Nanny service too costly

[khush11]

I'm a non-working mom of a 1 yr old. Unfortunately, I've suffered slip disc injury during my delivery and therefore cannot look after the child myself. I've been living away with my parents abroad due to this and now I'm hoping to come back. I wld still need help looking after the baby as I cannot do things like forwarding bending, picking baby up etc :-(.
I checked nanny service costs but they are all charging over £50 a day which is £250 a week and over £1000 a month. I cannot afford that. What are the other options for me?

£50 a day is less than minimum wage assuming an 8 hour day. What were you expecting to pay?

£50 a day sounds very cheap for a nanny.

That doesn't sound like the cost of a nanny! Where are you OP? Is staying with your family not a much better option? What would you do at night?!

Is the baby’s dad on the scene?

May be I'm wrong estimating cost of nanny but even £1000 a month is too expensive option for me :-(, I've just started enquiring. Baby's dad is working and will be there at night, weekends, so no problem. Would there be any child care centres where I can take the baby to and stay along for few hours? I'm located close to Chiswick.

There will be local playgroups & children's centres (maybe) which will have play sessions for maybe 2 hrs a day, but you would be expected to care for your child yourself while you are there

If you just need general occasional help during the day then you could look into getting an au pair. Approx £500 a month plus you pay for board, lodging and a car etc (where I am - might be different in London eg might not expect a car).

Otherwise i think you may need help from social services - approach your health visitor (once allocated). They won't be able to provide help all the day, but likely to be able to refer you to Occupational therapy to get suitable equipment to help you.

The disabled parents threads on here might help too. Parents need to learn how to do things different to the usual when they have physical limitations.

most childminders are approx £60 per day- and I would guess nurseries are about the same price

how long is your recovery meant to take? are you doing regular physio? a year seems a long time has your doctor suggested a care plan? if you are not going to be able to work for a long time can you claim benefits....
you coudl potentially get an au pair if you have space for them to stay and are around - they dont work full time though

You won't get a nanny for 50 a day. You'd be lucky to find a nursery for that.

Nanny is a minimum of £10 per hour in London £12-15

will you have a spare room so could have an au pair? if you are there anyway they wont need to have sole care of the child, the only sticking point may be the hours you are wanting them to be around to work. I'm assuming full time? i've never had an au pair so someone else may be able to advise.

I've had a slipped disc and basically had to muddle on as normal. Avoid picking DC up as much as possible and get someone else to put them in cot where possible. But there's officially bugger all help available

You had a slipped disk a year ago? Are you getting physio? Has the doctor told you you can’t even lift your child?

I lived with a slipped disk for over 2 years with 2 small children and just got on with it. Physio helping with exercises and ways to lift more safely and a I took a concoction of pain meds. I eventually had surgery as I started having issues with going for a wee. If you have specific GP advice that you absolutely can not lift anything then they should refer you to OT/social services possibly to see if you can get any help.

OP there is a charity called home start who might be able to offer you some support at home so worth checking if they operate in your area.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Yes, I had a slip disc a year ago (protrusion of L4 & L5 and had severe sciatic pain). I have been doing physio and now have occasional and mild sciatic, back pain.Docs said I can do everything but lifting weights and forward bending. So I m trying to avoid that as much as I can. I'm yet to see my GP again since I've been living away for about 6 months. Looks like nanny option is a no go for me, will look at all other options advised.

I doubt your GP meant that you couldn't lift your own child, more that you shouldn't do weights at the gym. Have you asked them to clarify?

They asked me not to lift anything heavier. I guess it would apply to everything. Moreover, given my awful experience with that pain for a very long time, I thought I would not risk anything.

Heavier than what? I find it very very unlikely that they expected you to have round the clock help with your kids. Ask them.

Are you registered disabled? Talk to your health visitor their are some funds if your need is great enough to use child in need funding....but criteria is specific.

Homestart might be able to have a volunteer help you once a week.

£60 a day for a childminder? Depends on area. Its £40 a day round here.

I charge 13 pounds an hour. What kind of nanny is this charging so little?

Sorry about your back

Where did you get the figure £50 a day. That very cheap even with newly qualified

Not sure what mother help charge but least nmw

Maybe look for a cm or nursery who will have for 3/4hrs a day to give you a break /rest

Tho may be hard to find one due to corona