Parenting: Our daily nanny log

 Less than a month left until our due date and things are coming together nicely.   This past week I ordered some nursing clothes which I plan on including in the go bag as well as just wanting some tank tops and such for once Joshua is here.  I also had my 36 week appointment this week and did all of the pre-admitting for the hospital and scheduled my last four appointments.  The nursery is all set up and thank you cards are out for all the gifts.  We did our labor and delivery class last Sunday and are feeling a little  bit more preapred as far as what to expect.  

I still need to build a go bag (the diaper bag is already done since none of that stuff needs to be used between now and whenever we go to the hospital).  Next weekend we plan on clearing out our registries for the items left.  Then the last thing we need to do is actually post our nanny job.  We plan on posting the job on sittercity.com  which only allows you to post a job three months out.  Since we want the nanny to start in January, it means we need to wait until the first week of October to post the job.  If we don't have someone hired by December we will probably also post on care.com since that should cast a wider net.  We have decided that we are considering paying extra for housekeeping as well.  We also broke down what we are expecting to pay which came out to about $8.50-$10.00/ hr with cleaning or $8.00-$9.50/ hr without.  

We also have the nanny log mostly done.  It took me a little bit to get used to the idea since it felt weird to me to have a log but I am glad we are doing it.  Especially since the nanny will come in the mornings when I am home and leave when Kevin gets home.  It just helps with continuity and keeping track of Joshua's schedule.  We decided to use google forms to keep track but we will just have one copy printed out and laminated for her to take notes on during the day.  Then the nanny won't need to be jumping on the computer for every update, she can just update it at the end of the day and it will automatically go into a spreadsheet.  Hopefully, this will help us avoid rushed conversations at the end of the day.  Below is the link to the nanny log.  Feel free to give it a try.  If you have any suggestions, feel free to leave your comments below.  (Please note: this will change when we move to solid foods. We also decided to leave diapers off as it just didn't seem necessary early on).
Joshua's Day Log

Parenting: Choosing Childcare

I guess it is probably time for another blog post.We are at 31 weeks and this little boy is already running out of room.  I wasn't sure what to write about since there isn't much change in my current situation.  I am due in about 2 months and Joshua seems to be growing healthily.  I have no concerns really to speak of and while most of the pregnancy symptoms really suck, it's still not that bad (though I am ever expanding). This week I did get Joshua's room a little more organized and cleared a space in our kitchen cabinets and linen closets for the addition of his things.  We are only a couple of weeks away from the baby shower and gifts are already starting to roll in! 

So, I figured instead of sharing how little things are changing, I will share some of the planning we have done in preparation for Joshua's arrival.And the question we get most is about what we intend to do for childcare.  So in this post, I will cover how we have chosen a nanny.  In a later post, I will cover things like how we intend to evaluate the job and also walking through our hiring process (we are still a couple of months from hiring anyone). 

How did we decide to get a nanny? Well it was a number of factors.  The first was really that we can afford it.  Money wasn't the main drive for wanting a nanny, but it was a show stopper.  If we couldn't afford it, then we weren't going to go any further.  So, Kevin and I looked at our budget from this year and looked at the money we are saving and have determined that by shifting the money we are saving to pay for the nanny, we have more than enough to cover the cost of a nanny.  To make sure we could afford a nanny, we factored how many hours we expected her to work in a week (aiming high at 40), then multiplying that by the minimum wage (our state's minimum wage  is higher than our federal).   We then spread it out over the course of a year because we want to pay more of a salary than hourly.  I have normally at least two extra days  off each month and we are actually expecting that the nanny will probably work closer to 35- 37 hours a week as Kevin and mine's schedules overlap. So realistically, their pay will average more than a dollar over minimum wage but we figured it would be better if our nanny just got the same paycheck every time so that she has a steady income and doesn't need to worry about what happens on my short work weeks. It's also worth noting that in our area, a starting nanny makes approximately 50 cents under minimum wage (which is illegal technically) so what we are able to offer is actually competitive in our area.  (We recognize that as we move, that may no longer be the case and we may need to explore other options).  

We also knew we wanted to set the agenda for our childcare every day.  We know we want Joshua read to every day, have tummy time and occasionally be taken on a walk.  As he gets older we want someone to work on sign language with him as well as other mile stones like talking and walking. For daycare, depending on where you go  determines what sort of care your child gets.  But no matter where you go they set the agenda, and you sign on for how they want to do things.  And part of setting the agenda for us is doing a daily nanny log.  (See next blog post!)

Other factors included wanting a flexible schedule as some days Kevin goes in early and some days he stays later and the schedule will be different as I have field exercises, training, etc.  without needing to worry about dropping Joshua off somewhere in the morning or picking him up.  We also didn't want to have to worry about what to do if Joshua gets sick and they wouldn't allow him in daycare for a few days.  I have seen many Soldiers in a rough place because every time they took their child to daycare during the winter, it seemed like their kid would get sick and then they would loose childcare for a few days (that they were still paying for of course) and it was just a vicious cycle.  Now, one of the cons to hiring a nanny is that if she calls in sick, there isn't an automatic backup.  But Kevin's schedule is very fluid and he can take time off most of the time with almost no notice, so we are willing to assume a little bit of risk there. 

So for us, a nanny was an easy choice of child care.  Though it is also worth mentioning that being in the military, it is very hard to find a day care off base that runs the same hours I do (which is a need for us because occasionally Kevin travels for work).  And on post, I would have to pay significantly more because I am an officer and Kevin makes good money (you pay based on your income, not based on the childcare being received). So day care would only be a little bit cheaper for us anyway.