Biting Off More Than I Can Chew...Help!

[countrygirl705]

Hi, so I started the process of opening a daycare and becoming licensed since September and was approved in NYS on January 2. I was so excited and nervous that I couldn't get business I basically just jumped in. I am now at full capacity and I am way overwhelmed. I have my own kids who are in school and a 3 year old at home. I took in a 3 month old girl, a 5 month old girl, a 2 year old boy, a 3 year old girl, and a 8 year old boy. The 8 year old talks back to me, but for now I am dealing with it cause he's a bit troubled and needs someone he can see positively. The toddlers are great. It's the babies. They are first time mom babies who only want to be held. I can't stick with my schedule because one or both are crying. It upsets the other kids because they don't want to hear them cry. The 5 month old is temporary and is only till May. I don't know if I am going to be able to do both. Any suggestions to make this go more smoothly? TIA, Shay

[Heidi]

I would pick one baby and term the other.

You also should sit down with mom (of the one staying) and work together on what you can and can't do in group care. You LOVE holding that baby, but you just can't do it all the time, so...

She needs to learn to be ok with playing on the floor mat. Can they please work with her at home, too? She'd be so much happier if things were consistent!

[BabyMonkeys]

I would pick one baby and term the other.

You also should sit down with mom (of the one staying) and work together on what you can and can't do in group care. You LOVE holding that baby, but you just can't do it all the time, so...

She needs to learn to be ok with playing on the floor mat. Can they please work with her at home, too? She'd be so much happier if things were consistent!

[Starburst]

I would pick one baby and term the other.

You also should sit down with mom (of the one staying) and work together on what you can and can't do in group care. You LOVE holding that baby, but you just can't do it all the time, so...

She needs to learn to be ok with playing on the floor mat. Can they please work with her at home, too? She'd be so much happier if things were consistent!

You can also mention that tummy time is really beneficial for both physical and cognitive development and even help elivate their mood with freedom from constraint and controlled change of scenery (what moms like to hear: ways to make their babies healthier, smarter, and happier). Also assure her that your home is baby proof to the best of your ability.

[Laurel]

Hi, so I started the process of opening a daycare and becoming licensed since September and was approved in NYS on January 2. I was so excited and nervous that I couldn't get business I basically just jumped in. I am now at full capacity and I am way overwhelmed. I have my own kids who are in school and a 3 year old at home. I took in a 3 month old girl, a 5 month old girl, a 2 year old boy, a 3 year old girl, and a 8 year old boy. The 8 year old talks back to me, but for now I am dealing with it cause he's a bit troubled and needs someone he can see positively. The toddlers are great. It's the babies. They are first time mom babies who only want to be held. I can't stick with my schedule because one or both are crying. It upsets the other kids because they don't want to hear them cry. The 5 month old is temporary and is only till May. I don't know if I am going to be able to do both. Any suggestions to make this go more smoothly? TIA, Shay

When I first started out I just took whoever wanted to sign on that I liked. Later on I didn't do that. I decided what ages and situations I wanted. I decided more than one tiny infant at a time was too much so only did one at a time. I decided no more school age at some point so did that.

Just don't feel like you have to take anyone just because you like them. Take the ages and hours that work best for YOU.

For what you have now, I think I would not worry too much about a schedule. The only thing I had scheduled were lunch and nap time. Then I'd work around that. For example, if it was quiet then I would sneak in reading to them, if everybody was was kinda nutty I'd take them on a walk. A double stroller was a must have for me. I find a walk calmed them most of the time. Everyone didn't have to do art at the same time. If I could sneak in one child at one time and the other one at another then that is what I did. If I had the ages you had and it was crazy then I'd improvise like above.

You could also hire someone to come in part time. I had someone do that for a while. She just came (she was a homeschooled preteen) 3 days a week for about 2 or 3 hours a day. She helped during lunch which was a MAJOR help and she also did things with one group while I took the other age groups.

Laurel

[laundrymom]

I took in a 3 month old girl, a 5 month old girl, a 2 year old boy, a 3 year old girl, and a 8 year old boy. The 8 year old talks back to me, but for now I am dealing with it. The 5 month old is temporary and is only till May. Any suggestions to make this go more smoothly? TIA, Shay

I would term the 5 mo and the 8yr.
It's not worth 3 months of stress to try and retrain him.
I'd give the 8tr an ultimatum. We can be friends or not. But back talk is unacceptable.
Give them a week to start fresh or term.
Sit with the other infants mom and gush over how smart she is. Use the suggestions from other posters. Mom doesn't know what she doesn't know.
Good luck!!

[DaisyMamma]

I would term the 5 mo and the 8yr.
It's not worth 3 months of stress to try and retrain him.
I'd give the 8tr an ultimatum. We can be friends or not. But back talk is unacceptable.
Give them a week to start fresh or term.
Sit with the other infants mom and gush over how smart she is. Use the suggestions from other posters. Mom doesn't know what she doesn't know.
Good luck!!

I'd also term the temporary infant and 8 year old. Don't feel bad. And try not to consider the income loss. The fact is that if you keep it going as is that you'll burn out really fast.