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Unregistered 12:05 PM 01-22-2018
Once August comes I will be losing 4 possibly 5 children due to them going to preschool or kindergarten. The majority of the children I have leaving are 1-3 days a week part time. I am thinking I will only need to pick up 2 full time children to replace the 5 that are leaving.

Here is my dilemma. My husband and I have talked about trying for a third baby next month. If I get pregnant fairly quick I would be due between say November/December. So obviously when I would interview for my August spots the parents would know I would be expecting. I am so afraid this is going to turn parents away because I will be taking 3 weeks off due to having a csection again. I also plan to have my tubes tied while I am aready cut open....which I have heard makes the healing process more difficult and painful. Any of you go through both?? How was recovery? I have thought about trying to hire someone to care for the children instead of completely closing. How do I go about that? How does payment work with taxes?

I was talking to my husband on the phone during his lunch break earlier about all this. He was hesitate about having 3rd for a while because he is terrified something could happen to me during or after surgery and him being a single father to 3 children. Well I had finally talked him into a 3rd child. He was all about having a 3rd and now he is second guessing it when I told him it may be hard for me to pick up new clients if they know I am expecting. I know I won’t be able to afford all of my bills on just the children staying so it is mandatory that I pick up 2 full time children.

Have any of you when in this situation? Does it scare potential families away from signing up?

Any advice??
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Cat Herder 12:29 PM 01-22-2018
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
Any of you go through both?? How was recovery?
I had both on my third C-section. It was much, much, easier than my first C-section. I was back to work, in my family childcare, 3 days after discharge (27 yo). I got up and moving ASAP in the hospital, did not eat gassy veggies, pushed clear fluids and refused narcotic pain meds after 24 hours (motrin was great). It made all the difference. No rebound pain or grog. I then modified my work environment a bit to help me.

* I cooked meals in advance.
* Changed diapers on the floor.
*Postponed all potty trainers 2 weeks. Parents could opt in or leave.
* Stopped taking S/A's for two weeks. Parents were great.
* Taught the DCK's how to help me help them. Kids are amazing when they can tell you are hurt.
* I fenced all play areas with baby gates to limit runners so I could catch up when needed.
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Ariana 01:03 PM 01-22-2018
I don’t feel that it would be too hard to find just two kids and I would be upfront about taking 3 weeks off. It does not seem like a lot to ask and you are giving the families plenty of notice. You could also, possibly get your husband or another family member or hire someone to help out if your recovery does not go as planned. There is so much time to prepare everything.

I got pregnant and was due in December/January and I took 3 weeks off (vaginal delivery) and my parents were extremely accommodating, even offering to take more time if I needed it. I think during your interview ask a lot of questions about their backup care and if they can accommodate 3 weeks off. I feel like if you found people who have grandparents around it should not be an issue. My families all had grandparents to fall back on.

Another option is to simply delay trying for a baby for a few months until those spots are secure, having said that there will never be a “perfect” time to have a baby so figuring things out after you get pregnant is always my advice
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Georgiads 06:05 PM 01-22-2018
What state are you in? Are you able to have someone approved by licensing as a volunteer where you are? This way they will have a background check and be cleared to be around the kids but not have to go through getting an assistants license. Maybe with a helper you could reopen sooner and just agree to pay them cash.

Good luck!
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LittleScholars 09:37 AM 01-24-2018
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
Once August comes I will be losing 4 possibly 5 children due to them going to preschool or kindergarten. The majority of the children I have leaving are 1-3 days a week part time. I am thinking I will only need to pick up 2 full time children to replace the 5 that are leaving.

Here is my dilemma. My husband and I have talked about trying for a third baby next month. If I get pregnant fairly quick I would be due between say November/December. So obviously when I would interview for my August spots the parents would know I would be expecting. I am so afraid this is going to turn parents away because I will be taking 3 weeks off due to having a csection again. I also plan to have my tubes tied while I am aready cut open....which I have heard makes the healing process more difficult and painful. Any of you go through both?? How was recovery? I have thought about trying to hire someone to care for the children instead of completely closing. How do I go about that? How does payment work with taxes?

I was talking to my husband on the phone during his lunch break earlier about all this. He was hesitate about having 3rd for a while because he is terrified something could happen to me during or after surgery and him being a single father to 3 children. Well I had finally talked him into a 3rd child. He was all about having a 3rd and now he is second guessing it when I told him it may be hard for me to pick up new clients if they know I am expecting. I know I won’t be able to afford all of my bills on just the children staying so it is mandatory that I pick up 2 full time children.

Have any of you when in this situation? Does it scare potential families away from signing up?

Any advice??
I was in this spot when I opened (I left my FT teaching job to open a daycare prior to starting a family), and I'm in this position again now. I case any of this is helpful, I'll share my experience.

When interviewing, I was very honest with my plans. It helped that I had a plan in place. I found a sub I trusted and got her approved. She covered all but one appointment. I closed for 5 weeks (I had planned to close for 4, but went a week early). Rather than giving parents a set amount of weeks I would close, I gave them a date I would re-open. Many families were hiring a temporary nanny, so this was helpful to them. If I had gone late that would have been a pain. I had my baby in January, so I didn't want him exposed to the cold/flu going around. To avoid this, I hired a sub for a week.

This timeline worked well and I didn't lose a single family. I have quite a few part time kiddos (that completely fill all of my available spots), and this made it easier to close for a few extra weeks. Many families only needed 2-3 days of coverage a week. Perhaps see if you can fill those spots with more part time kiddos (that equal 2 full time spots)?

As far as taxes, I hired a sub that works as a sub for other providers and considers herself an independent contractor. We signed an agreement that explained I do not withhold taxes but that she is responsible for them. In total, I only paid her a few hundred dollars in one year, so I didn't have to send her a 1099. If it has been over $600 I would have had my accountant create a 1099 for her.

Many parents said they understood this was part of home daycare and knew this was part of the give-and-take that comes with this type of care. I found that appointment coverage was the most important thing for families. They were able to get maternity leave coverage due to the advanced notice, but it was noticeably hard for families when an appointment popped up and they suddenly had to get coverage or miss work. It happened, but I tried to minimize that.

I also had an EXTRA strict sick policy for the first 3 weeks when kiddos returned, and shared this with current and new families. I usually take mildly ill kids, but I turned away anyone with anything. I refused to risk my baby getting sick. After he reached 8 weeks old my pediatrician told me I could stop being quite so concerned.

Best of luck to you!
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