Advice on daycare schedules

[Anonymous]

Which schedule do you think would be best for a soon-to-be three-year-old: 1) Tuesdays and Thursdays all day OR 2) MWF from 9-12?

He is currently enrolled full-time but I will be a SAHM starting in July with twins. Thanks for your advice!!

[Anonymous]

I suggest the T/Thur all day option BUT I'd highly recommend you keep your son in daycare full time if you can swing it. My son was 3 when our daughter was born and I kept him in daycare the entire time. You forget sometimes how much attention a newborn needs and it was nice not to have to worry about him. Give yourself time to bond with the twins and once they're a little older and on a good schedule, you can think about switching your son. Also, if you do the MWF option, who would take your son to daycare? You? Think about getting the twins in/out of the car, especially around feeding/nap times. Just something to consider. It always takes more time than you think and babies are so unpredictable (another vote for the T/Thurs all day option--you won't have to leave the house multiple times MWF). It was nice I didn't have to worry about my son and I could nap at home if I was up all night!

[Anonymous]

Get as much help as you can, if you can afford it!

[Anonymous]

BUT I'd highly recommend you keep your son in daycare full time if you can swing it.[/quote
Yeah, why not make your 3 year old feel like he is shoved aside in favour of the new babies?
Why have kids is you can't care for them yourself?

[Anonymous]

In response to the above quote my son wasn't shoved aside to favor the new baby. That is ridiculous. I obviously could take care of both my son and my newborn at the same time, especially a 3 yr old. Why take him out of day care just so he could be home with me and the baby for 8 weeks only to put him back? I didn't want to disrupt his routine and he loved daycare. I loved spending time alone with my daughter just like I did when my son was born. Your comment wasn't helpful to the original poster.

[Anonymous]

I would do Tuesdays and Thursdays all day. If you could have him there fulltime for the first month or two the twins are home I think that would be good. DS1 was 3.5 year old when my twins were born and I'm really glad he was in preschool. I would take the twins to pick him up every afternoon and we had great family time at the park, but I was also able to establish a great start with the twins. In the summer I had them all home- the twins were 4 or 5 months by then, and I was ready for it.