Covid childcare bubble

[Babymumma89]

I recently gave birth (sep 20) and I'm struggling to look after my her on my own while my fiance is at work. Can I make a childcare bubble with my mum to help care for her? This allows me to sleep and catch up on house work while her grandma is looking after her. We're going into tier 3 and I'm just worried that I shouldn't have this bubble?

If your mum is a single person household then yes

I believe you can yes, but only for childcare, so you can't socialise with your mum in general (unless your mum is on her own, then you could set up a support bubble).
Congratulations on your baby and sorry you are struggling. Mine are much older but I remember the stress and tedium of the early days, and grandparent help was extremely valuable. Not to mention grandparents wanting to spend time with their grandchild. I feel very sorry for those with young children now.

You can have a childcare bubble regardless of if they’re a single parent household.

I think the intention is more for people who have to be at work and usually rely on family, but in this instance I’d do your own risk assessment of your situation and mental health/mum’s risk level etc and go from there.

Infotmal childcare is completely separate from support bubbles

Yes she can and doesn’t need to be single, it’s not the same as a support bubble. Your mum has to actually be providing childcare though not socialising with you.

Childcare bubbles are for when the parents cannot look after the child. It is not appropriate for them to be used when one of the parents is in the house (unless the child is being looked after elsewhere and the parent at home is working).

There's also only allowed to be one childcare arrangement, so she can't, for example care for your dd one day and care for other family children another day.

If you do have pnd though then your mum can “socialise” with you under “caring for a vulnerable person” if she is supporting you.

Congratulations! Of course you can set up a childcare bubble with your mum, that’s exactly what they’re for. As PPs have said, if your mum lives alone you could also make a support bubble.

I think it's very appropriate when a new parent of an infant is struggling

You can make a support bubble if your mum is on her own regardless but no, childcare bubbles are meant for going to work etc. Is it worth broaching whether there may be some PND going on? And is your partner managing to give you a break when he's home? If not start there

Bloody hell, this is a woman who gave birth just over a month ago and is
struggling.

It is so sad that she has to even worry about creating a "bubble" to get the support that she needs.

@StarCat2020

Bloody hell, this is a woman who gave birth just over a month ago and is struggling.

It is so sad that she has to even worry about creating a "bubble" to get the support that she needs.

Exactly, it's shocking and childcare provided by her mum is only ok if she doesn't 'socialise' with her mum. What the hell! This is her mum, of course she can bloody well socialise within the house when she's there with the baby. I despair I really do.

I really wouldn't give it a second thought OP and try to reach out to other new mums.

Just do it OP. Don’t overlook that fact that your struggling and you need a bit of support. You need to apply common sense to these rules.

@StealthPolarBear

Infotmal childcare is completely separate from support bubbles

Do you want to read that OPs mental health has deteriorated next time she has posted?

Honestly

@Ilovecheese53

Just do it OP. Don’t overlook that fact that your struggling and you need a bit of support. You need to apply common sense to these rules.

Agreed. We had loads of support in the first few weeks & it literally saved our sanity.

As long as your mum is being cautious I would do it. If she was a secondary school teacher in Manchester I'd maybe think twice though

OP you can definitely do this. When I had a new baby I wouldn’t have managed without the moral support of my DPs.
We have a childcare bubble with my parents for work as do most of my friends. Everyone is also seeing their parents who are doing this, eg having cups of tea with them or a meal. My parents have the kids in our house as they pick the eldest up from school and so obviously we have a cup of tea etc with them - we don’t ignore them! (Both working from home)

Ignore the people on here saying it should only be for parents who are going to work. Your mental health as the mother of a newborn is just as important as everything else going on right now. Do it.

Yes, you need help, so get your mum around. Your health is important. But don’t worry about housework, it won’t go anywhere.

@ilovecheese53 I have no idea why you're addressing that to me. I told the op she should do it, as informal childcare! I was just making the point this would not be a support bubble unless the mother is a song adult household.
An apology would be nice.

It's not legal but I would do it, I had my baby in march and was lucky my DP was off work for 10 weeks, it's completely wrong to not have new mums considered amongst this, I'd be curious to know if PND has increased due to all the restrictions and lack of support.

In fact have you read anything I've written, all in support of op and encouraging her to get support
How dare you

@StealthPolarBear

I think it's very appropriate when a new parent of an infant is struggling

For example this

Oh I didn’t realise childcare bubbles could be used for this? I’d so then brilliant we will form one with my in laws then, we just had a baby in summer and could really do with some help occasionally. I’m tier 1 probably going into tier 3 soon so this will mean they can continue coming over! I’ll tell all my mum friends this is allowed too so they can also get help.

Tier 2 soon not 3