Yes. She kept her regular schedule (full time daycare). It was nice to have me home though, because it was during the polar vortex and school was constantly closed.
The only people I know that have kept the older child home during ML did it only to save money, and the situation was not good for anyone. I credit keeping DS's routine exactly the same with his easy transition to big brotherhood, and I was much happier being able to nap when I got the chance during the day.
I continued to send full time when I was on ML with DS2. I wanted some 1:1 bonding with the baby, and I didn't want to get DS1 really off schedule, when he would have to go back full time a few months later. I kept him home one day a week most weeks, and we spent time together, and I'd often pick him up early, but he went to school almost full time.
Getting our morning nap was key for DS2 and I while I was on ML
Post by whereintheworld on Jan 14, 2015 14:43:00 GMT -5
YES. FT hours, for my 7 month long and 11 month long maternity leaves (I'm in Canada but didn't take the full year). It was part of the planning for #2 and #3 - dependent on being able to afford to keep FT care. Mostly for my sanity but also to keep their spot. No way could I have kept up with the mental and physical demands of toddlers + babies. Not interested in that AT ALL. I didn't even really do shorter days at daycare. Made my return to work a lot smoother that the older ones were still on the exact same schedule.
Post by galaxy8227 on Jan 14, 2015 14:49:09 GMT -5
Our plan was to keep him home on Tuesday/Thursday but after 2 weeks we realized it was better for him to be in school full-time. He went to school M-F for the rest of my maternity leave.
Post by water*drop on Jan 14, 2015 14:52:55 GMT -5
DD will be going to daycare FT while I'm home with the baby. I'm not a newborn person, so my favorite part of having a newborn is having an excuse to sit on the couch and watch trashy TV all day (is that flameful?), which is frowned upon with a toddler who can repeat the inappropriate phrases she hears on TV. Plus I want her to keep her routine so she doesn't feel like her entire life is being disrupted by the baby. I'll probably be lazier about getting her there as early in the morning, and I may pull her for the occasional day or afternoon, but the plan is for her to stay on her normal schedule.
Post by londoncalling on Jan 14, 2015 14:53:57 GMT -5
DD1 went to full time care. DH would drop her off in the morning and the first two weeks of maternity leave my mom would pick her up and bring her home for m; towards the end of leave I was picking her up around 3:30 would spend the afternoon at home with her before DH got home at 6.
DS1 stayed home with me after DS2 was born. While I really enjoyed the time with DS1, in retrospect I feel like I missed out on some of the best parts of having a newborn (extra cuddles, undivided attention, no need for a schedule, etc.). I was also constantly thinking about what I needed to do to help DS1 grow and develop. It was not relaxing at all.
When DS3 was born, DS1 and DS2 still went to daycare every day. Best.decision.ever. I enjoyed the baby, which allowed me to focus more energy on the big boys when they were home. Like others have mentioned, I often picked them up early from daycare. If you can swing it without adding too much financial strain, do it.
In addition to making it easier on me, and DS1 liking school and needing to keep a routine, I wanted some one-on-one time with DS2, like I had with DS1 when he was a baby.
YES, all of this. Plus, I was not crazy the second time around, so ML was much more enjoyable. We limited visitors for the most part, and DS went to drive thru Starbucks with me, and we'd chill by the lake. Best time ever!
My center at the time had a 6 hour a day option which was great. Time alone with DS2 AND the benefits of DS1's routine somewhat staying the same. Win-Win!
I did not "embrace the opportunity to be home with both." DD was school-age by the time DS was born, but I had her enrolled in daily summer camp from 9-4 before I went back to work. And then I happily shipped her off on a vacation to Canada with DH when the baby was about 3 weeks old.
I didn't but that is because daycare for ODS was my mom at the time. He started daycare when I started back from maternity leave. It wasn't bad, but I didn't breast feed, so I am sure that made it easier.
We were not able to reduce our oldest's daycare for my maternity leave. For us, it was better to keep her on the same schedule while I was home. She was about 2 1/2. I enjoyed the quiet time and spent time alone with her on the weekends and in the evenings.
Post by zeewifeandmama on Jan 14, 2015 16:47:33 GMT -5
Yeah as a SAHM I think HE should " embrace that opportunity " for a few days and then get back to us. If I had had the option I would have sent her full time somewhere for sure- probably would have made the transition easier. I was grateful to send her three half days a week to preschool. Some of those early weeks were ROUGH.
We are planning on doing this, but since it will be summer, we will probably modify her time there a bit. Not sure if we will pick certain days or shorten the days m-f.
Like you, we would lose his full-time spot if we dropped down to 3 or 2 days/week. So when the time comes, he'll stay in daycare. I might pick him up early once in a while, if I was bored and not tired HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. HAH.
Post by charlotteandwilbur on Jan 14, 2015 18:59:14 GMT -5
Our nanny will continue working her regular schedule when DD is born, but we'll probably shorten days quite a bit. I am also hoping that the nanny will watch the baby every so often so that I can go out and do something special with DS.
Post by curbsideprophet on Jan 14, 2015 19:33:29 GMT -5
Of course. We were paying for her spot if she was there or not and we wanted to keep her routine. Depending on the day she did have shorter days as I would drop her off later than normal.
It worked out well for us. Being home with just the baby was nice.
DS2 was born Jan 11, and we kept DS1 in daycare f/t for the month of January. Then he went down to 3x/week and to 2x/week starting in June (I took a year mat leave). I needed those 2 days just to be able to breathe