Multiples
Contemplating a nanny...
Has anyone used care.com? Thoughts? How does it work? 8 mo old and twins due in November. I currently use an in home, but she doesn't have room for 2 additional infants. Centers are so pricey, and I think my money would be better spent having someone come to my home.
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Re: Contemplating a nanny...
I felt a little overwhelmed by care and sittercity though I there are certainly people on this board that have had success.
I used more personal channels - a parenting list serv at work, neighborhood google groups, word of mouth and found a great nanny. I think you will find it's the best value for your money with 3 little ones. It's so nice not to get the girls up and dressed and out the door each morning. Our nanny also helps keep the nursery stocked with diapers/wipes and does the girls laundry.
I used care.com and I thought it was pretty good. You have to go through a lot of applications and you have to wait until about 1 month before you need someone but overall I like the site. I found a great nanny and it is a total lifesaver not having to pack the kids up in the morning.
We used care.com and just made an offer last night. It is pretty overwhelming but once wevgot an ad set up, we got tone of responses. Most of them we immediately rejected, like my favorite, the one who replied, "I can do the job", thats it, nothing else!
And one I kind of got in a fight with. Her profile said she only wanted part time and could only work 2 days a week. I sent her the stock reject email and added a line about needing full time and she blasted back at me that she wanted full time, etc, and that I need to read her email, not focus on the profile. That was a huge red flag for me! First, I cant remind her to keep her profile up to date, but second, does that mean I cant trust her if she leaves me a note about the babies? So really, go with your gut!
but 2 we really liked on paper and in the interviews. Since I am home until January, I figure I have time if a nanny turns out terrible, you know? But i have a good feeling about her.
Our Twin Baby + a Big Girl Blog
And with the delivery trifecra of one twin vaginal, one c-section with general anesthesia for twin B, Spencer and Sidney joined us at 35 weeks exactly on June 18.
I've found 2 nannies through care.com and they were/are both great! We recently moved out of state so I used it to find our new one. We also interviewed a few people I found through word of mouth but ultimately hired the ones we found from care.com. I love the convenience of having a nanny-not having to do day care drop off and pick up is huge for us. Plus they haven't been sick-I know they will get sick eventually when they do go to day care or school but being preemies this is better for us and I don't have to miss work after I had been off for five months on maternity leave. The nanny makes all their formula/bottles for the day, cleans bottles and feeding stuff, makes us dinner in the crock pot sometimes and does the babies laundry, changes the sheets on their cribs. I never priced out day care but I'm almost certain it is cheaper to have the nanny since we have three.
If you use care.com I would be very specific in the ad you place about what you are looking for include duties they will be responsible for, hours you need, specify that you prefer CPR certified, experience with multiples AND infants and that they cannot bring their child with them so don't ask. I had several people ask me if they could bring their 2 yr old- ummm no because you won't have your full attention on my kids. It may be hard to find someone with multiples experience so if you can't at least try to find someone that has very recent infant experience and if they have watched multiple children at the same time even if they were different ages that would be good too.