Can you help me choose between two nurseries?

[thing1andthing2]

So we are looking for a nursery for ds (currently 7mo, will be for when he is 11m+). He is my second child. Dd (3yo) goes to a nursery attached to, but not located at, my work, which we absolutely love, but which only takes children from 2 so we need to find a stop gap for ds for one year or so.

Dd's nursery is a 10min walk from home then I can catch a bus from outside to get to work, very convenient. We also have a car but parking near our house and near the nursery is such a pain I avoid using it if possible.

Ok, so onto the nurseries for ds. We've found two we like. One is less than 5 minutes from dd's nursery. It would be simple to drop of ds, then dd, on foot and catch the bus, same on the way home.
However it is very big and noisy and the younger children's room felt a bit like a corridor. The main drawback was that they definitely won't take ds till he's 12 months and infact don't have space til September when he'll be 14 months. I have to go back to work when he is 11.5 months, and any time beyond that would have to be annual leave/unpaid. DH reckons he could take July off work to look after ds then his mum would cover the week or two in August when we are back from our summer holiday.

The second nursery is also on a bus route to my work and 10 mins from home but in the opposite direction to dd's nursery. It was brand new (opened 7 weeks ago) but the managers have more than a decade of experience and are highly qualified, they have done a great job already with the space and I think it will be a popular nursery, there is definitely a place for ds and he could start whenever we wanted. The spaces, both inside and outside, seem much lighter and fresher than the other nursery.
The drawbacks are that obviously they are promising a lot of expansion and improvements but we can't be sure these would happen. Also currently they only have 3 staff and 7 kids. They are currently interviewing for another staff member.

The drop offs would be tricky - DH would do one child and me the other. Except when DH is away for work, when I would somehow have to manage two. If DH took the car for work, this would probably make me 1/2 hour late for work and have to leave 1/2 hour early in the evening. My boss would probably let me make up the time at home in the evenings.

Wow this has got so long. Just writing it out has helped me think clearly but if you have any advice or comments please let me know!

[NickNacks]

Neither sound 100% great which is what you obviously want for your son. What about a childminder?

[minicc]

Can you leave it for a week or so and then go with your gut instinct? We had the same problem in the summer and the decision made itself by us dithering so much!

[TimothyClaypoleLover]

You should go with your gut instinct. You shouldn't choose a nursery just because it is more convenient. I get the impression that you are uncomfortable with a very large and noisy nursery (I would have concerns too) . From what you have said, I think I would prefer the second nursery.

[NTitled]

"However it is very big and noisy and the younger children's room felt a bit like a corridor."

And you are still seriously considering it for your 11-month-old? If I were you, your sentence above would completely rule it out.

[thing1andthing2]

Ok thanks everyone! The big and noisy one felt nicely noisy if you know what I mean, the kids were happy and boisterous. We had seen a couple which seemed very subdued which put us off them. The corridor thing was that each room gave on to the next one. The room also had lots of interesting fenced off areas, e.g a "home" room, a messy play area, a sand area, a sensory area. It was just the main space which felt less nice. But that may have been because the kids were all being taken in the garden at that time and so nothing was set up in that space.
One mark against the less convenient one was that the two women who had set it up each had one of their own children there. Not sure if it would be an issue or not.
We used a childminder for 18 months for dd and ended having a very bad experience so are not keen to take that risk again.

[kw13]

I think I'd go back and look at the 'noisy' one. Check whether or not it was just the time that you went. Chat to some of the other parents if you get the chance? Good luck with whatever you decide.