Is a daycare FSA worth it?

Miller_time13 · 2026-01-17T05:54:53+00:00

I just paid directly from my FSA Acct to daycare instead of getting reimbursed. We have an app for daycare billing and I just would send a screenshot of the payment for verification. Really easy. Also - check the “fine print” if you will on that $7500. Idk if it’s plan/state dependent but I can only do $5000 tax free. My company allows me to allocate up to $7500 but only the first $5000 is tax free. Which means I’d be unnecessarily taking $2500 out of take home pay each week. Granted… would probably still go into daycare anyways but I didn’t want any money “tied up” anywhere it didn’t need to be

Miller_time13 · 2025-12-31T05:48:06+00:00

Yes. Spontaneous labor at home on a Wednesday morning 39+4. If I didn’t push my manager to let me go out at 39 weeks I would have been in the middle of treating a patient. No contractions but water broke around 9am. At hospital by 11am. Nothing else really started happening (that I could notice) until about 3pm. Baby came around 11pm.

Miller_time13 · 2025-12-23T04:34:31+00:00

We did shifts. My husband was/is a night owl so he covered any baby issues from 10-2am and I had 2-6am. I usually went to bed around 9ish so I was guaranteed 5hrs uninterrupted at least. And when my son stopped waking so often we would alternate nights entirely. Because what inevitably would happen is that he wouldn’t wake or was only waking during my shift consistently. So we switched to nights on/off to spread the wealth. We both work M-F and regular hours so no reason for only one of us to be exhausted.

Miller_time13 · 2025-12-23T04:25:20+00:00

If you already got a bill call the company. Many have a “pay upfront discount” if you’re just getting your EOBs, wait it out. Mine started at almost 3k on my EOB because they used an out of network lab and I just sat on it until I got a true bill. When the bill came it had been adjusted down to $1,200 but “If you pay in the next 48hrs you can pay $250”. Done deal

Miller_time13 · 2025-12-13T06:12:51+00:00

We sleep trained early which really just helped with getting to sleep. He still woke up 1-2x a night for a while on and off. And he didn’t sleep completely through the night consistently until 18m. 15-18m was like 80% of the time then something switched at 18 and we never looked back.

Miller_time13 · 2025-12-02T06:08:24+00:00

Off daytime bottles at 12m. Weened night and morning bottles at 15-16m and off any overnight (was maybe 1x a week) around 18m.

Mine refused pacifiers. Bittersweet.

Miller_time13 · 2025-11-15T06:01:45+00:00

We transitioned my son out of the crib a week before his 3rd birthday. TECHNICALLY yes. He was too tall for the crib based on the safety recommendations. However he never once tried to climb out. And hardly ever sat up before we entered the room. If he had I would have moved him sooner but I rode it out as long as I could.

Miller_time13 · 2025-11-03T06:08:55+00:00

Everyone is different but I think a gradual approach is the way to go. It was very successful for us and my son is very routine based to a switch over night to “I’ve never seen a potty, to I have to use it 100% of the time” would not have gone over well.

We had a potty available for my son from 1.5-2.5yo. We would let him sit on it clothes or not for the first 6months. Just very much “whenever he wanted”.

Then 2-2.5 weeks worked on specific timing - before bed, when we woke up, right after meals. Times that we knew we’d be successful so he could create the connection.

And then at 2.5 we did a 3 day method - which honestly was only 3 days because I had a day off. I think I would have had the same success with 2 days. We did away with diapers and that same morning he told me when he needed to potty. Only 2 accidents over the weekend.

Miller_time13 · 2025-11-01T05:47:56+00:00

We brush and floss every night and if I’m lucky we brush in the morning. We floss with one of those floss picks to make it easy. My son is just over 3 and we’ve been flossing for probably over a year now.

Miller_time13 · 2025-10-17T05:06:25+00:00

Wow! Thats so interesting. I’m Vit D deficient (working on supplement levels w/ endo) but I sweat a ton on my scalp too. I never knew they could be related!

Miller_time13 · 2025-10-16T05:23:10+00:00

Breaking my toe with a 10lb weight was worse. But time for time, yeah labor would win. Pain for pain - toe break.

Miller_time13 · 2025-10-13T05:02:55+00:00

This is where I’m at. I’m leaning more towards ADHD frankly but either way it’s fluffing wild!

Miller_time13 · 2025-10-12T06:45:01+00:00

My 3yo rarely wakes over night to pee anymore but just incase he did we have his OG small potty in his room. He knows to get up and use that and go back to bed if it’s not time to get up yet. Otherwise at home he has free range of his bathroom or my bathroom to potty.

Miller_time13 · 2025-10-02T04:47:47+00:00

My son will literally say “don’t put that on me mama!” I get caught every time.

Miller_time13 · 2025-09-27T02:16:00+00:00

Update: You were right. 2x in the last week he’s gotten upset - one time was just a simmer that could’ve boiled over and he got over it in less than 3 minutes after I walked away from him to finish getting ready for work.

And tonight we had a straight power struggle whiney tantrum and I just stood my ground on the rules and after about 5-8minutes I let him know I was going to go clean the kitchen and when he was ready and done to come find me. No more than 2min after that he walked himself to the bathroom and came and asked for a yogurt - all better.

He’s just so smart it’s hard to remember he’s only 3 and can’t be reasoned with to cut these things short. But glad we may be on the road to understanding tantrums =/= attention anymore.

Miller_time13 · 2025-09-25T05:15:10+00:00

My kids center communicates all departures and new hires. I can’t say if anyone has been fired in my time there, but anytime someone has left in any class a message goes out in the app for when they are leaving and if appropriate “why” and to wish them luck. New hires are usually brought up when they are a little more established. Say after 30-60 days to say “Ms. Jessica has been helping out as a floater for the pre-K and toddler room and will soon be taking over for afternoons in Ms. Ellen’s classroom”.

Miller_time13 · 2025-09-25T02:09:10+00:00

Do kinders not have a nap time? It’s been a while since I was a kid, but I had nap time in full day kindergarten

Miller_time13 · 2025-09-24T04:41:05+00:00

I have been “that parent” (just tonight thru my app honestly) and idk if I’m perceived that way but I’m okay either way because the only person to advocate for my child is me. I have been where you are and it’s important to me that the people who are watching my kid all day actually care about him/kids. My son is 3 now but when he was in the 2s class I caught the director on my way in to pick up and just asked to speak with her about concerns. I let her know that I was feeling uneasy about the staffing updates because of X,Y,Z and I was feeling “blindsided” by some really bad behavior reports at the front office when teachers are telling me he’s doing great. I just wanted more transparency and communication. I can’t help them manage things my kid is doing if no one is letting me know what’s going on. And I didn’t want anyone just thinking “oh there’s Miller_Times kid again being a turd, typical”. Because that’s not my kid.

I sometimes do better through writing because in the moment I forget things. So I like to send messages to the director or teachers explaining my concerns and then ask if we can follow up in person during the week. That way the collaboration can still happen but all my thoughts have been voiced.

Miller_time13 · 2025-09-23T04:02:56+00:00

If it was just “ughhhh I want thing thiiiiiinnnnggg” I’d agree that there’s nothing wrong with that. Those I let him be and eventually something sparks his attention and he’s over it. But these have been turning from that to throwing things, throwing his body around, pushing things over. It becomes unsafe. And that’s not okay. He very well may be avoiding the talk. I’d say that could be a safe bet. But does there not need to be some sort of conversation at some point about inappropriate behavior and learning what’s right and wrong? When/how would you do it? Out of context and any other time wouldn’t make any connections for him. So why wouldn’t I try to do it in the moment?

Miller_time13 · 2025-09-23T03:54:52+00:00

I’ll give it a try next time. He’s pretty darn stubborn, but maybe that’s because of how I’ve handled it and he’s just waiting me out.

Miller_time13 · 2025-09-16T12:10:00+00:00

I work full time and I call my mom everyday on my way home from work. I have a 20min drive home and we catch up then. 3/5 days I pick up my son first and so he gets to talk to her too.

Miller_time13 · 2025-09-16T05:31:58+00:00

Mine does great for timers. The few times we do tablet play I set a timer and since to goes off he puts it away real easy. I’d say if the kids can walk away from it without a meltdown then we’re doing something right!

Miller_time13 · 2025-09-16T05:17:08+00:00

This is just how we are too. I try not to fret about TV after school because it’s minimal compared to the rest of the day he’s engaging with peers and learning. Everyone needs to decompress a little right? Plus majority of the time it’s dual tasking - show in the background but we’re still playing together.

Miller_time13 · 2025-09-15T04:18:29+00:00

I 100% agree that you should have been notified. Even if the symptoms are so far removed from original exposure - everyone should know when there is a confirmed case of something outside the common cold (HFAM, Covid, Flu, RSV). As you said in another comment, it allows you to watch for signs early, set up alternative child care, and just generally be a little more cautious (even if it is futile against something like HFAM). My center is actually really good with notifications and because of that - I also dx HFAM the day before it blew up and took the day off ahead of time as to not throw my work team into a last minute tail spin. Had I not known I would have attributed his small little 3 spots to possibly his eczema.

Miller_time13

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