Childminder and pregnancy questions

[reddaisy]

My DD spends two days at nursery and two days with a CM.

The CM was a friend I met through a postnatal class who then became qualified and DD was her first child.

We are thinking of taking DD out of nursery and sending her to CM for four days as she seems so much happier there. But, before my friend was our childminder she said she wanted to have another baby next year.

Can I ask her what her plans are and whether she would just give up childminding if she had another baby during ML? Or is it inappropriate? How did you all juggle ML with being a childminder?

It might not be a problem because I also want to start TTC again soon but it is doubtful it would work out that neatly.

DD's nursery has a very long waiting list so if we took her out we would struggle to get her back in.

I think you could lightly ask, as a freind "are you still thinking of trying for another baby next year?"

I'm thinking though, that if she does have a baby, and goes back to work, and you have a baby, she wouldn't be able to look after all 4 of them at once, as it would exceed her limit of more than 3 under 5.

I hadn't thought of that. Hmm. I will obviously have to make sure she puts off having baby number two until our PFBs are 5!!

Then she will still be able to look after mine!

I took 12 weeks off, was going to have 4 weeks but glad I had a parent persuade me to have longer tbh. When I was pg with ds2, when I went on ML I had a 6 month old, 14 month old and 16 month old so I asked for a variation for when I came back to allow 4 under 5s and 2 under 1s (as ds2 was 10 wks when started back and the others were all still under 19 months old, obviously I needed 2 under 1s as one of the mindees was only 8 months old when I started back). As it's all for 'continuity of care', Ofsted said yes. But I was happy about having all these young children, not everyone would be so it's worth asking. I wasn't friends with any of mine before I became their childminder and I'd have been happy for them to casually ask these questions. Obviously not for what I was to say to be expected as set in stone though.

Hope that helps :)