Expectant Mum with Childcare worries - any advice please.

[aprilfoolsbaby]

Hello All. I'm hoping for some advice from those in the know. Our first baby is due at the end of March and I'll be hoping to go back to work in October. The thing is we have no family nearby and I have absolutely no idea about childcare. Myself and DH both work shifts on a 5 weekly pattern, so I've worked it out that we'll need childcare for 5 full days and 10 half days in this period though it will be different days every week. Another problem is that we start work at 8am and will need to drop the baby off at 7.30am. From what I have seen on the local county council website, most childminders don't start until 8am. So I have had many sleepless nights worrying about:
Will I ever find someone who will be this flexible?
When's the best time to start looking for childcare? Is now too soon?
How many childminders would you recommend I meet and what sort of things should I be looking out for?
Would anyone have any contacts in the Durham area?
Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Don't rule out early starts, most c/m are happy to be flexible! Try and not worry about that, just ring around and start setting up meetings. Lots of c/ms do shift work no problem, you just may have to pay a set weekly fee or something.

Start looking now especially if it makes you feel better!

I'm not a child minder, however when I worked, I had no problems with finding a cm to take ds at 6.50am. It's true that some won't but, you can usually find a couple who do.
I know in our area that at least 2 CMs do unsociable hours but of course you will have to ask.

Hi. I'd be very suprised if you can't find a minder that would start earlier for you, first of all, so don't worry about that. I think you could make some enquiries now, at least. If nothing else, it'll put your mind at rest that there is hope! Lots of minders will be able to confirm whether they can accommodate you for October and some might even be able to see you and take a retainer from you now, so that you know you have a place.

As a minder myself, I would happily see you now, but would suggest maybe coming back to me after the baby is born and you are 100% sure you are going back to work in October. Things have a habit of changing once you have the baby!

For the time being, I would just make some calls and take it from the minders in your area what to do next.

Hi there. I know plenty of childminders who are flexible with times. Purely from a mum's perspective, I agree with MaureenMLove - maybe hold off interviewing prospective minders until after your baby is born. Lots can change in those first few months.

Thanks for the reassurance. It'll be wierd organising childcare for a baby who's not even here! So you don't think different days each week would be a problem? I feel totally out of my depth....

All mine are part timers, with a couple that change days and shifts. Personally, I like it that way.

What sort of things should I be asking - I mean I don't know what I should expect a childminder of a 6/7 month old to be doing with them in the day? Or is it more about gut feeling and whether both parties would like each other? Good grief I'm clueless.

At this stage, I would just get an idea of whether or not the hours you need cover for are going to be acceptable to anyone. I really wouldn't worry too much about what they do just yet.

There are loads of questions you could ask, but I think at this stage, you're added to your stress and you probably don't need that! There's plenty of minders on here, who are happy to guide you through all the questions you need to ask, after you've had your baby.

Thanks for all the sound advice ladies - last question I promise - is the local council website the best place to get a list of child minders in my area or is there a magazine or other place people advertise?

Council website absolutely the best. That way you know they are registered etc. You can check their Ofsted reports online too, once you get a list. It won't show there names, but you can kinda work out which one it refers too, from the descriptions and info you have. Just search for Ofsted and you should be able to find the reports from there.

Put your post code in here: childcarelink.gov.uk/

I personally think a childminder is better than a nursery or a nanny for your first newborn while he/she is young (under 2 yrs?). A childminder can provide more of a home-like atmosphere. And I personally don't think babies need all that stimulation of a nursery. Just food, clean nappies, and cuddles really. And a nanny can be good, but quite expensive for just one child, and I personally felt a bit uneasy about the idea of leaving one very young child with a nanny who was completely unsupervised. There are of course lots of lovely nannies out there. But, as a new mum I found some security in knowing there would be lots of people around.

I'm a CM - and I start at 7am!

A lot of my parents are shift workers (aircrew mostly!)

Where are you? As there maybe a nice CM on here we can recommend?

Hi

Just wanted to say I posted here a few weeks back with the exact same thing. I am a shift worker and was worried sick i would not find a childminder who could be flexible enough. In the end I found a few that would have been happy to do it and ended up hiring a terrific lady just 5 mins walk away from my house. Just start putting some feelers out - once you have bubs too ask around at the local baby groups as i found a few through those. Like you my baby was born last march and i anticipated going back in september last year - i am still off!! Going back march 3rd so just wait and see how you feel when baby arrives. Good luck xxx

broody - you're still off - wow. When did you decide to extend your mat leave? I suppose when you're a first time mum you just don't know how you're going to feel when the baby arrives.

Booh - i'm in Durham - I don't think there's many of you 'up north' or maybe I'm wrong?

Hi I'm a childminder in west yorkshire If that's anywhere near you.

I am open 7 days a week and i am very flexible with my hours. If you need any more info you can ring me on 01274 851441
or email me on [email protected]