How do I tell my childminder that I'm pregnant?

[StuntNun]

I have a really excellent childminder who looks after my two children, two toddlers and her own two children. I have my 12-week scan on Friday so then we 'go public' but I'm a bit worried about telling my childminder as I'm due in November so she'll be seeing a drop in her income just before Christmas which isn't great for anyone.

The big problem is that I haven't decided if or when I'm going back to work. For one thing it depends on her: if she charges a retainer (I believe 50% is customary) then I would return to work after 6 months but if she doesn't then I would return to work after 9 months. I'm also wondering about whether to return to work at all as I estimate three children in childcare will cost £1150 per month and I don't earn much more than that. The other sticking point is that my childminder doesn't have any spaces at the moment so I would have two children with her and the baby in a nursery which would make my dropoffs/pickups a bit more of a hassle.

I would appreciate any feedback or suggestions you can give, as I don't want to mess this lady around or keep her hanging on for six months then have to give her notice when she could have taken on other children in this time. While she is an excellent childminder she doesn't have much business sense so I don't know how much thought she has put into what would happen if I got pregnant or what kind of retainer she would require. She does know that I had a miscarriage in December and planned to try again so I don't think it will be a huge surprise when I tell her my big news.

Don't worry about spaces, she may have a child going to school or may be able to get a variation to take your baby on too.

Each childminder is different re retainers, I have a mum who isn't paying me a retainer but when she goes back to work she risks me not having a space. If she wanted to keep the space I would need to charge her 50% but not all can afford this.

Tell her now she might be able to pick up a child short term (ie parent working just for christmas) and so no retainer for you but she is still earing win win

Tell her to advertise at argos etc

If you are going to have 3 children would you not consider keeping the childminder on for at least some hours? 3 little ones all at once at home would be er challenging - giving yourself a few hours a day just with the baby instead of paying a retainer would be a blessing wouldn't it?

And it would give your DC some continuity - mine have been with their childminder since the age of 3 months and would be heartbroken if they couldn't go there for 6 months!

I speak as a cm, dont worry, give her required notice and if u can tell her your pregnant ( nice to hear from u and not another mom iucwim)

It's her business and she will be used to children moving on. They all do.

Good luck with the pregnancy.

I am a cm and have had lots of mums on maternity leave with their 2nd/3rd child. We usually reduce hours for existing children but keep continuity of care until mums go back to work.
Tell her and voice your ideas so far, she'll appreciate being kept in the loop and none of it will come as a surprise.

Good luck

Tell her your pregnant asap.

I would also consider keeping her on during December even if you are home so that you get some alone time with baby and can sleep during the day if you need to. 2 toddlers and a new baby sounds like very hard work.

Good luck

Thanks for all your sound advice, I had my scan this morning and everything's fine with baby so I'm going to tell her tomorrow. She's a really great childminder, very reliable and has been brilliant when we've had the odd crisis, e.g getting blocked in a parking spot and can't get home on time. So I want to be able to treat her fairly and give her as much information as possible so that she can safeguard her livelihood.