Housekeeper / nanny planning advice for when terminally ill mum moves into granny annexe

[ThatKeenPeachUser]

Hi! I was wondering if I could get your ideas/opinions on who you'd hire and for what sort of hours if you were in my situation. I have an 18 month old toddler and am soon to have my parents move into an annexe we are having built in the back garden, as my mum is quite unwell with a degenerative neurological condition. I will be her carer, which at the moment is just making her meals, supervising her eating them and taking her on outings/to appointments, however in the near future her needs will increase. I also run my own little consulting business, which does mean my work is flexible and can hopefully fit around these responsibilities. But running a business, looking after a toddler and an unwell mum is a lot! To make it all work with these extra responsibilities, my partner and I will need to hire either a nanny-housekeeper or a separate nanny and housekeeper. My dad can also look after my mum but he has his own health issues so it cannot be relied upon. My parents have offered to pay most of the costs of this extra help we'll need, which is great, so we do have an ok budget to work with.

I wanted to get opinions on, in this situation, what roles would you hire and for what hours? And any tips/ideas in general! The routine we establish will be so important in making the balancing act work, and making sure my mum has a good quality of life.

FYI, my son will be at a childminder from January, 8:30am - 3pm Monday - Friday and until then has a nanny as part of a nanny share 9-5pm. My parents will move in in mid September so our new set up needs to be from then

thank you!!

Are you wanting someone to clean, look after child or help look after ill mother?

imo people all have strengths and few are good at everything, and then you can’t have everything as they are focused on one thing at a time obviously

Therefore I would hire separate people.

Housekeeper/ cleaner - twice a week. To help with cleaning, laundry, house stuff. Probably mornings when your working and child out

Hire an afternoon nanny if you need extra childcare- 2.30-6pm. They can do nursery pick up and entertain a few hours as needed. Maybe you don’t need this yet?

Elderly carer - to help later with parents daily needs if needed. Each morning if needed.

Thanks so much for your perspective! I think your question on what they do is crucial, and if they are the same person or different people. That's what I don't know the answer to intuitively - especially as I am so new to being both a mum and a carer, so helping me think this through is so helpful 💙

that is really individual jobs rather than one combined.
a nanny could be ok but if your child is going to day care soon would be a bit of a waste
perhaps i have seen in Lady magazine which is a great place to find or advertise for staff, you would need more of a mothers helper which would mean doing a bit of child minding bit of housework maybe even preparing meals but it would need to be stated in the advert.
as for your mum it sounds like at the moment you may need a little help for when you are busy working etc maybe a morning carer to ensure mum is up dressed showered fed etc and a night carer to get her safely settled in bed, with you picking up the rest of the care such as mid day meals etc. this would obviously be reviewable as more help is required