Not really sure what I am after - would appreciate some help!

[SquealyB]

Hi all

A bit of background......(sorry this is a bit long!)

My DD is nine months old and I have recently returned to work. I work in the City in London and my job is full on. I work full time but flexibly, so I start at 8.30 and finish at 4 and work from home one day a week so I get to spend time with my DD. From 4-8 I am unavailable as this time is the time I spend with DD but then need to log on again remotely for between 1-3 hours a night after 8 when DD is in bed. DH works full time too.

DD is in nursery four days a week but at home with me on the day I am working from home. She is very happy at Nursery but as with all Nursery arrangements there is limited flexibility. At present DH picks up and drops off but he is changing jobs in Jan so this will no longer be an option. In addition, obv. she cannot go to Nursery when sick and almost most of the time I can work from home when she is ill -sometimes again, due to clients, this is not an option. Despite the best will in the world there are times when I need to stay a bit later or shift my working from home day due to client needs etc. And that doesn't even cover the general house hold managament stuff like laundry, food shopping etc.
We have no family nearby to help out.

We have come to the conclusion that in addition to Nusery we need another pair of hands. Mostly to do household stuff like washing, ironing, cleaning, maybe a bit of dog walking etc with some limited child care (i.e. drop off to nursery, emergency childcare if needed when she is ill etc.). I don't really want someone who's primary responsbility is childcare as I love the time I spend with my DD.

We are not adverse to having someone live-in but I am not sure if what we are after would be an au-pair or a nanny or a housekeeperor mothers help.......So what on earth do I call this position, any ideas on how to find the right person and how much would this cost?

Any help/advice would be much appreciated.

An au pair could be live in but do some household things and nursery drop-offs pick-ups.
A nanny-housekeeper could also do that but be live out.
Or you could might find someone starting out on a career in childcare who needs a chance to gain experience and could be a mother's help on the day that you are off, working alongside you at home, but maybe do pick ups and drop offs on the other days.I am looking for a nanny at the moment and have come across a few young motivated girls who haven't had a sole charge job yet and would do that sort of thing to build up their experience,especially if they live nearby.
Www.childcare.co.uk is a popular site (where I live ,anyway).You can advertise for what you need and also search people available in your area.Or a nanny agency might help.

Or a nanny 5 days per week instead of nursery,would alleviate pick-up/drop off problem and on your day off could do reduced hours/household jobs if they were willing.
A nanny for 1 child would work out more expensive than current nursery so you could look for one with less experience who might have a lower rate,start with her working on the day you are off as a mother's help and once she has built up a relationship you could employ her as a nanny instead of sending DD to nursery.
Certain nannies have their own networks of friends and children and can also take your DD to toddler groups and activities for the social interaction.
In the future if you any more children a nanny gives much more flexibility than any other childcare so although it might be expensive at the beginning it might work out better in the long term.
I wish I'd had a nanny when I had my second baby instead of rushing around getting everyone dressed and fed so I could drop them off on the way to work.

Thanks superzero that is really helpful. I think if/when we have another child we will definitely be getting a nanny. Just not sure if it makes sense at this stage.