Has anyone combined childcare?

[ruebenjames]

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone could give an opinion on combining childcare?

I'm going back to work very soon and have visited both a nursery and a childminder I like, however neither is going to be able to fit ds (5months) in full time, So I'm debating sending him to both two days a week each.

When dd was small she went to a nursery and we both loved it. It's not practical to use a nursery full time this time round but I'd love for him to have the benefit of going to one.

Has anyone else done anything like this?
Thanks.

Yes I did it with my DD when she couldn't do nursery in the afternoon, nursery in the morning, and childminder in the afternoon. DD had no problem with this (she was 6mths old).
Did similar with DS with two different nurseries 2 days at one and 2 days at another, he preferred one to another, so was upset at all times when it was the nursery he didn't like as much.
Just from my experience I would say it works with nursery and childminding, as they are different enough not for the child to compare and accept that they are going to different places to do different things.
Just my own personal experience.

Yes, but it was two child minders as I couldn't get one full time immediately. It worked very well, they had different styles of care really but DS was secure and loved in both homes. A couple of years in, one CM was ill for several months and the other stepped in ft which was great. Once he went to school we moved ft to the other one as this fitted with school runs etc.

Thanks very much. I think it will be fine. DS is quite a laid back lil thing anyway. Was just concerned about getting him settled in two very different environments.
But at the nursery they are keen to know as much about home life as possible to help him feel comfortable whn there and they said they'd involve the childminder to integrate all three environments as much as poss.

Excellent, I so wanted him to go to nursery but didn't think it would be possible. I can look forward to getting back to work now!

for a long while we did 2 days nursery and 2 days childminder. didnt set out with that intention but found a great CM who could only do two days. ds was still quite young and i was reluctant to have him in nursery for 4 days a week as it can be a bit of a bun fight for younger kids IMO.
generally worked really well as he had the nice homey env of a CM for two days and then the hussle and bussle of nursery for another two.
we did get to a poing where he was upset being dropped off at both places, shortly after that we changed to 4 days nursery and never looked back. but he's almost 3 now and i felt much happier about him being in nursery for 4 days.
my mother is a social worker and many of her colleagues made the comment that it was a great idea, giving the child a good contrast between the two environments and kind of getting the 'best of both worlds'.
some children wouldnt cope with it i guess but sounds like yours will be fine if he is fairly laid back.
good luck with it!

Thats the way I see it, the best of both worlds and three lovely days at home with me!
Thanks.

I do this at the moment with two childminders, it works well, the kids get variety and enjoy both places, both very different but I feel they get positive things from both settings. And unlike their dopey mother, they never get confused as to where they're going each day!

Ha ha, I didn't think of that! Will I be able to keep up with where he is supposed to be?!?!?!

I do get in the car some mornings and drive to the wrong house. But then I work for the NHS and cover 3 hospitals and often go to the wrong hospital in the morning also. Maybe it's just me!

Should add, I'm not clinical so this stupidity doesn't affect any patients just my petrol bill.