If You Take Babies And Young Toddlers...

[Crazy8]

how many babies do you take at a time (w/o assistant)?? how old does one have to be to take a new baby? Not talking state regs or anything, but just your personal preference.

I personally liked to wait till they were at least a year old, but 14-15+ months was even better. I am in a situation where I may need to take a new baby when my current one is only 6-7 months old. I am really hesitant to do this but if not I lose a family (and their older child) and then have to start over with new families and not sure I want to deal with that right now. Plus thinking of the longevity - I have a few older toddlers, they'll all probably leave at once next year so it would be nice to have these younger ones in the mix at that time. So, deal with a few rough months of 2 babies or no way??

[butterfly]

I had vowed to not take another infant unless my current families had another baby... haha ::... well, for some reason I agreed to take on an infant (new family) and I have one family expecting and another trying...

My preference would be to have NO infants, but definitely not more than 1 if I can help it. I've had 2 babies for the first few years I was open and it was quite exhausting. It seemed like we couldn't go outside cause it was too cold, too hot, baby was sleeping... Everything we did/do revolves around the baby. Which is totally fine, but my favorite part of the day is outside time and circle/learning time. That's hard with infants.

Atleast at 6-7 months they are starting to be quite comfortable with tummy time, crawling stage, can be entertained by the other kids a bit...

[Michelle]

how many babies do you take at a time (w/o assistant)?? how old does one have to be to take a new baby? Not talking state regs or anything, but just your personal preference.

I personally liked to wait till they were at least a year old, but 14-15+ months was even better. I am in a situation where I may need to take a new baby when my current one is only 6-7 months old. I am really hesitant to do this but if not I lose a family (and their older child) and then have to start over with new families and not sure I want to deal with that right now. Plus thinking of the longevity - I have a few older toddlers, they'll all probably leave at once next year so it would be nice to have these younger ones in the mix at that time. So, deal with a few rough months of 2 babies or no way??

I have 4 babies and an assistant...( in the Summer I have 2-3 rotating assistants) Having a lot of babies is a challenge as far as diapers and feeding but what I do is play with them on the floor a lot and teach them the way I want them to play with each other. The older kids are great with them and are really good role models.
Another advantage is that they will all be the same age when it's time to do preschool with them.
I love this age and I love school age too! They are all so funny and great to have in my home. They keep us laughing all day.
Make a schedule and stay on it... take advantage when the babies are sleeping... do most of your cleaning during nap and try to cook lunch the night before. Change their diapers at the same time every day ... whether they need it or not and just have fun with them! They are awesome.happyface

[Blackcat31]

I will only take infants from currently enrolled families.

I will take them at 6 weeks.

I have had a 4 day old infant before but there were special circumstances and I would not do it again.

Any NEW enrollees coming in need to be a minimum of 15 months. (no law or rule, just MY personal preference)

I can have a max number of 4 under 2 but I will NEVER take more than one under 12 months.

I have had 3 infants (under 12 months) at one time before. (Again NOT something I would ever do again.)

[Michelle]

I will only take infants from currently enrolled families.

I will take them at 6 weeks.

I have had a 4 day old infant before but there were special circumstances and I would not do it again.

Any NEW enrollees coming in need to be a minimum of 15 months. (no law or rule, just MY personal preference)

I can have a max number of 4 under 2 but I will NEVER take more than one under 12 months.

I have had 3 infants (under 12 months) at one time before. (Again NOT something I would ever do again.)

I had 4 under 12 months one time... but we had twins.. so not much we can do there.
I do admit that it was ALOT of work but now they are all 2 and so much fun just a few older one year olds left and I am not taking any more infants either except only if my current families get pregnant.

[Heidi]

I prefer to take them as young infants nowadays.

My newest is 7 weeks old, and although it has it's challenges, to me it's worth it because I can "train" him.

My group right now is 7 weeks/FT, 8 months/FT, 8 months/PT (3-4 days, varying schedule), and 21 month/4 days/same schedule.

By far the "hardest" baby I've had has been PT 8 mo. Right now, 7 week old is a stinker, but he may have reflux (got on meds today), so we'll see how he is in a couple weeks.

[Willow]

I took two who were born just two weeks apart at 6 and 8 weeks old respectively. The only part I struggled with, and sometimes still do, is getting everyone outside. Especially now that they're over a year old and I have an additional 6 month old (I can have three under the age of two, two of which can be under 12 months of age). I usually have to set out a blanket for the smallest, then grab the one year olds one at a time. I leave my front door open and the older ones have to wait until my last little is out the door to come down the stairs. We make it workbut it does feel hectic sometimes.

[Play Care]

I prefer not to have infants at all. I have the best results when they come between 14-18 months. Usually their old provider is retiring so they come trained I find when I start young infants, they tend to act more like my own kids and give me the toughest time

That said I will usually only take one infant at a time. If I knew a family would be pulling over my policy I would start looking to replace them ASAP. It's not personal, it's business. Having a 7 month old and a young infant is my idea of hell

[Heidi]

I took two who were born just two weeks apart at 6 and 8 weeks old respectively. The only part I struggled with, and sometimes still do, is getting everyone outside. Especially now that they're over a year old and I have an additional 6 month old (I can have three under the age of two, two of which can be under 12 months of age). I usually have to set out a blanket for the smallest, then grab the one year olds one at a time. I leave my front door open and the older ones have to wait until my last little is out the door to come down the stairs. We make it workbut it does feel hectic sometimes.

I have the same problem. Getting them out for our daily walk is a challenge! One in the car seat, one walking, one crawling, one rolling, and a Shih-Tzu. I've timed it so we walk right after a.m. nap, and I go get the furthest one first, knowing the others are still safe in their cribs. Then, the next one, etc. The toddler is the biggest challenge, because he doesn't take a morning nap and cannot be trusted. I usually resort to strapping in his booster with a few crayons while I get the babies loaded into the cart. It's a bigger workout than the walk...

[Lyss]

I only take 1 under 12 months now. I previously had 2 infants starting at 4 months old, a week apart in age, and it was ok when my numbers were really small but now that those 2 are nearly 2yrs old and I have a bit larger group I decided only one under 12months is best for me. my preferences have changed and I'm liking the "older" ages better now(18mo-4yrs).

I only take infants of current clients and 6 weeks is the youngest I'll take.

I don't take part time infants anymore (learned the hard way, 24/7 screamer)

I currently have a 3 month old that started at 3 weeks but it was a great past client (ODD aged out 8 months prior) and it was a special circumstance. They're probably the only family I would make that early start exception for because I know and like their parenting style, it meshes well with DC

[Blackcat31]

I took two who were born just two weeks apart at 6 and 8 weeks old respectively. The only part I struggled with, and sometimes still do, is getting everyone outside. Especially now that they're over a year old and I have an additional 6 month old (I can have three under the age of two, two of which can be under 12 months of age). I usually have to set out a blanket for the smallest, then grab the one year olds one at a time. I leave my front door open and the older ones have to wait until my last little is out the door to come down the stairs. We make it workbut it does feel hectic sometimes.

....and then you always have that one parent who will say "Gee, I hope they were able to get some outside time today."

As if there is no "outside" where they live.....

[cheerfuldom]

I prefer no none-walking children but every time I almost get there, I have another child of my own OR lose one of my daycare kids. It is almost impossible to get 2 years and up aged kids because there is an obscene amount of preschools and daycares of all sorts that cater to that age in my area. So my rule was always that a child has to be at least walking. Right now I have broken my own rule out of desperation and i have my little son and a daycare boy both who are under one year old but at least they are both crawling. I just absolutely refuse to take kids under 6 months. I cannot do it. After 6 years of constant babies between daycare and my four kids, I have to have a break from tiny infants or I will just go insane. It is too much crying and too much hands on care for me. I am so excited that my little son is not a crier and he is a very independent and happy little guy, thank God. my daycare boy does cry but its not screaming so its manageable and he does eat and nap for me, just needs work on independent play. I also have a toddler that is 14 months and again, at least she is walking and used to being in a group due to previous daycare and her large family so that helps. Everyone else is 2-5 years old.

[MrsSteinel'sHouse]

I enjoy infants and they tend to come in pairs at my house! I can only have three under two. I really don't want more than 2 under 1.
I agree the biggest challenge is going for walks. I have my 16 yr old son here and he is willing to push a stroller. I have 2 doubles. When he goes off to college I will have to rethink how many little ones I take at a time!
But, it seems I go in stages. All of them being little and then we tend to just play on the patio outside the playroom, to big kids running in the yard! My youngest 2 now are 18 months! My oldest turns 4 in September. Lots of 2's!!

[blandino]

The way we use our large license is that one person has the under 18m crowd and one has the over. We have seperate rooms for playing.

So because of that we have more infants than would be feasible for us of all the ages were mixed. Right now we have 3 infants (2.5, 4, & 6 months) along with two toddlers (14 & 15 months, both part time) in the nursery. But they are in their own little "baby land" pocket of the daycare. So she is just in infant mode all the time.

For me personally, the juggling of infants and preschoolers is what overwhelms me. If I had a small license (7 total with 2 under 2) I would probably allow myself one infant and one toddler at a time, if even that. I am not great with the immediacy and unpredictability of young infants, so balancing that with preschool activities would be difficult for me.

[Familycare71]

I like having one under one at a time (I can legally have two under two). I feel like I can better balance the needs of everyone.
With that said tho- sometimes you do what you have to do. It would have to be two good babies tho and no issues for me to be willing to pull off two under one