Yes, two weeks is too long. A couple days to walk her through the routine and give her a neighborhood tour are really all you need. The transition time can be longer with special needs babies, though. I would use the time to rest or tackle projects that require more time. Maybe plan to attend an activity each day such as story time. That will help you get acquainted with the places baby will be taken when you are not around. Definitely don't plan a lot of one on one time with the nanny during the day. That is wayyyy to much pressure on her, like she is there to entertain you as well.

Anonymous wrote:As a nanny I would hate the down time at someone's else's house ...

It would have been smarter to have her part time, like from 8am to 2pm.

And 2 weeks is too long to overlap, it gets on everybody's nerves.

So you never have downtime while working? Even during naps you are constantly doing something?
In 15 years I've never had a job where I don't have downtime, or where the parents don't say I can read, watch tv, play on my laptop or tablet while the kids are sleeping. The only chores I have are washing the bottles and doing the babies laundry. The only time I don't get downtime is when one or both babies don't nap which is rare.

Training days when it omes to infant care are never really about the infant. I you've hired an experienced infant nanny it's not needed.

Most information can be exchanged within 30 minutes.

I do training weeks or days for the parents to help them in the transition leaving their little one with an outsider is a huge deal no matter the years of experience or great references I have, so if a new parents wants 2 weeks I have no problem coming in.

So don't let some other posters make you feel badly about the 2 weeks that transition period length is between you and your nanny.

The only thing I wouldn't like would be sitting in your home while you are out with the baby .
If you want to go out have her come in only part time those days or give her the day off.

I saw this in the General Parenting section and tried to reply but it was locked.

My advice is that two weeks is a bit overkill.

I am both a mother as well as a nanny.

I think between 3-5 days is more than enough time for you to train your new nanny, establish trust as well as let her bond w/your child.

One day she can "shadow" you for a few hours, then another day you can "shadow" her for another few hours. This will be a perfect Q & A session for the two of you. Then one day let her be on her own, while you are near by in the home, cleaning, doing some laundry, etc. So if she has a question or needs some assistance, you are nearby. If she needs a day or two more, then you can meet a friend for coffee/lunch/shopping and see how things go.

It should never take longer than five days total.
In my personal and professional opinion, any nanny who needs up to two weeks of training is not a very good nanny.

As a nanny I would hate the down time at someone's else's house ...

It would have been smarter to have her part time, like from 8am to 2pm.

And 2 weeks is too long to overlap, it gets on everybody's nerves.

I specialize in newborns and infants. Two weeks to me is way too many days to be working with mom around especially a first time mom, no offense but first time moms are nervous and might think nanny is doing things wrong and micromanage when they are home and have nothing to do.

If your nanny is ok with working 2 weeks with you home try and make it as easy as possible. The first day show her how you do things and where things are. The second day and after watch how she does things and take the time she there to rest catch up on house work, tv shows, a book, errands. She most likely won't do things exactly like you do and that's ok and your baby will adjust to each caregiver.
What about going to lunch with just the other moms and leaving baby home? If you choose to take baby you can ask nanny to do baby's laundry, change crib sheets, organize the baby's clothes, wash bottles, prepare bottles either with formula or breast milk. If you freeze breast milk she can organize the freezer. Please do not ask her to clean your toilets, your dishes, your laundry, make your bed, vacuum or mop (you could ask she do these in the room the baby is in just not the entire house), you could also suggest she use that time you and baby are out to research activities to do with the baby and what she will do to help with development. I use nap times to write up a curriculum (with newborns and young infants it's more about motor and social development but as they get older sensory, colors and so forth. She could write down what she plans to do with baby during the day

I am a nanny and have started a few days before with majority of previous families. Basically we did 2-3 full days. During those days I would be shown around the home and shown where everything I need is. Mom walks me briefly through child's routine and If the baby has any special requirements or prefers a certain way to be put to sleep ( happens!) then I am shown that. Normally the moms will leave for appointments and leave me alone ( sometimes 5-6 hour blocks) and I do the normal - play, feed, naps, etc. With mom home, she will either interact with child and me or do tasks she needs done while watching how I interact with her child. If time allows, we go out for a walk in the neighborhood and I'm shown around ( if new to area).

I'm a infant nanny so I always start with 11-13 week olds. I love trial days. It reassures the parents that they chose a great nanny and they ( especially mom) feels confident and comfortable leaving her child in my care. Going back to worry is always hard, but it's an easier transition when the mom has trust in my abilities and care. I also love that I can get a clear picture of the child's routine, how/what they like, and I'm able to cover any additional questions I may have. Good luck!

Nanny here. Typically when I start with a newborn I will start a couple of weeks early, but those 2 weeks I'm not full time. I start my regular full time hours when mom goes back to work.

A day or 2 I am with mom and baby having an orientation.

Sometimes I will accompany mom on an errand or two.

I have not stayed at home by myself. Not saying it's wrong but it's not what I do.

I only overlapped with our nanny for one full day and 3 days part time. I was quickly in the way (and confident in her ability). I definitely don't think i would have wanted two weeks of overlap but that's a personal choice and there's nothing wrong with it.

If you want to take the baby out, do it! Maybe the nanny could run a load of laundry for you (baby laundry) during that time, or help you figure out how to organize the baby's closet or something. Or maybe you just give her a couple of hours of down time - there are worse things.

Congrats on the baby!

Like, a couple of weeks before you returned to work? Our nanny starts next week and I will have two weeks at home with her and the baby. If you did this, what did you do all day? Spend time with the nanny and baby, do things by yourself, or a combination of these? I have some good mom friends I've made while on leave, and we regularly meet up for lunch/shopping, etc. Is it ok for me to bring the baby to do things like this while leaving the nanny at home? I am a little unsure about how this new dynamic should work, and want to give the nanny enough to do, but also want to spend time with my baby (and friends/their babies) before my leave ends.