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Veteran
Posts: 154
 
Location: Tennessee | Just curious how many of you all have baby sitters/nannies that watch your children for you while you ride, etc... My husband and I are trying to find someone to watch our 9 month old son a few hours a day for just a few days a week so I can get out of the house and help him ride and get our new farm up and running. It is turning out to be more stressful than I thought! I obviously am extremely picky as I do not want a complete stranger taking care of my son. Unfortunatley my mother passed away a couple of years ago, I am positive we wouldn't be able to get her to leave our house b/c she would want to be around the baby 24/7 if she was still here. My MIL works full time and our grandparents are in assisted living so as far as family to help out we don't have many options. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Also what is the going rate for a baby sitter that comes to your home for a few hours?? Thanks in advance! |
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 Expert
Posts: 2276
Location: ohio-in my own little world with pretty ponies :) | I'm a nanny for 3 little girls. In the fall the two older girls start kindergarten(twins) so I will be left with the 18 month old 3 days a week and have all 3 two days a week. I get every other Friday off. My hours are 10-5 or 11-5 depends on the week. I just clean up our messes and load the dish washer with the dishes we use. I eat food they have here and we just do whatever during the day. But I don't drive with them. I make $12 an hour and I think that's good for what I do. They are really "easy" and we just hang out all day plus I save money by being able to eat the food they have. Just to give you an idea.
Edited by lexyy12 2014-06-11 12:47 PM
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 Magnet for Stupid People
Posts: 2775
Location: If I ever get back to Oklahoma..... | I'm curious about this as well.
My mom watches my 4 month old son 4 days a week, while my 3 year old son goes to a babysitter in town while I work. So, by the time I get home from work, my mom is wore out. There are times I have a tough time asking her to stay an extra hour (with both boys) so I can ride. Don't even get me started on my MIL.. She's about as worthless as they come. With my older son she came out a few times so I could ride, but I get tired of asking for her help because she doesn't make an effort to see the boys just because they're her grandsons. It makes me mad so I don't ask for her help very often.
My husband works about 40 miles from our house and has a farm to take care of down there, so it's often rare he's home and I have enough daylight to ride. When my oldest was under a year old, I'd either sneak out and ride while he was napping or when I went back to work, I'd take a long lunch and come home and ride at lunch time.
It's hard, but you find a way for it to work if you really want to. I've ridden alot less since my second son arrived..
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| Does your church have a Mommy's day off? That's what I did. Dropped him off by 8 a.m. and picked him up between noon and 1 three times a week. He loved it. I did this for a couple of years until he went to kindergarten. He loved it. |
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Veteran
Posts: 154
Location: Tennessee | I will definately have to check out the mother's day out at our church! I doubt they have it though since our church is so small... |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 550
| Several churches around here have mothers morning out programs, but they mostly start at 2.
With it being summer though, could you maybe hire a "mother's helper" type? We have several young girls (14-15 years old) at our church that love kids. They are too young to drive, so you have to go pick them up, but they will come and "babysit" cheap. Most of them will do it for ~$4 an hour. It works out really well for times when you will be around the house, but need to get some things done. Good for things that are only a couple of hours- riding, cleaning, mowing the grass. They love to play with the kids, and spend a lot of one on one time with them. They can run outside and get you if there is an emergency. It also gives them some good training, so they can be your go-to babysitter once they get a little older. |
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Veteran
Posts: 238
| I'm fortunate that I do have family, but I also have a few teenage girls who have ridden with me over the years that I've utilized since the baby's birth. Especially if you are going to be home, on the property and they are just watching your munchkin for you, you should easily be able to trust them and get the feel for if you like them.
Horse girls tend to be a bit more responsible, as they've had to be with their animals.
I never pay less than $20, no matter how long they stay. If they have to drive more than 5-10 min to get to me I make sure they are reimbursed for it. If they are there for say 8 hours, they are making about $8 an hour.
Another thought is to find another mom in the same situation and trade baby sitting. Even if just 1 night a week for each of you. On Tues, I watch both kids for 4 hours and on Thur she watches both kids for 4 hours. etc. |
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Veteran
Posts: 238
| To add to it, my own munchkin is 10 months old. He is with me every night for chores and many times while I ride. I have built him his own "corral" right in the middle of everything. I had black wrought iron panels that I had purchased for my dog once upon a time and I set it up against an existing pasture fence. It's about 10' x 60' and inside is a table and chairs as well as a swing. He doesn't even explore much, just a small area right around him where he can pull up grass and try to eat it, or I give him a piece of baling twine and that entertains him for a good 30 minutes. As long as he can see me, the dogs and horses, he's content.
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I Really Love Jeans
Posts: 3173
Location: North Dakota | Contact your local church and ask the preacher if he can recommend any teenage/ college aged girls that would like to baby sit for a few hours a week to make a little extra money. A good church knows who to trust usually. I would not hire an older woman or adult!! |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 357
| I am also a nanny for a 3 year old girl. I found my job on care.com.. maybe try posting an ad on there and see if you find anyone you love. Be prepare to weed out the bad also. I have been watching her since she was 9 months and consider her one of my own. Since I started I now have an 18 month old and prego with my second. They both will just come along to work with me.
I cant image finding someone on the internet to watch my little boy and have ask her what made her pick me and really trust me. Since I here 5 days a week 7 till 530...She always says she just knew when she met me and did her research on me. |
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