New here with a question

[Blissful Kids]

Hello,

This is my first time posting on this forum and I was looking for some advice. I started my own small daycare last July and currently have two infants and one part time toddler. I also have a five and two year old of my own. I was hoping to hear from some of you veterans out there who have been doing this longer than me. =)

Here's my situation: My second infant that I watch is only part time. Grandma has him the other two days. Lately he's been hard to get to calm down and I can't really leave him in another room without him beginning to cry. This has made our mornings very stressful while I try to get my five year old out the door to school. He can mostly get ready by himself, but still needs some help. The other infant I watch also takes a nap during this time and it's hard for her to fall asleep as well.

Any ideas on how to make our mornings go easier? Should I ask the baby's parents how grandma does things? Or is grandma just giving him one on one attention that I can't provide since I have other kids to watch? Should I try and get my five year old to do everything on his own? The baby girl I have that naps during this time sleeps in my five year olds room, so that's what is making it difficult for her to sleep.

I've liked doing daycare so far, but at times it is crazy. It's not something I want to do forever, but works out for my family right now. My husband has been very supportive and overall the parents have been very nice and cooperative with my contract and with me asking for time off to do family things. I just thought I'd come on here for some advice. Thanks for reading my long post!

[blandino]

I would say that the general consensus here, is that watching infants part-time is incredibly difficult. I still do provide part-time infant care, but it is definitely challenging. Mostly because of the inconsistency of being cared for by 2 or 3 different people, babies wind up fussy and confused. I would also say that babies cared for by grandma are difficult, because most grandmas Har a tendency to spoil and give tons of individual attention - which isn't a bad thing - but is something no daycare can do.

I would think of a routine that involves placing the most important things first (your son getting ready for school, and the napping baby) and working everything else around that. It may be that one or both of the infants is going to need to cry for a few weeks during that time period, but soon enough - they will adjust.

My biggest recommendation, is trying to form a schedule that works for the greater good, meets most needs, and creates peace, rather than caters to the individual wants of each child.

[Blissful Kids]

Wow! Thank you so much. This is great advice! Grandma love is a great thing, it can just be hard on us daycare providers to compete. =)

[cheerfuldom]

I think the previous poster said it all. I dont do part time infants, period. It has never worked out well for me in the past although i did accept a few kids at random times for various reasons.....

anyway, I would highly recommend putting your child first or you are going to end up resenting your job big time. get him ready for school and go about your business. talk the the daycare parents and give a time limit of how long you are willing to work on the crying issue. if you dont have a separate room to put this part timer in to cry it out, you may need to go ahead and let him/her go for the sake of sanity for the whole group.

[nothingwithoutjoy]

I have a different perspective. What worked best for me and the babies in my care was to pop the baby in a sling (I love the Kangaroo Korner pouch, unfortunatey no longer available). The baby is soothed and safe, and you can still easily attend to the needs of the older children. Everyone's happy, everyone's needs are met. To me, it's one of the most loving and responsive solutions.

[Holiday Park]

Unfortunately I personally can't do that . Dcbsby is 22lbs ! Even a 6 week 10lb baby would reak havok on my back to the point where I would end up needing DAILY chiropractor adjustments.
I wish.

[Blissful Kids]

I have a different perspective. What worked best for me and the babies in my care was to pop the baby in a sling (I love the Kangaroo Korner pouch, unfortunatey no longer available). The baby is soothed and safe, and you can still easily attend to the needs of the older children. Everyone's happy, everyone's needs are met. To me, it's one of the most loving and responsive solutions.

I do agree that slings/carriers can be wonderful. I use a Baby Bjorn when I take the kids to our neighborhood playground. However, in this situation I don't think one would work. I am helping my son get showered and dressed for school and this baby is going on four months and kind of a chunk.

Things went much better this morning and I kindly suggested to dad last night that I wondered if Grandma does things differently and I explained how he doesn't enjoy being alone. He seemed to agree and talked about how since he's becoming more aware of things, he doesn't like being my himself. Maybe Tuesdays will just be my more difficult days since he has to get back into my routine. I guess we'll see what happens. Thanks ladies! =)

[Lilbutterflie]

I wonder if you can start doing showers for your 5 yr old at night? When my DD started kindergarten, she woke up, got dressed (I lay her clothes out the night before), had breakfast, brushed teeth & hair and she was ready! She did all of this on her own- all I had to do was prepare her breakfast.

I think that all babies go through a stage where they become more aware of their surroundings and begin to cry when their caregiver leaves the room. This is where you can teach them that you are still there and available even when you are in the next room. Talk to the baby when he starts to cry using a reassuring voice. Something like "Charlie- I'm still here! It's okay, I'm coming right back." Come back to him when you can so he knows you are still there. The more you do this, the sooner he will learn that it's okay when you leave the room because you always come back.

[nothingwithoutjoy]

I do agree that slings/carriers can be wonderful. I use a Baby Bjorn when I take the kids to our neighborhood playground. However, in this situation I don't think one would work. I am helping my son get showered and dressed for school and this baby is going on four months and kind of a chunk.

Not to push a point if it's not a solution that would work for you, but I just want to add that I never could have done it with a Bjorn--too heavy and too much in front. The sling worked for me because the baby was off to the side (easier to work around) and the weight seemed to be distributed much better. I wore babies a lot up past a year, and frequently put much older children back in for a short while to soothe them if really out of sorts. I remember dressing all the other kids in all their winter gear, most days, while wearing the baby.
(I'm rather evangelical about my particular sling, I realize, but it's because I loved it so much and it made so many things easier! It's a stretchy fleece pouch. It worked for me so well I even suffered through the heat of it in summer!)

[Blissful Kids]

I wonder if you can start doing showers for your 5 yr old at night? When my DD started kindergarten, she woke up, got dressed (I lay her clothes out the night before), had breakfast, brushed teeth & hair and she was ready! She did all of this on her own- all I had to do was prepare her breakfast.

I think that all babies go through a stage where they become more aware of their surroundings and begin to cry when their caregiver leaves the room. This is where you can teach them that you are still there and available even when you are in the next room. Talk to the baby when he starts to cry using a reassuring voice. Something like "Charlie- I'm still here! It's okay, I'm coming right back." Come back to him when you can so he knows you are still there. The more you do this, the sooner he will learn that it's okay when you leave the room because you always come back.

Unfortunately, we are still battling bed wetting with my five year old, so sometimes morning showers are necessary. I do think I can be better about setting his clothes out the night before. He's good about getting himself dressed if it's all there for him. Thanks for the baby advice! He really did do better today.

[Blissful Kids]

Not to push a point if it's not a solution that would work for you, but I just want to add that I never could have done it with a Bjorn--too heavy and too much in front. The sling worked for me because the baby was off to the side (easier to work around) and the weight seemed to be distributed much better. I wore babies a lot up past a year, and frequently put much older children back in for a short while to soothe them if really out of sorts. I remember dressing all the other kids in all their winter gear, most days, while wearing the baby.
(I'm rather evangelical about my particular sling, I realize, but it's because I loved it so much and it made so many things easier! It's a stretchy fleece pouch. It worked for me so well I even suffered through the heat of it in summer!)

Thanks for the advice about the sling. If you can get kids dressed in winter clothes while wearing a baby you know it must work well!