Support Bubble Clarification

[Nicknamegoeshere]

I have two boys that live with myself and my fiancé exactly half of the time, the other half they live with my ex-husband and his gf. My fiancé and I also have a six month-old baby together.
Am I correct in thinking that as we have a baby under 12 months we can form a support bubble?
We would bubble up with my parents as they both live in the same village and are the only family we have nearby. They rarely leave the house but do help with school runs as the two boys are at different schools, finishing at the same time.
Also, am I correct in thinking the kids will no longer have to socially distance from their grandparents if we have formed this support bubble?
Just want to check because I don't want my ex going mad at me!
Many thanks for your advice.

My understanding is you can’t form an ordinary support bubble as you can only do that if one household is a single person household i.e. a single adult household living alone.
You can however form a childcare support bubble but I personally I would only do this as an absolute last resort and would still encourage some distance if at all possible in order to protect your parents (if your children are mixing with other kids from other households).

@GooseberryTart We can form a Support Bubble I think as we have a child under 12 months? Kids are still going to school but not mixing with any other kids outside of school.

I wish my brother could help but he is autistic.

I think the support bubbles for parents of babies is new so you might get lots of wrong answers

Yes you can under the new rules, but from 2nd Dec I thought, not yet.

@Chasingsquirrels Yes, from next Weds

Can't find much on it but looks like it might not come into force until after lockdown "ends" on Dec 2nd. The support bubble guidance currently still says just singletons

Ah cross posted

But yes when and if you form a support bubble you count as one household and don't have to distance.

Mmm @Bedraggledmumoftwo just because you ‘technically’ can doesn’t necessarily mean that you ‘should’. Think I would still be erring on the side of caution.

Also OP kids will be mixing more than enough at school even if your following guidance and not mixing outside of school also your DC are mixing households with your ex and being exposed that way.
But I am on the shielding list so over cautious. My social contacts apart from my household is only ever to meet a couple of friends individually for a walk outside (were tier 1, now going into tier 2) twice a week, I work from home, have shopping delivered and feel at enough risk with the DC going out to school (they don’t see friends outside of school).

@GooseberryTart just because you can be judgemental and patronising doesn't mean you should.

Yes OP it is allowed, and well overdue.

Your parents are already your childcare support bubble.

I didn’t mean to be patronising or judgemental apologies if it came across like that. We all have different experiences and values.

Also maybe easy for you to say @Kitkatastrophe if your not vulnerable yourself or have any relatives who are vulnerable and or elderly.

I lost one of my parents to covid in lockdown 1 and I couldn’t comfort my mum, my best friend went through hell and her partner was seriously ill in hospital with it and nearly died. My DH hasn’t seen his mum at all IRL since January. I also know of at least two others with long Covid as well as friends who are exhausted who work in the NHS. Also know friends who have lost jobs and about to loose their businesses. So think its important we should all do our bit and exercise our own judgements to protect ourselves and our family.

Maybe its you thats judgemental and patronising @KitKatastrophe.

Telling people what they should or shouldnt do is judgemental. I'm not doing that. If you want to be extra careful, feel free. If OP wants to form a bubble, which is within the rules, she should.

You say we should "exercise our own judgements", so please allow her to do so without making her feel guilty.

@Palavah Indeed, but in that it is still a requirement to socially distance, you can't just be all together simply to socialise etc?

@GooseberryTart

People are losing jobs and businesses as a result of lockdowns and restrictions, not because of COVID.

@StarryFire agreed but the restrictions are in place to try and halt the spread of the disease.
Now too many people not the OP are bending, misinterpreting or ignoring the rules completely which isn’t going to lead to slowing the virus down or the easing of restrictions any time soon either.

@Nicknamegoeshere our household is indentical to yours actually.

I got excited about the new support bubbles rules (infant under 1). But on second thoughts won’t do it (bubble up with my mums household)

Because if anyone in the household/support bubble needs to isolate, then everyone will.
So that’s your house, your ex’s house and your parents. So you would definitely need your ex’s permission on that, as it’s not really fair to make th risk of isolating (or indeed catching Covid) higher for someone else. Also consider your parents will be at much higher risk.

I know it’s hard, I would have loved to support bubble with my mum, but it’s just not fair on everyone else.

@flissity I think however that would be the case currently anyway as my parents are our childcare bubble?

Do you have friends/other family to help you? I have literally nobody else apart from my parents. It's so hard.