Have you left them with a sitter yet?

As much as I LOVE my children, DH and I really need to get out of the house together! My MIL and her twin sister have sat for us a number of times but aren't always available, so we need to find a regular sitter for our boys. I'm totally paranoid about leaving them with a stranger and am working every angle possible to find a sitter within our family/friend network and think I we may have found one (DH's cousin's girlfriend who is in her early 20s, college student, has lots of siblings she has taken care of and DH's cousin would probably sit with her and he is an EMT/firefighter).

So, questions...is 5 months too young to leave with sitter? What is reasonable to pay a sitter for 5 month old twins?

Thanks ladies!!

 

We waited until just a couple weeks ago to have someone other than family watch them for the first time. I was nervous leading up to it, but once she came I was so ready to get out of the house with my husband, alone for a change that I just had to have faith that they would be OK. I met with her two weeks before she came to sit and spent a couple hours with her and the kiddos to see how she interacted with them, asked her questions about her experience, how she handles situations, and her training/certification. The first time she sat, we were only gone for a couple hours. She is 29 and looking for something enjoyable to do while her husband worked evenings on the weekends. I liked her right away and also got references to check. It helped that she had previously been a part-time nanny for someone else with 10 mo. old twins. I found her through http://www.babysitters.com.

I would say that 5 months old is fine - you need to get time away and they are not at the age yet where seperation anxiety starts to set in. I think it's harder to start introducing a sitter later if they haven't been accustomed to having others watch them until that point. I was REALLY nervous about that after having waited for so long, but luckily, Chloe had just gotten past her "stranger anxiety/seperation anxiety" bout that lasted from 7 - 10 mo. old. Bryce could care less .

The babies did really well with her - she was even able to put Chloe to sleep in 5 MINUTES!! It takes me a half hour to forty five minutes to get that girl to sleep!

Good luck and hope you find someone who you feel comfortable with!

Carina

 

We've left our girls with several sitters - we have a 4yo in addition to the twins. Mostly family in the beginning but now it's who ever we can find. Our nanny started when the girls were 1 month old. I was home most of the time for the next 4 months but she got the hang of 2 pretty quick. We've had a few young ladies from my older DD's daycare. They are very used to handlig multiple babies as the infant room ratio is 4 babies to 1 caretaker. We pay between $11 and 15 an hour, depending on the person and circumstances.

In a pinch, we joined the local nanny network. For $50 yearly fee and $15 per day, they will find a nanny/babysitter. We had to use the service when my nanny hurt her back and was out for 3 weeks. The ladies they sent were amazing. I would trust any of them with the girls. We got to know 2 and can now add them to our list.

I would not use a very young person or one who does not have a lot of experience with babies - they just won't be able to handle things well.

 

5 months isn't too young. I think every age has its challenges. You might want to ease into at first, like, the first time you leave them do it after they have already gone to bed. The next time, do it for a small window of time they are awake.

We have only left our babies twice so far and both times it was after they went to bed. But I have been keeping phone numbers of people I can call to babysit. That's good you found person in your network; I think that's important!

 

O yes, thank god I did :lol:

I have a sitter for 2 half days for the twins so that I can do things with my oldest (class, errands, etc.) and I also have a student sitter who helps me putting everybody to bed (especially my oldest). She comes a little early on Thursday so that I can pick my oldest up at school without having to take the twins.

Sometimes she stays longer when we go out for dinner. All kids are good sleepers, once they sleep, they sleep and even the twins don't wake up until early in the morning (usually 5.30 am; but they do go back down).

My family is 4,500 miles from here ... so I need help. I found my twin sitter via an agency (they also provided us with the night nanny we had) and the student is the daughter of somebody my best friend worked with.

 

I have had a nanny that I share with another woman for 1 full day and one half day per week. I started using her when they were almost 4 month. I am home most of those days catching up on housework, but it is nice to be able to leave on those days. I LOVE HER!!! We found her on Craigslist. The other mom actually placed the ad for the nanny. She needed to share her, but did not want to let her go - which is always a great sign. I tried a few nanny agencies, but just got bad feelings. FOLLOW YOUR GUT when you are interviewing. Have people "check in" unexpectedly every so often. Do what you feel comfortable with...it is your family.

Anyway, good luck searching. I hope you have a date soon!!

jen

 

No that isn't to young to leave them with a sitter. Mine stayed with my mom over night since they were 1 month old.

 

We have used sitters since they were 6 weeks old - about once every 6 weeks. We have used family and friends - 2 of whom are only 15 years old. And they rock! They are so great with the babies and I really do believe that it is good for them (the babies) to see new faces, have new ways of doing things, etc. We've never had any problems!