When Henleigh was born choosing a daycare was one of the easiest things for us. A former parent (Natalie) ran an in-home daycare right across the street from the school that I was working at and she had said for years that when I had kiddos she wanted to watch them. It was the perfect scenario. Fast forward to the boys. Natalie was the first one to know we were pregnant with TWINS!! I remember writing her too many checks one week and she almost flipped out with excitement.

Natalie made going back to work with three little ones so much easier. She played a key role in all of our kids lives and is considered family. When Garrett was having trouble eating she was the one that insisted I call the dr because she believed he had a dairy allergy and sure enough he did.

In January 2018 Natalie told us that she was closing her daycare because her husband got offered a job in North Carolina that they just couldn’t pass up. I remember standing in her kitchen crying because I wasn’t sure what we were going to do without her.

Natalie helped us look for other providers but no one was good enough to watch all 3 of our “babies”. On a whim, I randomly texted her one morning asking what she thought of me becoming a provider. Within seconds she responded that I would be great and she would help. When I first mentioned it to Jamie he wasn’t so sure considering I carried all the benefits, but after showing him the numbers he was sold.

Getting started was a little rocky I had a few classes that I needed to take and the inspectors at the county level were not easy to work with, but in June of 2018 I left the classroom and in August 2018 we opened the doors of Itsy Bitsy Pineapples In-Home Daycare.

If you are looking for a family-based daycare in Maryland please check out our Facebook Page.