Just registered and found out im pregnant

[ZoeGrace10]

Help!

I have just registered as a minder (still awaiting my certificate which im assured is in its final stage of being processed) and have three children lined up to start in september 2010.

I have just found out im pregnant! I have a 16 month old son, and will be minding 3 other children.

When do I tell parents, are they likely to decided to go else where? How much maternity leave can i/ should i take?

I will be relying on the childminding as my main income and really cant afford for the parents to decided not to put their children in my care. Although i can completely understand why they may decide to do this.

Any advice is VERY much welcome (and needed) :O) Thank you!!

[jo f]

Congratulations!:clapping: :clapping: :clapping:
When I was pregnant I think I waited ti I was 4 mths. Parents were great and stayed with me til I finished, I tried helping with alternative arrangements . I had 9 mth off as I was only earning as much as I got on maternity, as I 2 children of my own.

[huggableshelly]

I would wait until the settling in sessions were done if possible and then apply for a variation from Ofsted to allow to have 4 under 5's due to your expanding family.

I have no idea on what to advise with maternity, a cm friend of mine is taking 2 wks off, others have taken much longer.

[Roseolivia]

When i found out i was pregnant i told a couple of my parents as i have a good relationship with them but others i didn't tell until 12wks. I'm taking the 9mth off, 2 are leaving me soon anyway as they are at different schools which once my daughter starts nursery in September i'd given them notice anyway. 1 mother is on maternity now(child still comes to me) and will be back at work before me but is going to work shorter hours until i return so she can do school runs (i'll be getting mindee and possibly 1 or both of her little sisters). 1 mother will be on maternity from January for a year but definately wants to return to me with her son and baby but depends on my spaces. So for me it's going to work out.
Congratulations though and take it easy

[little_gems]

i'd just signed a new mindee then that weekend i found out i was pregnant. the lo wasn't due to start for a few months once they'd give nursry notice. So i rang mum and explained that i didnt no when i had taken the child on, gave a rough idea of when i was going to start mat leave.
Thought there's no way they would start and guess what they did!!!!
i even took on another new mindee while i was 6 months pregant.
So i'd say tell parents as soon as possable. if they havent already started for children that are already in your care then leave it as long as possable.
HTH
Gemma.
OH yes CONGRATULATIONS :clapping:

[The Juggler]

congratulations! are any of your lined up mindees in your under 5's? I am sure you will be fine but just think about how you will manage you under 5's numbers and applying for a variation when the time come.s

[Little Pumpkins]

I took 2 weeks off hen I had my first
and gave up childminding when I had my second, as I wouldnt have been able to earn enough

[tinkerbelle]

i d al of my mums straight away didnt have a choice really my partner was that excited it got plastered all over face book i was 6 weeks pregnant :eek:
luckily everything has gone really well and iv even set 5 more kids on even though im pregnant i dont intend taking maternity leave bar from the 2 weeks i have to have im hoping my boy will be 14 days late as that then covers my xmas hols for a fortnight and ill start back in january

[bekki0405]

I was in a similar situation, I fell pregnant not long after I started. I told them when I was 5 months, partly because I was scared!:eek:
Anyway they were very good. One left her job when I went on maternity leave, as she felt it gave her the excuse she need to leave. She had wanted to for a while.
The other took unpaid leave from her job over the summer holidays to look after hers. I took 3 months off, and I continued breastfeeding after I went back to work. It has worked out very well, and I don't think I needed any extra time off. Although I wasn't full when I went back, so I only workked Mon/Wed and Thurs.
You may be able to get Maternity Allowance. I think you need to contact your job centre about it. It was about the same as I was getting anyway. Around £95 a week, I think, so just over £400 a month. Plus I was able to get a bit more on my child tax credit, because I had an under 1. It all helps.