I have been caring for a child for 2 days a week almost a year an a half. About 2 months ago, the dad told me that he and his wife have separated (and it's ugly ) They have split the custody of the child 50/50, meaning each parent will have the child on full alternating weeks. He asked if i could care for her 4 days a week during his week because The child's grandma (mom's mom) will care for her during the mom's week. In the end it's the same amount of pay per month and days of care. I like the dad and i feel for him because i know he is getting the crappy deal, so i want to work with him, so i said yes we can try it for a little while to see how it will work out (plus she is the cousin of another family i care for so it's really nice that the cousins can all be together). I made sure to mention that if it's not working (if the child has a hard time adjusting to the alternating schedule, or if any issues arrise, etc,) then we will have to re-evaluate the agreement go from there. I made him re-sign a new contract with only his name on it and i put in a new section about separation/divorce (ie- custody agreements, their personal issues, etc)

Now the mom wants to take the child an extra day on the father's weeks, in the middle of the week. that means that i will also lose her another day, cutting the # of days i care for her, and therefore decreasing my pay. I made it very clear that i do not agree that it's the best case scenario for the child as this alternating schedule is going to be hard on her as it is, on top of how hard her parent's separation is on her. Also, it's not fair to me and my business (but mom doesn't care, because when they were separating, dad suggested that she continue to send the child to me on mom's weeks and keep the schedule as it has always been, but mom said "What do i need her for (referring to me) when i can have my mom watch her for free?". I have reminded him that i have made a lot of exceptions for them since the beginning, i care for the child 2x a week- grandfathered in (my minimum is 3- i charge them a higher part time rate) i do early starts (for an added charge) i do alternating weeks and they are taking up a full time spot and i am only technically paid for part time care---now their personal issues are affecting me and my business. He totally understands where i am coming from, but i know he is in a tough spot- he is a good parent and i don't have issues with him or the child. i want to work with him but if it doesn't work out for my business, then things have to change or they will have to find another daycare provider.

How would you proceed in this situation? What would you do? Stuck between a rock and a hard place here.