I'm due with my 2nd child August 9th. I had my daughter 2 years ago, just 3 months before opening my daycare and was unemployed at the time so I didn't have to worry about maternity leave. Now I don't know what to do. My mom and I co-own 2 daycares and we have 3 PT employees. I'm sure we'll have enough coverage, I just don't know how long I should take off. I know 6 weeks is the norm around here, but I'd feel terrible not working that long while my mom does work. I thought about taking 1-2 weeks off completely, then 2 or so weeks just working in the PM after naptime until close, and then finally getting back into it full time (well 30-35 hours) after a total of 4 or so weeks. The bad thing is....the daycare I run is located on the bottom floor of my house and my living quarters are the top floor. I just know I'm gonna be needed for things and texted with questions, or the noise from the kids will wake me and the baby, etc. I just didn't know the best way to go about taking time off. Any suggestions?

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I'm due September 2 and am closing for a full 2 weeks. I am the sole provider for my children and cannot afford to close for longer than that. I will have my Mom helping me for a couple of weeks after that.

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Im also weary about getting pregnant with my home daycare business- I hate thinking about losing families due to time off (I only have my husband to help Mondays and Tuesdays). So many women shared that they return after just days/ a week or two. Wow!!!

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I'm lucky because my daughter was (unexpectedly) born on Christmas day... so I was already closed for the week she was born. The following week was pretty quiet because of New Years, etc. So I didn't need to take any additional unpaid time off.

My initial plan was to take off two weeks - unpaid.

I think if you can take 4 weeks... you should. 6 seems a little too long, and 2 is just too short!

My home is set up the same way - daycare on the main floor and living quarters on the top floor. My husband and I switch off between one of us running the daycare and one of us with our daughter. We decided before we even had her to make sure we didn't get into a routine of having the house very quiet and calm for her nap times because it's just not realistic - now she sleeps through all the daycare chaos... even when she's on the same floor as the daycare! Hubby and I can easily sleep through the daycare noise too because we're used to it. You will too.

As for the texts/questions - make a FAQ sheet for your staff to fall back on so they don't have to disturb you too often. I made an entire binder with information in it how to operate my daycare in the event that I am hospitalized, seriously injured or even die - so my hubs can keep things running smoothly. He's always been my pt (ft until next fall) assistant and knows the basics, but I included all the "behind the scenes" stuff too.

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I didn't close at all, but I hired an extra assistant for the first month. It actually was pretty easy...

COngratulations to you!

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I guess I'm the oddball. I am due in July. I will close for 1 week. My assistant will take over for 6 or 7 additional weeks. She had to become a co-provider in order to do this (in MN there is a limit of 30 days per year that you can use a substitute.)

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