I don't work FT. This fall, I will be primarily working during the hours the kids are in school (thank you, baby Jesus, for preschool!) and will use a sitter for any evening work events.
DS1&2 are in a center full time until the end of the month. We also used my parents for days when we overlapped since the center doesn't cover the hours of our shifts.
Starting in October my mom will be providing FT care on the weekends as DH and I work weekend status. This allows for a large shift differential and 4 days home together with the kids. I think everyone will benefit.
My mom watches him most of the time. But he just started 2 day a week preschool, 9-2:30, and I am home on Wednesdays, so I have him then. H has him on the weekend day that I work.
When M was born, I worked halftime(2 or 3 days a week). My husband was able to schedule around that, and my SIL watched him one day a week. When he was one, I was laid off. I was gone with him for a year. When he turned 2, I was called back to my job. DH was unhappy with his job, so he decided to SAH and work nights(and weekends in the late Spring and early Fall). During the summer months, DH worked two jobs. This past spring, he went to work full time, and my inlaws watched M when he wasn't in preschool. Now that he is going into k, they will do drop offs and some pick ups. They will watch him during his breaks, too. They both still work, so they trade off time during the day(they are self employed in two different industries). We are thankful for them!
We have an au pair that watches the girls 45 hours per week. Starting next week DD1 will be in prek for 2.5 hrs a day M-F, but other than she has all 3.
So generally my kids are in school/after school during the year and they also attend an 8 week camp in the summer. That leaves A LOT of time we have to account for which we do in different ways. Overall this isn't a particularly hard time -- I know the days we have to cover pretty far in advance and there are several after school programs. Middle school is more problematic but is still several years off.
Post by bananapancakes on Sept 2, 2016 11:47:21 GMT -5
I'm just now going back to work 5 days a week. I just figured out child care for the month of September. There are 19 teaching days for me. L will be at his day care centre for 11 of those. Home with H for 5 of those days (he works shifts). The in-laws are going to watch him at our home for 3 of those days.
My in-laws watch him 4 days a week and my mom 1 day a week. I am home for the summer and get over three weeks of vacation plus all holidays (teacher). I drop him off at 7:40 and pick him up at 3:00.
Center, but after entering all of the off days and meetings, nanny/au pair sounds like it has its upsides. Or maybe just a different center.
Val just turned 3. We'll almost certainly stick with a center for the second kid. There are zero plans for a third kid, but that's where switching to a nanny would be the MM choice.
This week was a transition week for us. We've had an au pair since I went back to work, but are transitioning to a center this week. AP had her Monday, Tuesday, and after she was sent home with a fever (shots) on Wednesday. She was at the center yesterday and today. Next week she'll (hopefully) be at the center all week.
Up until last friday we had a nanny (for the past 5 years), but now both girls are in school FT so we're trying out the aftercare program. WAAAAAY cheaper, but there is no one to do the girls' laundry
We have used a mixture over the years. For 2.5 years, my mom watched my oldest. When my younger son was born, she watched him and my oldest went to church daycare. Then, I did a mix of church daycare and mom for both. Now, I do only online teaching work/tutoring and grade etc. during down time or at night. I am going to contine that until the spring since number three is due in a few weeks, and I can't teach traditional classes this semester.