Toddler Maternity Leave Question

Quick question about something that is stressing me out so badly...

I'm due with DD#2 in September. My DD#1 will be 2 1/2 when this baby comes. She has a lot of energy and I was hoping to keep her in daycare 2-3 days a week during my maternity leave to maintain her routine as well as my sanity but now I'm realizing that is a financial impossibility as my leave will be unpaid.

An option I'm considering is that she has a friend that will be going to a 2's program 2 mornings a week starting in September and I'm wondering if this is a better (aka more affordable) alternative to keep her from bouncing off the walls while I take care of a newborn. My concerns:

1 - She is very clingy and hesitant in new environments. I can almost guarantee she will cry at drop-off for the first few weeks and the potential guilt of putting her through this while adjusting to a new sibling is giving me anxiety.

2 - We are still unsure whether or not I will return to work after my maternity leave is up. If I do, will throwing her back and forth from a 2's program to her old daycare traumatize her for life?

3 - The third thing to consider is to just keep her home during my maternity leave. I'm just not sure this is good for either one of us. She has a lot of energy and tends to go stir crazy if we are in the house too long.

What would you do? Thanks if you made it this far!

Re: Toddler Maternity Leave Question

Can you put her in the two program in July or August so she has time to adjust before the baby arrives?
That may be your best bet

Toddler Maternity Leave Question

I am due in September too and my son will be 22 months. He is in daycare 3x a week currently and with my MIL one day a week. I would be hesitant to start my DS somewhere new or get a new routine in September since a new baby will be a big enough change in itself. I am keeping him at school for this reason, even though I will be home for a few weeks before returning to work. Is it possible for you to maybe set some extra money aside before the baby comes just for this reason? Kind of make it through the maternity leave period and then decide altogether whether youll go back to work or not?

Re: Toddler Maternity Leave Question

Re: Toddler Maternity Leave Question

Re: Toddler Maternity Leave Question

Posted by PJ131313

Posted by star444

I am due in September too and my son will be 22 months. He is in daycare 3x a week currently and with my MIL one day a week. I would be hesitant to start my DS somewhere new or get a new routine in September since a new baby will be a big enough change in itself. I am keeping him at school for this reason, even though I will be home for a few weeks before returning to work. Is it possible for you to maybe set some extra money aside before the baby comes just for this reason? Kind of make it through the maternity leave period and then decide altogether whether youll go back to work or not?

Not possible. We are aggressively saving money just to be able to clear our bills and the monthly tuition for the 2's program is LESS than 1 week of daycare.

Toddler Maternity Leave Question

I think it depends on her personality. September is still a ways off as far as a 2 yo maturing too. I think I would give the 2s program a shot. They should be used to kids having a tough transition though and they should be able to handle it well. Worse comes to worse you're all miserable and you pull her out. Hopefully not but it's not the end of the world either and I don't think you'll be traumatizing her at all.

Toddler Maternity Leave Question

I will add, if money is an issue you can always suck it up and just try to keep her busy with park visits and library programs etc. Keep the be baby in the carseat or a carrier and try to keep busy a few mornings a week.

Re: Toddler Maternity Leave Question

Posted by PJ131313


Not possible. We are aggressively saving money just to be able to clear our bills and the monthly tuition for the 2's program is LESS than 1 week of daycare.

Re: Toddler Maternity Leave Question

I think only you can decide what's best here, but my opinion is, a rough transition isn't a reason not to do something that may be better in the long run. You also may be surprised. My DS and I talked a lot about starting school and what his new routine was going to be and on the first day of school he walked right in and didn't even look back. Literally, didn't even look back to say goodbye until his teacher told him to. He has also never cried at dropoff. I was surprised honestly because I'm a sahm and besides a drop off class he did the summer before, we've always done everything together. Just like I was, you may just be surprised by how well it goes.

Re: Toddler Maternity Leave Question

Mine was the same age. She started a 2's program in January, her sister was born in march. She kept going to her class Some days were harder then others but having her routine helped. Good luck

Toddler Maternity Leave Question

Could you decrease the number of days/hours at daycare to make it cheaper? I would not switch a child who is already going through the huge change of becoming a big sister. I would also go bananas at home with a newborn and toddler.

Re: Toddler Maternity Leave Question

I had unpaid maternity leave so kept my toddler st home with me. It was a little tough but we managed. That's life or so they say. We found things to do and I learned to nurse wherever I had too.

Toddler Maternity Leave Question

Thanks for the replies everyone! We will probably try the 2's program and if it's a disaster I will just keep her home. One month's tuition wouldn't be the biggest deal to lose. She may surprise me and really love it. Who knowwsssss.