nanny questions

[KellyH]

~Abby was diagnosed over a month ago, she is 17 months old. I am taking an extended leave from my new job (only worked 2 weeks) Love being at home but worried about financials. No luck on getting a daycare. Originally the insurance said they would cover a visiting nurse for lunchtime injections, but then it was declined and they will only cover homecare situations. So Kindercare (which said they would do blood sugar checks) and visiting nurse is out. Researched home daycares, but I would not use them even if Abby was in perfect health...too many kids, TV on the whole time etc. Also realized that having a nurse once a day will not cut it as we are doing more injections than that.

So now we are interviewing nannies. Surprisingly got quite a few number of responses from our ad. I have my own list of questions going on...please help me think of anything else I should ask. Granted we would have to train the heck out of this person. Frankly I have no desire to hire a nanny or go back to work! Anyway I am feeling sorry for myself. Wish me luck and thanks for letting me vent.

~Kelly
Mom 2 Abby (4/24/05) dx'd (8/15/06)

[bonhamx4]

We wresteled around with this question also. Our son was 15 months when diagnosed, and we were stumped. After doing research and finding out the cost of a nanny, we decieded my wife would stay home with him. It is a two fold decision, we do not have to rely on someon else for his medical care as we are in charge of that. Also the trust issue, I know that nannys are supposed to be proffessional and the companies we talked to did background chescks and the whole nine yards, but still it's hard to turn your little one over to someone else. The other decision was of course cost. My wife would basically be working to pay for the nanny. So, it works out fine with her staying at home, espically I think it makes a better bond between them.

[EmmasMom]

Hey Kelly,
I know how difficult this all is!! I'm sorry you feel like you have to return to work before you're ready, the transition to letting others care for your child is hard enough when you want to leave them!
I don't know that there is any perfect question to ask, the personality may be more important than the answers. They need to be smart, very patient, detail oriented and very eager to learn, (obviously experience with children is a good thing too ;)). I've always thought that if I found someone that was up to my standards I would have to pay them so much that it would negate my return to work.:rolleyes: I'll be interested to see what you find!!
Can you or your husband come home during the day to check in and review numbers? How are Abby's blood sugars doing, does she seem be a bit more stable now?

I hope it all goes well! Best of Luck!!!

[Ben'sMommy]

Hi Kelly.
I hope Abby is doing well.

I understand your panic! I don't work but was anxious for Ben to start pre-school this year as he's an only child and I felt it was important for him to get some play time with other kids.
So, since last Christams we checked out lots of places and weren't really keen on any of them. Then a few weeks ago we found a great place not far from our home. It is perfect - very, very clean, the staff are trained in special needs etc, it has an open door policy for parents, you get daily reports etc. And I immediately liked all the staff - very friendly and open.
Ben started there 3 weeks ago and is having a BALL!!! :D

More importantly they are brilliant at checking his Bg's, counting his lunch carbs, giving bolus', assessing his moods, predicting hypos etc
I am utterly amazed at how fantastic they are.
I spent the first 2 weeks camped outside his room armed with endless cups of coffee and a book.
But this week I took the plunge and came over home. And you know what? All was fine! Nothing dramatic happened.
I was a basket case of course :o expecting the worst but it went so smoothly.

One thing I would advise is to go with your instincts. If you get a weird 'vibe' from someone, you should trust it.

And make sure whoever has Abby is NOT afraid to ask you questions. Sometimes I think people try to guess what to do because they don't want to look 'stupid' for having ot ask you. Obviously this is VERY dangerous.

God luck Kelly. I hope it works out for you. :cwds:
xxx