Nursery for the first time at 2 - good plan or not?

[phlossie]

I'm a SAHM and have always had my ds full-time. He's now 2 and full of energy, and I'm thinking that he might enjoy a nursery - and it might be good to get him in one a couple of mornings a week before he starts pre-school. There are selfish reasons too - there are about a million things I'd like to do with my dd (5mo) that I can't (baby massage, swimming etc etc) when I've got ds too. The thing is - I'll really miss him. If I could choose, I'd rather have a break from my dd!!
Unfortunately, the pre-school I'd like him to go to doesn't have a nursery.
Anyone else started childcare for the first time at this age? How did you handle it? What should I look for in a nursery?

wanting some free time to enjoy activities with your dd is not selfish imo.
just think- ds had all that time with you to do those lovely bonding activities, wouldnt it be great to do them all with dd too?

if you are feeling bad about it why not try to arrange some casual childcare ( grandparents etc) to watch dd whilst you have quality time with your son.

my posting on the other thread was about a sahm who has one dd at school all day, and then sending 5mo ds to nursery. yours is a completely different situation.

just try a couple of mornings a week, and see how he gets on.

as for what to look for in a nursery, its hard to be specific but my top priorities
were

a nice atmosphere

friendly staff(in my experience it was good to have a mix of older and younger ones, never felt too sure about entrusting dd to a load of 18 year olds just out of college)

a good outdoor play area

a good choice between joining in with organised activities or free play

you will miss your ds at first, but after a few weeks of my dd going i couldn't remember how i managed without it.