Apparantly Wimbledon Sitters is very good...

I also would recommend likeminders. I had the same problem having no family nearby and worried about a speedy labour. I was also due around Christmas so lots of friends were out of town. They gave me the numbers of two lovely maternity nurses who were on standby, lived near to us and it was very reasonably priced. The girls also could come and meet your toddler so if you go into labour at night they dont wake up to a stranger! It gave me real peace of mind that my quite clingy 2 year old would be cared for. Please feel free to pm me if you want more info.

Great neighbours are invaluable! I was lucky enough to be able to race my 3yo to a neighbour when number 2 arrived within half an hour of my waters exploding quite unexpectedly. He ended up having a sleep over & being taken into nursery school the next morning too.

Likeminders http://www.likeminders.co.uk, a local agency should be able to help you - it'd worth giving them a call.

Good Luck!

Eilish, The Baby Care Company

Hi,

Try asking a close friend if agency ( Tinies as mentioned are great, Sitters also good) fails, if they are really your friends they will not hesitate (you might be surprised)-I myself looked after 2 children for a friend over a long period of time in their house, who until today really appreciates it ( she was too scared to ask me until I overheard a conversation where I jumped in and offered my 'services', she thought I was ill ). That's what true friends are for!

Good luck!

Hi,

You have my absolute sympathies re your concerns. I know exactly how stressful it is worrying about having a baby with no one to look after your other child. I was in the same position two and a half years ago. We have no local family members anywhere near London and my second baby was due when our 3 closest friends were all abroad on holiday. In the end he was late a a friend was able to look after our two year old whilst I was in labour/hospital.

However, I did book a temporary mother's help (via Tinies agency) - she arrived the day after I was back from hospital (my husband had to go back to work immediately) and came for a few hours a day 4 days a week for 3 weeks. She was a total godsend. I actually had her on standby to come if necessary when I went in to labour. The agency were extremely helpful. No, not cheap (but not hellishly expensive either - we don't have a lot of cash but this was a worthwhile expense).For 3 weeks she really helped with my toddler and in the end was so loved by all of us she has done some occasional babysitting and also visits regularly just to see our boys.

I would suggest contacting a few local agencies and checking their costs - then interview a few potential people (preferably anyone with good recommendations from at least 2 families that you can phone and check with) and then have them ready to come to help out at short notice. You will need some peace of mind!

Hope you find someone.

Jx

I'm starting to have nightmares about how to manage childcare for my toddler when I go into labour. Looking back it was all so straight forward the first time around! As we don't have any family very close by and most local friends either work or have their hands full with their own children / pregnancies I was wondering if anyone knows of an emergancy nanny service that can come over very quickly or pick up my 2 year old from hospital if need be? I had a very speedy labour the first time so I need to prepare myself for an even faster one this time around!

Thanks