Single Parent with Preemie Baby

Hello, I am a mother of a ten yr old and have a new baby of 5 months. I am also looking to go back to work, and have been referred to a new company called:

Work-Life Initiative LLC
###-###-#### Office
877-401-7649 Toll Free
www.worklifeinitiative.com

Shawna Cooper, the contact person is very nice and has set up the job-placement organization to identify child/family friendly/flexible workplaces. I called her just a couple of weeks ago (my area of expertise is very limited) and it looks like she has made a good connection for me that very well may end up in a job where I can bring the baby with me until I am ready to use childcare. She may be able to help you. Good Luck.

2 moms found this helpful

You should definitely try to find a way to stay at home with your baby. There is a group of moms that work from home called The Mom Team. I am working from home with them so that I can be with my 2 1/2 yr. old. If you would like some more info., email me at ____@____.com.

2 moms found this helpful

Congradulations on that precious special baby. You sound like a wonderful mother and I know she is in good hands once she gets to go home with you. I wanted to give you alittle info about my stay at home job, something you might consider. I am an independent distributor for a gourmet candle company and a very caring group of team members that don't leave you once you sign up (very important). I signed up in NOv. '07 and had a goal to sign up 5 people in 90 days. Well, I signed up 7 people in 30 days and it was so exciting. This company gives you the opportunity to work your business in several different areas or all of them. It is your decision if you like team building, recruiting, retailing,wholesale or fundraisers. I chose to do all so I could get my suiness off the ground before going back to work. If you do recruiting or team building then you get residual income off all the people you recruit. If you would be interested in looking at my program please go to www.RGVHomeFragrances.com
and fill in the information and I will send you 14 E Lessons in advance, you review them and then decide if this is something you would be intered in doing.
D. M

1 mom found this helpful

You should stay home with your baby like the doctor recommended. There is all sorts of government help that you can get for your exspenses. Your baby is what is important right now so I would stay at home until your baby is healthy enough for you to go back to work.
A.
Mother of two

1 mom found this helpful

Do you have any college friends or a friend who is a stay at home mom? Maybe someone like that could help you out. How about your family? Are they near by? Pray, the Lord will help you find an answer.

To L.,

Can you get the father to support you for the time that it takes you to get back to work.

I helped a single mom out for a few months who was in a similar situation. Granted, this was many years ago, and I think it still bears looking into. What she did was ask around for a referral of a very good sitter who would come to her home. I was a college student with many years of baby sitting experience and great local references. I cared for her 2 very young children while she worked. Though I didn't need a place to stay, I lived in with her, slept on the couch, made the family meals for those 2 months, which helped her out alot (she was able to keep her job & have her 2 children out of daycare) and gave me some spending money for Fall term.
Today, the amount of money she paid me would be considered insufficient. So if you have no relative that will come for a couple of months, perhaps through sittercity.com, a local church or the local craigslist.org child care postings you could find a retired lady or college student off for the summer to use. Taking the actions will get you results. Go for it!

Wow! I'm actually amazed that the Dr. is going to allow your baby into a daycare setting after only 2 months. My preemie was born at 28 weeks, and we were instructed not to even consider it until he was 2. Your baby must be doing incredibly well!
As for those 2 months, do you have family that can help? Also, maybe you could find someone that would come to your house to watch the baby. That way you know the environment is clean.
Getting social security is a good idea. The last person was right about that. However, it's not much. And, it's not for 2 years. With my son, I didn't even have to apply. SS sent it automatically.
Good luck! You have a miracle there! All babies are miracles, but preemies make you realize just how much!

L.,

My daughter also was a preemie and we had good luck with the Early Childhood Intervention people at Brighton. I don't have the phone number, but look under Brighton or ECI or call your school district and they will have it. They might have suggestions for what you can do to take care of your preemie when she gets home. Your child will qualify for services because of her premature status. P.

Hi,
As your baby may be at risk for some developmental delays, Early Childhood Intervention would be a good place to start. Some hospitals have good relationships with your local ECI. However, you can look it up online. ECI service coordinators can help with hooking your child up to government and local programs. Your child may not ever have any long-lasting delays, but it is best to let the developmental specialists take a look. They will also have further advice on childcare options, maybe some home daycare settings, and how to help you through all this. Hope everything turns out well. They are only small a short time. If your doctor says you need to stay home, ECI should be able to help you explore that option.

L.,

I would try to find an in home daycare... I'm a stay at home mom and would love an oppertunity to help another mom out and make some extra income!

I would talk to the father of the child and tell him he needs to kick in (if he already hasn't) or kick in MORE time or money. Maybe Grandmothers might want to help or another friend or relative in your home. Sometimes you just got to do what you got to do, but I would at least try to advoid a daycare and go with a private sitter in their home if I couldn't keep the baby in my home.

Find a way to stay home with your baby. It seems like a lot now, but in the long term a few months isn't that much to sacrifice and you will be glad you did. Find ways to cut back, look for help, maybe you can work from home or part time, but you will be glad you did what was best for your baby and you. Its a wonderful time to bond with each other, you'll know exactly what is going on with the baby all the time and have less to worry about, and you'll have more time with your other child while they adjust to the new family member at home. Pray. God works things our in amazing ways we never even think of. Happy Mother's Day!

Hi L. -
Maybe you could do some contract work while you are at home to help pay some bills. I know of a telemarketing company that hires pretty quickly and you can work 20 hrs per week.

Brighten Communications

I know of some other companies as well. I wish you the best of luck for you and your precious little miracle! God Bless!

A. T

Hello:
I'm a mom of 2 with the first being a preemie who is now 6. My eldest had everything you could imagine go wrong but she made it and got to come home @ 5lbs w/ a breathing monitor. Even with being able to keep my daughter isolated at home the first two years were filled with lung infections and constant fighting off illnesses which she would catch just from attending church. If you have to work, I would find someone who could watch just her and has experience and/or training with premature babies. How about your mom or a family member? Good Luck. I just read about the SS from other posts, we checked into that and there are "requirements" like who's in the house to watch the child, income levels, etc. We couldn't qualify for that.

Do you have a family friend who would be willing to take care of the baby until she is old enough to go to daycare? How about a friend from church? If you don't have a church home, I would recommend calling several of your local churches and asking for names of members who might be willing to help you out--or the church could post a request on their bulletin board and have the interested parties contact you. I would be sure to ask for references and check them out carefully before entrusting my precious child to someone you don't know.

Where about do you live? I live in Pasadena and had a premie about 30 yrs ago, I would be happy to help out if you are anywhere near here. Am partial to little girls cause my one and only is a daughter of 30 yrs old and no grandkids on the way or in the near future. So if i could be of any help let me know.

L.,

Hope your Mother's Day was bearable if not happy!

I, so wish that I could just hold you right now in my Mama-Caring Arms. My heart goes out to you Darlin!

I am 3 score years old this past May 2nd. I, too had a premature baby 30 years ago. Even then with a husband by my side, my post partum blues and leaving my little one in professional care was very difficult. I know the feeling somewhat.

The one thing I can do L. for you as a Prayer Warrior Leader is tear and bombard the doors of heaven down for you. I know that my Redeemer lives because I spoke with Him this morning. If you haven't already put your faith in God and He will sustain you. We can't trust in mere men or even a system, although my God can use them both to get you the help you deserve.

Know that help is on the way, even as I type and utter the Words of the Spirit to deliver you out of your situation. Know that the women of God in Cedar Park, Round Rock & Leander (High Point Fellowship) want to just love on you if you'd let us by calling ###-###-#### during the day time hours.

Please accept this brief prayer for you: Dear Lord, my desire is that L. meet you on her knees and receive all of what you have for her this day. In Jesus' Name, Amen! Amen and Amen!

I too am the mother of a preemie. My daughter was born at 26 weeks and came home weighing less than 5 lbs. I did stay at home for 10 weeks after my daughter came home. Once I returned to work, we were blessed with a grandparent's retirement. You may not be in that situation, however you may qualify for enough assistance (SSI) that you can afford to hire a nanny for your daughter. The only blessing for you right now is that it is not RSV season. However that will come soon and you will need to make sure that you can keep your child healthy. Good Luck and PM me if you ever need to talk. Being a preemie parent is a very special job and not everyone understands the measures we go through.

I don't know where you live, but I have a wonderful sitter that works out of her home and is looking for a job for the summer. She is a teacher at my son's nursery school and I am lucky enough to have her watch him when I need help. She is fantastic, but in Pflugerville. I don't know if she could help or not but she may know of someone. Also have you tried a church?

I work from home if you would like to see if what I do would be right for you. You would not have to leave your house. You do not have to sell anything, stock inventory or take orders and it is risk free. Contact me if you would like to go on a free informational call. I hope I can help you take care of your little one.
D.

Hi L.,

My sister-in-law works for the Catholic Diocese of Austin Life Center. They help pregnant women with their pregnancies, and new mothers to get baby items. They also sponsor several maternity shelters.
If you are in need of baby items or need someone to talk to they would be happy to help.
The phone number is ###-###-####.
Hope this helps.

W.

God Bless,
W.

Dear L.,

I am the mom of a child born at 24 weeks so I understand your situation very well. I was able to work from home part time for a year. I hired a nanny to be with me at home to make sure my baby had the care he needed. Is this an option for you at this time?

I have a friend who owns Nannies From the Heart here is Austin. They are an excellent source for finding and hiring professional care givers. I highly recommend them.

I am happy to serve as a resource for you as you transisiton your preemie home. My son is now seven years old -- but I have walked in yours shoes. It was a very long and difficult journey, bue he is now doing very well.

Please contact me if I can be of support to you in the coming days, weeks months. I am always happy to reach out to help other parents of preemies!

Best wishes, K.