9 ways to balance working from home with a nanny

Thanks to technology, working from home has become a lot more possible. People can work as freelancers, remote workers, or even just full-time investors – all from the comfort of their own home. It’s thanks to resources like Fiverr, Google Hangouts, the oanda broker, etc. this is all possible and I’ve been taking advantage of it for a while!

For the past 6 years I have worked from home. When I had Ayven, my first son, I thought it was going to be so easy to take care of him and work at the same time but I was definitely proven wrong very quickly. I found myself missing conference calls, nursing while trying to give a presentation and not putting my 110% into my work. I felt over worked and let it out on my husband when he got home from work every day. Internally I was pissed at myself for slacking on work because I LOVE my career and knowing that in some way or another I am helping those with cancer is rewarding in itself. So we decided to hire a nanny. Everyone needs a bit of help sometimes. If you are considering getting a Nanny to help take care of your child, it can be difficult to know where to start. But looking into a company like Elite Housekeeping can help narrow the search to finding the right Nanny for the family.

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I was overwhelmed with comments by people who asked why me why I needed a nanny if I work from home. I heard comments like man you are lucky you can be in PJ’s all day and get all your housework done. As a first time mom those comments do get in your head. Then I came to realize, release all those negative comments you hear and focus on the positives on what works best for my family. I needed help with my kid so I could also keep doing what I loved. Needless to say we hired a nanny and it was the best decision we ever made! It is also a two sided coin, there are people out there who are interested in gaining experience from supporting families like mine. While having my nanny has made life for me a lot easier it is a great opportunity to those who join an au pair program like Cultural Care Au Pair.

However on came another obstacle, how am I going to be able to let someone else come in and take care of my child while I am in the house? If he is crying for mommy, how can I continue to focus on working? It is definitely not an easy transition and my nanny and I went through a learning process. I now have a nanny for my second son and things are so much easier to handle! Here are some tips that I learned.

  • Trust your nanny: You hired this person to take care of your child. If you sit there and doubt them for everything they are doing or question them, you are not being fair to them. Let them do their job of taking care of your kid so you can do your job. Here is a great list of questions to use when interviewing a nanny.
  • Balance the employee/friend role: With someone in your house all day taking care of your child, you will get close to them. You will probably open up to them about things that you don’t normally talk about. They become part of your family but at the end of the day don’t forget they are still your employee. You don’t want them getting to comfortable where they forgot that it’s still a job.
  • Keep an open door policy: You work from home and instinctively nannies will want to come to you for questions about your child. Use this to your advantage of being able to be in the same house. Let the nanny come to you for any questions rather than acting like you are not there. If you work from home you are fortunate to be able to still be around your child for those 8 to 10 hours.
  • To do lists: Even if you are home, you don’t want the nanny constantly asking what needs to be done around the house. Make a weekly to do list for her so she can work at her own pace for that week. It will waste your time and theirs if you try to micro-manage them everyday.
  • It’s OK if your child cries: If you hear your child crying, don’t get up and try to resolve the situation. This is WAY easier said than done. It took me a long time to get here but again remind yourself you hired your nanny to take care of your kid. Unless you think they are being harmed let them do their job and you focus on yours.
  • Accept that they are not you: Nobody can ever take care of your baby like you do. Your nanny won’t handle situations exactly like you nor will he/she be able to calm your baby down like you. Accept that, that is why you are the mom. Don’t judge them on everything they do different from the way you do it because you will go crazy. Guide them in a direction you would like but don’t dictate how to do it all.
  • Mistakes happen: Nannies are going to make mistakes, they are human. You have to accept the fact that they will mess up. As long as they are honest with you it’s OK. The baby may bump their head on a toy, don’t get upset because it could happen with you also.
  • Treat them like family: Our nanny is part of our family, even our kids say it. Treat your nanny like you would family and they will treat your kids well. Give them nice treats once in a while to make them feel special and appreciated. Let them know what a good job their are doing.
  • Don’t tolerate lying: I have been very blessed that both my nannies have been nothing but honest with me but I have heard stories of parents who found their nanny lying. If you catch them lying be very careful because you lose that sense of trust with them and without that trust you won’t feel comfortable leaving your kid with them. Talk to them right when they start about being honest with you.

Balancing your “mommy” with your “career women” hat is challenging no matter what and having the nanny with you at home has it’s pros and cons but remember at the end of the day focus on trust. Make sure you trust your nanny no matter what because if you don’t you will go to bed questioning everyday what happened with your child.

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