Pregnant daycare Mom

I just found out that one of my daycare Mom's is pregnant ~ just about 5 weeks.
I'm so excited for them as I think of them as more than just clients.
That being said, they are clients and with Mom being pregnant, I need to know if their little one is coming part time when the baby arrives and or do I need to fill a full time spot for December/January.

Do I ask now what their plans are as it seems most of the inquiries I get in this town are for that far away!! Part of me feels it's too soon to ask as they might not know but, I'm running a business....
thoughts ladies

I generally wait till the second trimester - ideally 20 weeks sort of with the idea of once you are past that point parents relax and start to focus on the actual baby coming as in anything that could go wrong generally starts before this time.

At whatever point you decide it is ok to bring it up. I might even be inclined to put it together in a document that you hand them with the idea of I know you have a lot of decisions to make regarding baby #2 as well as for child #1. Here is a page I give to my moms who are expecting that outlines some of the possibilities. Please look this over and consider what might be the best scenerio for your family. At the same time I have to be sure that everything will work right for me at daycare as well.

Then in the form put things like
option 1: child A stays in care only until baby is born and then stays home with mom for the duration of the maternity leave. Effect on daycare: child A loses their space in the daycare as soon as the space can be filled after the baby is born.
option 2: child A stays in care full time for an agreed upon length of time - ie 6 weeks and then ....

and then list out possible scenerios. This is a good planning sheet for your own mind to look at what could happen and how each option will effect you and what you are willing to do in terms of how often does child have to attend to hold her spot, when if at all will a holding fee be needed to secure the second space if there even will be a space. If not do you wish to create one - ie release a before/after school child at the end of the school term to make a space for baby.

As the parent starts to narrow down the options you can start to discuss the ideas, maybe even adjust expectations depending on need till you both come to an agreement. If nothing else it lets the family know that this is a big deal to you and if they are not willing to go over the options with you and continuously discuss them then you can invoke the last option on the list - if you think they may say one thing and do another then you can let them know how long after the birth of the baby your services will no longer be available.

I don't think they will keep the little one in care, it's so expensive and with another on the way ~ I've been there $$! I could be wrong but, don't want to assume. You know what they say when you assume :laugh:
I think I'll wait a bit longer until she shows and the cat is out of the bag. It's not my place to let their secret out ....on the other hand, it would be good to get the word out there. I think I'll take your advice and wait a bit longer. Maybe not until 20 weeks but, I think it might be too soon.
Besides, she trusted me enough to tell me so I know they will be the type of people to let me know what they plan on doing once they figure it out. Hopefully

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Originally Posted by playfelt

I might even be inclined to put it together in a document that you hand them with the idea of I know you have a lot of decisions to make regarding baby #2 as well as for child #1. Here is a page I give to my moms who are expecting that outlines some of the possibilities. Please look this over and consider what might be the best scenerio for your family. At the same time I have to be sure that everything will work right for me at daycare as well.

Then in the form put things like
option 1: child A stays in care only until baby is born and then stays home with mom for the duration of the maternity leave. Effect on daycare: child A loses their space in the daycare as soon as the space can be filled after the baby is born.
option 2: child A stays in care full time for an agreed upon length of time - ie 6 weeks and then ....

and then list out possible scenerios.

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I'm so doing this!! Thanks!

Yeah, that is a good idea. Have a little "Congratulations ! Now what?.." type of letter for them.
I would wait until at least she is openly discussing baby news. They will likely bring it up. But if they haven't by about the halfway point, I think it's more than fair to ask.

I keep open communication with my clients so when one of my daycare Moms announced she was pregnant last year I congratulated her but waited until she was around the 5 month mark or so to ask her if they had made any plans. I figured I still had time to advertise if needed by that point, but they kept their child here 3 days/week because he's going to JK in Sept. and then they are bringing to the new baby here when the Mom's mat leave is over. I hope you have as much luck as I did with my fantastic client.

I would advertise and interview... get a good solid wait list going for that spot. If they choose to stay with you then you can just let the other clients know that the position has been filled, if not, you're prepared for them leaving. I always ask my mat leave clients to give me a commitment 3 months before they go as I know a lot of people try to have daycare lined up 3 months ahead of time.

For my last three moms that were pregnant, they all left their older child with me 3-5 days but paid for the full space. They each received a top up amount through work on top of their regular mat leave benefits so financially they were able to do it. I know that isn't true for most people.

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Originally Posted by apples and bananas

I would advertise and interview... get a good solid wait list going for that spot.

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I'm just worried about letting their secret out before they want to. Once I post openings, someone they know and or other daycare parents might ask and then what do I say.
I want to know my answer now but, don't want to be the one to spilll their news????

Quote:

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Originally Posted by playfelt

For my last three moms that were pregnant, they all left their older child with me 3-5 days but paid for the full space. They each received a top up amount through work on top of their regular mat leave benefits so financially they were able to do it. I know that isn't true for most people.

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Same thing here. Mom got topped up through work so financially they were able to do it. She does keep her child home two days a week and then the odd day here and there.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by playfelt

For my last three moms that were pregnant, they all left their older child with me 3-5 days but paid for the full space. They each received a top up amount through work on top of their regular mat leave benefits so financially they were able to do it. I know that isn't true for most people.

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This is what I did when I went on mat leave for our second. We didn't want to lose our provider and she had a spot for our second when I went back to work but, I didn't get topped up and it killed us (but worth it)
Not everyone can do this...we shouldn't have but it was important to us so I gave us a few things in order to swing it. Not everyone thinks like this and I don't blame them either.