Working Parents & Childcare

Partner's leave ends in July. How early did you start looking for a full-time caregiver?

saffron_moon_3478

Our daughter is five weeks old. My partner's leave runs till early July, and the plan is a full-time caregiver from then, with the two of us splitting any backup. Everyone tells me good people get booked months ahead, and also that nobody commits more than three or four weeks out. Both can't be true. I'd also like whoever we hire to start while my partner is still home, so there's some overlap before we both go back to full days. For those who did this with a baby under four months: how far ahead did you start looking, and how long an overlap was enough?

5 comments

  • mellow_piano_9624

    We started about 6 weeks before. First two said yes and then just didn't turn up. Third one is still with us. Two weeks of overlap felt right, one would have been tight 🤷

    • saffron_moon_3478

      Two no-shows is useful to know, I'd have taken the first yes and stopped looking. So early June to start, and plan for a second round. Did the two weeks of overlap feel long for her, with a parent at home the whole time?

  • cedar_pigeon_7422

    We started looking when our son was about two months old, for a start at four months, and it still took three rounds. What made the difference was a short paid trial of three or four days before agreeing anything, and writing the routine down in plain points before the first day. The overlap was ten days, and most of it went into the grandparent and the caregiver working out who does what.

  • lilac_notebook_9993

    Our turn was thirteen years ago, so things may have changed. We had no family nearby, which meant the caregiver was the whole plan. Hiring took about a month. The thing I wish I had sorted earlier was what happens on her leave days, not the hiring itself. The first time she was unwell, we had nothing in place. On overlap, two weeks was about right. Longer than that and she started waiting for instructions instead of taking over.

  • moss_sketch_9435

    6 weeks out worked for us. 3 months is too early, nobody holds that long. Agency people and referral people are very different pools, try both.

  • fern_pigeon_5163

    Coming late to this, but one practical thing: ask each person how they'll get to you, and try that route yourself at the hour she'd be travelling. Our first caregiver was lovely and needed two buses, and once the rains started she was late most days. Hope you find someone good for your little one ❤️

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