I've made no secret of the fact that Melly was a nanny-baby, and it's a decision that I'm very grateful that we made. We loved our nanny.
For those of you struggling with the nanny vs. daycare question, as I was, I wanted to share a post I wrote on High Heeled Mom about the pros and cons of having a nanny.
Nannies have allowed me to work and retain my sanity. I work full time and my husband travels...A LOT. Being primary cargiver for three is hard enough without the added stress of getting them out of the house. They would be going to three different places--impossible. That said, you are completely dependent on their sense of responsibilty. Usually nannies are doing the job because other opportunities are not available.I have lost plenty of days of work for unclear reasons. You also do lose some privacy--someone is in your home, usually more waking hours than you are. I wouldn't do it differently;honestly I can't.
ReplyDeleteBoth my kids had nanny 0-3. I loved it. Our house was disease free until C started preschool (J was around 6 months) - then we all got the funk for almost a year.
ReplyDeleteI echo many of your sentiments. Their former nanny still housecleans once a week, and has started nannying for my sister-in-law who just started her residency after maternity leave. I have great hopes that she will be plugged into my kid's lives somehow for a long time. She was, and is, invaluable to me.
We had a nanny for the kids first few years. We found it was easier than daycare, and came out to around the same price.
ReplyDeleteI had a nanny until I was 5, and I loved her.
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time seeing how having kids and having a career in medicine can work without a nanny. Kids get sick and can't go to daycare/school, and you can't take off every time your kiddo has the sniffles and a low grade fever, right? I couldn't even manage taking day classes if my mom hadn't agreed to "nanny" for us when my kids are home sick from school.
ReplyDeleteI wrote in here: http://www.mothersinmedicine.com/2010/03/matching-to-different-drummer.html
ReplyDeleteWhat did I decide to do? After applying for many jobs as a medical assistant or nurse assistant at various childrens hospitals and not getting hired, I finally did.
As a nanny! (Until residency begins next year) So today I brought over a giant couch-sized box for my kids to color, play in, around, and upon. Today already the box was: a spaceship, a racecar, a fort, a jail, a train and batmans car AND batmans cave. :D
Oh, and I'll take step 3 in the next few months also.