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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>How to You Manage Pregnancy and Young Infants
Peaches 06:34 AM 06-08-2015
To those of you who've run a daycare pregnant or with a newborn, how to do you do it? I am currently pregnant and exhausted all the time. When thinking ahead to when the baby arrives I wonder how things will go when I'm up throughout the night and how to keep newborn healthy with all the kid germs flying around. Do you have strategies that help you manage. Do you think the home daycare environment is ok for young newborns? If you had an option to do things differently would you?
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finsup 08:04 AM 06-08-2015
If I had the choice, I'd just have my own kids But until we get some medical bills paid off the income from daycare helps quite a bit. I do like it...just not enough to do it if I don't actually have to! Anyways, all my children have been young infants in the home. I started when my son was 4 months old and the 3 year old girl I had at the time loved him. My son just adored her and it was really sweet. He learned to share early on and picked up on lots of language too. With my daughter, I was pregnant with her and still had the extra kids. It was hard, but in a way it helped make things go by quicker. Plus I like keeping busy, by the end of the day I was exhausted but during the day it wasn't as bad. She's done great, kids came back when she was 2 weeks old. Everyone adjusted well. I'm now pregnant with my third. Its similar to my first, not bad during the day as much but exhausted at night. We just went through this (baby and daughter will only be 18m apart) so I feel a bit more prepared. This is my first winter baby though. That makes me nervous sickness wise. I always keep my group small and won't take on too much (I.e. no school age vacation/snow day care this year, no extra drop ins, no families with late pick up times) and hopefully that will help some.
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laundrymom 09:02 AM 06-08-2015
My childcare career started in 1987. Long before children, mortgages and Health expenses.i keep ten kids from 4:30 a - 5:30 p. M-f. The money I make is almost impossible to make outside the home unless it involves ER, courtrooms or being elected. All of those things require a real bra and THAT is not happening every day.
I love my job. There are hard days and easy ones. I've had four newborns in daycare. I feel it was a fantastic way for them to grow up. I just yanked up my panties and did it. Sometimes one hour at a time.
Sometimes the days flew by, others were so miserably slow that I rejoiced at every hour passing.
This job has given me my best and worst days. I've done it on days I've had 12 hours of sleep but also on less than five minutes.
You have to consciously decide every day if it's worth it to you. You need to be ready for an onslaught of poo or spew at all times. And it's not glamorous.
I nursed so it was easier on me and I have a rigid schedule that never wavers so that helps. I wish you good luck. I can't say that I'd do it differently. Maybe just to term people I thought "needed Me or who I allowed to disrespect me sooner than I did. I think a lot of stress would have been resolved had I learned to term families that just don't work earlier in my career.
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childcaremom 09:20 AM 06-08-2015
Originally Posted by laundrymom:
My childcare career started in 1987. Long before children, mortgages and Health expenses.i keep ten kids from 4:30 a - 5:30 p. M-f. The money I make is almost impossible to make outside the home unless it involves ER, courtrooms or being elected. All of those things require a real bra and THAT is not happening every day.
I love my job. There are hard days and easy ones. I've had four newborns in daycare. I feel it was a fantastic way for them to grow up. I just yanked up my panties and did it. Sometimes one hour at a time.
Sometimes the days flew by, others were so miserably slow that I rejoiced at every hour passing.
This job has given me my best and worst days. I've done it on days I've had 12 hours of sleep but also on less than five minutes.
You have to consciously decide every day if it's worth it to you. You need to be ready for an onslaught of poo or spew at all times. And it's not glamorous.
I nursed so it was easier on me and I have a rigid schedule that never wavers so that helps. I wish you good luck. I can't say that I'd do it differently. Maybe just to term people I thought "needed Me or who I allowed to disrespect me sooner than I did. I think a lot of stress would have been resolved had I learned to term families that just don't work earlier in my career.
LOL. What is a bra?

There are always going to be pitfalls at every job. This happens to be a great job is you have young kids at home. It happens to be a great job when you have school aged kids. I had a medically fragile newborn at one point so daycare was not an option, in house or for her anywhere. My kids are all in school now and I love that I am still here for them if need be.

As far as keeping everyone healthy, have a good sick policy and stick to it. Really. Emphasize what you expect during interviews. This is something I don't waiver on. It is my policy to term is they dope and drop. Well child care.

As far as being tired, caffeine was and is my friend. We have a close and loving relationship. It also helps when I get regular exercise in.
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AmyKidsCo 08:38 PM 06-08-2015
4 of our 6 children were born right into my FCC program. (Not literally )

To help keep all babies healthy I never let older children touch their hands or faces, or get too close to their faces. They can "pet" the babies' feet or tops of their heads. I also keep young babies (until they can sit independently) separated from the other children, either in the gated-off living room or gated-off kitchen.

The best thing about FCC is that no-one is looking over your shoulder saying "you didn't do the gazillion things you planned today" so when you're tired you can have a low-key day. Sit on a chair and let the children play all day while you supervise. Read stories if they ask, sing songs if they ask, but don't think you've got to plan a ton of activities.

No way would I do it differently, unless we won the lottery so I wouldn't have to work at all.
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Tags:overwhelmed, pregnancy
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