finding a nanny - where and when to start?

KayJayDee

I work FT and up until now, DH has been the one home with DS.  That will most likely change this summer though.  DH will (hopefully, fingers crossed) be starting a job this June.  His hours will be fairly flexible, and he'll work mostly afternoons and evenings. I'm a teacher and I only work part time during the summers, so we'll manage with our schedules until I got back to work in September.  DS will start coming to school with me (Montessori preschool) at that point and will go part time until I go back to work after my maternity leave and then he'll have the same schedule as I do.  

I'm hoping to keep working until close to the end of my pg (mid October?) and I'm expecting to be on mat leave until the 1st or 2nd week of January.  I get 12 weeks.  

So here come the questions... first of all, I haven't really looked into it, but from what I've been reading, a nanny is going to be cheaper than 2 kids in daycare, right?  Second, when should I plan on having a nanny start?  A week before I go back to work?  Two weeks?  It's going to be tricky timing, since the end of my mat leave could coincide with the holiday season, but I really want to make sure that whoever we hire is comfortable with the routine before she's left on her own.  Third, how important is it to hire someone with prior twin experience? Everyone has to start somewhere, right?  While I'm open to hiring someone with infant experience, but not specifically twin experience, I also don't want to be looking for another nanny a month after I go back to work if the first one changes her mind, kwim?  

I also don't know how far out to start looking / interviewing.  If we were looking for a daycare, of course we would want to get on wait lists, etc, but for a nanny?  How far out is too far out?  Argh!  Too many questions!!  Thanks! 

MrsJeffsWife2B

I'll be watching this closely as I have most of the same questions as you!

For us, daycare for the twins alone would be 3k+ (and we have a 3.5 year old who we are already paying 1460 for.)  So a nanny should be cheaper, depending of course on who we find. Obviously those prices will vary depending on where you live (we are in the suburbs of NYC and childcare is very $$). Anyway, I am SO used to a daycare scenario where I know that the teachers are super experienced with infants, have all the rules and regulations etc.  so the idea of leaving the twins at home with someone totally freaks me out, but we just cank afford to spend almost 5k a month on childcare, so I don't see another choice. 

I have been looking on care.com but so far haven't seen anyone who I would want to inverview, plus it's a bit early. Anyway, that's a decent place to start. 

I'll be very interested to see what other suggestions you get!

Eriksgal

We found ours through care.com and started looking about 2 months before I wanted her to start. I had the nanny come 2-3 days a week to help while I was still on ML since my Mom went back home. That way she got the routine down and we could ease into it. I would have them start at least a few days ahead of you going back. We are moving out of state next weekend and I am using care.com to search again and having pretty good luck! For me it is very important to find someone with multiples and infant experience. I had a lot apply that had only worked with older kids but I wasn't interested in that experience. Good luck!

WhiteysWifey

I have no answers....I haven't seen you in a long time and wanted to say congratulations!

ChristinaD09

I don't know that a nanny would be less expensive for you.  It seems like we'll end up somewhere around $14-$16/hour and we're in the midwest.  If we had just two the nanny would be watching I think I'd just have them in day care.  I don't know, maybe not.  With three, it's worth a nanny for us.

 I started looking this last week.  I'm due early August, so I'm expecting it to be sometime in July.  I want her to start coming over early on in my maternity leave so I'm SUPER comfortable with her before I ever leave them alone with her (even though my MIL will also be over).  Hell I'm tempted to survelliance the house.   Also I want her over on my maternity leave for sanity reasons (breaks for momma will be super important when I'm not sleeping AND have a toddler who naps for like an hour and a half if I'm lucky...), and so we can start adjusting to the new budget with all this child care expense.  My mother in law will come over too but I'd still like her over from probably 1 month out, through the end of my leave, at least two times/week (and whoever we get will only be there 3 times/week after my leave anyways).

It's early, a lot of the girls on care.com seem to be looking for something now.  Someone who found someone on care.com suggested that I wait to look until after the baby is here.  But I'm too much of an obsessive person for that.  Also, I am talking to one girl I found on there, that I actually knew beforehand, and I'm glad I'm talking to her now because she had a family lined up for the summer as a trial run, and I may be able to convince her to be our nanny in the fall instead of staying with the other family...don't know but it's looking positive.  But at any rate, it'll take me a long time because I'm looking for someone part time and I live in a small community outside Kansas City, so I don't have the luxury of a lot of qualified applicants.  If you need someone part time, I'd start early.  If you are doing a full time nanny, you'll probably have more applicants to choose from whenever you decide to look at it, and it'll go faster.  I know the girl who told me to wait had like 40 applicants, and she waited until a month and a half after the babies came to post the job on care.com (and had someone within three weeks or so I think).  I've had like 4 applicants.  And only maybe one that is worthy of an interview.  Sigh.

KayJayDee

WhiteysWifey:

I have no answers....I haven't seen you in a long time and wanted to say congratulations!

Hi!  Thanks and congrats to you X3!  Your babies are beautiful.  We've come a long way from the azoo check in.   

KayJayDee

Thanks for the insight everyone.  I need to start calling around to different day care centers and getting some numbers to compare to the nannies I'm finding on care dot com.  I'm in the NoVA / DC area, so prices are up there.  I'm slightly freaking out about how we're going to afford this new phase of our lives, but it will all work out.