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[quote=Anonymous]OP here - sorry I fell behind on your responses. I really appreciate the different perspectives.

I'm still 5 months out from leaving my current position, so I'm really just beginning to test the waters with this idea; I have not thought through all of the complications. That's part of why I posted here - to get a better sense of what I'd be getting myself into!

In terms of getting to doctor's appointments, being sick, etc., I would do what I imagine any nanny with children would do - use whatever time off I have arranged with the family (whether paid or unpaid). I would run errands on evenings and weekends, like all working parents do.

In terms of my experience - I'm not sure when a babysitter crosses over into a nanny, but I  was a caregiver for two families (full time in summer, part time during the school year during high school and college); both families had multiple children. No experience with 2 under 2; one family had 3 elementary-aged boys, and the middle child was severely autistic. The other family had a baby and 3 year old.

I understand concerns about favoring my own child. That's something I would be aware of and frankly I think I'd be inclined to actually over-compensate just so things would be "fair" to the  other family. Like most people with two under two, I think a lot babywearing would be involved, especially when one of the babies is more high maintenance than usual (has a cold, teething, etc.) I think I would invest in a Bugaboo Donkey or some other stroller where both babies can face me when we go for walks, etc.

The point many of you raise about my daughter is definitely quite concerning. First of all - just like my son, I love my daughter more than life. She is wonderful and I would absolutely prefer to be spending that extra time with her. I'm considering doing this because making that extra money would be the wiggle room we need in our budget to be comfortable, and it would save us tens of thousands of dollars of interest on my student loans because I could continue paying them at the current rate. Additionally, I feel like my son really needs my attention in a way my daughter doesn't at this age. I'm a big believer that "birth to 3" is so critical for brain development, and they benefit from adult interactions more than anything else. Whereas my kindergartner, while by no means grown, really loves her school, her friends, and she really benefits from that enriching school environment where she can learn and grow. She also goes to bed much later than the baby, so even with her getting home at 5, I I still get three solid hours with her in the evenings on weekdays. But yes, even as I write that, it hits me that it's a HUGE sacrifice to not have that extra time.

Getting back to the point - my daughter attends a school that is affiliated with DH's university. We can afford to send her there because University faculty/staff get a steep discount on tuition. The school community is made up half of university-affiliated kids and half 1 percent-er kids (for lack of a better word). We live nearby the school. I was envisioning finding a family who has a child at DD's school, and a baby; that way drop off at my house wouldn't be too out of the way, and when DD's out of school for random professional development days, etc., I could have her and the family's older kid home with me. Depending on the family, they may prefer to have me pick up both kids at 2:30 daily rather than paying the school for extended day (until 4:30). That said, I hadn't really thought about summer. That would definitely get complicated and may be prohibitive of this idea.

Anyways, I don't have $15/hour as a hard-line. But, as you all acknowledged, I would be making big sacrifices to do this (less time with my daughter, less flexibility as a SAHM, etc.), so I'm not sure if I can bring in enough doing this to make it worth those sacrifices. It's ok if I'm not worth that income doing this job -I can accept that. It's why I asked. I'm not looking to work part-time outside the home; I'm not going to quit my current job to still need to put my infant son in daycare.

I will mull over these points, including the idea of drop-in or emergency care.

Thank you all for your responses. And I'm sorry if I came off as elitist. I'm sure there are good nannies and bad from all walks of life.

And yes, going to law school was a waste for me. I knew it would be, but that is a very long story and not really relevant here. [/quote]

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