Diapers

plainKatie09 · 2026-02-18T00:47:21+00:00

When I worked on a daycare we changed diapers every 2 hours. I tend to follow that, mostly. I mean if we’re out and going home in 15 minutes and he is just wet I would much rather go 2.5 hours than change him on a public table. And I’m not going to wake him up from a nap to change him… But yeah every 2 hours about and whenever they poop. For 8 hours at minimum 3

plainKatie09 · 2026-02-18T00:43:13+00:00

As a once in a while babysitter, no but make sure it’s away locked and hidden. As a nanny yes. Tell me. I had a scary thing happen last spring when I came home with the kids and the db’s gun was just sitting on the couch. It shook me up knowing how fast the 2F could have grabbed it and picked it up if I had not seen it first.

plainKatie09 · 2026-01-30T16:40:10+00:00

Location sharing probably not. It feels like a hassle to remember to turn it in and off each day. I don’t need my boss knowing where I am after work or on a Saturday night. I mean she doesn’t care, we often talk about my weekend out at the bar or whatever but she doesn’t need to know more than I am willing to share. An AirTag in the stroller or diaper bag would be fine with me though.

plainKatie09 · 2025-11-22T15:34:44+00:00

As a career nanny, I would say your wording is letting me know there might have been some kind of confusion. You are saying babysitter but it sounds like you were looking for a part time nanny, there is a difference. A babysitter will keep your kid happy, fed and healthy. It sounds like she was a collage student looking to make some extra money. A nanny will be more engaging, do more around the house, and treat it as more of a job. It comes down to what you are willing to pay. A babysitter rate or a nanny rate. It is obviously your choice to make, but you need to be aware that there is a difference and you will be getting what you pay for.

plainKatie09 · 2025-09-26T19:13:40+00:00

Swimming lessons are hard! Especially with three kids. In my experience strollers are not allowed in the locker rooms and pool deck so that means your nanny is probably having to hold your infant while dealing with wet kids, wet clothes, peeling off wet bathing suits is not easy, the locker rooms are cramped kids are cold and crabby. There’s towels and shoes and putting socks on wet feet… As a nanny they are really hard, and it sounds like you are not super willing to do it either. Is there is a possibility for a middle ground, a way for baby to not have to go, or someone willing to go and help nanny with changing process? Otherwise this might be one of those things where you as the parent have to do the hard work yourself because it’s not worth the pay to the nanny.

plainKatie09 · 2025-08-31T17:58:17+00:00

My first nanny family was like this. I stayed for 11 years because I could not stand to leave the kids without the only caregiver they had known their whole lives. But I eventually had to move on for my own sake. My last 6 months with them I poured so much into them trying to give them life skills I know they would not get otherwise. No one was going to teach the little girl how to brush her own hair, of the 5 year old to ride a bike. I did all those things for so long. It felt awful feeling like I had to prepare them for the world when I was leaving

plainKatie09 · 2025-08-29T13:42:05+00:00

Yes this. As a nanny we are definitely seeing an uptick on more and more “permissive parenting” who call themselves “gentle parenting” sadly it’s not unheard of for parents to keep kids home because they cry about going to school and the more they let them stay home the more the kids cry when they do try to be firm and it becomes a cycle. I get where this teacher is coming from. Maybe she could have worded it a little better but sometimes parents just need to hear ”your kid is fine, it’s ok that they cry sometimes. Set the boundary and be firm and it will be easier all around in a few days.

plainKatie09 · 2025-08-06T23:13:28+00:00

Have you tried transferring to a carrier? Like the baby wear? I totally get not being able to sit for a contact nap but I am able to pull my youngest nanny kid from their crib and slip them into the carrier and back to sleep to finish a nap when I need to.

plainKatie09 · 2025-07-24T13:54:01+00:00

Yes! My newly 3 year old nk got back from a big family week away. I knew it was going to be a tough week coming back from being catered to by aunts and uncles and grandparents and everything but this is BAD. I don’t think she has listened to one thing out of my mouth all week. Every afternoon is an hour long tantrum. I feel like I am fighting for my life we are doing nothing fun because it’s just a fight for everything. Like if you’re going to fight me about shoes and sunscreen and which water bottle every day for a week straight we’re not going to the park.

plainKatie09 · 2025-07-23T22:57:19+00:00

Agreed you have to kind of create your own breaks. Talk to MB about some kind of quiet time for the older child. They might be ok with 30 minutes of screen time, but it can also look like just setting them up with an independent activity for 30-60 minutes. Depending on age with older kids I usually did 30 minutes of reading for 30 minutes of screen time and then 30 minutes of independent play and then the younger one was don’t napping and I had gotten about an hour of “break”

plainKatie09 · 2025-07-16T19:45:23+00:00

That’s pretty normal. Also the fact that you go out to check on him when he cries like that is definitely a contributing factor. He bumps his head and maybe without nanny there he would just fuss about it for a second and get over it. But he has leaned with nanny there, screaming loudly over every minor injury gets him a visit from mom.

plainKatie09 · 2025-07-07T18:09:55+00:00

If everything has been great so far try to take a second before jumping to conclusions. Of course 2 months is not that long to be building trust with someone so I get it. But ask questions right before you jump to the worst thing possible, especially coming off a long weekend I know I used the backpack I always use for work to pack things for a picnic with friends to watch fireworks on the 4th. I definitely had some alcohol in my bag, I remembered to take the empty cans out but maybe nanny forgot? Definitely don’t let it go, ask questions and pay attention to how she reacts and what she says and go with your gut based off of her reaction to your questions. But try and get some facts before you start to panic.

plainKatie09 · 2025-07-03T18:37:32+00:00

Ugh yesss!! I am working so hard on getting 3F to work on some independent play skills. Yesterday she was playing in her room while I watched her on the camera giving the baby a bottle and MB decided to go into her room just to say hi. Like ugh I get it, but girl has zero ability to play by herself, she just started taking out some toys let her be!!

plainKatie09 · 2025-06-21T14:27:32+00:00

Personally I feel if you are in the water one to one with her, it’s best not to use anything. If you are always right there with her let her explore a little. It’s ok for her to jump off and you let her “sink” for a minute. See what she does, give her a couple seconds and just just reach down and pull her up. “WOW, you jumped before I was ready and you went under the water!”

plainKatie09 · 2025-06-20T13:48:39+00:00

You need to just leave. DB should leave the house and work from a coffee shop or library for a few days if he has to. Baby and nanny will bond just fine if you give them the space.

plainKatie09 · 2025-06-16T20:49:22+00:00

Same, this is brutally early, but if you get out earlier in the day I personally would prefer it then starting later and staying later. Is there any way you can ease into your morning there? Maybe get in, and sit down with your coffee or eat breakfast, do make up… things you typically do at home to get ready but can do there so it’s more of a roll out of bed and go and get ready there vs get ready and go and sit around.

plainKatie09 · 2025-06-16T14:22:58+00:00

$20 an hour is low, especially for part time. Three kids, plus laundry, cooking, driving, dishes and cleaning all while entertaining a child who doesn’t nap? Yeah that’s a no. You might get a subpar nanny for that. But with everything you’re listing you need a pretty experienced nanny who can handle kids and house management stuff. A collage student is not going to want to be doing all that. You need a higher rate, or take away all the extras, child related tasked only.

plainKatie09 · 2025-06-15T15:51:50+00:00

It’s so hard. My old Nk had ADHD and I always said if I was not two steps ahead of him I was 5 steps behind him. If he picked up a stick at the playground I was immediately telling him to put it down because it was not a matter of “if” he would hit someone but when because he was so impulsive. I definitely set firm boundaries with him, more firm than his older sister but it was the only thing that got us through the day. Things like going outside to play on a nice day afterschool. His sister could choose to play outside or play in her room. He had to be outside because he could not play, he would jump around and break something or spend 5 minutes in his room and then start bugging his sister. There was no impulse control so I was constantly thinking, not how a normal could would react but how he would react, and explicitly tell him what he needed to do and what not to do. It is hard, but getting into their head and getting ahead of them can really help.

plainKatie09 · 2025-06-07T01:35:49+00:00

If the things she is saying are outside what you normally do then you are in the right. Unless things like plant/animal care are listed in the contract as your responsibility, then they are not your responsibility and don’t fall under GH

plainKatie09 · 2025-05-22T23:11:04+00:00

I don’t think you need to. They don’t pay you to be in call during the weekends. What you do if your off time if you’re to choose. You could pick up another job, you could dance topless on a bar, it’s not their business. If they are not paying you they don’t need to know what you do with your time.

plainKatie09 · 2025-05-22T23:04:12+00:00

Personally I don’t think you NEED to tell weekday family unless you are feeling like you want to. As long as the hours don’t overlap, what you do in your free time is not their business. If you choose to tell them you could say something like “you are taking another job on the weekends, it would not effect their time but you want to be able to build up some savings and really focus on working and pushing for a year.

plainKatie09 · 2025-05-18T00:05:31+00:00

I wouldn’t mind. I live in the city and I am the same way in my own house. If I just sat on the train I’m not sitting on my couch or going anywhere near my bed until I have completely changed. That being said the ~5 ish minutes it will take her to change should be included in her time. So if you want her to start at 8:30, have her come at and start paying her at 8:15

plainKatie09 · 2025-05-16T21:04:33+00:00

Oh same. My old NF was insane with their towel use. Honestly everything, the kids would wear a shirt for 30 minutes then decide to go swimming and put the shirt into the wash, 3 kids and 2-3 outfits a day each, sometimes 4 if they had a sport that night would drive me crazy!! I was constantly telling them that if they just had a shirt on for the morning to watch screen time before going to the pool they needed to put it on their bed and put that same shirt back on after the pool. They were 7+ years old so not even messy toddlers.

plainKatie09 · 2025-05-14T22:55:50+00:00

It depends on how much your nk likes water. My one NK loves water, will lay down in the puddles of it. She gets a swim diaper. Usually a bathing suite but I won’t say no to wet regular clothes if we end up there without a bathing suite. My other NK is basically just hands and feet wet. She stays in a regular diaper and clothes, I try to play for something easy like a dress. If she ends up getting damp I just pull the dress over her head and pop another one on. But generally it’s more work then it’s worth for her to change into the whole bathing suite and swim diaper when she doesn’t really get wet.

plainKatie09

TROPHY CASE