Back-up childcare ideas?

[Lish]

My mother will be flying in from another state around my EDD and until the day before yesterday we had back-up childcare arranged via our lovely empty nester neighbor should baby decide to arrive before my mother gets into town.

Well, our neighbors husband just suffered a minor heart attack and I don't feel I can call on her given their current situation so we find ourselves scrambling for Plan B.

We recently moved to the area with no family nearby and the friends we have made have small children and careers themselves. Our regular sitters either have day jobs or are students which doesn't allow them to be at the mercy of our baby's birthday.

Have any of you found yourselves in our situation? Advice and suggestions are truly appreciated!

[Jaimee]

Yep, this has been me twice now.  We moved here when I was pg with my second and knew basically no one.  My family all lives across the country.  But in the several months we lived here prior to the baby's birth we definitely made a few friends that I could have relied upon to be there for us if needed.  I worked hard at reaching out to the parenting community and getting involved during those months so that I would maximize my chances of having support available.  Now I'm pregnant again and moving again!  This time I will only have a couple months to make friends, but I'm really crossing my fingers that it will happen.  When are you due?  Do you have some time to sort of network and get involved?

Another idea is to hire a doula specifically for childcare.  If you have some time, you can meet with the doula and have her get to know your kids and vice versa- play at home, play at a park, etc.  Doulas are used to being on call day or night and are fine being around birth so it can work out really well.

Good luck!  I hope things work out easily for both of us!

[Lish]

Thanks, Jaimee! We only have a few weeks before the baby is due.

I have briefly searched for local doulas that offer childcare but it appears (and this may not be the case) that they are offering childcare for families planning to birth at home which we are not. Any insight into the doula angle? It seems very promising for our situation...the only other crimp would be finding someone on such incredibly short notice.

Virtually all of our friends here also have little children and have offered limited availability - one offered to give our oldest a ride to and from preschool, another offered to watch my youngest during the day - none of which resolves the real issue which is finding someone who is available at any hour of the day or night and for an undetermined length of time.

[Jaimee]

I'm not sure why a doula hired for childcare would not be willing to help out in a hospital setting.  I haven't personally looked into it yet, but I sort of pictured the doula willing to watch the children where the birth was happening or taking them to a park or a local fun place like a science center or children's museum.  Assuming that you labor mostly at home and go to the hospital just at the end, the doula could come to your house first and then you can play it by ear based on what time of day it is. Or you could have your friend who offered to hang out with them during the day take them for several hours and then call the doula later.  It could be at night and therefore the doula would simply be in your house while your children sleep.  If it is the day time and your friend can't do it then the doula can take them somewhere for a while and then meet you at the hospital when it's over.  Just some thoughts...