Since this is your first child, I imagine that you don't have older siblings around for a nice balancing game of Clue, although if you can arrange it, that would be terrific.
I've got an "only" and "had" to work, 20 hours at until age 3, at which time I decided to work 30 to get some sanity. He had so much energy, and with no older sibling - can you guess who his playmate was? Me.
gifted kids can really wear one out! and with that extra awareness of the world can bring extra worries. So he got a lot out of his daycare environment - but we payed a really high price. It's where his deep sense of "not being able to fit in" and "being surrounded by beings he couldn't understand or trust." Ouch!
A preschool that encourages play and learning how to get along in a different rule-based environment is good. One that stresses academics at the wrong level is really bad. The best is one that mixes the ages by a few years when your kid is the youngest!
To get an idea of "how gifted" try Deb Ruf's book- Losing Our Minds, Gifted Children Left behind. Take good notes of his accomplishments.
Smiles,
Trinity
