What to do with nanny during maternity leave

[Natt]

what do people do with their existing nanny when they have maternity leave for baby no 2? We have a fantastic nanny whom I would hate to lose but can't really afford to have her full time during my (unpaid as self-employed) maternity leave. i think if i could fix her up with some other part-time nannying / sharing during the period she would stay but not sure how to go about this. I don't suppose anyone is looking for a really top parttime nanny from June/Julyish in NW London? any thoughts on this subject would be appreciated!

Natt - I can really sympathise on this one!. I would dearly have loved to be able to temporarily dispense with the services of our nanny during my current maternity leave. Not least because my maternity pay ran out after 6 weeks leaving my weekly income less than her daily income. Our nanny is really quite inflexible so we knew the idea of a nanny share / temp work was unikely to appeal.

If you really can't afford to keep her on though, I would just be honest with her and explain that it is either fill the gap somehow or leave. In my view, it wouldn't be a great time to let her go permanently though as your first child may find it just too unsettling coinciding as it will with the new arrival. I would also recommend trying to keep her on part time - although she's expensive, our nanny has made coping with two small children very easy for me.

I wonder whether its worth you having a preliminary word with an agency in order to assess her chances of finding supplementary work?. As you are talking about the height of summer, maybe she could find work nannying for families abroad on their summer holiday? The prospect of that might soften the blow.

I kept my nanny on during my 2nd maternity leave. I do share her (always have done), which admittedly made things easier. My eldest was only just 4 and needed to still get to nursery and all the other thing he did. It was a God-send having her with a new baby. I had to borrow money against some that I'd inherited to help out financially, which ment I could keep her on and take a few weeks extra when my paid ML ran out.