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Stay at Home Moms
On our way to 3 under 4!
DD1 1/22/09
DD2 7/16/10
Baby Boy Due This Summer!
Advice on finding a babysitter/mother's helper?
So, even though DD is the first one of the wait list for a local pre-school Mom's Day Out this fall, she still has not gotten in. I'm not quite sure I'm ready to send her off to "school" yet anyway, but if she were to get in, we would discuss it.
So for now, on to plan B. Baby #2 will be here next week, and we will have a lot of help from my mom and MIL for the first couple of weeks. After that, I'm on my own with 2u2! I know a lot of people handle it just fine, and I'm sure I will, but we're thinking about hiring a mother's helper/babysitter to play with DD while I tend to the new baby, at least for the first few months.
I posted an ad earlier this evening, and already have three inquiries about the position. I just want someone to come two mornings per week, for a total of 8 hours/week. I would be home most of that time, but may run a few errands (bringing baby with me) for 2-3 of those hours.
I'm asking the women who have replied to meet me at Starbucks on Monday or Tuesday to discuss the position further. I don't want to invite strangers into our home, and I am even using a different email address than I normally use.
So, if you've hired a babysitter/mother's helper, how did you find them? Did you use CL? Do you trust CL? It kind of freaks me out for something like this, but I honestly feel like this may be the quickest way to find someone. I'm thinking of contacting career services at a local university tomorrow to see if they'll allow me to post an ad there as well.
Also, what kinds of questions should I ask them when I meet with them next week? TIA!
On our way to 3 under 4!
DD1 1/22/09
DD2 7/16/10
Baby Boy Due This Summer!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Advice on finding a babysitter/mother's helper?
I see from your profile that you are in the DC Suburbs. Have you heard of The White House Nannies...I think the website is whitehousenannies.com - I used to work for them and it is a wonderful service. They help to place part and full time child care providers. They do all sorts of screens before they hire them to the service. I LOVED working for them right out of college.
I know that some of my friends have used the local universities - the 2 near me actually have a list of students who are want to babysit (we are not in DC any longer). The other websites I have heard of are sittercity and childcare - both dot com - I believe.
I would trust CL. I post there for my doula services often. We recently hired a friends daughter who is 18 and off to JMU in the fall. She is coming 1 time a week so that I can get some doula work done. Do you have any family friends that you could ask?
You can also request a background check. I can't remember how much it costs but I don't think it is astronomical to have it done. Be sure to get a social security number. Ask them what they feel a well rounded meal consists of, what they would do for fun, what they would do if your baby started to cry, wouldn't sleep, threw up, etc...Ask their experience of course and why they chose child care. I am trying to think of all the questions I was asked as a nanny/ au pair in the summer time. I know the white house nannies made us take a test. I will see if I can find it. I used to keep the file. Ohhhh ask about CPR and other safety measures for choking, etc...
I am sure you thought of all this but just typing off the top of my head here.
GL
Jordan just got hired by a woman in one of my moms groups to be her mother's helper. We went last week so she and Jordan could meet and she could see how her son took to Jordan (he loved her). Today was her first day. Do you belong to any moms groups? Do any of them have older kids? Or do any of your friends have older kids?
Other than that, I was going to recommend contacting the local college, but it looks like you are already are doing that.
FWIW, I found the woman who watched Ben when I went back to work on CL and she was amazing. I can't say enough good things about her and what a wonderful job she did. Granted, there were a lot of weirdos that responded and people who didn't seem fit to take care of themselves, let alone my child. But once you get past them, there's bound to be one or two good people in there. Just trust your gut. We also did a background check, checked references and did a drug test. Maybe a little over the top for a mother's helper, but just letting you know our experience.
I got to this sentence and got excited for you. And wanted to say WOO HOO! And that time flies. (at least your pregnancy did for me, LOL)
I will finish reading it now...
I found one via the graduate program I attended and think this is a good, maybe unexplored territory for sitters.
Get a contact email address for people in education, psychology, social work, speech-language pathology, occupational therapy departments of local universities and see if they will send out a mass email to their students about the job opportunity.
Mine was a smallish, communication disorders graduate program - think of the pool you are advertising to - young educated responsible dedicated females pursuing a career in a field extremely relevant to the job. Great gig for the students - Good pay, good experience and education too.
I have terrible luck with CL. I really don't like it. I personally wouldn't advertise for a babysitter there but that's just me.
I find my babysitters through friends or through my Church. It's worked out well for me. Because of this, they do come to the house to meet us.
GL!
Your post is pretty timely. We are in the same boat.
I posted an ad on CL today for a mother's helper. I was very specific about what i was looking for- a high school or college student 5-10hrs a week (during the day). Mostly just an extra hand to play/occupy Gisele as we all continue to adjust to having a new baby.
So far i have gotten a TON of inquiries. NONE which fit the bill- people telling me they work FT but can help after hours.... people telling me they can't work after Sept when the new baby comes... etc. It is rather annoying- but i just delete those emails.
I don't mind posting on CL- if you do your due diligence and follow your gut- it will be fine and you could TOTALLY find the right person. We found our babysitter on there and she ROCKS! So I wasn't worried about the CL stigma. I am also going to be posting in our church bulletin and at the local colleges- in a few weeks.
i am still gathering together questions myself- but i am much more of a shoot from the hip- ask as i feel the person out sorta gal myself.
I used a neighbor girl who I have watched growing up the last few years and who's parents I know. I'm sure you can find someone safe and reliable online, but I had to get someone I knew well.
I also checked on Facebook and MySpace to see what she had on there.
I just found a sitter through sittercity. We met for the first time at Starbucks so that she didn't have to come here. She already had a background check on the site. She's a grad student at a local college and lives very close. She came for the first time today and was great. I have already referred her to a friend from my mom's group.
When I went back to work I found 2 DCPs through craigslist. I didn't post an ad I just answered them. The first sitter that we used just didn't work for us. I just don't think she was committed enough to watch an infant all day. The second one was amazing. We have since moved and I still keep in touch with her. I hated leaving her.