Are you paying her a discounted rate?

Unless your MIL is fairly young and in good shape, she's going to be exhausted by this schedule and commute.

You might want to explore having her work a short shift and having a second person come in from 2 - 6.

I live 2 miles from work. There is no way I'd be able to handle that long of a commute.

"Whew - that's a heckuva long day. Especially for someone who is presumably a bit older.

Our nanny works 8-6 but she lives 10 minutes away."

+1
I love that our nanny has a short commute. I think it makes a big difference in being able to tolerate the 10 hr days, let alone on the rare occassion we need OT.

I work 10.25 hours/day M-Th and 9 hours on Friday. My commute is usually about 35 minutes, but on bad days can be 45-60 minutes in evening rush. If I had to regularly commute 1.25 hours each way I fear that I would burn out extremely quickly, and I'm in my early 30s.

I think your concerns regarding the 10 hour days and long commute are valid. If possible I recommend either 1) staggering work schedules with your husband to cut the hours 2) hiring a p/t person to either relieve your MIL by 4pm at least a couple days each week or do 1-3 full days to reduce the number of days your MIL has 3) have your MIL live with you during the week.

Hopefully you can find a solution that has your MIL involved as a caregiver in your infant's life while reducing the potential for burnout.

When I was 30, I had a nanny job that was at least 10 hours a day, plus I would spend up to 3 hours a day commuting, sometimes more. It almost killed me and I was tired all the time and honestly, I was not a great nanny to this family because of it. Is there a room for her to stay in if she would like to stay a few times a week? Could you shorten her hours? If the answer is no, I would rethink your plan.

I work 9 hour days and commute 10 or 30 minutes, depending if I'm coming from mine or my boyfriends house. With a commute like that, your MIL is going to burn out no matter what. Seems like a recipe for disaster.

I work 8am-6pm but I live 5 minutes away.

If I had that long of a commute it would not be viable, I'd burn out for sure.

I work 8-8.

Whew - that's a heckuva long day. Especially for someone who is presumably a bit older.

Our nanny works 8-6 but she lives 10 minutes away. And she often stays overnight if there is inclement weather etc...

I think it's worth looking into an alternate option for one or two days a week. Or - perhaps having a "mommy's helper" type level of support for her in the afternoons so MIL can get a break.

It really sounds grueling and like a recipe for sudden trouble (MIL gets sick and you're in a jam for instance).

Anonymous wrote:Ours works 8-hour days, but I work from home.

Your MIL is going to drive 2.5 hours every day to come to you? Can you give her a room to stay there? This sounds like a recipe for burnout no matter what you do about the actual working hours ...

+1. I would honestly look into alternative childcare for 1-2 days per week.

Ours works 8-hour days, but I work from home.

Your MIL is going to drive 2.5 hours every day to come to you? Can you give her a room to stay there? This sounds like a recipe for burnout no matter what you do about the actual working hours ...

DH works from home or his office which is 15 minutes away. So our manny can show up at 8:30 and leave at 5 or 5:30. But if DH is traveling for work then he has to arrive at 7am and stay until about 7pm. But he's not in his 50's or 60's so that's not as long of a day for him.

I'm a nanny, not an MB, but my days can range from 8 hours up to 12 hours. My bosses did stagger their schedules initially to keep my days at 8 hours, but with early/late meetings and wanting to be home before the baby goes to bed, that doesn't always happen.

I'm a FTM and we are having my MIL nanny for us. Our initial thought was to have her nanny from 8am-6pm each weekday, but those are long 10-hour days for my MIL and I don't want to wear her out with our infant (3.5 months old currently). She also has a 1.25 hour (each way) commute to get to our house each day, so that means super long days for my MIL.

So I thought I'd throw it out there - how many hours does your nanny work each day? And do you and your spouse stagger your working hours or do work from home to reduce the hours the nanny works? TIA for your answers and advice!