Nanny Logistics

So, we are expecting a set of twins hopefully sometime in July. They are a bit of a surprise as they were conceived with a Mirena IUD in place and we have an almost-13-month-old surviving twin from my last pregnancy! So, we will have three 18-months and under if all goes well.

Currently, our 13-month-old goes to daycare and our 4.5-year-old to preschool. It really doesn't seem reasonable to get two babies and an 18-month-old to and from daycare each day, so we've pretty much decided we need to go with a nanny. So, now my question is logistics!

First off, hire date? I was originally thinking August or September to facilitate my being to work part-time during maternity leave as I have some projects that will need to be done as I used up a lot of my flexibility with the last pregnancy. However, I was thinking about it more and hiring at that time seems stressful, so I think it might make more sense to hire for beginning at the start of June and have her watch our existing older two for that period. Not only does it move the hiring forward to a less stressful time, but it also allows the nanny to get to know us, how we operate and the older two kids and us to know the nanny. Does this seem reasonable?

Then, on the topic of withholding/social security/unemployment taxes. Do you use Breedlove to do it or do you do it yourself? I'm confident I could figure it out, but I wonder if it's worth the amount of time versus hiring it done?

And finding a nanny? Nanny agencies seem REALLY expensive. If you used one, what pushed you over the edge? If you didn't, how did you get your job opportunity out there to potential nannies? I'm thinking I can make a basic starting application in google docs and use as a screen and maybe send to craigslist and even something like care.com, but would love to know what people ACTUALLY did.

What do you do in terms of contract? I really think I will want a contract in writing for all of our benefit, the nanny's as well. How much paid time off do you offer? Do you pay holidays? How long do they work for you before they accure PTO?

Also, I've been told by a couple people that it is totally reasonable for an exzperienced nanny to watch all three baby/toddlers. Anyone have any feedback on this? We will be looking to hiring someone with more experience and so I know we will be paying more.

I'd really love to hear the answers to these questions as well as any or all logistics and experiences you had!

THere's a bit more details at https://wileydise.blogspot.com/2012/01/i-may-be-genius.html if you want to read more about our exact circumstances as well.