Is this unrealistic?

[Anonymous]

I have worked with lots of WAHPs and Nanny Deb has it exactly right. Communicate with nanny, respect her as a professional who doesn't need micromanagement and choose a physical layout that actually gives you room/privacy to work and gives your child room to BE a child (loud, messy and desirous of your attention if you are within earshot) and we are golden.

As long as you are treating me with respect and consideration, I don't care whether you are working out or bingeing netflix during the hours you are paying for.

I like pets and enjoy having nanny pets because then I can enjoy furry snuggles without the responsibility of actually owning my own pet. You being a WAHP actually works in your favor here because if the dog barfs all over the LR rug right before playtime, I can just text you and let you deal instead of having to deal with it asap because we have to play.

[Anonymous]

A morning person would like the hours since it leaves extra time for Dr. Appointments, hair appointments, library/pharmacy/post office errands.

[Anonymous]

If this is in a major metropolitan area, then any schedule that varies dramatically from 9-5 becomes appealing simply because everything take so much longer on evenings/weekends than it does during the weekdays when most people are at work. This is doubly true for DC which, as a government town, is very locked in to banker's hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are adopting a baby, but he/she isn't here yet but I have a question for nannies out there.

Would there be any nanny willing to work from about 5:30am until 2:30-3:00. I know that an hour or so would be OT? For a variety of reasons, this works with our schedule, so I'm wondering if there are nannies out there that would be willing to work this kind of schedule.

If you pay a HUGE premium. You realixe that to start work at 5:30 am would mean the poor soul would have to get up at 3:00 am and that would cost a bundle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are adopting a baby, but he/she isn't here yet but I have a question for nannies out there.

Would there be any nanny willing to work from about 5:30am until 2:30-3:00. I know that an hour or so would be OT? For a variety of reasons, this works with our schedule, so I'm wondering if there are nannies out there that would be willing to work this kind of schedule.

If you pay a HUGE premium. You realixe that to start work at 5:30 am would mean the poor soul would have to get up at 3:00 am and that would cost a bundle.

If it take you 2 and a half hours to go from bed to work then you need to work on your routine. I wake up an hour and 15 min before I have to be at work and I have a 30 min commute. Everything I need is prepped the night before. I wake up, check email (5 min), do yoga (15 min), shower (10 min), brush teeth, brush hair, apply a BB cream and get dressed (10 min), and gather my stuff to leave (5 min). My hair dries in the car and I pin it up when I get there. I drink water in the car and eat my breakfast sith my charges. What are you doing in the morning?

[Anonymous]

OP here again. Thank you for your responses. Nothing any of you mentioned gives me any cause for concern except the placement of my office. We live in a DC rowhouse and I am in the bedroom next to what is going to be the baby's room. The only other issue might be our housecleaning service that comes every other Monday.

I know some of these things are time of year/weather dependent, but do you go out with infants in a stroller or in a baby carrier? We live near the library, a playground and coffee shops, cafes and other stores. Do you take babies on outings? Is it age and nap schedule dependent. Do you do things around the house when the baby naps? I'm not talking heavy cleaning but something like throwing in a load of laundry or maybe chopping up some vegetables to help prep for dinner.

Please forgive my ignorance. I'm not trying to offend or trying to make anyone do lots of extra work. I just don't know the parameters and I'm trying to get a feel for what is and is not part of the job.

How is food handled? My instinct is to ask you what you like to eat and to have it on hand. It seems wrong to make you pack a lunch or breakfast and lunch.

This is all information gathering for me so thanks for answering my questions. I want to have a good relationship with whoever we hire.

[Anonymous]

The placement of your office will be a problem or not largely depending on the nature of your work. Will you be on conference calls all day that will require baby to be deaf during naps and quiet when awake? That's a problem and I would try to come up with a different plan. If you will mostly just be silently typing away, then some noise-canceling headphones would solve any issues. If you have only occasional conference calls then you can find a workaround for those occasions such as nanny taking baby out then or having baby nap in your bedroom, etc.

Nannies do usually take their charges out. How often depends on age. Under about 6 months it is more for nanny to avoid cabin fever but by the time they are walking the kid usually is happier with an outing every day or at least several times per week. As long as you have a few places nearby (library, coffee shop, toy store, book store, playground, etc.) nanny can make due with walking when baby is small and as they grow you might include places accessible via public transportation. When they are very small, long walks in good weather are fine, but by the time they are 4-6 months, you will really want them napping in the crib whenever possible because napping sometimes in the carrier, sometimes in the stroller, sometimes in the crib, etc will make it harder to build good sleep habits.

Typical nanny duties include anything child related, such as all baby's laundry (including bedsheets and towels once a week or as needed), prepping formula and washing bottles when little, and prepping finger foods and washing plates and silverware when older, keeping baby's toys, books and clothes put away and letting you know when something is outgrown and needs to be replaced, and keeping baby's room and play area (if different) swept or vaccumed and generally tidy. Some nannies will also help with other things but that varies widely. If I were hiring a nanny, I would definitely ask her to run to the grocery store once per week, as that is a task that takes twice as long in the evening as it does at 10am on a Tuesday.

There's no consistent way food is handled. Some people pay for all lunches and snacks nanny wants as a perk of the job, some expect nanny to bring anything she wants to eat from home. I tend to say that it'a best to err on the side of promising less so that you can be generous later rather than promising more and having to cut back if you find nanny eats more or more expensively than you'd anticipated. If I were hiring a nanny, I would offer her a little fridge space and a little pantry space in which to keep her food and ask if there are any special snacks she'd like (implying that she will provide her own meals), and if I noticed anything she especially likes (a certain brand of tea or crackers, for example), I would be sure to keep it on hand.

[Anonymous]

Aw, OP, we hardly ever see such newbies on this forum

I'm sure you can figure something out with a home office. Try and hire someone who has experience working for work from home parents, they will have ideas on how to make everything work the best.

I can't imagine a cleaning service would be too disruptive, so don't worry about it. You're probably going to want to have them come once a week once you have a baby, actually - babies are famous for getting everything dirty without really doing anything.

Depending on how old your child will be outings will definitely be part of the day. In the first few months leisurely walks in the pram/stroller for some fresh air and for the nanny to get out of the house, later going to playgrounds, story time at the library, baby classes, a bit later playdates, zoo, museums, etc. Some nannies don't mind or even like sitting home all day, others prefer to be out a lot - you have to decide for yourself what you want for your child and hire someone who would feel the same way.

Nannies usually do all child related tasks - child's laundry, changing their beds, keeping their toys and clothes tidy and organised, cooking for the child, etc. Usually nannies are expected to keep the areas they use during the day clean, so sweep up the kitchen floor if the lunch got messy, clean up after art projects, etc. I think most nannies don't mind loading and unloading the dishwasher or doing some other small tasks like dinner prep or vacuuming the living room. But as those are technically outside of the scope of nanny's duties you need to be upfront about what you need, so candidates who are not interested in any house cleaning would not apply. But there are no standards set in stone, so honestly list the duties you need, and you will find someone who is willing to do it. There is someone for every job.

Regarding food there are as many approaches as there are families. Most nannies are welcome to drinks and snacks/fruit, a lot of nannies who cook lunch eat what they cooked along with the kids, a lot of nannies bring a packed lunch, many families tell the nanny to help herself to anything in fridge, some families stock the food they know their nanny likes... whatever works for you.

Good luck, OP, and congratulations on your baby!