Is there such a thing as emergency day care/nanny care?

[MtPleasant]

My mother will be caring full time for our son when I go back to work. I may occasionally want to give her a day off, and there may be days/weeks when she is unavailable. Does anyone know what options exist for sort of "drop in" day care? Does such a thing exist? What do others do when their nannies are on vacation?

Thanks in advance for any tips!

[Anonymous]

I think some of the nanny agencies have this. Maybe White House nannies?

You may also be able to find a SAHM in your neighborhood who may want to earn some extra $$$ doing some PT babysitting, or even a nanny who is looking for some extra money and whose family doesn't mind doing a "nanny share" for a few days of the year.

[Anonymous]

Drop in daycare does exist. Some companies have agreements with daycare centers for this type of thing. It is especially manageable if you know in advance.

That said, I would think that a private nanny, while more expensive is the easiest on your child. Starting a new care situation can be rough, because it is disorienting. With a nanny at least your son would be in his own home.

[Anonymous]

I found out the hard way this spring a little bit about this....the easiest back up care situation is if your or your husband's company have a back up care contract in place with a provider like White House Nannies or Bright Horizons. My employer didn't have this arrangement, but after asking, my husband found out that his employer, DOJ, did--the servicer wasn't really publicized, but it was available. If you need to arrange back up care privately with providers like WH Nannies or BH, you can do it, but you pay a hefty annual fee to register as a private individual ($500 per year, on top of the hourly fees you pay and the processing fees per use). When our nanny was unexpectedly hopitalized for 10 days, we managed by using my husband's back up care provider (the number of days the company's will block off for you is usually limited to 5 to 10 per year, so you need to check) and a nice lady who was looking to pick up extra work and who another nanny we knew in the neighborhood recommended. My advice, do exactly what you are doing now, look into your options and try and line up a plan before you need it.

[Anonymous]

la petite does drop in care. you need to make reservations, and fill out forms ahead.

[Anonymous]

My girlfriend uses drop off care at a Bright Horizons at her husbands office. I am not sure how you go about setting it up but woudl look into it if your employer has daycare.

[Anonymous]

I joined Care.com, and they offer that service. Haven't used it myself though, so can't comment on how good it works.