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[quote=nannydebsays][quote=Anonymous]My husband and I are expecting our first child in early May 2014. We are on a wait list for infant daycare, but we are now leaning a lot more on getting a full time nanny instead. We are both small business owners, but work close to home. Both our families live out of state/overseas, so we will not have family help for the first few weeks.

My friend has the model nanny. Even now that her children are 5 and 9 years old- she still is part of their lives because she genuinely cared about them. I am really hoping we get someone who is professional, but who genuinely cares about children. I also want to be fair and reward the person who is helping care for our family. I want to get a sense for what realistic expectations are.

Here are my questions:[/quote]

1. If we are looking for someone full time (to come in at 8 a.m. and leave around 6 p.m.)- what should we expect will be a fair pay.

What is your budget for childcare? Determine what you want to pay, than what you can afford to pay, and see what sort of candidates you have responding at the various pay levels.

2. We have the option of providing housing for our full time nanny. We have a complete separate fully stocked/furnished private english basement. If we have a live-in, what should we anticipate the cost will be? We live in Mount Pleasant.

LI nannies may be willing to take $2 or so less an hour, and in many cases a LI does not get paid OT, which makes a much larger difference in your costs. There are many IRS laws regarding what you can "charge" a LI for her quarters, and I would find someone qualified to answer those questions.

3. How do you work around the hours when someone in a live-in.

You use a work agreement, and you specify what hours nanny will be working. If you need nanny to work more than those hours, you specify what sort of notice you must give nanny, what she will be paid for that extra time, and whether nanny has the right to refuse any additional hours. FYI, I can't imagine a nanny willing to be "forced" to work extra, so that clause would be more of a CYA for the nanny in case you got upset that she refused extra work hours.

4. If we live close to parks etc, would we need our nanny to have a driver's license, and drive our LO around?

Unless you are absolutely sure you will never ever need nanny to drive your DC anywhere through the duration of her time with you, I'd look for someone capable of driving if needed.

5. Can we expect that our nanny will also do light housework? Is this extra? We have a housekeeper currently who comes in twice a week.

Generally speaking, nannies are willing to do work that relates directly to the child(ren) they care for - laundry, general toy and living space tidying, some cooking, possibly light kitchen tidying, like dishwasher loading/unloading. Some nannies refuse to do anything other than childcare, some are willing to do more than childcare-related housekeeping. You need to decide what you want nanny to focus on.

6. If we wanted additional help like a night nurse a few nights a week, what should we expect in terms of costs.

$25 - $40, depending on the level of experience of the night nanny or the Newborn Care Specialist.

7. When should I start interviewing for next May?

No more than 3 months in advance, unless you are willing to pay a retainer fee to a candidate. Most quality candidates who are employed will want to give their current families adequate notice, which can range from 2 weeks to 2 months time.

8. Is it better to use an agency?

You still have to do some of the "scut work" to verify references and employment, asking references questions, and so forth, but an agency can do the initial weeding out of unacceptable candidates so that you don't spend hours trying to find someone to interview. 
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