u/Witty_Evening_618

I have a toddler and a newborn. We have had an exceptional Nanny for the past 2+ years. She is highly communicative, trustworthy, always on time, and takes incredible care of the kids. She genuinely cares about being helpful and making sure that the kids are happy. We love her. Unfortunately she is only willing to do about 15 hours per week for us, which was OK with just one kid, but now with a newborn, we need more help. I work for myself right now and intend to find a job that requires closer to full-time childcare starting this fall. For months I have been trying to find a second part-time nanny to supplement her, but I have not had any luck. We’ve hired a number of people who haven’t worked out or have bailed on us. I think the reduced number of hours made it difficult to find a quality fit.

After 6+ months of searching for a second part-time Nanny so we could keep our original Nanny, we decided to pivot and found someone who could do 30+ hours per week which is what we will need. We found someone who lives nearby and is in her low 60s. She checks all of our boxes and in theory is a perfect match, however she is either scatterbrained or has very different judgment than we do which is causing me to be doubtful and wonder whether she will be the right match for us. She’s been doing training with us a few days a week for the past three weeks.

Here are a few examples of what I mean:
- doesn’t reliably use turn signals (and will be responsible for driving my kids - I asked her to use them while she was driving them, but I obviously won’t be there to monitor whether or not this happens)
- is forgetful or not paying attention about basic things around the house. She will put two mattress protectors on top of my newborn‘s crib instead of one mattress protector and one sheet. She will empty the dishwasher and put two pots away in the right spot, and another pot in a completely different cabinet.
- she left my dog outside when she took my son to the playground. She did text me to let me know that the dog was outside, but she shouldn’t have left the dog outside alone to begin with…

So, I’m torn. She is always early, communicative, proactive, enjoyable to talk to, and seems good with the kids. While the little examples I gave are insignificant on their own, the inability to follow directions (or at least ask questions if she’s not sure about something) creates insecurity and a lack of confidence in her ability to do more important things correctly. Obviously it takes time to build trust with a new childcare provider but I’m struggling to understand whether or not the issues I’ve seen are just a lack of judgment, which could be a common issue with her, or if there’s just a bigger learning curve and maybe we can improve this over time. I hate to pay someone that I’ve done a few weeks of training with and don’t feel confident about. I could continue my search, but I do see hope in her. Anyone have any thoughts?

Between the presense and the constant icons on the dash and the lane change assist messing with the wheel tension it feels like my car is driving me and not the other way around. All the tech is a distraction that I can’t figure out how to turn off so I can just drive. What settings should I adjust to turn all that unnecessary shit off? Will they be permanent changes or turn back on automatically when restarting the vehicle?

2023 Q7 PP

Any opinions on which towns and areas are still very nice but less obnoxious and sceney? Turned off by the Hamptons rep but attracted to the convenience it offers from NYC.

Want access to bike paths / within an easy drive to a nice beach and restaurants but doesn’t have to be a prime location. Considering a summer rental there next year.

Are the issues and concerns with PreSense over blown or accurate? Having cold feet about buying an Audi given all the complaints I’ve read about near accidents due to inaccurate and inappropriately timed braking from PreSense

Ordered outside mount blackout shades from Blinds To Go for my baby’s nursery and was shipped two sets of shades with the wrong brackets. They were too wide to fit on the end pieces of the shades. Neither shade could be installed by our handyman who spent an hour trying to figure out if there was any way to make them work with the parts sent. He gave up. I then spent multiple hours on the phone with their overseas Customer Service team, who are incompetent. I shared photos that clearly depicted the incorrect sizing the brackets and inability to install them. I was in a bit of a time crunch to get these installed before my baby’s due date, and the factory would not expedite the shipping. It was a nightmare. The local blinds to go stores also could not help because they don’t stock replacement parts (or at least not for the shades that I ordered, historic claimed that what I was sent is “outdated”… no idea what that means since I ordered it directly from the website). The terrible customer service team finally sent me replacement brackets two times… Both were still the wrong size brackets to fit in the shades that I ordered they had to wait a week in between each shipment because they were certain that they sent me the right ones and of course they didn’t. I ended up contesting the charge with my credit card and won. Stay far away.

Ordered outside mount blackout shades from Blinds To Go for my baby’s nursery and was shipped two sets of shades with the wrong brackets. They were too wide to fit on the end pieces of the shades. Neither shade could be installed by our handyman who spent an hour trying to figure out if there was any way to make them work with the parts sent. He gave up. I then spent multiple hours on the phone with their overseas Customer Service team, who are incompetent. I shared photos that clearly depicted the incorrect sizing the brackets and inability to install them. I was in a bit of a time crunch to get these installed before my baby’s due date, and the factory would not expedite the shipping. It was a nightmare. The local blinds to go stores also could not help because they don’t stock replacement parts (or at least not for the shades that I ordered, historic claimed that what I was sent is “outdated”… no idea what that means since I ordered it directly from the website). The terrible customer service team finally sent me replacement brackets two times… Both were still the wrong size brackets to fit in the shades that I ordered they had to wait a week in between each shipment because they were certain that they sent me the right ones and of course they didn’t. I ended up contesting the charge with my credit card and won. Stay far away.

Are there any pick your own berries or other summer fruit farms on the vineyard?

35 weeks into my second pregnancy and planning what snacks/drinks (if any) should go into my hospital bag. With my first, I had popsicles, jello, and bone broth that the hospital provided but none were particularly satisfying or filling (though I understand why the hospitals typically don’t allow you to eat anything more substantial). This time I’m trying to be a bit more thoughtful about what I can bring to not have to rely on what the hospital has on hand. I hope to be able to eat something larger before going in but you never know how the timing could play out. Any recs of “clear” food that will help sustain energy levels during that particularly difficult time?

We’ve been looking for a new part-time nanny for the past few months and it’s been a real struggle that has taken up a ridiculous amount of time and effort. One of the most recent candidates we are considering has two kids of her own, prior Nanny/Babysitter experience for other families (although it was awhile back), a background in hospitality, and loves dogs… All of those things are a big plus for us because her responsibilities would include some light housekeeping and helping out during naptime. She also meets the other requirements that we are looking for. One of her references said that she has had prior bad injuries over the past few years that have put her out of work for periods of time. She’s in her mid 50s and while I’m sure that’s to be expected given her age, her reference had some reservations about her ability to be a reliable nanny. The conversation with her reference gave me pause because it made me wonder whether she could be a potential liability in our house claiming that injuries occurred while she was working for us, or be on painkillers or some other kind of medication that could make her a risk for us or our kids. I’m not sure if these are far-fetched conclusions to draw, and whether I should continue my search. We met with her in person and she seemed great, but I’m sure there is some truth to her references’ concerns. How would you evaluate the situation?

I’m due with my second in 7 weeks, so while we aren’t desperate now, we are exhausted by the search process and would like to be able to lock something in so our toddler can become comfortable with the new nanny before the baby comes.