I will start by saying I cannot provide more information as we won't know exactly the situation for another week or two, but I would like to have a plan of attack in place as I will likely have very little time to execute. I am not looking for definitive answers, just maybe more like guidance on what to try once I have the dates and all the relevant information.

Here's the situation:
- husband is full time dad to our 8 month old
- I work 100% and we just get by on my salary
- hubby is likely to go in for back surgery in the next 4 weeks which will put him out of Mr. Mom duties for about 6-8 weeks
- I have 4 weeks vacation time still on the books

I need to figure out options for short term child care while he recovers. I plan to take at least 2 weeks off myself as he will need help too, and could take all 4 weeks I have but that means I still can't cover the entire time he needs to not be chasing after the little guy and we would not be able to do any travel in our time here which would be sad.

Other than posting on EF for short term nanny, I'm at a loss for what to do. No family around or able to come help. Can't afford to take unpaid leave, or to pay someone thousands - how much would a nanny expect to be paid? Can I even do this without having to set up a full employer/employee relationship with the government - call it a babysitter instead of nanny position or something?

So stressed about this but hubby has been waiting 20 years to find someone who would/could operate on his back so we have to do it!

Any ideas/suggestions on options would be greatly appreciated. As hubby isn't allowed to work here, we never looked into child care options anywhere as it wasn't needed so all I know is most good places have 6 month wait lists...

Have you contacted your local red cross? Around here they provide urgent/emergency/back-up care for children when the parent or child is ill. I believe that is what you would need. If they cannot help, they should be able to refer you to similar home-based care arrangements.

You might contact Spitex Richterswil:

http://www.spitex-richterswil.ch/ind...?id=auftrag010

I know our local Spitex (in SZ) can arrange for child care (as well as home care and household services) while one is recovering, but I understand that each Spitex verein works a bit differently. If the Richterswil group can't help organize child care, perhaps they could direct you to someone local who could help.

Hope your husband's surgery goes well...

Here's the homepage of the Red Cross
http://www.srk-zuerich.ch/srk/Was-wi...chen/index.php

and here's some alternative:
http://www.betreut.ch/notfallbetreuung

Don't assume that there aren't places in childcare, if you need them - you might be surprised once you call around - at this time of year lots of parents are looking at new alternatives after summer, so you might be lucky...

I'd recommend those other options - red cross, spitex.

You should look at "kita" or Krippe" in your local area, or in the area where you work...

If your husband is 'available' in the house but needs an extra pair of hands, then you might be able to find a babysitter who perhaps is not a qualified 'nanny'.

If you can't get help via the red cross or spitex, it's going to be expensive for childcare - if you can find it.

I work in a long-day-care and we take children as young as 4-5 months and it takes 2 weeks of short visits to settle the children in, so if it's only for a short-term solution, I'd recommend someone who can care for the baby in your home, in the most familiar environment, and someone who's going to fit in with your family routines...

I would be worried that the back surgery is going to make it tricky for your husband in the longer term - for that reason I'd recommend starting the process through the 'official channels' (ie, Spitex) as soon as possible, because it will take time to set all these things up, and it would be wise to not use up all your annual leave and sick leave now, in case the recovery takes longer, or you need more vacations later on...

If you do get desparate for a childcare place, we might be able to find a spot for you where I work in Adliswil, but it's not cheap - if you are only barely getting by on your 100% salary, the cost of childcare will be a heavy burden, and it would be better if you can get a subsidised place if possible...

You already got somre great advice and I would try to follow up on these. You should also check with your Krankenkasse. Depending on the insurance that you got they might also cover some of the costs as they directly related to the injury / operation. You might need to have Zusatzversicherung but it's worth to check.

Also ask the doctor / hospital they might also be able to put you in contact with someone but Spitex is definetly a good place to start.

If you're short on money you might also check with the local church they sometimes also have volunteers that could help.

As other stated: try to sort out all of these things asap before the operation. You will have other things on your mind afterwards! If your partents or his parents could come over for a week or two that would be great as well because he won't be able to lift anything at all for the beginning and that might be difficult to understand for the little one. Grandparents could take the little one for a short vacation which would give you some time to adjust to the new situation and help your husband to get better! All the best for all of you and please get back to me if you need emergency solutions as I live near you (and so do my retired parents..)

Thanks everyone! Really appreciate the ideas as I had no idea where to even look. I will definitely call the Red Cross and Spitex options and also check with his insurance. I might actually be able to sleep tonight!

If you commute into the centre of Zurich for your work one option could be drop-in daycare: http://www.tammysdaycare.ch/
Really works for some people but I haven;t used it myself so can't speak from experience. I imagine it would be good for kids who are 2+ so they don't need quite as much full on care and can tell carers what they want and you how their day has gone.

There's a little know service which is sometimes available from your health care provider, which covers you temporarily if your children are sick, and where you must go into work. On our level of health care, it equates to something like 5 days a year. I think it can continue after that, but you have to pay - best to check. Maybe this could be an option, because you say you have to work and wouldn't have anyone to cover the children?

We used the service ourselves, and were pleased. The lady who came had been a nurse before, and we were generally impressed.

Good luck with everything :-)

Hello There,

Short term solution maybe to contact the hospital . I've heard they do provide servies in severe situations. check with your gemeinde to see if you can get special assistance of any kind.

Long term wise after his back is in good working order :
your hubby is allowed to work at home in any case. it is allowed for every mother to offer day care for up to 2 kids at a time (as a so called tages mutter) but not more.Why not a tages daddy im sure there plenty of mothers whom would like their sons to have an english speaking male carer. for 50 % he can charge anything up to 1200 for one kid. just something to think about.
Just have a look at some similar offers on on www.lilliput.ch


I wish you the best of luck and remember opportunities present themselves when things are to be.
Back operations are tough and may require a longer healing time. In any case i would weigh the pros and cons of having the operation. if its something which can be healed without and OP then i would quite frankly leave it alone.
best regards

I M