CM CLUB - How bad does a babies teething have to be before you send home???

[looneytune]

I have a baby who started with me last Monday and she been screaming for ages. I've given Bonjella and Calpol as her mum said she's been battling the painful gums since Friday.

It's really hard as she's so tired and in cot trying to nap but she's obviously in a lot of pain :( Thing is I have two 3 year olds to look after so I can only spend so long going back to baby to try and comfort her.

I've always been soft and never called for a mindee to be sent home and yes, I've had the other 2 babies crying lots with teething - but not this bad!

How bad do you let it get before asking for them to be collected?

Don't want to send mindee home when only 2nd week but she really seems to be suffering :(

why don't you phone the mum and ask her what she wants you to do?

If you've given Calpol etc and she's still that bad then she probably needs her mum, poor little thing

Does she have a temperature at all?

Not sure but its not an illness as such is it. All babies teethe. I cant offer advice as cmder but if I was a mum I may be cheesed off if I had to collect her from you because she was teething.

Right, she is finally asleep so I will leave for now. I had phoned the mum to double check something else earlier and she knew the situation and I agreed to give Calpol.

The reason I asked is purely because this baby was hysterical. I've had lots and lots of crying/screaming before but this has been worse than I've ever seen.

I can see a mum being cheesed off about having to collect a child due to this but I can also see a parent being cheesed off because their child has not been played with because I was too busy with another mindee.

My sickness policy doesn't mention teething but it does say if they have things that aren't listed as infectious (so they can basically be here) BUT the child needs my full attention and is therefore affecting the care of my other mindees then they must be collected.

Agree with Isyhan. As a parent I would expect you to be able to cope with teething. But, I would also accept that you have other children and might have to leave teething baby to cry for a bit.

You might ask the parent about giving her some medised to help her sleep?

Thanks for the comment. I suppose if a parent is happy with her being left to scream then that's fine - very hard though as this is the babies 2nd day with me so I'm pretty much a stranger and she can hardly catch her breath from the hysterical screaming (she's hardly slept in 3 days) and I just don't feel right leaving a baby that bad and not comforting them :(

Never mind.

By the way, I've recommended Medised and Teetha so we'll see if they try this :)

is it definately teething??

I don't think it's unreasonable of you to not want to have to deal with this when you have other children to care for.

Well she's biting like she's teething, dribbling (not loads though) and has a runny nose but I'm no Dr. Baby still sleeping which is good and dad picking up in 45 mins and off to buy Medised (as they are struggling coping at home). She may be upset more than at home as I'm new to her but I will talk to parents again about how bad she's been to compare to at home.

I just felt so helpless.

Anyway, she's catching up with much needed sleep now so hopefully she'll be happier when she wakes.

BTW, it's not that I didn't want to deal with it - I sort of (in a weird way) like a challenge. I was just feeling bad as the others were asking me to do x, y and z and I kept having to tell them to play by themselves whilst I sorted baby out. I don't mind that ds is left to sort himself out, it's the mindee that bothered me as she didn't look happy being neglected (she's a jealous type anyway tbh).

How old is she? If she's old enough for nurofen, it might help to alternate ibuprofen and paracetemol/medised. Also, do you have one of those frozen teethers.

I don't mean to be hard on you. I actually missed that she had just started. So, yes, she might be missing her mum/dad too.

She's 7 months old. Will get her dad to talk the options through with the chemist when he goes. I know she's been very very bad at home so I expected it but I just felt it was probably made so much worse from the whole childminding thing being new to her.

Haven't got frozen teether but have 2 that are kept in fridge that are very cold which she liked for a bit but not long. I wonder actually if these are able to go in the freezer for next Monday (or actually in case the other babies need them as I have different babies each day) - don't see why mine can't be frozen???

I didnt think that they were ament to be frozen just chilled. Cant remember why must had read it somewhere and you know how much i like to read looney.

Oh. You are probably just supposed to chill them. That's probably why my kids don't like them.

But, then, my kids aren't miserable teetheers either. They get a bit crabby for a day, and in pops a tooth.

Can i just say lonneytune you have my complete sympathy, re the teething child. I childmind a 3 year old, who really suffered with his teeth, he screamed hysterically the whole day, the only time he stopped was when the pram was being pushed - even if i stopped to cross the road ihe started. However, unlike your mindees parents, this little boys mum wouldn't let me give him anything, not even bonjella because "I don't believe in giving him drugs". I remember one day when he had screamed hysterically for three hours without a break, i called her at work and , she could hear him in the background, and i was pleading with her to let me give him some calpol, or even bonjella, but she wouldn't have it.
There is a difference between ababy who is crying and one who is screaming hysterically, which is what yours has done, and what mine used to do. On more than one occasion i had my neighbours round to see if everything was allright because of the screaming he made. It unsettled the other children, whose parents then weren't happy. All my friends used to call him screamer, cos that's all he did.

That's probably why I've never frozen them then! Thinking about it, maybe it's because they could stick to babies lips? Frozen things can do that can't they.

No I didnt mean to be hard on you lonneytune but if I was pthe mother I may say 'yes Im aware its difficult looking after the other children when a baby is teething but its your choice how many children you take and all babies teethe'. Thats all.

yeah if you freeze them the can rip skin off, Dont freeze them.

What did you do re the 3 yr old?

Saltire - thanks so much, I felt I wasn't explaining myself very well earlier. I have 3 babies to look after (7 months, 8 months and 9 months old) and they all teeth and of course I expected this when I took them on. As you very rightly put, hysterically screaming is soooooooo different to a normal crying/screaming baby and we are paid to look after other children too.

As for neighbours, just glad they were out as I've already had one complaint and if they get too annoyed, they are in a position to be able to complain and possibly make it so I can't childmind anymore :(

Anyway, thanks for the sympathy, she went home about an hour ago and I finish in 20 mins - have a bottle of red wine with my name on it!

how is the baby now looney?

Isyhan - sorry, I rarely get annoyed with comments but I just don't think you understand what I'm saying here. It's not that I couldn't cope at all - I was worried about how the parent of the 3 yr old would react to me not being able to spend as much time with her due to another baby needing CONSTANT attention. AND........my policy states that if a child is needing my FULL attention then they shouldn't be here!

I actually only have 2 mindees a day and one ds.

In the end I was ok with the 3 yr old as as soon as I could, I made up for it. When I originally posted, I was worried this might continue all day.

Baby ok as slept loads after.

Well done for coping!

I know just what you were tring to convey to us, and I'm glad the baby was able to have a sleep.

Take care.

Sally xx

Thankyou Bradford mum :) I've just cut ds's hair and bathed him and a rather large red wine is waiting for me (thanks to SIL who left it this weekend )

To be very honest, as a childminder I would be miffed if a teething baby who was in that much pain and had been that ill over the last few days was left with me, then I would sent them home.

In my sickness policy it states that a child will be sent home if they need 121 care ( and therefor put the safety/happiness of other mindees in question) , and I am unable to do that - then they will be sent home! Also surprised mum would want to leave her if she was that unahppy!

And yes I think teething is an illness ,and it can be awful!

To be very honest, as a childminder I would be miffed if a teething baby who was in that much pain and had been that ill over the last few days was left with me, then I would sent them home.

In my sickness policy it states that a child will be sent home if they need 121 care ( and therefor put the safety/happiness of other mindees in question) , and I am unable to do that - then they will be sent home! Also surprised mum would want to leave her if she was that unahppy!

And yes I think teething is an illness ,and it can be awful!

Thankyou. Hope she is better for next week! :)