Choosing Childcare

To find out about your local childcare services contact your local Children’s Information Service (CIS). For your local CIS call Childcare Link on 08000 960 296 or visit www.childcarelink.gov.uk
Give yourself plenty of time to arrange to visit several possible options, so that you can get a good idea of what will suit your child.
Talk to other parents.
Before visiting write down a list of questions to ask. Sure Start produce a superb booklet on Looking For Childcare, it includes an idea of the kinds of questions you might like to ask. www.surestart.gov.uk
Take your child with you and go at a time when there will be other children there.
Do some research into the standards of your local childcare providers. All childminders and daycare providers must be registered by OFSTED (The Office for Standards in Education), check this by asking to see their registration certificate.
If you are considering employing a Nanny, Government sponsored and accreditation schemes do not apply to them. It is up to you as a parent and an employer to make sure you hire someone who will look after your child well, although, since April 2007 if they are registered under the Voluntary Part of the Ofsted Childcare Register (vOCR) they become eligible childcare for the purposes of claiming the childcare element of working tax credits and employer supported childcare vouchers.
Nannies who are registered on the vOCR will have undergone an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check and have met other requirements such as holding an appropriate first aid qualification and have training in the common core skills. They will also hold a Public Liability Insurance certificate A detailed guide on this scheme can be found at www.ofsted.gov.uk helpline number 0845 640 4040.
Most importantly don’t forget that you are the expert on your child and should trust your feelings when deciding.

Many mothers plan to return to work after the birth of their baby. When a child has been diagnosed with a serious heart condition it creates new problems when considering childcare and working hours but it may still be possible for mothers to mix work and their child’s care if they wish.

Here are some experiences from LHM mothers and some useful ideas of where to look for the childcare options in your area.

Gill

“Yes, I decided to go back to work...part-time (I’m a job-share anyway) when Michael was about 10 months old. And even part-time, it wasn’t an easy decision - and it was made even harder by talking and emailing with other HLH mums who felt going back to work wasn’t to be thought of, with a child like this. I really wondered if I was doing the right thing, when so many others in my position couldn’t face it; but all I can say is it felt right for us, and you can only decide from where you are. It wasn’t just about needing or wanting to go on working - though I would say I genuinely loved my work and was 100% committed to it - before Michael came along, anyway. And keeping him well was absolutely first priority; but he was extremely well, very active and eating his head off (his weight had passed the 25th centile - he has all his mother’s greed genes!) and when he’d had a number of very positive outpatients appointments where they praised his progress, I started to worry less about his overall progress - so I thought I might try it, experimentally. We also knew that Michael was going to have to start mixing with other children - after all, these kids have to start school at some point, and the longer you put off mixing the harder it might be...

“Also there were some special things about the situation we were facing that seemed to help with this decision, or at least made it not such a long-term prospect, for example, I went back to work just as my employers were considering making us all redundant! Quite seriously, that strongly affected my decision I really didn’t want to leave my chums in my office in the lurch.
“I think it helped that Michael wasn’t our first child; with his older sister Olivia I’d already been through the experience of making the decision once, wondering if I was being an awful mummy doing this, finding the place to send her and all the hardness of letting go of my precious wean, thinking maybe I was just doing all this for our selfish needs and she would never be happy - and then finding that with the right childcare she absolutely thrived in fact and got all sorts of things we could never provide! And for all his special physical needs, Michael was another very outgoing, lively and curious baby like his sis - so we knew in terms of his development, having some time with at least a few other children doing the kind of activities that qualified childcare folks can come up with would probably stimulate and benefit him - and the special needs assessors backed us up in that.

“So we did it gradually to start with, just a few hours a week and gradually increasing, and all set to drop it again if it didn’t seem to be working, if Michael wasn’t well, or happy, or coping. We were very lucky in finding just the right kind of childcare; our very favourite nursery nurse from Olivia’s nursery had just left to set up as a childminder. Lara is truly the most wonderful, calm, creative, caring woman, who has all the best ideas for activities with the kids and Olivia had just adored her time with her so we knew he would be absolutely catered for in every respect - and indeed literally, she is the best person in the world at getting him to eat new things, another great benefit from getting in outside childcare! He always eats better for Lara...sob!.

“So - was it the right decision? In terms of Michael - absolutely. He adores Lara, he gets to do things I’d never aspire to and makes me feel utterly inadequate - art, music, messy play (playing in a bath of jelly in just his nappy?? Oh my lord...), eating strange and wonderful food - and yes, picking up bugs, but striding through them insouciantly and notching up antibodies as he does so - he’s never yet had to have a day off ill - I have. In terms of me going back to work, it was more of a mixed blessing. It worked so well in fact I got really back into it again - just as, finally, 6 months later they finally did axe my team, so in fact here I am back at home again. But Michael has so obviously thrived on going to Lara’s that we’re keeping him there for a couple of days a week at least while we see what’s going to happen - he’s been so happy there I can’t imagine depriving him of it now! (Maybe she’ll let me come and help out as a volunteer...!)”

Alison

“My husband, Pete and I had always assumed that when we had children I would take my maternity leave, and then probably return to work part-time.

“When our first son, Will, was born, he suffered from both an extremely rare and fatal genetic condition as well as Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. He lived for only 15 minutes. Obviously this experience changed our perspective slightly, but when I became pregnant again, I still assumed that I would take a year or so of maternity leave, and then go back to my job as a journalist part-time.

“However, at 16 weeks pregnant our second son, Charlie was also diagnosed with HLHS. It was a strange experience when I left work to have Charlie, as neither I, nor my colleagues knew how the planned surgery would go once he was born. Part of me was dreading that I may be back at the office within a few weeks if everything went wrong, another part of me was clinging to the hope that Charlie would pull through. Although I didn’t think I would be able to face going back to work if Charlie survived, I left my options open with my bosses.

“Charlie arrived on Bonfire Night 2003, and came through his stage one surgery with flying colours. His stage two operation took place when he was five months, and though he was back home with us six days later, I couldn’t contemplate leaving a month later when my paid maternity leave ended.

“I took a further six months unpaid, without any real intention of returning to work at the end of it, but it almost felt like it would be tempting fate if I resigned - what if I gave up my job and then everything went wrong?

“Just before Charlie’s first birthday I went to see my manager - who, along with all my colleagues, had been extremely supportive throughout - and told him I would not be coming back to work. Although our income has almost halved, with Charlie’s Disability Living Allowance and Carer’s Allowance we are just able to cope financially.

“Charlie will be two in November and is saying and doing more every day. Obviously, we do not know what the future holds for him, and this thought is always at the back of our minds. This makes us really appreciate every day, and I really feel fortunate that I’m able to be with him all the time and enjoy every minute with him”.

Marissa

“My baby was born on 24 May and she passed away on 28 May. I am in IT and had been struggling for two weeks before I could visit the office after Chiara was born. I work for a small company, the culture is such that we go and show the babies off at work. My biggest issue was that I did not have a baby to go and show and it made me very emotional. On my way there I cried the whole way and was unable to walk through the doors alone. I called a friend of mine who came and fetched me from the door. A lot of women stopped working and they came to talk to me and hugged me. Even the guys came to show their support. I found to my surprise that no-one was focused on asking me questions and that everyone followed my lead by either talking or not talking about Chiara.

“There are many women at work with very young children or who are pregnant, these I didn’t want to face. I was very emotional the next day when someone’s birth announcement came through and glad that I opted to go into work on my better days. Although I was there only for a couple of hours I was tired and physically drained. My concentration is not what it should be yet and I am still not sure if it is the right move to go back to work so soon. My employers have said that I can stay on full maternity leave. But, I have negotiated with my boss around the time that I work and I am now working two hours a day for starters as from August and I am trying to do this every day. I am not due to go back until 19 September but I find that keeping my head busy is good. Also the connection between me and the women from work helps a lot, initially I was resentful and bitter towards them but realise that I can use these women to nurse my wounds and it is working. To all recovering mums, set your boundaries and stick to them, do what is important to you and your core. Work is important but it should not form the inner core of your existence.