have to make sure it fits in our budget. I hope that one day we won't have this worry.
