Nanny Poppins

Source: www.godutchbaby.blogspot.com

With all of this bedrest and waiting for the twins arrival, I have decided that it is time to staff up the household.

As many of you mamas know, I tend to be a little timid about finding help, but it is time to realize that I need it. Over the last two weeks I have dedicated my time laying in bed to finding the right help for our family. Mister T and my parents have been and will be a tremendous help but I can't ask them to do everything.

The first thing I did was hire a housekeeper. This has helped tremendously. Even before bedrest I quickly realized that scrubbing a tub was not very doable or safe for a pregnant woman. Our neighbors recommended a wonderful housekeeper who now comes in weekly to clean and do the laundry. She has also offered to run errands which will come in very handy when the twins arrive.

The second thing I did was hire a mother's helper for Miss L. This was a hard thing for me to do because I still want to do everything for Miss L. But my mental will cannot outmatch my physical limitations right now. I was very nervous to find the right person that would care for Miss L with the same focus and attention that I do. I was reluctant to use a random mothers board posting for a recommendation. Then I remembered that Mama N had spoken with other mothers in the neighborhood when she was looking for help back when we were neighbors. I followed in her footsteps and sent out emails to the mothers I had met here in SF over the last couple of months.

I found a lovely British nanny who started today and will be helping us two mornings a week. I expect that we will ask her to help more as we get closer to the twins arrival. What really made me feel comfortable, and excited, to have her help us was seeing Miss L's immediate response to her. When she stopped by for an initial visit a couple of weeks ago, Miss L ran right up to her and engaged her in playing. Miss L showed off her dance moves and giggled the entire time. And after just meeting her once for a couple of hours, Miss L already asks for her by name each day and pretends to call her on the phone. I have heard it often, and now I understand that it just clicks and you know it.

Next on the list is a postpartum doula. I interviewed two doulas based on recommendations from my prenatal swim instructor who also is a labor doula. I just hired my doula today. She will come for her first visit the day we come home from the hospital and then will come to help a few days a week for the first two months. Mostly I am looking for breastfeeding support and an extra set of hands as I learn how to care for two little ones at once. I found someone who is warm and nurturing and also very positive and upbeat, which I think will help tremendously in those first few sleep-deprived weeks. Miss L also enjoyed meeting her and wanted to show her all of her toys, which I thought was a good sign. Having a doula will also help me find little bits of time that I can share alone with Miss L even if it is just to read one story together.

While I found the beginning of this process of finding help to be daunting and scary, I am feeling really good about my decisions as the pieces start to fall into place.

On a side note, I also found a great CSA, Farm Fresh to You, that delivers farm-fresh fruit and vegetables to your door once a week. We received our first box of goodies this week and I was very pleased with the variety and quality, including grapes, beets, tomatoes, lettuce, chard, potatoes and peppers. Each box includes a note from the farm and sample recipes. It's not as fun as strolling over to Provisions with all of you for the summer CSA, but it is a great way to keep my kitchen stocked with fresh fruit and veggies.