Ms. Yesica at Itsy Bitsy Daycare is simply the best. We moved to Irvine in the middle of the pandemic and were seeking care for our children, ages 1 and 3 years old. We must have unknowingly saved the best for last! I had interviewed three other daycare providers before finding Itsy Bitsy. My husband and I were able to interview with Ms. Yesica right away and didn't walk out the door without registering our babies for her care. I just had that feeling that she was the perfect one to watch our girls.

Ms. Yesica is compassionate and kind. She loves all of the kids as though they are her own. She becomes so in tune with their needs and feelings, that she can tell me when she thinks my kids might be coming down with something, or needing an earlier bedtime, or just having an all-around good day.

Throughout each day, the children were fed breakfast, lunch, and snacks. Our kids stayed for dinner each evening so that they could dine with their friends. I thought I would be sad about this because I love evenings with my kids, but it worked out perfectly with my work schedule and became something I looked forward to. On days when they ran out of time, Ms. Yesica would pack to-go bags for the kids with their dinner in them and they LOVED that.

Some days she would take them to the park in her community. They would play in the sand, go on the slide, and enjoy the walk to and from her home. Every day, they have circle time and the kids all learn various things depending on their age and levels of learning. Our girls came out of Ms. Yesica's care after only 8 months because of our cross-country move, but their new school comments on how much our almost-2-year-old talks, and how advanced our oldest (almost 4) is in all of her lessons. If we could move Ms. Yesica to our new home, we definitely would!

Her home is very clean and well kept. The kids have cribs or cots to nap on each day. You guys... she bought each of my girls their own security blankets and had my youngest's embroidered with Ms. Yesica's nickname for her. How sweet is that?! My girls call their new teachers "the new Ms. Yesica" and I love that they remember her, even with such young minds. We truly were so lucky to have found Itsy Bitsy.

If you're considering Ms. Yesica's Itsy Bitsy Daycare, you have found a gem, and I suggest you jump at the opportunity to have your kids cared for by her as quickly as you can! :)


** This review has been cross-posted.

My daughter has been at Itsy Bitsy Daycare for a year and a half now. We transitioned to Itsy Bitsy Daycare when my daughter was 11 months old and have never regretted it.

Ms. Yesica truly cares for all her children. She is warm and loving, and provides structure and routine, just what babies and toddlers need! She takes her children to the park and on walking trips. With toddlers, she engages them with fun activities such as arts and crafts and also implements circle time, teaching them colors, shapes, numbers, letters and sounds through song and play.

Ms. Yesica provides breakfast, lunch, and dinner and is consistent about nap time. When my daughter was younger she had a solid morning and afternoon nap schedule at daycare. Now she sleeps a consistent 2-3 hours in the afternoon.

My now two year old, loves going to daycare to see Ms. Yesica and her friends. She is always so happy when I come to pick her up. Lately, she hasn't wanted to leave because she's having too much fun. What more could a momma ask for? Did I mention she sends picture updates throughout the day?!

My granddaughter has been at Itsy Bitsy Daycare with Yesica for 10 months and I am extremely pleased with the care provided. I have experience with both home day care providers as well as larger organizations and I have found Yesica to be a loving, attentive caregiver that provides a safe and fun environment for all those in her care.
On a daily basis, she asks how our granddaughter is doing at home and keeps us updated on how she is progressing while at daycare. I have personally witnessed this attentiveness with all the children in her care.
Yesica provides nutritious meals that are posted on a board for all parents to see. She informs of us of nap times and eating preferences.
Over the last few months, I have noticed how the other children in her care have flourished. Her attention to their care is evident.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Itsy Bitsy Childcare to anyone looking for childcare. We feel fortunate to have our granddaughter in such a loving, safe environment.

Our 19 month old daughter has been attending Itsy Bitsy Daycare for over 8 months. As first time parents, we were extremely nervous and reluctant to put our child into daycare. I was fortunate enough to stay home with her for the first 10+ months and I dreaded leaving her with someone else. We looked around at larger facilities and also other small, in-home daycares. The setup of Yesica's home allows the children ample room to play and learn, but is also contained enough that safety was not a concern. We choose to have her attend here because we trusted Yesica and believed our daughter would thrive under her care. We have not been let down.

Our daughter absolutely loves Ms. Yesica. While there was the expected adjustment period the first week or two, she now enjoys going to "school" every day. Yesica also helped us as the parents with the transition period, by sending us text messages with updates and photos to let us know how our daughter was doing that day.

When our daughter started there, she was a very shy baby. She is now much more social and Yesica is constantly working with her on her communication. Our daughter has also always been very thin; however, she eats great at daycare and has been growing like a weed! Yesica follows a state nutrition program and provides the children with very nutritious home cooked meals. My husband and I joke that our daughter eats much better at daycare than we do at home. All meals and snacks are provided, which is amazing - I'm not sure how I would fit packing her meals into our morning routine! She even sends snacks home with us some days as we have a long commute home. While our daughter loves Ms. Yesica, I can also see how much Yesica loves our daughter as well.

Mrs. T's review discusses attendance issues. My husband and I both work, and days that Yesica is forced to close the daycare are difficult for us, as well. We either have to find back-up care or one of us will miss work. Yesica was kind enough to put us into contact with another small in-home daycare provider in the area who was able to watch our daughter a couple days over the past several months on the rare instance when Itsy Bitsy Daycare was closed. Yesica is the sole care provider, and this is one of the trade-offs of having our daughter in such a small, intimate daycare setting. We considered this when choosing between in-home care and a larger facility.

We trust she is safe there. We also understand with toddlers, accidents and small injuries may happen. Biting is a phase any toddler could go through. Both times our daughter was bitten, Yesica informed us at pick up the same day. As first time parents, the first time it happened our initial reaction was to panic. The safety of our child is the most important thing. However, after the initial panic wore off, we realized this could happen anywhere other children are present. We trusted the situation would resolve itself and, in the meantime, Yesica would do all she could to ensure it did not happen again. She told us it was a slightly older child who had bitten our daughter and she would keep them separated until our daughter was assertive enough to avoid it or she corrected the other child's behavior. Several months later, our daughter received another small bite mark on her hand from a different child. We again trusted that Yesica would do all she could to prevent it from happening again. I personally witnessed her addressing the situation with the child's parent at pick up, discussing ways they could work together to correct the behavior.

Yesica has always been very communicative with us, wanting to know how our daughter is doing at home. She discussed with us the importance of communicating with her should any behavioral issues arise so we can work together to ensure the response at home and at daycare is consistent. I've heard the same message being conveyed to other parents at pick up time, as well.

We have been very happy with the care our daughter receives at Itsy Bitsy Daycare by Yesica. We trust our daughter is safe and being well cared for when we drop her off. At pick up, we are always glad to see just how happy our daughter seems. Very recently we asked her at pick up if she wanted to go home and she responded with a resounding "No!" She loves spending her week days with Ms. Yesica and her friends at Itsy Bitsy Daycare, and we love knowing that she is being watched by someone we can completely trust and cares deeply for our daughter.

Update: HIGH HOPES TURNED INTO MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT!

My wife and I took a leap of faith and joined Yesica, as her first client, back in October 2015. (Our son was enrolled for about 9 months). Though we were satisfied and even happy with her services at the beginning, things started to spiral downwards and never fully recovered or stabilized. Our notes are as follows:

(-) LACK OF ATTENDANCE: Yesica has the habit of texting all of us the morning of (ie 15 minutes to 2 hours before the scheduled drop off time) to tell us that she will be closed for the day due to "unforeseen circumstances".

(-) LACK OF INCIDENTS REPORTS: The bruise on his back (bigger than my fist) and the bite (one of many) were not reported to us at the time of pick-up and discovered later by us during bath time that evening. When we confronted her with the bruise and cut, she initially indicated that she was unaware of the bruise and cut or anything that led to these abrasions.

(-) LACK OF FOLLOW-UP ON BITING: Though we understand that biting is a common occurrence amongst toddlers, our 2-year old son has been bitten on at least 5 different occasions (including this past Tuesday and last Friday) over the course of about 4 months. Some occasions include multiple bites, are from the SAME BITER (the daycare provider releases the names of the biters) and at times, are not even reported at the time of pick-up. In one instance, we were so concerned about the depth of one bite that we took him to our pediatrician to examine. We've had at least 3 in-depth conversations with our day care provider, but are told there's 'nothing that we can do about it and that they are going through a phase, and that if we don't feel he is safe, then we can go elsewhere'. Additionally, the daycare does not have a clear biting policy (i.e. suspension or three strikes) nor are there any corrective measures being effectively implemented to prevent future biting. A mom at the daycare also mentioned that her son has been bitten on at least 3 occasions from the SAME BITER. Consequently, this SAME BITER, who has bitten others at least half a dozen times over the course of 4 months, has yet to be suspended from daycare. Also, note that my son's bites are still visible (even after a month)!!

(-) NO PROPER NOTICE OF CHANGES AT FACILITY: While these bites are occurring, our daycare provider decided to get another animal, a dog, in addition to the cat, that she already has in her home. We received a notice that a dog was going to be in the home that day and my son is terrified of dogs.

(-) POOR COMMUNICATION SKILLS: She suggested that we go talk to another mom and go elsewhere if we were concerned about safety.

In summary, BUYER BE WARE!

I can't say enough great things about this home daycare and Yesica. She has a natural warmth about her that makes the kids feel comfortable and loved. Her home has a great layout and has encouraged my son to learn to crawl and cruise rather quickly! She prepares wonderful homemade food and gets all those healthy veggies into the kids' meals. She's very accommodating and does a fantastic job at juggling the different needs of each child at her daycare. My son is gaining some wonderful social skills at this daycare too. Through my older kids, I have experienced other nearby home daycares and well-established preschools extensively. Itsy Bitsy Daycare is among the best!

You could never find a more qualified person to care for your child. Miss Jesica, as she is known to her children, is smart (educated), loves to teach and play, is loving and caring and very patient with the little ones fortunate to be in her care.

As a first time mom, I was terrified about leaving my baby with a stranger. After trying out a couple of different daycare places, we finally found the perfect place. Yesica is like an extended home away from home for our baby. She always greets us with a warm smile and truly cares for our baby. From the time she noticed that he had sensitive skin, she voluntarily started laying out sheets on the floor so the carpet wouldn't agitate his skin and even gave us tips on how to care for his skin. She even noted possible food allergies. Also, the various times I've dropped in during my lunchtime, the daycare is always clean, well kept and everything is under control. She also leaves notes on the board on what he ate, when he napped and how many times he went poo and pee. From time to time, she will even send us pics of him throughout the day. Based on her interactions with our baby, I know our baby is well taken care of and happy. We are so lucky to have her in our lives