What does everyone do when their DCs are ill & can't go to Nursery?

[BettyStogs]

DS started Nursery at the beginning of September. He's been off this week with a d&v bug. I also had it on Monday, so no problem I took a day off sick from work, I don't work Tuesdays so again no issues, and today although he's better he's not past the required 48hrs clear so I have had to take today off work as well.

He'll be back at Nursery tomorrow, but has got me thinking that I don't have any back up plans for childcare when he is ill. The odd day here or there is ok, but if he got chicken pox or something and had to be off for 2 weeks, I have nothing in place.

I don't have any family nearby, both sets of grandparents are at least a 5 hour drive away, and also have busy lives so couldn't necessarily come down. I have other mum friends who have babies around the same age and who work part time, and although we would be happy to have each other's children in an emergency, it's not really ideal for longer term, or when one child could infect the other.

So what does anyone else do? Do DH & I just save a week's holiday each just in case? Feel a bit clueless really it was all so easy when I was on maternity leave!

We just juggle it between us, me & DH.

I can get carers leave which i think is 3 days a year, other than that, it has to be sick time unfortunately.

Its a hard one as i prefer to be looking after my own child when he is ill. (i'm a nurse so a control freak about illness)

Like you, i dont have any one to help out family or friends wise.

Do either you or your H have flexibility in your job? We both normally work standard office hours and have to be in the office, but there is some (limited) flaxibility for those times when its more than just an odd day - we had it when we had 3 children all with chicken pox at the same time, I think all together we had to cover 11 working days. We had an odd day off each, but then each of us will do a half day - so I'll go into work at say 6am until 12 noon, be home for 1pm and then my husband will do say 1.30pm to10/10.30pm and I'll do a couple more hours from home in the evening. Failing that, one of us will go into work on a Saturday to make up time, the other will go in on Sunday.

Similar to mandy21 dh & I cover it between us, using mix of annual leave, working from home and each doing long half days - it's not easy and requires a flexible/understanding employer (and it's usually me that has to do the majority of it)

We also don't have any family to help out. I work full time but a condensed week, so I'm at home on tuesday afternoons. DH is part time so it at home Wednesday pm and all day Thursday and Friday.

We just muddle leave out between ourselves based on who's meeting / job is the less flexible on the Monday, i have the Tuesday, he has the Wednesday etc. I've had to take unpaid leave when DS got chicken pox at the very end of the leave year (last 2 days of it) and I'd used up the last of my leave the week before.

My big problem has been DH catching the lurgie off DS so I have 2 days leave to be with DS then can't go back to work because DH now has it and can't take over childcare and I have to look after both of them.

Watch out for some of the nursery bugs, I caught foot, hand and mouth from DS and was really ill with it and DH caught a vomiting bug from him and lost 1.5 stone in 48hrs. They can be really nasty.

Yes I think juggling it betwen us would have to be the way forward. DH works from home, but not in a job that means he can also look after DS. His hours are pretty much fixed 9-5, though there may be a possibility of starting & finishing later if arranged in advance. So if it comes to it, I might be able to go in at 7, work till 11.30, then get home for DH to work 12-8, or something along those lines.

I'm on flexitime, although with having to Nursery drop offs & pick ups I'm not managing to build up the hours like I could pre-baby, but I guess I could save what I do build up for these types of situations.

It's so annoying - i hadn't had a day off sick in at least 4 years, now I'm sure like FireOverBabylon I'll get everything that's going round!