Daycare vs housekeeper/nanny

HorseLover11

This is such a first world problem but I'd like your experience/advice on this topic. For some background I work from home M-F and DH works M-Thurs. I'm looking into a nanny/house keeper for 3 days a week who will watch LO, speak some Spanish, and also help out around the house. (Currently we do all house work ourselves), my mom would help one day a week and DH is home with me on Fridays. The daycare is your typical M-F. If the cost were the same which route would you go?

rlyttle

I might go for a nanny the first few months, but I really think DS has thrived being around other children at his daycare (small inhome daycare). This isn't so important to me for an infant, but I think socialization is great for kids once they are more interactive. If the nanny is also in charge of cleaning they house it's not like the kid will get attention from her/him all day. IMO

bumpuser10199668

The one that cleans. Always the one that cleans.

BrightMoon1

Definitely nanny/housekeeper!! Anyone to help you clean and do laundry! They don't need socialization until at least 1yr old if not 18 months. Babies just need their caregivers and family and friends to love on them. They will start learning to socialize with their peers in late toddlerhood and the preschool years.

HorseLover11

Thank you ladies!! I was leaning nanny/housekeeper as well bc I could be with dd more and more quality time with DH as we'd have less housework!!

rockychryslerb2010

Nanny for the first year, hands down.  We have a nanny and got so spoiled.  We (I) didn't have to clean pump parts or bottles or worry about prepping bottles at all.  It was soo nice.  I wouldn't expect too much in the early days, as E started napping more, more got done around the house.  Our nanny cleans the kitchen / playroom areas on a daily basis.  And does all of our laundry.  It is amazing.

We kept her because we knew we were going to have another child and are really happy with her.  We'll keep her on with both kids for probably the first year, then go to daycare.  E will start preschool two mornings a week in Sept.

chardonnay24

We had a part time nanny when my kiddo was an infant because I was in school. She'd come to our house and stay with him while I went to class and then I'd come home and do homework in my office for the rest of the day. After he was 6 or 7 months, he realized that I was in the house and would cry or whine for me the whole time. He pretty much has continued that behavior into age 3, even though I SAH now. :-) When he was 16 months and I started working, we sent him to daycare. At that age, he really needed a lot more stimulation and social interaction than our nanny could give him (but she was just a college kid, not a professional nanny).

MrsLaLaBug

to be honest, I'd love to have the nanny/housekeeper just for the sake of the extra cleaning help.  However, I chose daycare b/c I felt like it would be more beneficial to DD socially and for the sake of a "learning" environment.  I feel like at the transition stage from infant - toddler, she has learned many things both motor skill wise and with respect to language/learning words from being around other children her age.

LTMama

We kept DD home til she turned 1 (though not with a nanny, DH was a SAHD), then put her in daycare.  I think that was just right - as a baby it was nice to keep her home and have lots of extra love and nurturing, then once she started to be interested in other kids, she got that interaction.

By the time she turned 1, when DH would take her to the park she would really want to be with the other kids we saw there, so we felt like it was a good time to move her.  It was a pretty painless transition, she was so excited to be with other kids.

mrsdanielleM2010

We are going with a nanny (who will keep things as clean as I leave them, which is incentive to me to keep up with things) from a week before I go back to work until the end of the June 2015. I'll be home next summer to soak up my 2 months with the baby, and starting with September 2015 we will find a day care unless between now and then we decide for me to stop working outside the home.

HorseLover11

@yuristar - that's a great idea and I know people who have done that. I just don't think I could imagine someone living with us 24/7 even though we have a guest room in the basement. maybe if our family grows but this is our only child.

bethybeach

A lot of places offer partial daycare schedules, sharing with other parents who are part-time.  I would check into all options.  My in-laws are at home and even with them it is hard for me to work from home with my three year old, it isn't easy.  My sister even tried it and had to get part-time help out of the home.

RedBaramid

I just wanted to echo that I'd go with the one that would clean... because even if someone else just did my dishes and laundry I imagine that it would make all the difference as we transitioned back to life and adjusted for having a child.

SingleMom31

We chose the daycare center with our first over the other options (in home care, nanny, staying home with her, etc). I feel like DD has learned a lot from the other kids, I really love the teachers, and she's really thrived there. I'd choose it again in a heartbeat.