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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

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Original poster

Childcare for 1 year old with hip problem

19 replies

pinkypanther · 17/02/2011 21:39

I work 4 days a week. DS (12 months old) is in a lovely nursery for 3 days a week and he is looked after by family on the other day.

DS has a hip problem and it's been found a bit too late for the usual harness etc to be used

He may well need surgery followed by immobilisation in a cast/harness for several months. As you can imagine this is going to be interesting for an active 12 month old.

My question really, is whether it is realistic to expect nursery to take him when he is in a cast/harness, or if we need to think about other arrangements? If so, what would be best? Would we find a nanny with experience of this sort of thing?

Thanks all x

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magnolia74 · 17/02/2011 21:43

I have had 2 children with cdh, 1 was found at 1 year so fullop, cast, harness and the other at 6 months and still minor op, cast and harness.

From my experience it is hard going when they are older and I personally wouldn't leave them in a nursery.

Is there any chance you could reduce your days for a few months and get family to help more??

nannynick · 17/02/2011 21:45

I suppose it will depend if he need 1:1 care or not. The cast and associated equipment may also be a danger to other children, so the nursery will need to consider how it affects things, including things like fire evacuation.
Another problem is how would you get him to nursery... how mobile would he be? It may be such that he can't go in a carseat.

I would doubt that you could easily find a nanny who have experience of exactly that condition. However you may find a nanny who has a mixture of experience with disabled and able bodied children who can apply their knowledge to enable your DS to get as much out of the time in the cast as possible.

nannynick · 17/02/2011 21:47

magnolia - as you have experienced this before... how mobile are children with the cast/harness? Are there transportation problems?

Original poster

pinkypanther · 17/02/2011 21:48

Wow, Magnolia, that must have been tough. Is all ok with the DCs now?

I think you're right about nursery

Realistically I am not sure I am going to be able to reduce my days any lower than 3 (or possibly 2.5) and so that still leaves the problem.

I guess that leaves a nanny, or me taking leave from work - to add to the mix I am 4 months pregnant, so I guess I could take holiday then start maternity leave very early, but then in due course I will have a newborn and a toddler in a cast...

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Original poster

pinkypanther · 17/02/2011 21:50

Thanks Nick - we are very near the nursery (10 min walk) so as long as he could fit in a pushchair it'd be fine in terms of transport...just not sure it's fair on him (or nursery staff who have two other babies to care for, or the other children)

Do you know if there are agencies specialising in nannies for disabled children, or is it just a case of seeing who is available?

OP posts:

magnolia74 · 17/02/2011 21:56

You could try s.t.e.p.s ,they supply equipment for such problems. We had a special carseat, buggy and highchair for dd1 when she was 13 months and in a cast.
The cast will be for about 8 weeks and is hard going (sorry but you need to know)
Its heavish and awkard but the newer casts allow for bathing.
The harness is still cumbersum but easier and they find waysto get around

Where abouts are you? I'm in surrey and happy to help in any way i can

mrswishywashy · 17/02/2011 22:12

I did a one week proxy parenting postion with one of my ex maternity charges when she was 18 months. She was out of the full cast but had the casts with two metal strips to keep her legs apart.

Anyways she attended nursary throughout her whole treatment. The nursary was very small and the mum did say that the teachers probably let her do more than she herself would. She must have been about one when she had the op and got first cast on. The nursary were awesome so I guess it comes down to what the nursary is like.

I know they bought the bugaboo bee because it fitted cast better. They also had a wooden seat/highchair thing that little girl could sit in. She could pull herself around and up and down - didn't slow her down at all.

sandym3g · 17/02/2011 23:09

Wow. I do hope you get the care you need for your child. This takes me back to when my Dd had cdh. She was in and out of plaster from the age of 10 months until she was 7 years old. The hip wouldn't stay in. She now has marks on her hip like a road map lol. I'm glad more can be done nowerdays now though.

Scarfmaker · 17/02/2011 23:24

In this situation, I would give up work completely, especially if I were also 4 months pregnant.

Samedi · 18/02/2011 01:13

I know of one agency, SNAP, which deals with children with additional needs. They've seemed very professional when I've dealt with them, I applied for a job and they talked with me a lot to see if I had the relevant experience before putting me forward for the post.

eeyore12 · 18/02/2011 09:52

I worked at a nursery where we had a little girl join us in hip cast, when she was about 8 months so younger than your little one, but we had no problems in welcoming her in, some of the staff were a little wary of changing her nappy etc but it was no different to me than a normal nappy change, she did require a wider pushchair for the time she was in the cast as well as a special car seat. But she joined in all our activites and although she wasn't mobile yet it didn't seem to hinder her learning to crawl etc once out of the cast.

We did use to have to feed her sitting next to her on the floor as our highchair were too narrow for her, but once she got to 10 months we tried her on one of our toddler chairs at the table and she was fine there, as long as we sat next to her all the time just in case she over balanced but she never did.

Good luck to you and your little one.

Chaotica · 18/02/2011 09:57

Have you thought about a very experienced childminder?

I suspect that the woman who looks after my DCs wouldn't hesitate to take on a child needing such treatment (for a while, it seemed like one of my dc might need something similar but fortunately he doesn't).

Original poster

pinkypanther · 18/02/2011 09:58

Magnolia - we are in south London. So not very far from you. Thanks so much for the offer of help. I may PM you with some questions at some stage if that's ok? I am not sure yet what exactly they are planning on doing. I fear whatever it is may coincide with the arrival of DC2!

Samedi - thanks for the link to SNAP, that looks like exactly what I am looking for.

Mrs - thank you for the encouraging story about nursery, his nursery is great, but I'm not sure whether it can give him the 1 to 1 attention he is likely to need.

Obviously if needs must then I will stop work, but I have a desk job and go to work for a break

OP posts:

Original poster

pinkypanther · 18/02/2011 10:21

Thank you eeyore.

Chaotica - I had thought about a childminder but haven't got an existing relationship with one, and wondered whether it might be very difficult for DS to settle somewhere new at the same time as having to adjust to a cast.

OP posts:

magnolia74 · 19/02/2011 12:28

Feel free to pm me anytime

Also happy to meet up for a chat.

livefortoday · 20/02/2011 20:51

I am a nanny. I currently work for a family with one child that has additional needs.
I wouldn't hesitate to look after any child. im sure there must be other nannys out there the same.

dreamworldfullofUNICORNS · 20/02/2011 21:03

i've worked as a nanny, alongside a childminder and in nurseries. I would look after your child happily in any of these roles.

Though I will admit to temping in some nurseries where it could never happen (those are the ones i refused to go back to, even when they offered me more money....)

alibubbles · 21/02/2011 18:11

Look here for lots of useful advice STEPS.

I am a c/m and looked after a little girl with CDH and it was no problem ever.

I used a Tamsit on a chair for eating and activities at the table and bought a carseat from Incar safety at Milton Keynes, you can also hire from them. I also bought a Pramette pushchair which allowed her to lay back comfortably when out and about.

Changing nappies, I found using a bigger size than normal much easier, you could push it up the back of the cast, then pull from the top to place it snugly.

There is an article in STEPS magazine about me and the child I looked after.

eurycantha · 21/02/2011 20:58

I have in my time done several temping jobs with children who have additional needs.I think that if you find an experienced nanny like me many/but not all would be willing to care for any children who need care.All we may need is some instruction from the parent Re` drugs and equipment etc and you will find most experienced nannies able to cope.

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