if you missed my first post on why we decided to finally get a nanny, you can read that here. in that post, I mention that I was torn on what to do – get a part-time nanny, wing it myself and not get a nanny, or get a full-time nanny.
ultimately (you can read more in the post), I decided to go with a full-time nanny, since I run a business and I just knew I wouldn’t be able to grow and build my brand if I was doing it “part-time.”
it was one of the best decisions I’ve made, and I couldn’t be happier with our current childcare situation.
the nanny
we are absolutely blessed. she loves Luca just like we do – she cares so much for him, not just for the snuggles but to make sure he’s okay. make sure he’s being entertained in a way that’s safe, fun, and educational! she’s so hands on, she tries to make up games and songs with him, and she always makes sure he’s exploring and learning.
she likes to take him on walks, set up a blanket with some of his toys and get him in the fresh air at least once or twice a day. she walks over to this shaded area on the boardwalk and hangs out with him (and sends me the cutest pictures!)
she has three children of her own (twin boys and a daughter), so she’s literally been through it all. there are times when I don’t know what I’m doing and she kindly offers her advice in a very non-pushy way, which I really respect. she’s been so helpful!
she also speaks spanish the whole time to Luca, which means a lot to Lu, since he’d like Luca to know Spanish, since his whole family speaks in Spanish (and so does Lu, of course.) I love it too, and at first, I was nervous about the language issues (would he not learn to speak English quick enough?!), but then I realized (after reading up about it), studies prove that early exposure to multiple languages ends up improving language skills!
the first week
the first week was rough. as she was getting to know how he liked to play, be put to sleep, and be soothed, it was hard not to run in the room and help. but the biggest piece of advice I was given by a former nanny was to NOT to do that, because then the baby learns that if he cries, he’ll get mommy.
the first day, I had her shadow me a little bit, but I quickly realized that she could handle it. I wanted to show her where everything was, how he likes to go to sleep, how to set up the white noise for him, all those little things.
now, the nanny and Luca are great friends! he smiles when she walks in the door, it makes my heart melt. she knows him so well and it’s so sweet to see her care for him – it’s just more love in Luca’s life and we can never have too much love!
and from day one, she’s been writing down his nap/wake up times, feeding times, meal times, and even when she gives him his vitamin so we remember. she’s very organized and thoughtful (she even suggested these safe baby nail clippers that we now use and love!)
nursing, meals, and working from home
the nanny starts at 8am and leaves at 5pm everyday. in the beginning, she came 8:30am-5:30pm and then it worked better with both of our schedules to move to 8-5, so that’s what we did! communication is always key!
I was actually recently talking to my husband about how much time I spend with the baby during the day and although I love it, I need to manage my time better. I spend a LOT of time during the day on his meals – prepping them, cooking them, serving them, and cleaning up. I spend about 3 hours with the baby a day between meal times and nursing sessions.
I’m going to spend more time on Sundays meal prepping for the baby so I don’t spend that time during the week, which will save me hours a day to spend on work (which I need!) also, I’m going to start letting her give him meals alone, to get her more comfortable with baby led weaning (she was SO anxious/scared at first and now she doesn’t bat an eyleash!)
aside from solid food meals, I nurse him on demand still – and since I work from home, I build my schedule/appointments/meetings around his nursing times, so I can nurse him (because I love having that time with him and I HATE pumping.) unless I’m at a meeting or an appointment runs late (which has only happened a handful of times), I nurse the baby. I hear him starting to get fussy/hungry and I just walk over, pick him up and nurse him. I burp him and then give him back to the nanny to continue playing!
other than that, I stay in the front of the apartment (we have a den which is my office) and work. I try to time his naps/when he’s out of the apartment on a walk to do my cooking work for the blog, because he can sometimes get a little fussy when I’m in the same room as him (because he wants me to play with him!) however, I have to say, he’s gotten a LOT better about being in the same room with me and not needing to be on me at all times. it was harder in the beginning, but now, since it’s more “normal”, he’s a LOT better.
one thing I wish I had thought of…
my only thing I wished I had thought of early on in the nanny hiring process was weekends and nights. our nanny doesn’t do nights or weekends, so we have to find a babysitter for that, while I have many friends whose nannies also babysit for date nights, work conflicts, etc. we haven’t found a babysitter we trust/like yet (aside from my parents and my sister, haha), but we also haven’t looked that hard yet.
however, having said that, I wouldn’t want a different nanny than the one we have now, she’s absolutely perfect for our family and she feels like she’s part of it already! we feel very blessed and grateful to have our nanny in our (and Luca’s!) lives!