Working with a large family....

[Stripytee]

Half way through maternity leave with dc4 and starting to panic about going back to work. Can you tell me about your childcare arrangements when you have kids of different ages and schedules ie some in school, plus a little baby?

I have 4 dc and work . I do term time only and have nanny for 1 year old and 3 year old my DH picks the older 2 from school then gets younger 2. We found a nanny was the cheapest childcare for us .though when the 3 year old gets her nursery hour things might change again.
I work 2 days a week

I have 6 (dc6 born a week ago so first time I have written that down - eek). I'm off work until Feb and will be resuming usual job (4 days a week). We have nursery for youngest (2 and 4 mths to be), dh drops off middle ones ( 4 and 7) and childminder collects, and luckily oldest 2 are old enough to walk to and from . My tip would be prepare everything you can the night before and aim to leave the house 20 mins before you actually need to Good luck!

4 biological children and a stepson and expecting number 5.

I left my previous job to go into teaching which I find much more family friendly.

We have a home help who arrives at about 8am when DH leaves for work, I am at work from 7am. Our elder children pretty much take care of themselves but she ensures the youngest has breakfast and gets to school on time. She the collects our youngest from school and stays at home until about 6pm. During this time she sometimes does some ironing or chores around the children as well as giving the children a snack. One day a week I get home at about 4pm although out home help stays until about 5pm and that gives me time with her to catch up. When our youngest was a baby I was at home with him, hence us only needing a home help/ au pair and not a nanny. I also have family who he'll out a bit - My stepson's mother.

During the holidays I do all the childcare.

When baby No 5 arrives I am not quite sure what will happen, I would like to keep on working but have considered giving up work because part time is not an option,

Thanks, only work three days. Not so much the organisation I'm worried about as prob not that much changed from 3-4, it's more how to arrange care when have two in school, one in nursery and one at home. Did have a nanny before, but was crazily expensive...

Arisbottle how did you find your home-help?

She worked part time at my son's nursery , she wanted to leave, my son loved her to bits. We made her a good offer.

Dh & I are both p/t. When we overlap my mum covers but I'm on maternity leave with dc4 at the moment.
I'm more worried about how we will manage the regular hospital appts and how I'll cope physically as the last pregnancy has wrecked me.

Think you are right that physically it takes it's toll. I just don't have same energy as before, it's a combination of being older (37) than I was with number 1 when I had much more get up and go, and too many kids! So much to do always and so much to remember...

I'm a bit more extreme. I'm on crutches since the last one and have problems with my hands.

!!! Poor you, how do you manage?

Just do! Dh does a lot of the housework and the big kids help.little ones are just used to me