WWYD... choice between 2 nurseries..

[Scarlett175]

would appreciate your thoughts please-
DD is 9 months and starts nursery mid March. She has only ever been left with me or DH as no family where we live, and I am stressing re nursery and napping etc as we co-sleep/BF to sleep quite often and are very close. Have seen 2 nurseries that I kind of like (not love) and am finding it hard to decide between them..

first place- 2 mins in car from my house (15 mins walk) seemed very organised and educational, French/dance taught etc, manager seems quite flexible re changing days if needed, DD seemed to warm to the manager (was crawling around her leg!!) but I found the 2 staff in the baby room at bit blah. One of them just (sorry if offends anyone) looked a bit eccentric/odd, very short hair, big glasses, not in a trendy way.The babies in there (max of 6) were obviously happy and being played with, they seemed sympathetic re helping get DD to sleep.

This to me seems the sensible choice, some uncertainty around my job at the moment and could have locations moved.

second place- 5 mins from current job, 25 mins from home. Much bigger groups (up to 13 in baby room) but one of DD's/our buddies is going there too. Staff in baby room just seemed great- first visit where they suggested leaving her with them while I had my tour (I have never left her except DH remember!!) we were a good 30 mins and returned to her giggling and screeching, she loved it. Nursery seemed a bit chaotic compared to other place, not as educational/trips out etc... but they really impressed me with how they bonded with DD straight away and just seemed very hands on. When I mentioned about naps being tricky etc, the assistant manager showing me round looked at me a bit blank though??

help... I am going back for 2nd visits but what are your thoughts..

From your description, the second one sounds a bit 'warmer' - do you know what I mean? I think that there is a certain amount of chaos that comes with small children so I'd probably find a very organised nursery a bit odd.

Also, it probably won't be the manager/assistant manager that DD spends her days with, so you want the staff in the baby room to be the people you and DD feel comfortable with.

If you need flexibility, is a CM an option?

Scarlett175, I think you know which one you liked :) I'm suffering the same, we also BF and co sleep and I'd love to find a nursery in London which fits with our ideas...

I think the answer in your case is to go for the 2nd visit, which you seem to be going to do. Then you'll find out.

Good luck, hope your LO will be happy with whatever you decide.

Do not underestimate the potential difficulties of the journey if young for the more distant one. Do you know where your new work location will be? If so, how does it fit with the location of the nursery? It's not just a case of the distance, but how shock-proof the journey is, especially in rush hour. How much are late fees?