I'll preface this by saying that we really like our nanny and she is great with DS.
Nanny has been with us for one month and has already missed several days: one for food poisoning, one for a house emergency, and one for a planned vacation day. Yesterday she was involved in a minor car accident and went to the hospital for observation. I scrambled around and made other arrangements for DS. Today, she was here in the morning, but ended up going to the doctor as she was suffering from dizziness and blurred vision...she was subsequently admitted to the hospital. I was working from home today to take DS for his 4 month appt. Luckily, MIL was available to help me out for several hours and will come tomorrow too (she's on vacation this week). DH will take Friday.
Now, Nanny might need surgery because they uncovered a pre-existing problem. Obviously, I am concerned for her health and hope she is ok, but I'm also wondering where this leaves us. While DH & I have some flexibility at work and can sometimes work from home, we can't pull that off for any length of time. Do we start looking for another nanny? I'd feel horrible replacing her while she's in the hospital, but it doesn't sound like she's going to be up and running any time soon and frankly, we don't have a lot of time to wait and see.
I swear, if I could quit my job, I'd do so in a heartbeat. I seriously don't know what we are going to do. Maybe I should try calling one of the other candidates I interviewed and liked to see if they are available. Nothing like a little more stress in my life!
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I totally agree
If you have a neighborhood mom group, that can be a great way to find someone new. Or ask around at the playground.
I'll admit this here only - I think about this possibility all the time with our nanny. She's older and doesn't take the very best care of herself.
You could also look for someone and let them know it's temporary - get someone in for a few weeks until your nanny is back on her feet. But since she hasn't been with you all that long, I think finding someone else would be good. Or what about two part time people which may then give you some extra coverage when one is out?
I agree with PPs. At least find one and let them know it's probably temporary. It might just be a rough start and things will smooth out, then agian, it might be the start of a pattern.
I'd find a new nanny, it's unfortunate that she's in the hospital but all the other days she missed clearly illustrate that she's not fully committed to her job. If she worked for a large business, that would not be tolerated and she would be terminated.
With the new nanny, maybe mention that there is a 90 day probationary period.