Two Working Parents and Three Childcare Providers

These are not my kids, but might as well be.

 Our house is a circus these days. I know, you're thinking, "As if it's not always a circus." But, seriously, things are getting a little out of hand. We currently have three different childcare providers for the boys. THREE. (And NO I am not Camille from RHOBH, though I would take her divorce settlement and seemingly endless amounts of free time, but I digress...)

I hired Nanny K (who I am pretty much obsessed with) before the end of my maternity leave with B. As you might remember, my mom watched W five days a week prior to B being born, which was amazing and kind and one of the best gifts she could have given us. We agreed that when B was born, I would seek a part-time nanny so that my mom could still spend a few days with the boys and have some much-needed time for herself. And Nanny K was like our Mary Poppins.

Once we were settled with Nanny K (again, I LOVE her) my sister had her baby and as she was getting set to go back to work, she learned that her three days back would be on the days my mom watched my boys. Clearly, my mom could not watch all three boys, so I decided I would remove our family from the equation and find nanny care for them on those days. Not willing to give up Nanny K and not able to hire her on full-time (she works with another family, too), I had to hire another nanny. Enter Nanny O (who has been with us for three weeks). So, now I have my mom for one day a week, Nanny K for two days each week, and Nanny O for two days each week (plus my mom who is sticking close to my house on those days to get her settled). Confused yet? Me too...

Now the logical thing would be for me to find a new full-time nanny and do away with the two part-time nannies, right? Wrong. You see, Nanny K is done with school in May and the other mom she works with works at a school, so most likely will not need her services over the summer and beyond (as Nanny K will be looking for a new job and could stop nannying at any time). So, I am holding out for getting Nanny K either four days a week or full time starting in May. (Seriously, she is so worth the wait and gamble.)

I've gone back and forth over what our best solution would be... And I decided that right now this is what is best for us. I figured it wouldn't be that big of a deal, that we could roll with the punches and the kids would be fine. And they are. But, things are just getting crazy. Every day W asks who is coming over. He's hot and cold about me going to work. He's hot and cold about who is coming to play with him. He misses his one-on-one time my mom. He will only nap for Nanny K and it's become a game for him. It's just a lot of change and the revolving door means that I'm scrambling to keep everything organized and keep the days straight.

But, I have learned that my kids are really good with new people and take to them rather quickly. I've learned that they don't have attachment issues, but just enough to show that they love me. I've learned that nannies are expensive, so we're suddenly bleeding money in addition to feeling all over the place. And I've learned that this is not an ideal situation, but I'm determined to make it work. I'm not sure what will make it better, but this revolving door needs some greasing.