Ugh, Do I pull LO from daycare?

SMask · October 2012

Some of you may have seen my post about LO to the ER. He has stayed sick since starting daycare in August when I went back to work. He is 6mo. The pedi told us to find a home sitter. What would you do? My mommy instinct tells me to hold out that this will get better, but the pedi says it won't.

Honestly, we can't keep taking time off of work without possibly getting fired. I feel like at daycares there is accountability and who knows what goes on if LO was staying with 1 adult. I guess you really have to trust the person you choose.

Would you pull your LO if Pedi rec. it, or wait it out and see what happens?

He literally has had a cold or some sort of virus since he started daycare.

dmbaf69 · October 2012

pull him out... you can always put him back in.

MammaBear81 · October 2012

Each kid handles daycare differently. Some kids get sick for a while and then get better, some don't get sick at all, and others are just sick all the time. I don't know if it has to do with the cleanliness of the DC or the child's immune system (or a little of both).

We have in home care and love it, but it's not for everyone. We have found the right person and I have no issues leaving the 5 of them at home (except the fact that I'm jealous he gets to spend his entire day with my kids).

I agree with PP that said that you can always put him back in if in home car doesn't work out for you, maybe his immune system just needs to grow a bit more? My kids started preschool at 3 and they are rarely sick (maybe 1-2 colds a year). GL

1026pumpkin · October 2012

I might think about pulling him and trying again in the Spring, after cold/flu season. My DS started DC when he was 3 months, which was in January. For the first 6 months he was there, he had constant cold symptoms and 2 ear infections, after that he hardly got sick. I will say that kids in DC tend to have drippy noses a lot, but not really sick. I think their immune systems do build up and they get less sick, and I also think things get better in the summer when they're outside more and there are fewer colds going around.

I share your views about feeling like there is more accountability at a DC, but if you can't afford to be off work any more and you're having a lot of issues with being sick now, it probably won't get better going into cold and flu season.

katieh1017 · October 2012

I must have missed your post, what happened with LO?

My DD started DC less than 2 months ago and is on her second cold, although she also had a cold before starting. It's like it kind of goes away but has a lingering cough, the gets full on bad again. We've been to the pedi everytime and they check her lungs, she's fine, she has a cold they say. No one else appears to be sick in her room.

I like the idea of the center too and I don't know anyone for in home. But I agree with the others if you pull him out you can always put him back later. Hope everything works out!

QTee · October 2012

This was us last year. My then 6month old went for three months, he was horribly sick the entire time. His pediatrician said to get him out of daycare. Moved him to a small home daycare with 4 kids total in January and he hasn't been sick since. His ear infections cleared up too and we were able to avoid the ear tube surgery. Home care is not as reliable so that's been an issue but it's worth it for him not to be sick.

niknak7 · October 2012

I would recommend looking around and interviewing the home daycares in your area. And then make a decision. I really wanted to use a center but price was way too much with 2 LO's and also there aren't any close centers. I interviewed in home daycares and one of them surprisingly felt right to me (I used to work in a center and felt really opinionated on what I wanted). I put the kids in there with the knowledge that I could always put them in the center if thngs didn't work out, however I really like our in home and hope I never have to put the kids in a center. My kids are rarely sick because of the fewer kids and I feel like the provider does a better job of disinfecting because it's her house and her own kids that could get sick as well. As far as the accountability goes, my in home actually has 2 adults that run it.

LoCarb · October 2012

Same thing happened to DD1 and our pedi rec'd in home also. We pulled her and tried an in home for 3 mo. before enrolling her back in DC. It was a really bad experience. If you go this route please find a licensed provider and talk to each one of her current clients for a reference. Remember background checks can only tell you if she breaks the law. There are many trustworthy in home providers; I just chose the wrong one.

After the age of 1, DD1 did not get sick for an entire yr! It was glorious. Unfortunately, with the winter nearby you are approaching sick season. If you prefer a center and want to stick it out, try researching back up care for sick children. I found out some local hospitals and businesses offer it in my area.

Does your LO get EI's often? I know they are common after colds. We ended up getting tubes for DD and she was EI free for 10 mo until they fell out. If your pedi suggest tubes you may want to consider this. Certainly, not a solution to your DC issue. However, it may reduce the amt of time your LO is feeling ill.

JoJoMama730 · October 2012

I didn't see your post about the ER visit, but I'm kind of surprised that the ped is suggesting pulling your LO from care due to illness. I don't know what you extraordinary circumstances are. I hear from moms all the time about starting daycare and the bouts of illness that accompany the transition. Seems it's a part of building up LO's immune system. My experience was that G and I were sick probably 90% of the time the first 4 months she started daycare. It sucked big time, I exhausted all my sick time at work almost immediately, and I thought I was going to lose my mind from us being sick so much. But, we pushed through it and I'm glad we stuck with the center. She still picks up bugs here and there at care, but it's way less now. People always told me that the first year is the worst, but I found after 6 months at daycare, the number of illnesses went way down.

jamiedsgirl · October 2012

DS was sick for almost his entire first year of daycare. Then it stopped.

aglenn · October 2012

DD was sick a lot when she was younger and the pedi told me that they used to recommend pulling kids from day care in that case, but they know it's not always possible. Eventually she was diagnosed with asthma and once we got that under control her illnesses have been far less frequent and less severe. Just throwing that out there as something to ask about.

KathrynMD · October 2012

find another doctor. Kids catch viruses from each other when they are around one another. It does suck, but it is what it is. Unless your LO has a fever, he/she should be going to school even w/ a runny nose or cough. See if you can find back up care if needed or work out something w/ your work to work from home. Changing daycares is not going to fix this problem.

superaunt · October 2012

mine will be 3 at the end of the year and has being going to daycare since she was 9 weeks old. this is the first year where we haven't been home sick at least once every single month. it's the way it is at daycares but the longer they're in that enviornment, the more immunity they will build and it should make it easier for when they're in regular school. JMO

Breezy8407 · October 2012

Our Dr. also suggested we keep them out of daycare for the first year if we can because there are two, and we would constantly be missing work. It wasn't only because of her rec. that we went with a nanny originally, but it helped our decision process.

Well, the nanny didn't work out and now they are in a center. They started a cold the week they started there, but I am not sure if it's from daycare or not. We don't really have another option at this point and I know they will be sick a lot, but it's bound to happen whenever they are going to be around other kids.

I am not sure a home day care will be any better than a center in terms of sickness. If there are less kids maybe, but my SIL's home daycare lady was always closed because SHE was sick. My nephews were constantly sick just like any kid in daycare.

aeh72 · October 2012

niknak7:
I would recommend looking around and interviewing the home daycares in your area. And then make a decision. I really wanted to use a center but price was way too much with 2 LO's and also there aren't any close centers. I interviewed in home daycares and one of them surprisingly felt right to me (I used to work in a center and felt really opinionated on what I wanted). I put the kids in there with the knowledge that I could always put them in the center if thngs didn't work out, however I really like our in home and hope I never have to put the kids in a center. My kids are rarely sick because of the fewer kids and I feel like the provider does a better job of disinfecting because it's her house and her own kids that could get sick as well. As far as the accountability goes, my in home actually has 2 adults that run it.

This is almost our exact situation and I agree with the suggestion to at least go interview a few in-home providers. I went in looking for daycare centers and being opposed to in-home but for financial reasons had to consider in-homes also and we ended up finding a wonderful in-home provider. In terms of accountablity, in our state in-homes are licensed also so they definitely have accountability and regulations they must follow. If my son was sick that much I would seriously consider a new situation - if not an in-home daycare then perhaps a different center. I hope your LO is feeling better soon!

NicoleWI · October 2012

I would pull your child during the winter cold/flu season, at least.

DD was sick ALL THE TIME at daycare and it really affected all of us. We switched to a nanny when her brother was born (In Dec--again, winter illness time) b/c we just couldn't face going through that again. It's worked out very well for us illness- wise. He has hardly been sick. Yes, I know he may get sick more later in school, but I am totally willing to deal with that! Half the stuff DD got, only really little kids are likely to get, like Hand Foot Mouth x 2 and thrush. She had fevers and colds all the time and a couple rounds of stomach flu. Just one ear infection, but one round of pneumonia. Plus, she gets croup almost any time she gets a cold so we had tons of croup including 2 ER visits and one overnight admission to the hospital. That's also something she will grow out of.

She was already almost 2 when we pulled her and it had finally just started to get better for us. We just didn't want to expose the new baby to everything.

Good luck!

mben1119 · October 2012

KathrynMD:
find another doctor. Kids catch viruses from each other when they are around one another. It does suck, but it is what it is. Unless your LO has a fever, he/she should be going to school even w/ a runny nose or cough. See if you can find back up care if needed or work out something w/ your work to work from home. Changing daycares is not going to fix this problem.

This. Kids get sick, unfortunately. I can't believe a doctor would recommend changing your DCP.

SMask · October 2012

Thanks for all of your input and suggestions. I talked to an in home provider today recommended by family. She seemed fine over the phone so I may do an interview. The only thing I didn't like was "They watch educational TV shows". Some people I'm sure are okay with this, but at 6 months old, I am not. I think I am going to keep him at the center for a while longer and see what happens. I'm worried about ending up in the hospital with RSV this winter. Poor kid will never get the flu shot because they won't give it while they are sick even if it is a runny nose. I never thought making decisions about your child could be so difficult!

DoughGirl · October 2012

jamiedsgirl:
DS was sick for almost his entire first year of daycare. Then it stopped.

Same here. He's only missed one day due to illness in the last 2 years.

MNgirl326 · October 2012

mabenner1:

KathrynMD:
find another doctor. Kids catch viruses from each other when they are around one another. It does suck, but it is what it is. Unless your LO has a fever, he/she should be going to school even w/ a runny nose or cough. See if you can find back up care if needed or work out something w/ your work to work from home. Changing daycares is not going to fix this problem.

This. Kids get sick, unfortunately. I can't believe a doctor would recommend changing your DCP.

this.

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