Another Maternity Leave Question....

[JJPlaycare]

I posted earlier on here about how much time is a reasonable amount for a daycare provider to take off after having a baby, in which I got great responses too that have helped me to decide what will be best! Now I am wondering how do you take this time off? Do you work up until you go into labor and if that happens what do you do with all of the kids? I was able to do this with my last child because my mother was around, but with this child that is not the case, and it being my 3rd child I think when the baby decides to come it is going to be fast, or at least I hope so! :: Anyway I was wondering if any of you have just picked a closing date and stuck to it or if you have just worked up until the day contractions started! With that being said there is always a possiblity of going earlier than the closing date you choose, but I guess in that case I guess I would have to deal with it!!
My due date was Dec 19, had the ultrasound and now they are saying Dec 21so either way it is pretty right on and I am pretty sure of this date, but ANYTHING can happen! So I was thinking of having my last day of daycare be Friday Dec 17 and then hoping the baby comes as scheduled! I guess if I go late so be it, but I am nervous about doing that with a scheduled closing date because I don't want this to take away from my time with the baby once it is born! So I was going to ask that each family have someone on standby the entire month of Dec just in case! My neighbor will be my backup person, but she has 3 kids of her own and can't commit entirely because she doesn't know what will be going on! I am thinking of closing Friday Dec 17 and just saying that once the baby is born I will take 4 weeks off of daycare! Well sorry this is getting long and repetitive, I guess I am just looking for some ideas and guidance and what has worked for you guys!! I don't really have a reliable backup and my parents are aware of this and aware of the fact that they are in charge of finding their own backups, so with that being said other than maybe my neighbor I don't really have anyone who can just drop everything and come here once labor starts and that is why I was thinking of a closing date and with Christmas right around the corner, I don't think it is unreasonable!! Let me know Thanks Megan

[kitkat]

Babies have a mind of their own and let us know that when we try to plan things and they don't cooperate :: I wasn't doing child care with my 1st (DS), but was with my 2nd (DD). DD ended up being a scheduled c-section because she was breech. However, that didn't mean she was going to agree with that date! I informed my parents of the c-section date and what the last date I could care for their children was. If I went into labor while the kids were here, I would call them for immediate pick up. My mom was coming to watch DS, so she would have watched the other kids til they were picked up.

Parents were responsible for finding alternate care during my leave. I was due right after school started, so they all decided to take their kids to the alternate when school started (my parents are teachers, so I only do school year care). Personally, I was relieved they did that. 1) It took the worry off of me about what would happen if I went into labor and the kids were here 2) I think it made a much easier transition for the kids.

Something else to think about: at the end of my maternity leave, I had the kids come back on a staggered schedule. One family came back a week before the other. This helped me ease back into it and let everyone adjust to a new baby in the house. DH stayed home, but it was more for moral support. Not sure how many kids you care for, but think about how it will be when they all come back at the same time. If you think it may be a bit overwhelming, try to stagger them. Even if they all come back the same week, maybe you can have some come on Monday and then slowly add others back during the week. I took my easiest one back first

[JJPlaycare]

Thank you for your response! Yes I know things will never go as planned, never do! My husband also has the entire month of December off, which is great, but then I figured well he should probably come to the hospital with me and is really no help to staying with the kids! I am planning on taking 4 weeks off when the baby is born and then my mother will be staying with us for 2 weeks to help get back into the swing of things and helping with the daycare kids for that 2 weeks! I have 10 - 12 kids all summer depending upon the day, but once school starts I will sit with about 8 a day, which will be a huge drop in numbers! I will have 2 boys who will be almost 2 once I start back up and then everyone is up in ages from there! I think I will be fine with all the kids, not worried to much about that! I am worried about going into labor while doing daycare! :confused: I guess I will just have all the parents plan for immediate pickup the entire month of December just in case! The problem is with that most my parents have quite a commute and I also have a 20 min drive to the hospital, we could be talking 1-1.5 hours for me to get to the hospital after all of that and that makes me nervous! I am hoping that everyone can get someone in the area that can be here quicker, otherwise I was going to talk to one of the Grmas of one of my daycare kids that lives right around the block to see if she would be willing to sit with the kids if I need to leave, if my neighbor isn't available! I am sure it will all work out, just makes me nervous! I still need to figure out what I am doing with my own children as well! LOL I am hoping my neighbor! Otherwise my sister in law and brother live about 20 mins from the hospital as well and about 40 mins from us, so we have talked that they could always meet us at the hospital and take the girls home with them! I guess I am just trying to figure out if it works out better to have a specific closing date, or to just wait until labor starts??

[Fro]

I just talked with my daycare parents and told them my concerns. I asked that they have a back up provider on notice just in case, and that they make sure all their contact info is up to date in their forms. I worked up until I went into labor, which happened to be a weekend. If I did go into labor while I had kids, the closest daycare mom was going to watch the kids til the others all got picked up. I had all the parents meet eachother and showed her where the emergency information was just in case.
My husband had the numbers to all my dkp's and he called them all as soon as we got admitted to the hospital. I took 4 weeks off, and I also started one family at a time, starting with the easiest boy. I also had a friend who came in town to see the baby, help out for the first couple weeks.
Almost all the kids came to visit me and meet the baby during my leave. I thought it worked out great that way. Most of the kids were 2 and 3, so they learned why I was away, and didnt have any surprises when they came back and there was a new baby. Most of them got to hold her, and they instantly became big brothers/sisters . My biggest concern was jelousy, but I never had a problem with that.