Oooh! Congratulations! I love babies!
Having done this myself, I would strongly advise against just 2 weeks.
Most parents are understanding: a few are not. It's those who insist on your service being exactly the same who can make a precious, wonderful time into an absolute nightmare.
One of my families were horrible - there is no other word for it.
I won't tell you all the details - I think it would horrify every parent on these boards. They basically regarded my beautiful baby as an inconvenience: at best, a doll for their child to play with. At worst, she was "a nuisance", "trying", "snotty" (when she was routing for milk), and "whinging" "brat" (all adjectives they used). So far as they were concerned, I was a childminder being paid to provide them with a service and I was letting them down by having a baby of my own.
In the end, they dumped me anyway when she was 6 weeks old. They said that, because I once kept them waiting while I was changing her nappy and I hadn't done a newsletter since she was born, my service wasn't up to scratch. They refused to pay my notice period until I threatened legal action.
I was probably just very unlucky. All the other parents were fantastic. When I apologised for no newsletter, they all told me not to be silly. "You've had a baby!" one of them told me. "You enjoy her - I don't want any newsletter!"
You take as long as you can. Definately the first month or so while your baby and you get to know one another.
Don't worry about parents leaving - most will probably return to you. 6-8 weeks isn't all that long, especially if you help them find cover, as I did. But don't give in to demands to arrange it all for them, or sign agreements to compensation in case the baby is premature. I refused, of course, but they weren't happy.
You'll cope fine. Once the Family had gone, it was OK. The kids adored her, she adored them. Just like having any other baby to care for, really, except this one stayed the night