Babysitter vs Mother's Helper ?

The time has come. I need some help. I love being SAHM and can't afford much help. But DH works alot and they are crawling fast, standing and will be walking before I know it. I'm crumbling under the physical (and emotional) strain.

I'm debating btwn searching for a Mother's Helper. pros: younger, cheaper, could hire for more hours. Cons: limited because of school/activities, I wouldn't be able to leave.

or a Babysitter/(very) part time nanny. pros: more experience, I'd be able to leave them with her. cons: $$$, so I can't afford many hours. I live in Calif where nannys often get paid $15-20 per hour.

The day that I need the most help is Mondays. DH works atleast 12 hours that day. I'm struggling with the evening routine (dinner, baths, bottle, etc) alone (after taking care of them solo all day, I"m wiped out). I'm not sure if I'm comfortable leaving them with someone else to do the evening routine. It's really a 2 person job, so that brings me back to Mother's Helper. But I really need to get out of the house a couple hours a week....

What would you do?

BTW I found a possible nanny. (from another twin mom who she works for 2 days per week). $17 an hour and does some cooking, laundry, light housekeeping. Is that worth it?

 

The time has come. I need some help. I love being SAHM and can't afford much help. But DH works alot and they are crawling fast, standing and will be walking before I know it. I'm crumbling under the physical (and emotional) strain.

I'm debating btwn searching for a Mother's Helper. pros: younger, cheaper, could hire for more hours. Cons: limited because of school/activities, I wouldn't be able to leave.

or a Babysitter/(very) part time nanny. pros: more experience, I'd be able to leave them with her. cons: $$$, so I can't afford many hours. I live in Calif where nannys often get paid $15-20 per hour.

The day that I need the most help is Mondays. DH works atleast 12 hours that day. I'm struggling with the evening routine (dinner, baths, bottle, etc) alone (after taking care of them solo all day, I"m wiped out). I'm not sure if I'm comfortable leaving them with someone else to do the evening routine. It's really a 2 person job, so that brings me back to Mother's Helper. But I really need to get out of the house a couple hours a week....

What would you do?

BTW I found a possible nanny. (from another twin mom who she works for 2 days per week). $17 an hour and does some cooking, laundry, light housekeeping. Is that worth it?

 

The $17 nanny sounds good. It's tough though...you'd have to have a really good gut feeling before leaving your babies with someone you don't know...my Night Nanny was $12/hr, she cleaned, made bottles, washed dishes and did laundry. She didn't cook, that would have been nice!

 

Wow, only $12 per hour. That's unheard of around here. The lowest I've ever heard is $20. Most night nannys charge $30 for twins here.

I do have a friend who's hired a 19 year old student for $10 per hour. She even cooks and does some housework. Maybe I should keep looking for that deal!?

 

I would totally consider hiring a 19 year old to come in and help with the girls and do some light house work. Just because of their age doesn't mean that they are immature. I have a 12 year old niece that I would leave the girl's with and not have any worries.

 

I use a mother's helper. She is in 7th grade, very mature and polite, butgets flustered very easily if one/both start crying. She comes and helps out a few days a week after school and I pay her $2.50 an hour. She watches the kids while I do some chores or takes one and I take one if needed. She helps keep ds1 entertained. I DO leave her here while the twins are napping. I put them down, she comes, I run quick errands and am home by the time they wake up. So you can get out of the house with a Mother's Helper during nap time. She lives 3 houses down so Mom is close by if needed. It is great and cheap! I love her! And I can groom her into the perfect babysitter!

 

quote:
Originally posted by Safari:
Wow, only $12 per hour. That's unheard of around here. The lowest I've ever heard is $20. Most night nannys charge $30 for twins here.




YES! And she was FABULOUS! I had her for 5 nights a week for the first couple months! She only does multiples and only does nights, she had 26 families in our area over the last 15 years. She was not with an agency (they WERE 20-25/hour), I found her through our local MOMs Club.

That may be a good way for anyone looking for day help - contact your MOMS club and see if anyone knows of someone reliable!

 

Safari, if you could use her for just Mondays I think it would be well worth it. It's taking too much of a toll on you!

 

Perhaps some combination of the two? That way you would have the level of professionalism (and yes, definitely someone for those long mondays!) that you are comfortable with, and be able to get out of the house a bit, plus you could have someone for different days at a lesser price who would do less but would still pick up some of the slack. Maybe a young mother's helper can also do laundry and some other light chores (dishes, etc.) And I love the notion of training your own home-grown baby sitter! Good luck!