how do I go about getting 'home help'?

[vannah]

Baby no2 due in couple of weeks and have ds aged 2 at home - am panicking about the lack of sleep and the inability to entertain/take out 2 yr old therefore need some help!

But bit wary of who I might get from an ad placed in the library. Also, private nannies and childminders are a bit too expensive for me - was hoping to pay 6 or 7 an hour, for a couple of hours per morning. Is this reasonable?

any ideas on how to do this?

thankyou!

yes this is reasonable, depending on the area you live in.
what you need is, well, i'm not going to say it, as i said it in my head, and it soucnded soooooo racist and snobby.

when i was pregnant with dc3, we got a lovely girl to do the cleaning. she was from the czech republic, and here learning english. when she left, she recommended a friend of hers, and so on. i had over the course of three years about five different girls, all lovely, all hardworking, and coincidentally, all from eastern europe.
other peoples aupairs are always brilliant. they do it to earn extra pin money.
good luck

Where abouts are you?

Advertise on gumtree.com or a similar site.

Many au pairs and some nannies are free for a couple of hours in the mornings. The position you're describing is a mother's help - in London £6-7 per hour cash is ok for non-sole charge work, though you could end up paying a bit more if you get a v qualified/experienced nanny.

You may find a childminder cheaper, but you'll probably have to drop off and collect your 2 year old. Also, ime 2 year olds don't take kindly to being taken and left somewhere new whilst their mum/dad is at home with the new baby. You may find it a good idea to base half your time with the baby and the other half with ds, when your mother's help is with you.

I did this sort of thing when I was a teenager - you may find a local sixth former (if they still exist!) happy to earn a few quid.

just wondering where you are, i do this sort of work and love it.

hello everyone,
thanks for the replies. I live in north london - N8. A bus ride away from Finsbury park or turnpike lane station.

I really didnt think of it like that - but it makes sense - that my 2 year old might not take kindly to being taken while Im with new baby....
Ok, might put an ad in gumtree (is it safe?)

thankyou all

Have you tried www.thenannysharers.co.uk? It's a online database of families and you might be able to find someone near you with whom you could team up and share a nanny and the related costs. How you organise the share is entirely up to you and completely flexible.

Registration with thenannysharers.co.uk normally costs £25 but you can sign up for free with them between now and the 30th NNov which is a complete bargain! Just put the promo code mumsnet30 in the top left-hand box on the registration page! Doesn't cost anything so may be worth a try...

thanks terry! will do that