What will we need in terms of newborn help?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think once your baby is older and Covid is over meaning you’ll be performing nights again and there are more au pairs you may be a good candidate for an au pair because you will need odd hours of care but you won’t need that many hours overall. So having an au pair living in might work. I think by the time life music is back au pairs will be back too and your child will be old enough.

Thinking does not make it a fact! What su pair would want to listen to someone practice four hours and a crying baby!

You are ridiculous.

OP is a symphony musician. Meaning people pay to listen to her. And why would the baby be crying?

You are ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think once your baby is older and Covid is over meaning you’ll be performing nights again and there are more au pairs you may be a good candidate for an au pair because you will need odd hours of care but you won’t need that many hours overall. So having an au pair living in might work. I think by the time life music is back au pairs will be back too and your child will be old enough.

+1. It could definitely work. Au pair or a flexible live-in nanny.

[Anonymous]

If you have the means, hire an infant care specialist for the first six months who will handle nights and practice times. Ours was a live-in and she was great. I would nurse in bed, DH in another room, and she would handle everything else. By about the second week, I had pumped enough to get five hours of continuous sleep and the night nurse gave DS a bottle.

After six months, she finished her contract and left and we got a wonderful day nanny that we still have today. Don’t worry about going back to work and performing yet - just get your practices in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think once your baby is older and Covid is over meaning you’ll be performing nights again and there are more au pairs you may be a good candidate for an au pair because you will need odd hours of care but you won’t need that many hours overall. So having an au pair living in might work. I think by the time life music is back au pairs will be back too and your child will be old enough.

Thinking does not make it a fact! What su pair would want to listen to someone practice four hours and a crying baby!

You are ridiculous.

People pay to hear a complete symphony or opera
We do not pay to hear her practice.




OP is a symphony musician. Meaning people pay to listen to her. And why would the baby be crying?

You are ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

People pay to hear a complete symphony with a full orchestra
We do not pay to hear any single musician practice for four hours no matter how the practice time is cut. Also, there are no circumstances where I would pay to hear a yowling infant.

[Anonymous]

You are having a baby but you are both prioritizing your careers.
One of you needs to give a little.

If you can take the sabbatical then do that. Then when your kid is close to 1 find a Nanny to work the afternoons and evenings and be off in the mornings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People pay to hear a complete symphony with a full orchestra
We do not pay to hear any single musician practice for four hours no matter how the practice time is cut. Also, there are no circumstances where I would pay to hear a yowling infant.

Again, why would her infant be yowling?

I hope to God you aren’t a nanny. It’s important than nannies be somewhat intelligent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People pay to hear a complete symphony with a full orchestra
We do not pay to hear any single musician practice for four hours no matter how the practice time is cut. Also, there are no circumstances where I would pay to hear a yowling infant.

Again, why would her infant be yowling?

I hope to God you aren’t a nanny. It’s important than nannies be somewhat intelligent.

My IQ is 175, 165 points above yours. I'm way too smart to be a nanny and you way too stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People pay to hear a complete symphony with a full orchestra
We do not pay to hear any single musician practice for four hours no matter how the practice time is cut. Also, there are no circumstances where I would pay to hear a yowling infant.

Again, why would her infant be yowling?

I hope to God you aren’t a nanny. It’s important than nannies be somewhat intelligent.

My IQ is 175, 165 points above yours. I'm way too smart to be a nanny and you way too stupid.

“... you way too stupid”!

[Anonymous]

Just remember that the first week or two your body will be so wrecked. Nursing was so hard for me for the first 6 weeks and then it got way better. Sleep was a disaster but by 8 weeks it was better and by 10 weeks it was pretty darn good. So your ability to practice in the beginning of your leave vs the end will be light years apart no matter how much “coverage” you have.

For the first couple weeks day is night and night is day so I’m not sure if it matters when you have help and when you do, try to sleep.

[Anonymous]

I highly recommend the Taking Cara Babies newborn course. It’s not a schedule, but there’s a rhythm to it that will help you figure out when to practice.

[Anonymous]

Everyone has a different experience, but for me I’m not sure a night nurse would have helped that much because I needed to do every feed because my Boulder boobs would wake me up anyway. A night nurse could change the diaper and rock back to sleep I guess. Once I could pump a bottle in the morning and sleep for 5 hours without waking up in agony, then it was a godsend to have someone else give a bottle. But that took like 4 weeks at least.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People pay to hear a complete symphony with a full orchestra
We do not pay to hear any single musician practice for four hours no matter how the practice time is cut. Also, there are no circumstances where I would pay to hear a yowling infant.

Again, why would her infant be yowling?

I hope to God you aren’t a nanny. It’s important than nannies be somewhat intelligent.

My IQ is 175, 165 points above yours. I'm way too smart to be a nanny and you way too stupid.

“... you way too stupid”!

[Anonymous]

My friend is a professional musician and has an au pair for her kids. Their au pair probably works less hours than many au pairs but is available on concert nights. The trick is to find a mature au pair who really wants mornings off for classes and other things and doesn’t mind doing some Saturday nights.

[Anonymous]

OP back again and thanks for the suggestions and advice. I’ll definitely look into an au pair when the baby is older and work commences (and my sabbatical is over). I’ll start the search for the infant care specialist now.


And to the “genius” worried about having to listen to me practice: I have a soundproof practice studio. I’m sure the nanny will alert me when my baby is crying.