I had a FTM who was very paranoid about her daughter, granted she lost her first son at birth, I could understand and did my best to care for her as I would my own. I had an 8 month old and she was 6mos old. Of course she was having a hard time the first week away from mom. But she ate, slept and played and did fine. Mom didn't. She was a wreck and it made it hard for me. I remember getting an email one night during the 2nd week that she noticed her baby's hair was a little matted and she had dried tears on her face like she had been left to cry for a period of time. She was having a hard time understanding how I could provide care for 2 babies. A) even before watching her we went on a walk and she cried for 85% of our walk. So crying is nothing NEW for this baby. B) she cried when I changed her diaper, she cried when she was in her carseat too long, she cried often. So even if was playing with her, interacting with her, etc. she cried. We walked to and from school, she cried. C) perhaps she was crying on the ride home? How could she determine exactly "when" this crying occurred?
I wrote her back and explained that there ARE two babies in my care and eventually there will be more. There will be times that she cries whether it's when she wakes up from a nap, is unhappy in the stroller, unhappy in the high chair, etc. I do my very best to keep her happy through the day but she WILL cry as that's her only means of communication. I would never neglect her baby and allow her to lay "crying for a period of time" aside from when I have to. I do have to use the bathroom throughout the day, I also have to change diapers and wash my hands. If she cries during that time it's not because I'm neglecting her. I realized then that this wasn't working out and told her it may be best to find a nanny who will be devoted to ONLY her baby. Because even my situation was as close to a nanny as you could get for a home daycare only having one other baby there. She of course back stepped that she didn't think I was neglecting her and reacted too quickly and didn't think about the implications of what she said. She apologized and said she was more than happy with our situation. Well after the 2wk trial period I thought we were doing great but she put in her 2wks notices and said she's staying home with her. She figured out she was making $2/hr less than she thought by calculating her salary by 52 not her paycheck by 80hrs or something and it wasn't worth it after daycare expenses and how much time she's away from her. For them that was the best solution. She was never going to be happy with the level of care anyone else but what she provided. I ended up getting a baby the same age and she started watching another baby for a friend. It's funny how when the tables were turned she managed to care for 2 babies but my care for 2 babies with 15yrs more experience was somehow inadequate. LOL
Anyway, my point is daycare is not for everyone!