Nanny daily/weekly task/checklist

nikilouhoo

We just hired a nanny (she's been working a couple days a week for a couple of weeks and started full time this week). We went over her overall duties during the interview process as well as in the agreement we both signed.

She's very good with the babies; however, she hasn't really done much of the day-to-day chores yet (i.e., prep out bottles/formula pitcher, empty diaper pail, baby laundry, etc.). If I ask her to do it specifically she does, but won't do it the next day (unless I ask again). So, thinking I need to have a checklist of daily/weekly duties that I can set out for her. That way, I can be very clear on what's expected and have something to touch base with each day.

Does anyone have a checklist they use for their nannies they can share? Thanks!

kimarino13

I guess we got lucky with ours.  I have never had to ask her to do anything; not even once.  She just knows what needs to be done and does it. 

erinruns

I had to do this with my nanny as well.  The laundry could be overflowing and she wouldn't realize she needed to do it.

Really the only every day task was prepping bottles.  When they were really little she just prepped enough for me at night, but as they got older and took fewer bottles, she did all of the bottles for the day.  She did them by 4:00 so that if I came home early, they were done.  Oh!  And sweeping the floors.  She was responsible for that as well, especially when they were crawling.

We did laundry every other day when they were little, Tuesdays and Saturdays when they got older.  That way she did laundry once a week and I did laundry once a week.  Wednesdays she changed crib sheets, and I usually left her a note when the diaper pails were full.  

I had a nanny when the girls first came home from the NICU that could look around the house and see what needed to be done.  My full time day nanny couldn't do that and I just get frustrated when I expected her to.  But, she took direction very well, so I went with that.  Similarly, I had to give her lots of directions for outings, Target trips, whatever.  She was always willing to do it though. 

aprilsarahjune

Ours has a very good routine and she has not needed much instruction.  I tell her every morning whether the dishes in the dishwasher are clean/dirty (more than half our daily load is bottles), whether the baby laundry in the basket is dirty or clean and ready to be folded, the state of the milk in the fridge, when each girl last ate, etc.  It isn't so much that she won't take care of it if I don't say it but that I want us to be clear about the "state" of everything.  I've done this less and less as she becomes more in charge of the indirect baby care from day to day, but this really helps us communicate.  Perhaps you could try that system.

I do have her write down on index cards who ate when and did what in their diaper (currently bowel movements are rare for our girls, so I like to know how long it's been).  We also use the cards for other types of communication, like "need more baby detergent" and dates when she needs time off or when I don't need her.  Perhaps you could try a written communication system like that with your "checklist", so it is more about a mutual understanding than a command.  GL!  

ETA: We also use the cards as "time cards" so that there is a written record of how many hours she worked that week.  I am an HR consultant and know that details like that can be very important in all payment settings.

 

babyhyem

We are incredibly lucky! Our babysitter is the best. She takes care of our girls as if they were her own grandchildren. However, she doesn't always do everything I was hoping she would do, like help make baby food (it's so easy), prep bottles for when we get home from work so we can spend more time with the girls, empty the dishwasher, etc. But she does do so many things that help, like pick up around the house, wash/dry all the laundry, hand wash dishes in the sink (even when I am working from home and I place my lunch plate in the sink), and constantly swiffering to get all the dog and cat hair off the ground. She keeps a daily log of what they eat and how much, when they sleep and wake, and what their diapers are. Our girls are almost 9 months and we don't need to track these things anymore, but it's kind of cute that the babysitter likes to mark it down. With all of that being said, if there is something that is really important to us, we talk to her about it. And sometimes we write down "daily goals" for the girls on the diary (like practice drinking from a big-girl cup). Other than that, if she does something weird, I try to let it go because there are so many more important things that keep her busy and our girls happy and safe.

kmb585

Sorry I don't have an answer to your question, but I did have a quick question for you.  Since we live in the same area I was just curious where you looked for a nanny?  We too will be hiring a nanny for when I plan on going back to work (when babies ~ 6 mos) but I am not sure if I can justify paying the agency fees ($850-1100) for only needing someone 10-15 hrs/wk.

Thanks!

nikilouhoo

We (briefly) looked into working with an agency but it was so expensive. I did some research and talked to some other moms who used care.com with good results. I paid $100 (maybe $150) to register and look at nanny profiles and posted a job. We had a *ton* of responses and interviewed several. The site provides a background check as well.

Also, you may have already heard about it but just in case - have you heard of the Desert Sky Mother's of Multiples group (https://www.bigtent.com/groups/dsmom)? It has been such a great resource for me. I haven't been to any of the events yet, but hope to soon.

kmb585

Thanks for the info.  I will have to look into that group, the only one I knew of was PVMOM, but they don't have a lot of events.  I definitely plan on getting out and about when it is safe after LO's are here, as 10+ weeks of bedrest is driving me insane, but will do anything for healthy LO's