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My Ballard Forum » Reader Recommendations

Daycare/Nanny or Nanny share?

(23 posts)

Started 2 years ago by hikergrl
Latest reply from julesage

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hikergrl

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We're having our first child and were told we need to start looking at infant care, and daycare. Currently researching daycare, nanny and/or nanny share options. Are there any recommendations in the Ballard, Phinney Ridge, Greenlake, Fremont area? Thanks!

Posted 2 years ago #
raisedbed

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You may want to look at childcare.org They are the King County child care resources clearinghouse. You need to purchase a "membership" to access provider information via the website-- but when I was looking, I just called and spoke to a woman. I gave her zip codes that I would be working near (I work in Bellevue and wanted my baby to be closer to my work) and she emailed me lists of providers and centers, at no cost to me. That's how we found our home care provider (not a nanny, not a big corporate center), who is amazing!

From what I found out during research, it is really hard to find care from downtown up the Elliot Ave/15th NW corridor. I had a friend who works downtown that ended up at the top of Queen Anne when she finally found a place. It adds 45 minutes to her evening commute the traffic is so bad.

You may also want to join the Ballard Moms Yahoo group. It's a lot of people selling stuff, but sometimes people looking for nanny shares come up. We considered it briefly, but decided that a daycare with many kids (our woman has 12 kids and two employees in addition to herself) was better for socialization. Other people I know have been absolutely thrilled with nannies and nanny shares.

Congrats on the new family member! I was just about to post a ton of baby books for free on CL or Ballard Moms, but if you are interested, let me know!

Posted 2 years ago #
ricecloudnine

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Congrats on expecting your first. I second the Ballard Moms Yahoo Group. My wife has found it very useful for picking up advice and some baby items as we are expecting our first.

How far out are you looking for the the child care? We looked at a few daycare places in Ballard and Phinney. One looked great, but with the timing of the other kids in the daycare, it was very unlikely we could get in there. The others were acceptable, but they were quite what we were looking for. If you do want to go that route, looking at places early and getting your name down on a list at several is important because most couldn't tell us with any certainty when there would be an opening.

With a NannyShare, the advice we got was that finding another couple to share a Nanny with was the difficult step. After that, the Nanny was relatively easier and in some cases you couldn't look too far out for since in they might not be able to wait 6 months out for a position. Of course each case may be different.

Good luck with the search.

Posted 2 years ago #
hikergrl

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Thank you both raisedbed and ricecloudnine for your comments and advise. I'm crossing my fingers for the search. Thanks!

Posted 2 years ago #
julesage

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hikergrl: if you have any interest, feel free to contact me off of the forum here as I have many years experience as a nanny. I also have been the Childcare Director for the Seattle Athletic Club downtown, a 1-on-1, or 1-on-2 nanny, and come with several impecable references. I am CPR certified, AED certified, and a lifeguard as well. I have been TB tested and have all testing similiar that nannies need while working with infants. The State Dept. of Health can answer any of those questions for you.

My rates are not cheap and I work above the table only with my taxes, Federal, Unemployment, etc...and have always worked for 2 parent attorney families so background checks are spotless of course. My contracts come with paid sick time, 2 weeks time off, the use of the family car, and many others things that we can discuss. I have definite opinions of child rearing and styles that I like to try to follow as proven methods.

I also would be happy to discuss the choice between a daycare versus a nanny as I have been employed as a Preschool teacher as well and see the side of both. I also feel that what you choose to do for your daycare choice depends on the personality & the abilities/aptitude of your *child*. Not all kids are alike obviously. Some need more 1 on 1 care while others feel secure and thrive in an organized play group or daycare.

Best of luck to you with this ever important search and I would love to be of assistance if I could be. With that, I am signing off of the My Ballard Forum for awhile now. It has been so negative & petty and I feel like I have allowed myself to get sucked in to it and its so not worth it. I hope the best for all of the peeps, and will be back indeed but need a healthy break to breathe the fresh air and live life without a computer screen in front of me. I also am still dealing with my sister, planning my trip to hawaii, and reminising about the 1 year anniversary today of sage's death. a healthy step back is in order.

take care and peace to each of you for now. xo

saGe n a N ny attt the yAhOo place with a doTt comm.

Posted 2 years ago #
Suzaroo

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care.com is another good place (way better than craigslist!) for finding childcare. good luck!

Posted 2 years ago #
wally

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Infant care is far more difficult to find than toddler or preschool care, so we chose to do a nanny-share for our now 3yo daughter and moved her into preschool/daycare at 2.5y for socialization. We are now in another nanny-share with our second infant daughter.

The Ballard Moms group in yahoo is a great resource and might be a good place to find another family looking to share a nanny and sometimes even has nanny's looking for a family.

No matter what, try to get on 3 or 4 waitlists now for infant, toddler, and preschool care. The waitlists at the more popular daycares can be 1 year to 18 months. Full-time care maybe even longer.

Good luck!

Posted 2 years ago #
julesage

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fulltime care lists are longer. wally, you sound right on! super suggestions.

Posted 2 years ago #
rachel_cjr

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Hey hikergrl, my husband and I are in the same boat. We just had our first baby and I googled 'nanny share ballard' and your post came up. If you are still looking for a family to share a nanny with, why don't we talk and see if our two families gel and meet each others needs. We live in Fremont, so we're in the area you were looking. Let me know. Thanks.

Posted 2 years ago #
julief

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happy to see this bumped. we are just beginning our search for next year.
edit: I should try to change this avatar sometime soon.

Posted 2 years ago #
julesage

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julief: its ok. moms need beer sometimes too!:) best of luck with your searches when the time is right!

Posted 2 years ago #
wally

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What jules said. Mom's definitely need beer! sometimes. or wine.

Posted 2 years ago #
julief

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of course! but not necessarily by the pitcher while gestating. :)

Posted 2 years ago #
pennygirl

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julief...

Half a small glass of Guinness is ok if you become severely iron deficient.

Oh! Congrats!!!

Posted 2 years ago #
wally

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Good point. Though I also happen to agree with pg.

Posted 2 years ago #
shallow.end

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oh come on! Live a little! Congrats.

Posted 2 years ago #
hikergrl

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rachel_cjr: i just saw your post. Congratulations on your first LO! Yes, lets definitely touch base to see if we can make the nanny share happen. When were you thinking of starting a nanny share? Thanks!

Posted 2 years ago #
Apple

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My 15 month old daughter is currently in a nanny share with another girl. We LOVE our nanny but my daughter is scheduled to start daycare in December and our nanny will likely be looking for work then. She has been great. Our duaghter loves her and gets excited every morning upon her arrival. Very reliable and flexible. I think her rates are right in line with normal for her experience and skill. When I saw this post I figured I would put in a pitch for her. Let me know if you want to find out more.

Posted 2 years ago #
hikergrl

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I would be interested in more info on/from your nanny. Though I'm not looking for one to start until Feb/Mar 2011, I think it wouldn't hurt to speak to her. Thank you.

Posted 2 years ago #
Cyn

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A close friend of mine has been a nanny to the same family for 9 years and raised all 3 of their girls. The youngest is now in school full time... I will let her know about this thread if y'all are still looking?

Posted 2 years ago #
Shoeless

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Cyn, if you can post your (or her) contact info would love to chat about nanny services.
Thanks!

Posted 2 years ago #
Peterson

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Hello everyone:

My wife and I are also interested in exploring nannyshare options. We live in Northwest Queen Anne, so we are pretty close to Ballard as well as Magnolia. Our daughter is due November 6th, so we would be looking for childcare starting in January or February.

If any of the members here are interested in discussing possible options, please feel free to email me at: seattledukie98@yahoo.com (it's an old email address...I don't care if it gets spammed). I'll respond from my current email address.

Thanks,

Mike

Posted 2 years ago #
julesage

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I am very thrilled to say that I will be starting with a great new family mid October as the little ones from my last 3 year contract just headed out to preschool this week! I am, however, OPEN & AVAILABLE on *ANY* Mondays and Tuesdays, any hours one may need. If any of you are interested in a Mothers Helper or just an extra pair of experienced hands and impecable references, I am your gal! Feel free to contact me and we will proceed from there.
I thank you very much and best of luck to you all with your search.
J:)

Posted 2 years ago #