ad-hoc babysitting, how do i get some?

[Bullshitbingo]

I have two dc - dd (2yrs) and ds (7 mths). I'm a sahm and have been since dd was born, shes now in preschool for 9 hours a week, which gives me a little bit of time, 3 mornings a week to spend with ds, catch up with housework etc.

My problem is despite the 9 hours at pre-school (which is great) we have no other local support networks to speak of. We have some of dh's family nearby but for various reasons, they are not able to offer any help other than the odd bit of babysitting (think 3-4 times a year for special occasions). This has been fine with me up until now as i haven't really wanted to be away from them. I was very PFB with dd (and still am a bit) and then my youngest has been too little and was breastfeeding. I admit to being quite unhappy about letting other people look after them, but i know i need to let go of this as they get older. So far only aforementioned family have ever babysat for us.

Anyway, i'd like to start doing things socially with dh again, and claiming back a little time for myself, e.g. i need to lose a bit of babyweight and would like to be able to go and play tennis, do pilates etc occasionally in the daytime or at the weekends. DH sometimes has to work late and so i can't always reliably do stuff at night after he gets home, and besides i'm usually shattered by 7pm after running around after a hyper toddler and baby all day!

Soo.... I need to source some form of local ad hoc babysitting/vchildminding. I can't afford anything regular, and a lot of the childminders around here require you to sign up to minimum of 2-3 days at least, which is not really what i'm after. How do you go about finding someone like this? I don't have any friends in a position to help really as they all work and have their own kids. I want to find someone that i can trust, and it goes without saying that they need to have the necessary checks - CRB etc. I would like to be able like ring them up and say 'are you free to watch them for a couple of hours next weds for example.

Any advice appreciated, sorry if the answer is obvious, i just don't know what people do if you don't already use regular childcare?

Are there any other local mums you could form a babysitting circle with? No money changes hands you just repay in kind. You may also find your children's centre has adult activities with a prebookable crèche.

Do you want daytime or evenings??

Anyone from preschool who might like extra cash? Apprentice, TA etc depending on the exact setting.

A neighbour? Anyone with grown up kids back from uni soon who might like some ££. Any colleges with a childcare course who might like some experience??

Personally, we've used a neighbour and the apprentice from nursery.

You can contact nanny agencies as some cover babysitting as well. Advertise on your local netmums as that's where I find all my babysitting work. Where abouts are you as some nannies/childminders on here may be able to help.

sitters.co.uk I get a lot of babysitting through them. Most of my bookings are repeat bookings so the families must be happy with the service I provide ....

It sounds like childcare.co.uk is your friends. Lots of nannies on there looking for extra work, as well as others looking for babysitting for extra cash.

I work in a nursery, loads of our staff babysit for our children. It works nicely for the younger staff and the families feel reassured because the child knows the person etc.

Ask at the preschool.

Thank you so much for the suggestions everyone. I will ask at the pre-school as my dd loves the ladies that work there. I will also try the websites suggested.

Not sure about local mums and neighbours. I've tried to be friendly and get chatting to people, but it's a little bit cliquey here. We moved into the area a few years ago, but it seems that most people have been here a long time and so it's hard to make friends as they all seem quite happy just chatting to their own friends!

Will persevere though, and I will ask at my children and families centre too. They don't offer much in the way of activities really but they may be able to point me in the right direction. Thanks, you've been really helpful!