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[quote=Anonymous]MB here.  I think a day or two of some level of overlap is extremely helpful.  I also think exactly how it's structured, and how much time is involved, is a function of the individuals involved so asking your soon to be nanny what she might prefer is a good idea.

There will be things you will forget to mention, or may feel more anxious about that you expected, or you might feel conflicted about leaving the baby in a way you don't expect, or your child might be going through an evolution in sleep patterns, etc...   All of these things make a bit of overlapping time a good idea.

Also, no matter how experienced the nanny, or how laid back the parents, there are variations in style/approach to caregiving.  You might not have thought all of that through until you're handing the baby to someone, or coming home at the end of the day away.

Just as an example, when our nanny started I thought I'd done everything right, she was phenominally qualified, I was pretty relaxed, the kids were healthy/happy, I felt good about going back to work, etc...   I came home at the end of the first day to find that the nap schedule I'd worked so hard to establish had been completely disregarded.  I had totally failed to make clear one of the only things I felt most strongly about maintaining.  Once I did, it was totally fine.  Her approach had been different but she was perfectly able and willing to follow the established pattern - I just hadn't mentioned it.

That may sound silly (I feel ridiculous looking back on that incident) but by the time you go back to work you will have established way more patterns of behavior and caregiving than you might have realized.  And there may be some that are really important to you and others that you're very flexible about.  Having some time w/ both you and the nanny together will help ferret those things out, instead of having the backtrack after misunderstandings.

Good luck![/quote]

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