Child Care and RN Hours - help!

MedSurgeMess · Jun 26, 2009

I don't know how close you are with your coworkers, but a couple of the ladies I work with schedule themselves on opposite days and take care of each others kids. Maybe this is an option for you.

Tolle_lege · Jun 26, 2009

When I was a teenager I babysat for all the nurses my mom worked with. I was very responsible for my age (I see that as I look for babysitters!) I had regular work and got paid well for being a teenager. When I was seventeen I also worked for a lady and picked up her child after daycare, brought him home, fed him dinner and did homework. You will pay less if you hire a "babysitter" for only a few hours and get daycare for most of the day. You could also try a mom who just needs some extra cash to watch one child in her home, I don't think they need special permits for that. So many people are out of work, but finding someone by word of mouth is best. Maybe one of the residents your husband works with has a wife/spouse who would like to make a little extra money. Just some ideas.

mykidzmom · Jun 27, 2009

i just posted something like this on another thread....

first, i got my manager to agree to let me work friday/saturday & sundays. this plan might not work with the typical rotating schedule. but maybe you could adapt it.

*then, i made a very cool flyer looking for a nanny. because i was paying less than minimum wage, i was not allowed to post my job on any job boards for less than minimum wage. 3 places i considered: the senior citizens center, local community college early childhood development program and community college RN program. i had to use the bulletin boards that are in the halls for people looking for roommates and things for sale and stuff.

*then i set up an e mail address that was only for the ad (nannyjob@yahoo or something)

*i will tell you what my flyer said at the end of this.

*i had him enrolled in "regular" day care on fridays. that was why i only needed someone friday PM

*when i got the e mail responses i was brutally honest about my expectations, because as you know, no one you work with is going to put up with your childcare issues. i made it clear that i could not handle car problems, people who oversleep, run late or have any issues that would make them not be able to come. i am pretty wimpy in real life, so i had to start out harsh to weed out people i might have to deal with later.

*nursing students are perfect--mine turned out to be the wife of a nursing student. they understand that you absolutely do NOT screw around and not show up. my husband was out of town for 4 months and i had no friends or family--we were new to the state. i had no back up plan. they also understand that just because you are off at 7:30, there are 10000 things that might hold you up. so, i openly admitted that while i expected THEM to be prompt, i get home when i am done. unfortunate double standard. nothing i could do about it.

*how did i get lucky and make it work with unreasonable demands and a low salary? this was 4 years ago and i think i paid $230.00 for the 3 days. first of all, nursing students and their families understand the life we lead as nurses. also, i got someone in her mid-twenties, not a 19 year old. and she had a during the week job. the key, i think was my expectations: show up--keep my kid happy, safe and fed. no cooking, no cleaning, no laundry. and i gave her a car seat and told her to do whatever she would do on the weekends anyways--just take my kid with you. if she has errands or wants to see her friends or do things with her family--go for it. take my kid. this is why i think someone a little older is better. younger folks are more likely to want to do things that wouldn't be appropriate with a kid. i did have her fix his breakfast and sometimes his lunch. i usually had dinner ready to be heated up. you won't have to worry about that for a while--formula or breast milk. i also had a pretty specific specific evening routine for him. i tried not to be too uptight about having everything "My way." and of course, i made sure to have food in the house that she liked. altho i am pretty sure she was mostly fast food. i fixed him mac & cheese with tofu and gave him avocado and hummus and made my own baby food all that fancy first-time-mom crap, but if she gave him some chicken mcnuggets, well lucky him. he learned early that different people do different things.

*once or twice, i got cancelled do to low census and since i promised to pay her no matter what, once i went xmas shopping ALONE and once i think i got some big cleaning done.

*i got so lucky with this wonderful woman, that she and her husband are now my kid's godparents. it was a 4-5 month job when he was one year old and he is going to kindergarten in the fall. he knows their friends, their family, has been to many of their significant family events and has really become a part of their family. and of course, we are good friends with them. they have since moved 2 hours away. just last weekend they informed us that they were taking my child for the day. they were coming to town to watch her sister in a dance recital (of course he went) and then honestly i don't even know everything they did. i am sure they spoiled him beyond belief and probably let him have soda (which is completely not allowed in my house). it is kind of cool that my child has a little part of his life that has nothing to do with his parents. he loves them and we got very lucky. i'll bet you could make a version of this plan work for you. the key is she got paid even if i didn't have to work and i let her have a lot of freedom to live her life. it didn't hurt that i have the perfect child. oh, did i say that out loud?

mykidzmom · Jun 27, 2009

i see you are "tar heel" i am in NC also.

Music_Box_Dancer · Jun 27, 2009

Here's a few other ideas...

1) Some of the chain child care centers do open at 6:30AM

2) Perhaps an employee from the center you do choose can take your child(ren) after hours. Your child(ren) will already feel comfortable with her

3) Childcare postings at the facility where you work

4) Mom groups usually have one or two mothers that are looking for a part-time job that allows her to stay with her own children (i.e., Meetup.com, Moms-on-the-Go, etc.)

Best of luck to you and your family and CONGRATULATIONS on your pregnancy. May you and your child have a healthy delivery.

bsrn0523 · Jun 27, 2009

good luck to you. after considerable thought i left my 12 hr. shift hospital job for a supervision position at a local ltc. i just could not leave my twins (then 1) and older son (then 3) for very long periods of time. i did it for as long as i could, but the childcare wound up getting prohibitively expensive. plus, i just missed the heck out of them.

jenn

jr3t · Jun 27, 2009

There are website that you can use to post a job that details your specific needs. Sitters who have signed up for the service can view your ad and decide if they would like to apply for the job. I have used it and it is great! There are several out there. Sittercity.com and care.com are two that I know of. Some even have background checks already done on their profile. Good luck!

ChristyRN2009 · Jun 27, 2009

I am a day weekender and feel fortunate to have a childcare provider for the weekends my kids don't go to their dads. She has an at home daycare during the week and I found her by getting a referral from a teacher at my kid's mother's day out program. I pay 145.00 for two kids for two days (one baby and one 5 year old) I also am very flexible about what she can do with the kids. Its the weekend so I told her do what you want, there's no need to have a big schedule or try to further their education and she can take them with her whereever she goes. I purposefully gave myself 45 minutes for a 25 minute drive so that all those things that come up at the end of my shift I have a little wiggle room for. Also, I always call and tell her if I can't avoid being late (which I try very hard to avoid-if the oncoming nurse arrives early for her shift I start report early, pass things on if I have to, etc). So far the arrangement has worked out well for us. I hope that helps. I guess my big recommendation is to try to find someone who runs an at home daycare, be prepared to pay a little more and be flexible.

Southern Fried RN · Jun 27, 2009

My 2 yr old son is in daycare and I work 12 hr shifts. It opens at 6am and closes at 6:30pm. Luckily my husband is able to dropoff and pickup. It is hard being away from him all day but I know he has fun--he comes home talking about his friends and their activities.

I will give you this piece of advice about researching daycares. In Florida, the Department of Children and Families (who monitors childcare providers) has a website that posts all the inspection reports about every licensed daycare center or home provider. Maybe NC has a similar department that you could research whoever you go with for childcare. I found it very helpful to know that several daycares that looked nice on the outside had been cited for things like cleanliness or having staff work with children who hadn't completed the background check. I found that the daycares affilated with a national chain did better with these issues.

Good luck!

NC Girl BSN · Jun 27, 2009

Ask your hospital. Our hospital gives a small discount if you take your child to this daycare that caters to 12hr shift employees. I am pretty sure it closes at 8pm. Maybe your hospital has something like that.