The Great Nanny Hunt of 2011

Blurry but cute

I can't believe it's been a week since I've updated my blog - it really doesn't seem like it's been that long. Finn's gone through a major growth spurt - ravenous eating followed by a LOT of sleeping, and, in the past 2 days he's gone 3 hours between feedings four five times!  Last night I actually got 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep (thanks to Jennie taking him for me), which is the most consecutive hours of sleep I've gotten since before he was born.  It was so great!

I finally have a nanny - in fact I just offered her the job ("just" meaning 8 hours ago when I first started this post), but getting to this point has been ridiculously difficult.  If you'll remember from my first nanny post, I had one more nanny to interview on the phone.  I still can't believe it: she didn't answer her phone when I called.  She did send me a text - well over an hour later - asking if we could reschedule, but at that point I had no interest in talking to her.

I ended up offering interviews to Applicant #1 (the oldest of 6 kids), #3 (the native Spanish speaker), #6 (the manny) and #7 (the former foster parent).  I didn't hear back from #3, perhaps because I asked her to bring her social security card with her to the interview when she wouldn't allow me to access the background check that's provided by the online nanny finding service.  The manny emailed me the morning before his afternoon interview to ask if he could reschedule to this week - and since that was after I'd already interviewed #1 and #7, I decided not to interview him, either.

That leaves us with #1 and #7.  #1 was great - she was early for her interview, enthusiastic, personable and answered all my questions well.  She's physically active and I know she'll have no problem taking him to the park or swimming (once he's old enough).  The best part was when Finn started to get fussy, she actually asked to hold him.  He calmed down in minutes as soon as she did.  I finished the interview feeling like I could leave my son with her and not worry about his happiness or safety.  Interesting tidbit - she's considering being an egg donor.

#7 was also very friendly and personable, and I enjoyed talking to her.  She had good answers to most of my questions.  It was pretty obvious that she's not physically active, and I was bothered by the fact that she told me she "limited" the tv time her prior charges had (ages 18 mos and 3 years) to 2 hours a day, and saved the parents tons of money by suggesting Ramen noodles for their lunch instead of chicken nuggets and Easy Mac.  Finn got fussy towards the end of the interview, so I asked her if she would like to hold him.  She did not act like she was comfortable holding a baby at all, and when he got even more fussy, she continued to sit in the chair instead of standing up and walking around like most people who are comfortable with babies would do.  I finished the interview thinking I'd worry about Finn constantly if I left him with her.  Interesting tidbit - she became a foster parent because she has PCOS and an incompetent cervix and is hoping to adopt.

So, it seemed obvious that I was going to hire Nanny #1, but I had to check her references.  The first was her sister in law, as she's babysat her nephew since he was an infant.  Of course, the sister in law gave her glowing reviews.  The second reference was her former high school teacher (who she also babysits for). This is where it gets difficult.  I called the teacher's number and got a recorded message that said something like, "you've reached this person's text number, if you'd like to speak to this person, please send them a text."  I texted her that I needed to talk to her about a reference (with all the specifics), but she never called me back.  So 24 hours later I sent her another text, and still nothing.  I called #1 and asked her to try to call her reference, but she couldn't get in touch with her, either.  Which led me to suggest she give me another reference.  She did, this time it was her cousin, whose daughter she picked up from school three days a week all of last year.  I had hoped for a non-family member reference, but since she's not been out much in the workforce, it does make sense that she doesn't have many non-family references.  And, she didn't have to tell me that either reference was family.  Finally, both references seemed genuine, and both gave me specific examples of things she does that they believe would make her a good nanny.  They weren't my ideal references, but I decided to accept them as adequate.

It wasn't an easy nanny hunt, but I'm trusting my instincts and going with Nanny #1 - I offered her the job this afternoon, and she accepted.  Now I've just got to pray that she can survive the first few weeks on the job with a baby who doesn't want to take a bottle!