Why I Became a Nanny

Whether to go back to work after having a child is one of the hardest decisions a mother can make. On the one hand, you want to spend every moment you can with your precious little one. On the other, you need to have enough of an income to support your family. Maybe you miss the adult interaction and need that time away. I understand. Like all mothers, I really struggled with this.

Financially, I have to work. Living in New York you can not support a family comfortably with only one income. Another factor for my family is that my husband works in construction and therefore will inevitably have periods of unemployment. That’s just a fact of life in this industry. So after coming to terms with that fact I had to figure out how I was going to earn that income and how to balance it with the astronomical prices of child care. I didn’t want to work at a job that broke even with daycare so I knew I had to get inventive.

My first attempt was working at night as a waitress. My husband would get home from work and I would leave, handing off care of our son to him. It satisfied my desire for adult interaction and I was earning enough to keep up afloat. However, the money wasn’t great since it was wintertime in a summer town. I was tired all the time from working until late at night and then waking up early with my son (and sometimes several times in the middle of the night). My relationship with my husband was suffering since I hardly saw him. In short, it just wasn’t working out very well. I had to find another solution.

That’s what brought me to the idea of taking care of another child. I know that nannies can earn a decent income and if I could find a family that was alright with me bringing my son I would have a winner! After a couple months of putting myself out there both online and in person, I finally met a family that was excited about the idea of a playmate for their little boy! He is only 4 months older than my son so it was a perfect match, although, in essence, I was voluntarily taking on twins. Soon after meeting the family, I began working with them and haven’t looked back!

There are many struggles that come with working as a nanny. You don’t get any adult interaction. Sometimes it feels like my brain is rotting away from all the baby talk. I counter this by using the kid’s nap time to work on myself. I read intelligent books, write, exercise, and do whatever else I need to keep myself centered and alert. It takes a tremendous about of work and patience to do this and sometimes when I feel myself going a little crazy I have to just put the kids in the stroller and go for a walk to get my head straight.

Although I do miss having intelligent conversations and being around people my own age, I wouldn’t trade this for the world. I get to watch every step my son takes. Every new word he says, I get to hear. We play, roughhouse, dance, color, scream, cry, and just spend everyday learning and growing together. He has a playmate and friend in the boy that I care for and they get to learn from each other as well. I feel like the luckiest mom to be able to spend every day with my son and earn an income at the same time. It is truly a blessing.

If you have any questions about being a nanny and a mom feel free to email me.