I struggled with nanny v daycare, and we ultimately went with a nanny. The daycare my DS got into was great, and I liked most of his would be teachers, but from a convenience standpoint, it was a no brainer. Our nanny is amazing - my son smiles every morning when she arrives and she goes above and beyond what we've asked (her only duties other than caring for my son are washing his bottles/bowls and his laundry every ten days or so) - I come home and there are no dishes in the sink, for example, and the whole place looks tidier than when I left. Interestingly, what pushed me over the edge to pick a nanny is my pediatrician - I asked her opinion at an appt, fully expecting her to say it was a personal choice, but she said if you can afford it, a good nanny is preferable (both for illness reasons and the advantage of one on one attention during infancy/early toddlerhood).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son has been in day care since he was 4 months old. I am very happy with it. Yes, he was sick a lot i the first few months, but I never had to manage anyone...and while many are talking about the convenience of nannies. I've had 2 friends stranded without child care, because their nannies had to leave the country to care for family members with medical issues. This doesn't happen with day care.

Since you are planning on day care at 6 mos, I would just start now. Or, if you choose Nanny then just do that. I wouldn't do two month of a nanny and then day care. Too much transition, too quickly.

Yes, because all nannies are foreign born with family in another country...

+1. I’m an American nanny. This belief that all nannies are undereducated foreigners is so dated (and false).

Whoa. How did you get from "foreign born" to undereducated? And I'm sorry, do "American" nannies never have to leave their positions for personal reasons (like a sick family member)?

Anonymous wrote:Really depends on what other things you value and preferences.


For example,

I work from home, and didn’t want to be home with my baby and nanny. That did not work well with my first child.

It’s working so well for us! We have a great nanny tho - and I know that makes a difference. If it ever gets too hard or complicated, I’ll work from an outside office rather than lose our nanny. But so far, DS is 14 months and still nursing before naps so it works great.

Really depends on what other things you value and preferences.


For example,

I work from home, and didn’t want to be home with my baby and nanny. That did not work well with my first child.

Anonymous wrote:My son has been in day care since he was 4 months old. I am very happy with it. Yes, he was sick a lot i the first few months, but I never had to manage anyone...and while many are talking about the convenience of nannies. I've had 2 friends stranded without child care, because their nannies had to leave the country to care for family members with medical issues. This doesn't happen with day care.

Since you are planning on day care at 6 mos, I would just start now. Or, if you choose Nanny then just do that. I wouldn't do two month of a nanny and then day care. Too much transition, too quickly.

Of course you are happy with it, you don’t have a choice. When you hire a professional, educated and legal nanny you don’t have as many issues, and you pay for that. What your friends were hiring were nannies who were cheaper and clearly had no ties to the US. They got what they paid for period.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son has been in day care since he was 4 months old. I am very happy with it. Yes, he was sick a lot i the first few months, but I never had to manage anyone...and while many are talking about the convenience of nannies. I've had 2 friends stranded without child care, because their nannies had to leave the country to care for family members with medical issues. This doesn't happen with day care.

Since you are planning on day care at 6 mos, I would just start now. Or, if you choose Nanny then just do that. I wouldn't do two month of a nanny and then day care. Too much transition, too quickly.

Yes, because all nannies are foreign born with family in another country...

+1. I’m an American nanny. This belief that all nannies are undereducated foreigners is so dated (and false).

Anonymous wrote:My son has been in day care since he was 4 months old. I am very happy with it. Yes, he was sick a lot i the first few months, but I never had to manage anyone...and while many are talking about the convenience of nannies. I've had 2 friends stranded without child care, because their nannies had to leave the country to care for family members with medical issues. This doesn't happen with day care.

Since you are planning on day care at 6 mos, I would just start now. Or, if you choose Nanny then just do that. I wouldn't do two month of a nanny and then day care. Too much transition, too quickly.

Yes, because all nannies are foreign born with family in another country...

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The issue with nannies is they want to be paid in cash, but we will only do taxes. We talked with a handful of nannies that didn’t want to do taxes. That is not an option for us unless it’s only for a couple of months. I forgot to add that i’m only going back to work 3 days a week.

Not true. You are looking at undocumented nannies who are always lower in price. Our nanny is on the books and always has been but she is $27 an hour.

I'd rather do daycare than some shady, paid-in-cash, short-term nanny that you are clearly underpaying.

Unless you're willing to really go all-in and go with a professional nanny and manage the relationship like a professional one, a good vetted daycare is a solid option.

Anonymous wrote:My son has been in day care since he was 4 months old. I am very happy with it. Yes, he was sick a lot i the first few months, but I never had to manage anyone...and while many are talking about the convenience of nannies. I've had 2 friends stranded without child care, because their nannies had to leave the country to care for family members with medical issues. This doesn't happen with day care.

Since you are planning on day care at 6 mos, I would just start now. Or, if you choose Nanny then just do that. I wouldn't do two month of a nanny and then day care. Too much transition, too quickly.

It is also very hard to find a decent nanny willing to do a two month job.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The issue with nannies is they want to be paid in cash, but we will only do taxes. We talked with a handful of nannies that didn’t want to do taxes. That is not an option for us unless it’s only for a couple of months. I forgot to add that i’m only going back to work 3 days a week.

Then you're not talking to nannies. You're talking to shady "nannies."

Right! Hire an adult, professional nanny, not some teenager that lives at home and doesn’t want to pay taxes. I cannot imagine preferring a daycare over a nanny for a baby!

My son has been in day care since he was 4 months old. I am very happy with it. Yes, he was sick a lot i the first few months, but I never had to manage anyone...and while many are talking about the convenience of nannies. I've had 2 friends stranded without child care, because their nannies had to leave the country to care for family members with medical issues. This doesn't happen with day care.

Since you are planning on day care at 6 mos, I would just start now. Or, if you choose Nanny then just do that. I wouldn't do two month of a nanny and then day care. Too much transition, too quickly.

Anonymous wrote:Nanny. No question. Especially with winter/flu season around the corner. You have to take off so much work when your baby starts daycare due to the baby’s illnesses because of exposure in daycare. Plus a good nanny will make your life easier by doing all child-related chores like baby’s laundry and food. Daycare sends the baby home with poopy clothes and dirty food containers.

This. A good nanny is a blessing who will make your life so much easier. You don’t need to wake baby up, you have sick days care, you come hone to a fed clean and relaxed baby and organized house, your baby is in your own schedule etc. if you find a nanny who you are compatible with, it would make a huge difference. So dedicate time to find the right nanny.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The issue with nannies is they want to be paid in cash, but we will only do taxes. We talked with a handful of nannies that didn’t want to do taxes. That is not an option for us unless it’s only for a couple of months. I forgot to add that i’m only going back to work 3 days a week.

We've had two nannies because we moved, but every nanny we've ever interviewed or hired has always been willing to be paid legally and with taxes withheld. I was a former government employee and my husband has a top secret clearance so there was no way we were going to do anything else. You may be looking in the wrong place. How much are you offering to pay?

Having a nanny is amazing. You don't have to get the child ready and out of the house in the morning, you have someone else to do the kid laundry, someone else to clean bottles, etc. If money were no object I can't see why everyone wouldn't want a nanny, but that's just me.