Unexpected pregnancy, please offer advice!

Posting anonymously.

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So....I am very scared and I don't really know where to start but here goes nothing.....It looks like my husband and I are going to have another baby. I have about four million things flying through my brain and it's resulting in one overwhelming emotion - FEAR. I am so SCARED - you would think that I am 16 years old or something. A big part of my concern stems from my age (38 - I'll be 39 when babe arrives) I'm just terrified about whether I can even do this at my age. I'm also worried about the business fall out from this....I'm early days yet - I won't even consider telling my clients until I'm around the 20-25 week mark - but I am really afraid that I will have a tough time landing new clients when the new babe is here. Right now my kids are older (12, 10, 5) How big of a turn off is it for parents when the caregiver has little ones of their own on the scene ? I'm also worried about taking time off after the baby is born....So - let's here from all of you Mum's out here - the good, the bad, the ugly and the funny - how can I get through this without falling over from stress ?

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Aw, big hugs from me and I wish you all the best. My oldest daughter is 11 years older than my youngest daughter, so very close to your children. Some of my children were big surprises too and I remember laying there on my bed with the pregnancy stick in my hand thinking all the thoughts that are probably going through your head right now. I can tell you one thing though, every one of my children are special gifts that I treasure and I'm blessed to have all of them. Whatever you decide to do (and you do have options you can consider) I wish you all the happiness in the world.

Well i have 5 children and the age difference between my oldest and my youngest is 18.5 years. And my youngest (who was a surprise) was born four months before I turned 42. I thought I was done after my fourth child who was born 12 days before my 40th birthday. So you can do it! I didn't open my daycare till my youngest was 16 months so I'm no help there. Good luck !

Hi!!

I reopened my daycare when my youngest was 8 months, although I started interviewing about 5 months before that. Not one person had an issue with my daughter being so young. I did make sure to have interviews when my husband was home and could keep my little one quietly upstairs but had my 2 year old present for interviews. Only because a screaming baby might be upsetting to some and it allowed me to pay attention to the parents more.

Present yourself as confident, organized and in control and no one will even notice!!

Ok well I just want to say congrats! I can't speak from experience but I will offer this. Life is only as hard as you make it. That being said yes there will be days from hell but remember there are great days as well. If you love your daycare and want to continue you will find a way that works best for you and your expanding family. Planning and organization is key. But remember the most important is to have fun. As for the parents same might have an issue but others won't. Remember everything happens for a reason! Congratulations again

I am exactly like Wonderwiper...I opened my daycare when my youngest was 8 months and my son was almost 3 and I had no problem finding clients. I do not have experience with being pregnant and running a daycare, but many ladies on this forum have done it or are doing it. I think many parents like the fact that you have your own small children because they feel we will include their children in all the things we want for our own kids. Congratulations and good luck!

Congratulations and as others have said you will be able to make it work if you are willing to make the changes necessary. I started daycare when my second one was 4 months old and my last two were born into the daycare. It never occurred to me to take time off when they were born since I was home anyways and the difference was I sat to breastfeed them and sat to give other babies a bottle. I think how much time off from daycare you plan to take will have the biggest effect on your daycare and your daycare parents. Many will not return once their child has spent 3 or more months with another caregiver and got settled in so you may need to close and restart. You may decide to keep only the really little ones that nap more or you may keep just older children that are more self sufficient or just take school age children for awhile so you have days to yourself with the baby.

I think for me I found that having the daycare children there made it easier for my own children as it gave them something to do all day while I was busy with the baby or just sitting with my feet up for awhile. One of the reasons many parents leave their older child in care while they are home - mommies trying to catch up on lost sleep and sterilize bottles are just not a lot of fun.

Congratulations! Despite all the fears you will cope with it. About your late age for maternity the doctor will say the most ojective opinion.

The good news is that you are already doing daycare so you have the routines, and know how part of it down already. Just as you would transition a new child into care you will transition your baby into care. My own were 4 months and almost 2 when I started daycare and had a week off with my third and fourth. There are 10 years between my first and last which was a surprise too.

With so many advances in medical care I wouldn't be too worried about the age situation. It does feel a little daunting after you have gotten used to the idea that you are done with the baby stuff only to realize you shouldn't have gotten rid of it all. But with your own older kids it can actually be a lot of fun for them. My kids were great with the baby and she really was a family project that wouldn't have been possible if they were also all still small.