Help me out, fellow Ims! FTM in Lakewood

cuterpatooter ↓

Sun, Oct 27 2019, 11:53 am

Hi there!
I'm expecting my first bundle of joy, and I live in Lakewood. Unfortunately, I don't know too many people here. Those I do know are single or don't have kids. I work full time, which is a bit of an anamoly in Lakewood as far as I can tell.
Sooooo...

- When do I need to register baby-to-be (be"H) at a nursery or babysitter?
- What babysitters/nurseries with full time hours would you recommend?
- How did your boss react to the news you were expecting? React to you when you came back from maternity leave?
- How do you manage working with an infant that doesn't sleep through the night? I'm very anxious I"m going to fall apart at the seams!
- Was pumping at work super uncomfortable?

The first two are my most pressing questions, but any and all advice and tips would be amazing!
Thank you so much

amother

Maroon ↓

Sun, Oct 27 2019, 12:23 pm

For full time babysitting your best bet is a day care center. They accept CHS which is a form of govt funding so they are very full with waitlists all the time. I would definitely start making calls and see what you can do to ensure you have a spot when you want to return to work after maternity leave. There are at least 10 day care centers. If u want to provide a general area, im sure someone can direct you to the cloest ones...

↑ cuterpatooter ↓

Sun, Oct 27 2019, 12:29 pm

Thank you Maroon! For a bit of background, I'm 5 months pregnant, and live near Squankum/Kennedy. I work on Airport Rd near Cedar Bridge, and am willing to drive almost anywhere for the right center. My husband is in BMG, though he might be starting school very soon after baby makes its appearance.

amother

Ginger

Sun, Oct 27 2019, 12:56 pm

Hi! I'm also a FTM and full time worker living in Lakewood. I'm in my 9th month now and still no luck finding a full time babysitter/daycare...It's really tough. I called most of the daycares and they either don't have any slots or don't have a newborn group. (Besides for the fact that they are a fortune!) My husband works, but if yours is in BMG then you have it easier...you can find a regular babysitter from like 9:30 - 2:30 and dh can do pickup and drop off and watch the baby until you come home from work. You might have to cut your hours a drop so that you can get home on time for dh to go to second seder but that's what most people do here. I don't have that option but it might work for you. Another plus is that dh can do the babysitting bein hazmanim etc when the babysitters are closed.
There are a few people that do long hours babysitting in their homes but you really have to check them out. I'm still working on this.
Regarding going back to work, do you work in a Jewish company? They should be used to this;)
I work in a non-Jewish company and was so nervous about telling my boss but bh it worked out and everyone is very excited. I am going to have to cut my hours a bit when I come back and they seem to be flexible. I'm very nervous about functioning at work when I get back and pumping...but not much I can do in advance to prepare just hoping for the best.
Good luck!