Daycare Dilemma Redux; or, Dear God Please Help Me!

I know what you were thinking. Oh thank God she found a daycare; I was so sick of hearing her whine and complain about that. Haha, suckers! I tricked you! Because here friends, the whining and complaining is commencing. But now there's an added bonus: you get to give your two cents!

[Editor's Note: While your two cents are desperately wanted, there's a good chance I won't listen to any of you. But I'll love you anyway!]

To rehash, at the end of June I panicked about the fact that we had still not found a satisfactory daycare situation for Molly. I became convinced that I would have to drop out of school and would never be able to write my dissertation. Sigh. Then, lo and behold, The Big Wonderful Daycare [hereafter referred to as Daycare #1] solved all of my problems. Molly began attending Daycare #1 on July 7 and has been loving it ever since. She takes bottles with ease, eats solids like a pro, and is even sleeping better. We love Daycare #1.

The only caveat about Daycare #1 is that their part-time schedule is such that you can go on MWF or TR, not a combination of those. Ideally I would like to take Molly to daycare three days a week, on the two days I teach and one extra day that would be solely devoted to dissertation work. But because of Daycare #1's system and the fact that I teach on T/R, she'll only be able to go twice a week once I start teaching. This has actually been stressing me out a bit lately (how will I possible get any work done?!?), but I just assumed hoped I would find a system that works.

Then this morning, completely unexpectedly, I received an email from Daycare #2. We actually applied to Daycare #2 last October, three months before Molly was born. This daycare offers significant discounts for full-time students, so the cost of full-time daycare there (which is all they offer) is the same as twice-a-week daycare at Daycare #1. However, because of this, they have an enormous waiting list. I called in June to check on Molly's place on the list and she was number 112. I quickly dismissed Daycare #2 as a possibility.

Miraculously, though, today's email let me know that a vacancy was available for Molly at the end of the month. I rejoiced a little bit because this would solve my when will I work dilemma. Though I would still probably only take Molly three days a week (Tuesday through Thursday), I would even have the option of taking her other days if I needed to (like when grades are due at the end of the semester). Hallelujah!

So Dave and went to take a tour of Daycare #2 during his lunch break. While it's not as new! and shiny! and fancy! as Daycare #1, I was more impressed with it than I expected it to be. The facilities aren't as amazing as those of Daycare #1, but the teachers were amazingly kind and enthusiastic. And, bonus points, there are separate napping and play rooms for infants, which will hopefully help Molly nap better at daycare.

The caveat about Daycare #2? If at any time I stop being a full-time student (such as in the summers when I don't usually enroll as a student), the rate would go up $300, making it cost far more even than Daycare #1. Much more than we can afford, in fact.

I am completely torn. This would be so much easier if we hated Daycare #1, but we don't. We love it. We just don't love the schedule.

So here's where I need your help. Please friends (in real life or not), which would you choose? To help you out, here's a brief list of pros and cons (in italics):

Daycare #1:
Amazing facilities
Occasional Saturday hours (date nights!)
Consistent costs that will decrease as Molly ages
Molls loves it
Unflexible schedule
Costly (we can't afford their full-time rates even if we wanted full-time)
Not convenient to our workplaces

Daycare #2
Full-time schedule
Separate nap room
Provides food and diapers
Less nice facilities (in an unpleasant part of town)
Slightly less inconvenient location
Cost if I lose full-time status (meaning I can't be as flexible with my work plans)

I'll update the list as I think of more (or as Dave adds his two cents), but that's the gist of it. The only other thing to add is that, because of Daycare #2's extensive waiting list, we are only given 48 hours (from this morning) to reply or we move back to the end of the waiting list. So while we could probably get back into Daycare #1 in a month or two if we wanted to, this is really the only chance for Daycare #2.

So, help! What would you do?

:::

ETA: We chose daycare #2. Though I do think that daycare #1 is the better daycare, I'm confident that Molly with be happy and well-cared-for at either choice. For right now, though, daycare #2 is in the better interest of our whole family. By having ample time to work, I will be able to be more focused (and in the moment) when I am at home and I will be able to finish my dissertation more quickly so that we can (hopefully) move on to our permanent home.