I’ve listened to a few episodes of the Pregtastic podcast. It has some good info, but it also is very successful at freaking me out. (And the older episodes where they say “Being pregnant is PREGTASTIC!” makes me cringe each time.) The latest Pregtastic-induced-nerve-wracking-issue comes from the childcare issue.
According to what I’ve heard on there, once you are 15 weeks along you need to be researching and visiting childcare resources.
Yikes… I haven’t done that… and I’m 25 weeks along now. Oops…
Truthfully, I don’t know exactly what I want to do.
- Hiring an outside daycare seems ridiculous. I work in the home, why would I get up and drive my kid somewhere else and then come back home?
- I did a brief Google after the podcast scared me and there aren’t any infant daycare options near my home anyway. Driving a kid to daycare when I would have to travel 10+ miles each way seems REALLY stupid when I’m just going to be at home.
- Even though I’m home all day, contrary to what many people seem to think, I do have to work during the day. I have phone calls and video conferences to address. A baby would probably need some attention in there, beyond just periodic feedings.
- My telecommuting contract states that I’m not supposed to be taking care of other people during work time. (But it never mentioned dogs… Jade The Boxer, I love you puppy! You’re the best co-worker ever, even when you snore on the floor during meetings.)
- I looked at a nanny company and it sounded overwhelming. Too many terms I didn’t even understand. And mainly the testimonials came from people who said they used the service to keep watch on their children when they traveled to Vegas while staying at the Bellagio or something… I’m not that swanky.
So my solution is to ignore this. Especially because my husband’s feedback is “the baby will just sleep in its little bed next to you while you work.” I’m no pro… but I don’t think it works like that.
Jill Will Run 
At 25 weeks, it’s the perfect time to start looking into your options. Where we live quality infant care is difficult to line up and quit4e expensive. Like you I work from home and did most of the years my kids were babies, but I worked part-time and didn’t have many meetings or conferences, so I could work strange hours around their schedules.
I also used a licensed home-based daycare and, for a short time, a regular daycare. Having your child at home with a nanny may make the most sense but factor how you’ll feel when your kiddo is crying in the next room and you’re on that conference call. In addition to nanny agencies, see if a local community college has a child development program. There may be a student eager for the work experience. Also, using a couple home schooled high schoolers might work since you’ll be on the premises. I used to hire a teenager to nanny during the summer, when all the kids were home. For licensed home-based day care your state or county may have a referral agency.
I hadn’t considered the possibility of a crying child in the next room while on a conference call… don’t know why that one didn’t occur to me! All good advice though, thanks!
Ugh, searching for childcare is probably my least favorite part of being a working parent. I ignored it too, and got lucky enough to have a good friend who watched my first kid when I went back to work. She went back to work full-time and we’ve tried a few different places since, but it sucks every time we have to start over. Like you said, it just seems overwhelming. Something that’s been helpful is that in Utah, there is a State Licensing Bureau for child care that can help you find licensed providers, both the large drop-off centers or in-home care in your neighborhood. Perhaps Nevada has something similar.
I agree that it doesn’t make a lot of sense to drive you’re kid somewhere when you’re working from home, but having worked from home quite a bit myself, it’s not that easy to have them with you either. I found that I had to work later to make up for the frequent interruptions during the day. Honestly, depending on how much vacation/sick time you decide to take, your baby will possibly already be getting out of the sleep-all-day stage when you go back to work and it won’t be long before he/she is crawling around getting into stuff, wanting to read stories, wanting to go to the park, etc. I like the nanny option if you can find one you like that’s affordable. I would take comfort that my kid would get more personal attention, hopefully you’d have more say in how he/she spends his time and what he eats (curse the day care that introduced my kid to junk food), he/she could see more of you during the day but you would still have an extra pair of hands to minimize your interruptions to work, and you could be more aware of how you’re kid is being cared for during the day if they are just a couple rooms away.
Oh and in referrence to an earlier post, don’t let your office suck you into working too soon. I started getting requests when my baby was too weeks old (dumb requests, not even remotely important). I didn’t tell them to shove it, but I probably should have.
There may be older women in a ward nearby who would really enjoy making a little extra money by taking care of one child and not having to clean or prepare meals. A woman who is widdowed or lives alone might be an option. You would have to go through some interviews to let them know what was expected since you would also be in the home. Maybe you would like someone to cook and clean. That would be really nice buy maybe too expensive. Still hope to be of some help when you come up here.
Ahhaha. Pregtastic!! I just threw up in my mouth. (no offense) hmm, anyone you know who you could hire to come help out? Or a recommendation from a friend? Since you’re home it’d be easy for you to provide “oversight” thru out the day? I’m sure you will figure something out – don’t let it overwhelm
You. There are many options and none are wrong. Well except like, abandoning your child 😉 (that is a joke to anyone reading this comment who doesn’t already know my humor). In the meantime, yes I totally think your baby will cooperate while you work – scheduled diaper changings, etc. 😉
In the vein of humor and needing to clarify… My hubby was joking about leaving the baby “in its crate” when we go out. I said that Jade and the baby could each have their own crate. And someone overheard us at a restaurant and gave us a dirty look.
Pregtastic… awful awful awful name!
Read this post:
http://alphamom.com/parenting/baby/finding-a-babysitter/
It might help! 🙂
You always have such awesome mom resources for me!
You’re better than I am. I didn’t think about daycare until my baby was born! Then, it hit me. What do I do now?! I agree with Kate, it’s one of the hardest things about being a working mom. She and the others gave you some of the same advice I would.
I have found my last 3 babysitters through inquiring on FB. Several women in my neighborhood were interested in making some extra money and I was lucky enough to know them personally. You could start with a FB post to get recommendations for the Vegas area. Obviously, check references and maybe even do a background check on them.
Another way you could find someone is post a job opening on a nearby college job board, especially in their FACS dept. I have a friend who lined up a great babysitter that way. She posted in the college newspaper. The girl came to her house, brought her own little kid and stayed all day. Again, double check references on anyone you use if you don’t know them personally.
My neighbor was a live-in nanny for the past two years. Her agency required the parents to provide her a car, room/board, $300/wk, and weekends off. Just FYI on that one.
Good luck!