Should i keep my daughter in creche while im on maternity leave?

detoxkid

Looking for feedback on what worked best for those of you who have been here before. Im currently pregnant, due the end of dec (fingers crossed). My daughter will be 17 months when the baby is born. She currently is in creche beside where i work. She totally loves it and im very happy with it. The creche is actually a 35 minute car journey from where we live but i couldnt find anywhere i was happy with closer to home and i liked the idea of having her close to me at work. Anyway i want to make the transition into becoming a big sister as easy as possible for her but i also know what a handful a newborn is and ill hopefully be breast feeding again which is also very time consuming in the beginning. Like any other creche it is very expensive and money will be really tight. I dont know whether to take her out or put her in creche for 1 or 2 days a week. Anyone any experience of this? (These are the things that keep me awake at night )

How Strange

I'd say keep her in Creche and keep her routine for the first few weeks. You'll need your rest which you won't get with a 17 month old and she needs continuity as the arrival of a sibling will be a big change for her. Assess it after a few weeks and see how you feel then. I took my son out 2 days a week after 8 weeks so Creche fees dropped a lot. Sometimes I'd keep him at home on other days too but he loved going in to crèche to see his friends.

I was getting zero sleep at night so I loved the days when it was just me and the baby as we'd sleep most of the morning.

lazygal

I kept my first with the minder. I needed the time and head space to focus on the baby and getting going with breastfeeding. I'd have found it really tough at home with a 15month old and a new born baby. If you can afford it go for it. Don't mind what anyone else says about it either.

pwurple

I reduced the hours on my maternity leave for creche, to 3 hour, 3 days a week. That was actually the minimum I'd have had to pay for anyway, to 'hold the place'. Loads of them do this by the way, one of my friends had to pay the full 5-day 8 hours charge for hers, whether the child was in there for the summer or not, so check the creche's policy on that too before you make any decision.

My daughter was three when my second was born, so she was actually fine to look after at the time. Relatively helpful with getting things for me and took a huge interest in the baby. My little one is 16 months at the moment though, and there's no way I would have been able for her and a newborn at the same time. Remember they are climbing, in nappies, needing a lot of lifting up as well at that age. Plus, she has zero concept of being gentle, and does a lot of bashing things off other stuff at the moment, and is starting to throw strops when she doesn't get her way. I'd be worried she would accidentally hurt a baby.

bp

Keep the child in at least for the first few weeks - I forgot how exhausting a new born is - the only issue will be the drive each day. also you will need to hold your place if you plan to go back to work

Julo12

I kept my girl (2 yrs 4 mths) in full time for the first 4 months. No way I could've coped with breastfeeding at the start otherwise. I did intend to go part time after 2 mths, then 3 mths and finally did it after 4 mths! She still goes in 2 days a wk as otherwise I'd find it really hard to get her to go back when I go back to work.
I only have a 5 min drive to the crèche but tried to time it at the start when baby needed to sleep and I'd go a longer way (often stopping at mcdonalds for a drive thru coffee once she'd dropped off!) so she'd be asleep when I picked my daughter up and ideally stay asleep for a little while when we got home - hardly ever worked but good when it did ðŸ˜

theLuggage

Would agree with those who say to try and keep her in full time for a while at the start. Going from one to two babies (and at 17 months, your eldest will still be a baby ) is a lot to get used to. I had a similar gap. I definitely did full time creche for a few months - can't remember but think it was three. Then I did a two day week but had to increase it to three day week because she was too much for me to handle at the time (I had postnatal depression and needless to say wasn't coping great at that stage) It suited me to do two/three full days but creches often have morning only options which might be better for you?

I'm expecting my third now and my two are 4 and 2 (nearly 3) and the eldest will be in her first year of school. I will be putting the second oldest in creche full time for three months and then doing mornings only. That's the plan anyway!!

Cunning Stunt

I am expecting a new baby in Oct when my son will be 22 months and I will be continuing with daycare, for two reasons that have been mentioned already
a) It will be too much for me with a newborn and toddler all day, and I don't mind admitting it!
and
b) he will need some 'normality' or routine for himself and will still need to socialise with other kids.

theLuggage

Cunning Stunt wrote: »

b) he will need some 'normality' or routine for himself and will still need to socialise with other kids.

Yes totally agree with this! Mine get bored at home with just me - they thrive on the creche, the routine and all the pals. And the amount of stuff they do is amazing.

detoxkid

Thanks ladies, great to hear your feedback. I'm a bundle of nerves about it really but the consensus seems to be to keep her in. My gut is telling me that is the right thing to do for her too. I think I was worried I'd drop her to crèche and she would feel left out or something. But thinking about it of course she won't - she loves crèche and barely notices I'm leaving when I drop her in now even though I'm still in bits!

RentDayBlues

I kept my first in crèche 2 days per week after my second was born, there's 18 months between them. After 4 months we took her out and I looked after both of them, but I didn't plan to return to work in the immediate future so it made sense.

My first has thrived since we took her out of crèche and the biggest benefit for us all is that we are no longer sick every week!

My friend took her first out as soon as her second was born and then they both went to crèche 10 months later. It took a while to settle back but that worked fine too. They kept the place for her.

The fact you have a long drive to drop to crèche would put me off! Especially if you have a crying newborn in tow. If you feel you need a break maybe look at another care option closer to home?