Need Advice on How to Downsize

So I’m in search of some advice….I’m due with my second child in late August. Once baby arrives my assistant was going to take over the daycare for me while I took some time off (more like taking a back seat as I’d still be here, but she would be running the show)…she’s just informed me that her hubby has accepted a great job in another province so she will be moving around the same time baby is due. I'm super happy for them, however I’m not looking to hire another assistant this close to my due date, and hubby can’t take paternity leave as it’s just not financially smart for us…(unless I have an unforseen c-section)..As of right now I have the following:

1 dck full time Monday-Friday
1 dck 3-5 days/week (days vary)
1 dck 2 days/week (set)
1 dck 1 day/week (set)
1 dck 1 day/week (set)

I’m thinking of “downsizing” so that it’s just my Monday-Friday dck and my other 2 day a week dck. They are great kids and having them here is not a lot of extra work…..so one of my question is, my families know that my assistant was to take over, but if I downsize and have to term the other children am I harming my business reputation? The situation is completely out of my hands with my assistant moving, but I feel like I am being unfair by keeping some kids and not others How should I go about downsizing my daycare for the end of August? When should I let my clients know?

The ages of the kids you have in care will be a bigger factor in how to downsize than the days they come. It look though that you only have 3 on most days.

Too few kids and the ones left will be looking to you to entertain them whereas keeping a full load gives them something to do and you just sit back and have freeplay with the odd storytime tossed in to break up the day.

You really have to do what will work best for you! Will you be able to take care of any kids immediately after giving birth? Things don't always go according to plan. If you could take a few weeks off then maybe they can just find arrangements for that time. Otherwise, August is only a month away so you should probably let them know soon so they can find alternative care.

Have you thought about hiring a temporary summer student as an extra body to help lift, change diapers, keep everyone safe etc. Then you don't really have to worry about training them, they will just be there until September.

I totally agree with Playfelt....the more the merrier works for me too!!! They play with each other and don't need to be 'entertained' then!

Will your husband have any vacation time saved up he could use at least a day here and there on the days you have the most number of kids - Wed and Thursday will be tiring days in the sense of having rest on the weekend then working two days then help on Wed and Thurs is nice and then well Fri we mentally cope better knowing the weekend is coming. So a week of holidays would get you through about 3 weeks of help a couple days a week.

I think you can just let the parents know without going into too much detail.
Just let the parents know at the end of July/ beginning of August something came up that you did not anticipate, and as a result, your business plans have changed and they have until a set date to find new care.

I agree the more the merrier and depending on how many you have each day .. In other words are the 1/day/weeks attending the same day or different days .... Are there days when you have 5 attending or do you only have 3 on any given day.... How old are they ? That also makes a difference. For me it would just be a matter of getting thru the mornings cause they nap all afternoon. Is there a family member that can help out in the mornings? Your mom or MIL ? Is there a student that can help for August? What about contacting the local college that offers an ECE program and ask if there is a student that would like to do some volunteer hours. On kijiji there are always students looking for work in a home daycare you could have a look there and get them started over the summer so you could rest a bit more.

Something I am finding a lot is providers having second babies wondering how to manage - you care now for several kids, adding another one that sleeps most of the time is really not a big deal. I know you want the privileges you had with the first of easier days, resting when baby napped etc but that just doesn't happen.

Question: who is going to look after your firstborn while you are recovering from having the new baby?

The reality is it is generally you that will be staying up and learning to function on only a few hours sleep to feed and entertain your older child. Trust me when I say the daycare kids coming are a godsend because they keep your older child entertained, give some focus to the day to help you stay awake and that paycheck goes a long way to ordering in supper.

Barring a medical reason for needing help most manage alone when the second, third child comes along. What you need to do is speak with your parents and let them know your plan is to cope and manage daycare so their lives are not disrupted but let them know beyond basic care of diapers and meals that programming will be hit and miss and mostly miss for the first couple months till you all have a routine.

If you really think you must downsize then keeping the kids that bring in the most amount of money makes sense so the full time and 3 day a week child for sure should stay. But as we have said above if you have to stay awake and make meals and provide entertainment/supervision for your child plus two more what is the difference with having the day here and there kids too?

I have never run a daycare while pregnant or with a new baby so I can't offer you any advice there. What I think you should remember though if you decide to take say 6 wks post baby to recoup then some families may find care elsewhere. I would just be worried that if you terminate some families now and then take some time off you may find yourself with an empty house. Some of the families may decide for you so I would wait and see how they react to the news that your assistant will be leaving and what your new plan is e.g. take time off or downsize.

I also want to add that I agree that having playmates for your kids is huge and I find my kids are much less work and expect less of me the more friends they have around.

Based on the general consensus I'm going to try and swing it with the group I have. All but one are really good....I'm likely going to have to get rid of the one who cries every time I leave the room our leave his site, because that just not going to work with a newborn....many many thanks for the useful advice from everyone :)