If u have a nanny to help u...

[tostaky]

At home while you are there, what does she do?
We've recently hired someone as I'm heavily pregnant with DC3 and Dp works long hours.

I'm struggling to find her jobs to do because she is much quicker to do things than I do. For example, when I bath the kids it takes a goo half an hour. With her it is 15 mins tops.
She is not very good at cooking and when I ask her to fold or iron the laundry she actually takes ages to do a few things...
I wanted someone to help with the evening routine and the household chores (we have a cleaner already, but there's always laundry to be done).
I am not sure I am makIng the most of her.

How does it works for you? What does your nanny do?

I go out when my nanny is in it just does not work with two of you. Does it really matter how long she takes to fold clothes?

i work often for families where mum is around.
job description varies - atm i have three children yo,1.5yo and 2mnths old so we both just keep running after the children when thery cry, feed them, stop them from hurting themselves and fighting. apart from that i usually take one or two outside to play while mum have one or two at home for a quiter time. thats a live out job.
in my live in jobs, i would often have one child while the mum would take the other to various activieties or see friends, bath one while she feeds the other, tidy up/clean/iron/cook while she takes both of them out. stay with the children while they sleep , or sometimes watch them /feed them when mum is out. organise childrens wardrobes etc, polish their shoes, sew on nametags

think of what needs to be done and work it out between yourself and the nanny.it might be a goog idea to have nanny do what she is good at but within reason, you dont want to do all the boring stuff while nanny has fun. allow some rest time for yourself!
is your nanny fulltime or partime?

We have a nanny and have had her since just before our triplets were born - I found it extremely hard looking after DD1 and DD2 whilst being v.heavily pregnant.
Once they were born she either entertained older DD's whilst I fed triplets, or the other way round, or we would share.
These days its much more laid back as DD1 is at school - and Dtrips are 2.5 so she just helps with the general entertaining. I.e doing painting with 3 2YO's and a crazy 4YO isn't easy.
DD2 is going to school in September and so will be cutting down nannys hours I think.
We've had her for nearly 3 years now and its more of a friendship than a strict job - its hard to explain but at first I did find myself wondering what to ask her to do, and whether I could ask her to do certain things; but now we just work as a pair - she knows as much as I do what needs doing, and is happy to just go off and do things.
If errands need to be done - popping to get something, we decide between us who will look after children and who will run the errand. The same works for a lot of things :)

As a nanny, my bosses can work from home/be at home at times when I am on duty. It out well most of the time - bit cramped in the kitchen sometimes but you just go do something else for a while to avoid getting in the other persons way.

Some things I do:
change children's bedding, stick it in the washing machine, hang it to dry.
clothes laundry (wash/hang to dry)
load/empty dishwasher
collect children from school
bake cakes, biscuits
occasionally make playdough
take children to the playground
build lego models, try to find small bits of lego child has dropped on the floor, pick up lego so I avoid standing on it - Lego is such fun
take children on trips out to museums, science centre, themepark (Legoland).
Try to stop the children fighting/bickering.
Watch a dvd with the children.
cut up fruit and stick it on a plate for the children to nibble on (fruit, not the plate!)

Is your nanny there all day, or only there for a few hours early evening?
Do your children not dictate how long they want to be in the bath? Maybe I'm too nice, letting toddler (18m) decide for herself when she has had enough of bathtime (as long as the water isn't getting too cold).

Thank you for your posts - I think I may need to adjust to her being here!!!
And it is a pretty good idea to ask her to bake cakes

She is only here 3 evenings a week to cover for DP and I'm sure I' ll find her more useful when DC3 arrives in a few weeks!

Kate - hats off for you!! Triplets?!!! You are one super woman!!!

It depends what you've asked her to cover in her job description I guess? I have a part time nanny/mothers help for my twins and she helps with feeding, bath time, bottle sterilising, does laundry and ironing (our clothes/sheets as well as twins), sorts out their clothes when they go up a size, tidies all toys etc away, plays with them while I have a shower,, runs errands eg dry cleaners, cooks the odd meal for me. In fact she's a star!

Ah thank you ladies!
tostaky I think it takes a while to build a relationship too - when you can make a joke about things and talk properly then it makes everything easier. We just have a gossip most of the day really!
When she first came, I felt like I was nagging my husband all day - she would have just done what I asked, and then I would say 'Ooh... actually do you mind just going to help DD2 with lunch whilst I'm feeding?' and would feel guilty about constantly asking her to do things.
Your nanny will definitely come in handy when you have DC3! You will really see how helpful it is! Sometimes you will really want to do some things with your DC 1 and 2 - and it will be super handy to have someone there to care for DNewborn so that you can do that. But also handy when you've got a starving screaming newborn, and DC1 and 2 needing tea etc etc!

I'm just getting into the swing of this myself (have full time mother's help due to a disability).
It seems to work loads better if there's a known routine. Like morning - kitchen stuff, bottles, put a wash on, prepare veg for tea, plus one of: hoover/bathroom/iron then blowy walk on the beach with the dog (who is benefiting from having another person so I can imagine this benefit is cubed with an older child!).
What doesn't work is when I'm trying to think up tasks on the spur of the moment because she's looking lost. If there's a one-off fiddly/big job (preparing food for freezer/lots of ironing), I tell her my goal early on. I've noticed that if she feels she has a grasp on the big picture, she's more likely to take initiative (defrosting the fridge, cleaning the windows) as time allows. I appreciate it. That said, nobody is good at everything, are they. My husband's ironing is still better.