Ladies -
Hubs and I both work full time. My parents, (bless them) are in their 70s and had been providing full time child care for our 10 month old. 11 hours a day, 5 days a week was proving too much for them.
We have hired an old friend as a manny to take care of baby from 3-7 on Weds & Thurs & from &-7 on Friday. He's mature, responsible, patient, served as a deacon, taught sunday school, and coached b-ball, but he has ZERO experience with infants.
Hubs, my parents and I are all comfortable with this decision. Skills can be taught, character and trust are already established.
Any advice on what to teach/ what instructions to give? Any check lists we should keep handy? Any emergency instructions/ numbers we should keep handy?
Thanks in advance for all your suggestions.
So far so good. Manny is now on day 3 of his "paid on the job training". Hubs hasn't started school as yet, and the two of them are at home with the baby. He's got good sense, is tender, and baby is taking to him.
Thanks for all the tips. We've put up the emergency contacts, got an outline of baby's schedule, and have built in enough "overlap time" to get a full report of the day.
Probably the best thing to do would be to have him hang out with you for a weekend...literally, as a house guest, and do ALL the baby care under your supervision so you can make sure he's got it. :)
Obviously, the numbers for you, your husband, your parents, emergency services and your pediatrician, as well as the nearest hospital should be given, as well as any allergy, medicine, other health issues that the kids have.
Get him a copy of "What To Expect The First Year".
Write down a typical day's schedule for him to follow.
After my son was born I had to return to work for two days do to insurance. My BIL stepped up to the plate. BUt he he NO idea what to do with a new born. Not a clue. So he spent two days with us. The first day he just watched, the second day he took care of our son with supervision. He did great when the babysitting days came. He took great care of our son and everyone came out unscathed. My house was an absolute wreck! I am still not sure how it got so messy, my son was 7 weeks old. ;) I didn't really care too much about the house. So just invite your friend over to watch and then step in.
MANNY! LOL! I've never heard this term, but I love it.
Definitely have him spend a couple days with you all. Also check into child care training courses. They are required for daycare/preschool workers and would probably be helpful for him. The are usually cheap and only take a day. :) I would also suggest a cpr/first aid course.
Would he take an infant CPR course? It may be worthwhile. Other than that I'd probably leave an overly detailed set of tips and instructions...basic things like what your baby eats, how do you cut it, does he use utensils, etc., when he naps, what he takes to bed or doesn't take to bed with him, does he cry, should he rock him, etc.
I know this sounds extreme but if he's never had his own kids before, some of these little things will probably escape him, especially being a man, sorry, but it's true. I had my nephew watch my baby once a few years ago and it was interesting! She was not in danger at all, but he was very confused on how to feed her, etc.
You can always blame it on you being an overprotective mother if he questions all the details! ;)
First, so glad you found someone! It is incredibly stressful, but oddly calming when you find "the one".
Just a couple of thoughts... biggest one being that infants are actually pretty easy. It's once your little one is mobile that the real challenge starts (but sounds like this is his strong suit).
- CPR/First Aid for infants/children class
- Definitely have him spend a day with you, but then have him spend an hour or two alone while you run an errand. When you come back, ask how it went. What did he feel confident with? What is he still questioning?
- Rather than a checklist, I would suggest an outline of your child's daily routine. I had to do this for our daycare provider until my son was 18 months old. It was really helpful for her to "see" what a typical day is like for him. We updated it as his schedule changed.
- List of foods/snacks
- Have him write down naps, wet diaper and BM so that you can keep an eye on it. If your little one is "regular", then it's pretty safe to assume that things are going pretty well.
- Phone numbers: Your cell, DH's cell, both office numbers, your parents numbers, pediatrician #, poison control, preferred hospital (if needed) as well as a copy of your child's insurance card (front and back)
I would go day-by-day. At 10 months, your little one is going to really enjoy having someone to play with and is probably pretty active. I know that it is going to be a long day, but at the end of the day make sure to ask Manny how the day went and what questions or concerns he has.
Good luck!
I would have him spend a day with you. Also write down his schedule with times of nap, snack, bottles, lunch maybe even diaper changes. Make sure he knows where everything is in the house that he would need and how to change a diaper/ make bottle, how he naps and if he has a special blankey binky or whatever to comfort him. He will do fine!
