This week was a stressful one as we switched babysitters...again.... It is a long story - so I will just summarize quickly. (Now that I'm done - it wasn't as short as I thought it would be...sorry..)
Henry had not transitioned well from the beginning with this sitter. There were a few times the first few weeks when the sitter would call me two hours after dropping him off and he would still be crying , and that I should come pick him up(huge red flag!!). There are times that he still cries when we drop him off, and every night when we pick him up he is always eager to leave. I had other concerns of my own as well. I didn't feel like they did enough routine activities with the kids, they never seemed to be outside (at least when was there to pick up), her house was a little small, and at times there seemed to be too many kids there for the number of adults. On Monday I got a call that Henry had bit two kids and I needed to come and pick him up. I felt terrible that Henry was biting, and didn't know what had gotten into him. Now that I look back, I know it is because he was bored, not getting enough attention, and not happy.
Monday night Andy and I decided to look on Craigslist to see what other sitter options there were. We saw a post from a lady we had previously interviewed with and really liked - and she had two immediate openings!! We interviewed with her again on Tuesday, loved her even more as she has moved into a much bigger house. She has her place set up like a preschool, so perfect for Henry. So we said we would start the kids the next Monday and finish out the week with the previous sitter. We also told her about our current situation where we learned that since the current sitter was not state registered they were not legally able to watch more than 5 kids, even if there was two adults. Huge red flag!
On Wednesday things got a little ugly with the current sitter. They emailed me saying we owed them for the next two weeks according to the parent handbook. I was hoping it wouldn't have to get to this...but I knew since they were not legally watching the kids that the parent handbook we signed was not legally binding. Andy and I knew right away knew we were not comfortable bringing the kids there the rest of the week. So I called Ms. Teri (new sitter) and asked if the kids could start the next day. That was ok with her. Wednesday night after picking up the kids for the last time, we emailed the old sitter telling them the kids would not be coming back. We said since they were not legally allowed to watch more than five kids we were not going to pay them for 2 more weeks. Friday we picked up all the kids stuff and it was very awkward. I asked her if everything was ok - she said no. I told her I needed to make sure she wasn't going to try and come after us for the money she thought we owed, and that if she was going to I would contact DHS - which is the last thing I wanted to do - but was prepared to if she thought she was going to try and legally come after us. She then said she wasn't aware of that law (not sure if I believe that), and that they weren't going to come after us (because they can't since it would get them in huge trouble and possibly shut them down). So we put the old sitter behind us and have moved on. They got payment for Thursday and Friday, with the kids not there, and we are calling it good.
We started the kids at Ms. Teri's on Thursday. Henry didn't even cry when we left!! A great sign. She texted me throughout the day giving me updates. She did say he got emotional around lunch, but she just cuddled with him and put him down for a nap. He woke up much happier, so she assumed he was tired. When I picked up the kids she had filled out the front and back of a piece of paper telling me all about their day. When we got there I could tell Henry was so much happier. On Friday when we picked up the kids we had to literally pull Henry out kicking and screaming. He did not want to leave he was having so much fun. This never happened at the other place. At the other place he couldn't get out the door fast enough. So another great sign!! It wasn't fun having to try and calm Henry down to buckle him in his car seat - but I was feeling so good about it.
So lesson learned for all - pay attention to your children's cues. Now that I look back it is so obvious that Henry was not happy where he was. I feel terrible and wish we would of pulled him sooner - but at least it is taken care of now and he is in a much better situation.
So it was a stressful week. I'm glad it is over. I'm excited about the new sitter we have and already feel so much better about her and leaving my kids there.
The End
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