Going away w/ DH when no family to help

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go to an all inclusive that has kids camps. Although your youngest is too young- 2 was when we started going. The camps were so amazing my oldest begged for them. Cruises too have amazing camps.

This. Or you don’t go til the kids are older. That’s life. Although you may feel everyone around you is privileged with tons of childcare, that is not reality.

[Anonymous]

Our solution has been resorts with kids clubs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Same situation, and no, we don’t go away.

Same. We’ve never gone away. We could surely have figured something out, but it isn’t a priority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to an all inclusive that has kids camps. Although your youngest is too young- 2 was when we started going. The camps were so amazing my oldest begged for them. Cruises too have amazing camps.

This. Or you don’t go til the kids are older. That’s life. Although you may feel everyone around you is privileged with tons of childcare, that is not reality.

My oldest is 15.5yo. He was born 13 months after we got married. Our honeymoon is the last time we had a getaway without kids. It's called life, people. I wish my own circumstances were different, but honestly I'm grateful to have a healthy family and a good job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, as your kids get older, they’ll be able to go to sleep away camp. My parents later confessed they’d have a staycation and relax while I spent a week or two during the summer at camp.

Why do they have to “confess” this? I know my parents partied it up during the month I was at camp! I liked hearing about what they did (a heavily edited, age-appropriate version).

I guess it wasn’t really a confession. More so that I was a self absorbed kid who didn’t think too much about what my parents were doing while I was away. Until I had kids of my own and finally figured out sleep away camp was more for them than me lol!

[Anonymous]

Yes Op - plenty of us are in this situation - and we don't go away. Not alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to an all inclusive that has kids camps. Although your youngest is too young- 2 was when we started going. The camps were so amazing my oldest begged for them. Cruises too have amazing camps.

This. Or you don’t go til the kids are older. That’s life. Although you may feel everyone around you is privileged with tons of childcare, that is not reality.

My oldest is 15.5yo. He was born 13 months after we got married. Our honeymoon is the last time we had a getaway without kids. It's called life, people. I wish my own circumstances were different, but honestly I'm grateful to have a healthy family and a good job.

Such BS.

OP, we used a sitter for the weekend. Left Friday morning, sitter picked up from school Friday, then we were home Sunday 2 ish.

Once kids hit late elementary, there were church lock ins, weekend camps and sleepover swaps with other parents. Occasionally Grandma's house, too.

[Anonymous]

I haven’t read through the whole thread but my husband and I don’t have anyone to watch our kids either- last year we discovered Franklyn D Resort in Jamaica and seriously our lives are changed. Each room comes with a nanny and you can get two if it makes you more comfortable. They work 8 hours a day and are available for night babysitting too. Honestly I have not spent so much time with DH since our daughter was born three years ago. We went last May for a week, and we are returning in February for another week. We are going back with three other families we met there the first time.
It’s not a super glitzy glamorous resort but it is very authentic Jamaican and awesome. You see the owner every day. One of our nannies had worked there for 19 years and the other one for 23.
I realize that sounded like a commercial- haha! But seriously that place was the best. FYI when we went in May our kids were 9 months and 2.5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do any of your friends have nannies? If so, use their nanny. Have them babysit first, of course, but that's better than someone who is just a "sitter." Seriously, you can figure it out. We always have.

So, her friend's nanny should drop everything and stay for a weekend with OP's kufsy! In case you don't know, nannies are not servants to be passed around to your friends. They have free choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ask your nanny if she’ll do an overnight for $$$ and get a local hotel room.

The nanny has kids of her own. The answer is no.

What if her kids could crash at your house? What if you went over the summer (no school issues for her kids/your kids)? What if you paid her time and a half or a $1k bonus?

Or what if OP just found a new nanny who available on weekends?

Sometimes the easiest and simplest solution is the best one. Done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do a combo of the Nanny and the weekend sitter.

Can the Nanny bring her kids to your house? I would ask the Nanny if she could do the overnights maybe and have sitter do the daytimes.

Why should the nanny be inconvenienced? See has her own home and children and wants to spend her weekends with her family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ask your nanny if she’ll do an overnight for $$$ and get a local hotel room.

The nanny has kids of her own. The answer is no.

What if her kids could crash at your house? What if you went over the summer (no school issues for her kids/your kids)? What if you paid her time and a half or a $1k bonus?

Or what if OP just found a new nanny who available on weekends?

Sometimes the easiest and simplest solution is the best one. Done.

Nobody wants to work 24/7 for regular pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have always taken our kids with us on vacation.

Same here. My oldest is a teen, and I don’t regret taking him along each and every time. They grow up so fast and then they leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I haven’t read through the whole thread but my husband and I don’t have anyone to watch our kids either- last year we discovered Franklyn D Resort in Jamaica and seriously our lives are changed. Each room comes with a nanny and you can get two if it makes you more comfortable. They work 8 hours a day and are available for night babysitting too. Honestly I have not spent so much time with DH since our daughter was born three years ago. We went last May for a week, and we are returning in February for another week. We are going back with three other families we met there the first time.
It’s not a super glitzy glamorous resort but it is very authentic Jamaican and awesome. You see the owner every day. One of our nannies had worked there for 19 years and the other one for 23.
I realize that sounded like a commercial- haha! But seriously that place was the best. FYI when we went in May our kids were 9 months and 2.5.

NO WAY would I leave my non verbal child with a stranger in a foreign country. There is little regulatory oversight in a country like Jamaica and little recourse if something goes wrong. That is crazy.

[Anonymous]

My older kid is 10 and we have never had a night away. We always did daycare centers not nannies so never even had that as an option. We are waiting for sleep away camp to go away for a weekend. I remember staying with my siblings at a family friend's house maybe twice in my childhood.