Having two nannies for three children

[Anonymous]

Our solution was to have two full time nannies, one worked 6am - 7pm Monday to Thursday, the other lived in with us from Thursday evening to Monday am

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:God why do some of you have kids. Or continue to after struggling with the first 2? When my husband was in the navy for the first 6 years of our marriage we actively decided to wait until he got out so we wouldn’t deal with our kids playing musical caregivers

1) Some of us would be well beyond childbearing years if we waited for our husbands to stop traveling.
2) Why would it be "musical caregivers?" The OP has had the same nanny for years, and there's no reason to think the new nanny won't stay, too.
3) The reality of dual working couples is the potential for long hours. If one parent is completely absent due to travel, someone has to be available for the other parent's commute + working hours.
4) When you don't live anywhere near family, you have to over-hire childcare to make sure you're covered in case of emergency. When my husband was deployed, I twice had to take a child to the emergency room. This would have been very difficult with the other three children if I hadn't had familiar caregivers who could come stay with them.
5) I'm the PP with 4 kids who had 3 caregivers while my husband was gone. I wouldn't do that again, but at that time I had a baby who was still up frequently at night, and older kid don't always sleep all night either, particularly when their world is upended; I hired against the possibility of several days in a row of total exhaustion, so that I could potentially nap during the day. It was the cost of sanity, and I'm glad I did it. I note that you didn't "tough it out" either; you opted against kids altogether.
6) Having a nanny, or multiple nannies/housekeepers means that I have a ton of flexibility, no kid has to spend hours in the car shuttling to another kids' practices, and there's always someone available so a parent can go to a school event. Once all the kids are in school, I plan to roll into a single housekeeper/afternoon sitter.

[Anonymous]

We have two full time nannies for just two kids. Yes, I would include your current nanny in the interviewing and have the new nanny be a French speaker as well. Our nannies help each other and get along great. The extra coverage has been a God send since the kids are on such different stages and schedules. It gives me time to really spend quality time with each child and both are learning so much from their nannies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:God why do some of you have kids. Or continue to after struggling with the first 2? When my husband was in the navy for the first 6 years of our marriage we actively decided to wait until he got out so we wouldn’t deal with our kids playing musical caregivers

1) Some of us would be well beyond childbearing years if we waited for our husbands to stop traveling.
2) Why would it be "musical caregivers?" The OP has had the same nanny for years, and there's no reason to think the new nanny won't stay, too.
3) The reality of dual working couples is the potential for long hours. If one parent is completely absent due to travel, someone has to be available for the other parent's commute + working hours.
4) When you don't live anywhere near family, you have to over-hire childcare to make sure you're covered in case of emergency. When my husband was deployed, I twice had to take a child to the emergency room. This would have been very difficult with the other three children if I hadn't had familiar caregivers who could come stay with them.
5) I'm the PP with 4 kids who had 3 caregivers while my husband was gone. I wouldn't do that again, but at that time I had a baby who was still up frequently at night, and older kid don't always sleep all night either, particularly when their world is upended; I hired against the possibility of several days in a row of total exhaustion, so that I could potentially nap during the day. It was the cost of sanity, and I'm glad I did it. I note that you didn't "tough it out" either; you opted against kids altogether.
6) Having a nanny, or multiple nannies/housekeepers means that I have a ton of flexibility, no kid has to spend hours in the car shuttling to another kids' practices, and there's always someone available so a parent can go to a school event. Once all the kids are in school, I plan to roll into a single housekeeper/afternoon sitter.

Very well said, and thank you to your husband and family for the service to our country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:God why do some of you have kids. Or continue to after struggling with the first 2? When my husband was in the navy for the first 6 years of our marriage we actively decided to wait until he got out so we wouldn’t deal with our kids playing musical caregivers

+1

Lots of pathetic parents here. Stop having children OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:God why do some of you have kids. Or continue to after struggling with the first 2? When my husband was in the navy for the first 6 years of our marriage we actively decided to wait until he got out so we wouldn’t deal with our kids playing musical caregivers

1) Some of us would be well beyond childbearing years if we waited for our husbands to stop traveling.
2) Why would it be "musical caregivers?" The OP has had the same nanny for years, and there's no reason to think the new nanny won't stay, too.
3) The reality of dual working couples is the potential for long hours. If one parent is completely absent due to travel, someone has to be available for the other parent's commute + working hours.
4) When you don't live anywhere near family, you have to over-hire childcare to make sure you're covered in case of emergency. When my husband was deployed, I twice had to take a child to the emergency room. This would have been very difficult with the other three children if I hadn't had familiar caregivers who could come stay with them.
5) I'm the PP with 4 kids who had 3 caregivers while my husband was gone. I wouldn't do that again, but at that time I had a baby who was still up frequently at night, and older kid don't always sleep all night either, particularly when their world is upended; I hired against the possibility of several days in a row of total exhaustion, so that I could potentially nap during the day. It was the cost of sanity, and I'm glad I did it. I note that you didn't "tough it out" either; you opted against kids altogether.
6) Having a nanny, or multiple nannies/housekeepers means that I have a ton of flexibility, no kid has to spend hours in the car shuttling to another kids' practices, and there's always someone available so a parent can go to a school event. Once all the kids are in school, I plan to roll into a single housekeeper/afternoon sitter.

Wow. I totally get wanting/needing the extra hands, but if you paid for three caregivers, didn't that bust your budget?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:God why do some of you have kids. Or continue to after struggling with the first 2? When my husband was in the navy for the first 6 years of our marriage we actively decided to wait until he got out so we wouldn’t deal with our kids playing musical caregivers

+1

Lots of pathetic parents here. Stop having children OP.

Jealous, PP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:God why do some of you have kids. Or continue to after struggling with the first 2? When my husband was in the navy for the first 6 years of our marriage we actively decided to wait until he got out so we wouldn’t deal with our kids playing musical caregivers

1) Some of us would be well beyond childbearing years if we waited for our husbands to stop traveling.
2) Why would it be "musical caregivers?" The OP has had the same nanny for years, and there's no reason to think the new nanny won't stay, too.
3) The reality of dual working couples is the potential for long hours. If one parent is completely absent due to travel, someone has to be available for the other parent's commute + working hours.
4) When you don't live anywhere near family, you have to over-hire childcare to make sure you're covered in case of emergency. When my husband was deployed, I twice had to take a child to the emergency room. This would have been very difficult with the other three children if I hadn't had familiar caregivers who could come stay with them.
5) I'm the PP with 4 kids who had 3 caregivers while my husband was gone. I wouldn't do that again, but at that time I had a baby who was still up frequently at night, and older kid don't always sleep all night either, particularly when their world is upended; I hired against the possibility of several days in a row of total exhaustion, so that I could potentially nap during the day. It was the cost of sanity, and I'm glad I did it. I note that you didn't "tough it out" either; you opted against kids altogether.
6) Having a nanny, or multiple nannies/housekeepers means that I have a ton of flexibility, no kid has to spend hours in the car shuttling to another kids' practices, and there's always someone available so a parent can go to a school event. Once all the kids are in school, I plan to roll into a single housekeeper/afternoon sitter.

Wow. I totally get wanting/needing the extra hands, but if you paid for three caregivers, didn't that bust your budget?

We already had two of them, and I hired the third at a true "mother's helper" rate ($13/hr). I just needed a student-type for coverage, mostly. But yes, it was crazy expensive. I had a friend's teen daughter on weekends to act like an au pair, and we paid her, too, about $300/weekend. I work, we had the money, and it seemed like the right thing to do. Luckily it was a 6-month deployment and not a year, and, like I said, I can't even imagine doing it again. The kids all sleep through the night (mostly), two are now in school, and my youngest is old enough for preschool if I wanted to send him. It would be easier today than it was 2.5 years ago! We thought of it like private school tuition: the payoff was in peace of mind, even though it's fiscally ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:God why do some of you have kids. Or continue to after struggling with the first 2? When my husband was in the navy for the first 6 years of our marriage we actively decided to wait until he got out so we wouldn’t deal with our kids playing musical caregivers

1) Some of us would be well beyond childbearing years if we waited for our husbands to stop traveling.
2) Why would it be "musical caregivers?" The OP has had the same nanny for years, and there's no reason to think the new nanny won't stay, too.
3) The reality of dual working couples is the potential for long hours. If one parent is completely absent due to travel, someone has to be available for the other parent's commute + working hours.
4) When you don't live anywhere near family, you have to over-hire childcare to make sure you're covered in case of emergency. When my husband was deployed, I twice had to take a child to the emergency room. This would have been very difficult with the other three children if I hadn't had familiar caregivers who could come stay with them.
5) I'm the PP with 4 kids who had 3 caregivers while my husband was gone. I wouldn't do that again, but at that time I had a baby who was still up frequently at night, and older kid don't always sleep all night either, particularly when their world is upended; I hired against the possibility of several days in a row of total exhaustion, so that I could potentially nap during the day. It was the cost of sanity, and I'm glad I did it. I note that you didn't "tough it out" either; you opted against kids altogether.
6) Having a nanny, or multiple nannies/housekeepers means that I have a ton of flexibility, no kid has to spend hours in the car shuttling to another kids' practices, and there's always someone available so a parent can go to a school event. Once all the kids are in school, I plan to roll into a single housekeeper/afternoon sitter.

My husband served this country just like yours did. I’m not reading all of these excuses. It’s selfish to continue making kids that won’t have the proper care just because you’re in your childbearing years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:God why do some of you have kids. Or continue to after struggling with the first 2? When my husband was in the navy for the first 6 years of our marriage we actively decided to wait until he got out so we wouldn’t deal with our kids playing musical caregivers

+1

Lots of pathetic parents here. Stop having children OP.

You are the only pathetic person here, certainly not OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:God why do some of you have kids. Or continue to after struggling with the first 2? When my husband was in the navy for the first 6 years of our marriage we actively decided to wait until he got out so we wouldn’t deal with our kids playing musical caregivers

1) Some of us would be well beyond childbearing years if we waited for our husbands to stop traveling.
2) Why would it be "musical caregivers?" The OP has had the same nanny for years, and there's no reason to think the new nanny won't stay, too.
3) The reality of dual working couples is the potential for long hours. If one parent is completely absent due to travel, someone has to be available for the other parent's commute + working hours.
4) When you don't live anywhere near family, you have to over-hire childcare to make sure you're covered in case of emergency. When my husband was deployed, I twice had to take a child to the emergency room. This would have been very difficult with the other three children if I hadn't had familiar caregivers who could come stay with them.
5) I'm the PP with 4 kids who had 3 caregivers while my husband was gone. I wouldn't do that again, but at that time I had a baby who was still up frequently at night, and older kid don't always sleep all night either, particularly when their world is upended; I hired against the possibility of several days in a row of total exhaustion, so that I could potentially nap during the day. It was the cost of sanity, and I'm glad I did it. I note that you didn't "tough it out" either; you opted against kids altogether.
6) Having a nanny, or multiple nannies/housekeepers means that I have a ton of flexibility, no kid has to spend hours in the car shuttling to another kids' practices, and there's always someone available so a parent can go to a school event. Once all the kids are in school, I plan to roll into a single housekeeper/afternoon sitter.

My husband served this country just like yours did. I’m not reading all of these excuses. It’s selfish to continue making kids that won’t have the proper care just because you’re in your childbearing years.

How do they not have the proper care again? I'm kind of worried about your kids. Apparently, their mother, who cares for them full time, lacks compassion, empathy, and the ability to see beyond her own nose. Oh, and logic.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I don't get the goofy arguments here - if I could afford two nannies, I would have two nannies.


Yes, OP, it would be great if your current nanny helped you interview and would be perfect if the new nanny was a French speaker.

[Anonymous]

Me three if I could afford a nanny I would and I was actually a nanny before. Taking care of children is very hard.

[Anonymous]

From my way of thinking, it would be better for my kids if I could afford two nannies. There are so many things I can't do with my older girls because of the baby and times I have to disrupt the baby to do things for my older girls. Our nanny is fantastic but she only covers the hours I am out of the house and DH travels all the time for work. The baby is not getting the attention my older two got at night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From my way of thinking, it would be better for my kids if I could afford two nannies. There are so many things I can't do with my older girls because of the baby and times I have to disrupt the baby to do things for my older girls. Our nanny is fantastic but she only covers the hours I am out of the house and DH travels all the time for work. The baby is not getting the attention my older two got at night.

This too shall pass! Just remember your baby has two older siblings who will probably give him/her loads of attention as they get older. Hopefully that will compensate in the long run. You could also consider getting a mother's helper for some of the evenings when your husband is away, so you are not spread so thin. No need to hire a nanny since you are there and in charge, but a high school student to play with the older children while you make dinner and tend to the baby might suffice.