Childminder vs nursery?

Interested in opinions please

My baby will need to go into childcare 3 days per week in March when I return to work.

I have the option of a local nursery or childminder.

Both childminder and nursery have excellent reviews and I don’t know anyone who has any issues with either.
Her cousins attend the childminder so would be nice for her to be in same place as them.

Nursery more expensive but provides all food which would be so much more convenient, and also offers longer hours which would suit me for work. They also take slightly less holidays than the childminder.

The main concern I have with the nursery is I’m scared my child wouldn’t get the 1:1 care she needs and might not bond as strongly as she would to the childminder, just concerned it wouldn’t be as good for her emotional development, although anyone I know who sends their child there states the staff are all brilliant and provide cuddles etc where the babies need them.

Thoughts??

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We went with the nursery option after chatting to friends with older children and they all preferred nursery. Some had done childminder option and switched. Main reasons they gave was their kinds just needed a bit more stimulation as they got older which a nursery environment gave but they liked the childminder option as a starting point.

We went with nursery mostly because our little boy is super active and on the go and we just knew he would thrive in a nursery environment in the longer run. I think there will always be pros/cons to both and it comes down to what you prefer and think your little one will do best in. We started our nursery journey last week and although some tears at drop off the staff all said he stopped quickly and really enjoyed the day getting involved with different toys and activities so for me I feel it’s the right path for now but would always consider other options if we needed to xx

We decided on nursery because of my long working hours and the fact they provide food which is just a game changer for me and my partner who both work long days.

Saying all that I had a little meltdown following this week as he has his settling in sessions and it felt weird seeing him in such a busy environment.

Also, he caught hand foot and mouth from literally 3x 1 hour sessions so I can’t say I’m BUZZING about sending him 😂

I do think the busier environment can be good for them but lots of my friends have gone with childminders and they seem very happy with their decisions 😊

Maybe, if I had thought about it more I would’ve done childminder for the first year and then gone to nursery 2+ ?!

In an ideal world, I would be sending my little boy to a childminder as i feel it would be more personal. However I have so much anxiety when it comes to safeguarding etc so I don’t like the idea of other adults I don’t know potentially being around the childminders home when my child is there (family members, friends etc). I also love that the daycare we’ve picked has cameras in all the rooms.

From a practical sense, daycare is also better because you don’t have to worry about a childminder taking time off for holidays/sickness.

in our community

Is it bad of me to think this or no?

My husband has been abroad for work (1 day and exploring for 1 day) for 2 and a half days which means I’ve had both kids (1 year and 4 year old) for 2 and a half days plus cooking, cleaning, taking them to clubs, bedtimes!
He came home late afternoon and said I’m so tired, I just need to chill. I said can you wash up whilst I sort kids dinner out, he said he’ll do it later which means he won’t do it and I’ll end up doing it so I said no do it now please otherwise I’ll end up doing it and he said well you have been home and I’ve been away so you’ve just been relaxing.
Don’t know what planet he is on but having the kids alone for 2.5 days is not relaxing. I was stressed!

When he was away, I did miss him and wanted him to come back but now he’s back, I want him to go away again😂
Is that bad?

Feeding

My son is coming up to five months and I just started giving him oatmeal and rice cereal. When can you start trying veggies or fruits? I only give him the oatmeal or rice cereal once a day right now which is what the paediatrician had said to do. I’m just curious to when anybody tried anything else with their kids cause my son eats a lot of formula and he’s VERY curious when I eat.

Really bothered by this

A friend posted this and it really bothers me because that is exactly how she parents her kid, and it's rather unfortunate because when our kids hang out together, her kid has a meltdown at least 5x within an hour. We have know them for years and it's only gotten worse. My kids will concede to hers, because they don't want to see their friend crying, but it sucks because they give up so much of their toys and enjoyment to keep the peace. We aren't hanging out as much anymore but it's rather sad to think she doesn't intervene more in her child tantrums and just let's it slide

My 2 year old won’t eat nothing but snacks

Is this normal ? He won’t even try anything I eat .. he really only like pizza fries and spaghetti… nuggets and snacks bananas some other fruit but like anything else he won’t eat if try but I don’t want to force him I’m just I feel like bad I mean he isn’t losing weight I breastfeed mostly still

Is this normal

Let’s say you’re at a softplay with your 2 year old, and some friends & their toddlers.
You buy your 2 year old a kids meal - chicken nuggets, beans, and chips. They’re very happy with it and have almost eaten it all.
They’re sat at the table, fork in hand, consistently eating, and have one chicken nugget left.
Your adult friend comes over from behind you, picks up the last chicken nugget, and eats it.
There was no indication that your child wasn’t going to eat it, and they didn’t ask. They just took it with no warning and ate it right in front of you and your toddler.
How you reacting?

Shift worker daddies - advice please?

My husband works shifts (6am-6pm days or 6pm-6am nights) so when he’s on shift we either get about an hour or 2 before he goes to work or an hour or 2 when we gets home with him.

I don’t think people who aren’t married/have babies with shift workers fully understand the impact of feeling like a solo parent sometimes.

Does anyone have any advice? I do have parents who can help but I struggle to leave my baby with others as I always feel like they don’t understand the need for tracking wake windows or feeds and our baby will not sleep unless we black out a room or go for a car drive . Everyone seems to think ‘if he’s tired he’ll drop off’ - no he’ll just get overtired and have to then pay for it during his night sleep. So I feel like it’s just easier for me to do it all myself.

When my husbands off work he is great but I do take the mental load of telling him what to do or even reminding him of wake windows etc because he’s not here and forgets routines. He’s also being tested for ADHD currently so there’s that on top of shift work.

Just looking for advice on how to stay sane/keep routines or share loads with shifts workers?

Thank you ❤️