Anyone ever use a nanny?

[Lathum]

Wife and I are likely getting a nanny. We have a 5 and a 2 year old and schedules are getting hectic. Aside from perusing care.com I have no experience. Anyone ever use one and have tips as to what to look for, questions to ask potential candidates , etc.

[digamma]

The hardest thing we had to do in moving across the country was to say good bye to our nanny who had watched our older son since he was five months old and had been there from day one of our younger boy. Good ones are worth their weight in gold. We got more than half a dozen calls from friends asking about her availability when word trickled out we were moving. References are great, but in the end it comes down to making a decision as to who you're comfortable with spending significant time with your kids. You end up having to go with your gut (as with most things).

[Desnudo]

I have plenty of friend and colleagues that use them. Apparently there's a nanny network you can get linked into if you have some acquaintances that use them.

[Neon_Chaos]

Good ones are worth their weight in gold.

This. Kaiser's nanny has been with us for the past two years. He's turning three in December, and she is basically part of the family now.

[Breeze]

We did when the twins were born. Had a hard time finding one we liked. Settled on a girl from the day care where the kids stayed for a while, and she ended up stealing from us.

Finally worked out an arrangement with a guy I worked with who had twins about 6 months before we did. They needed some extra money, and they couldn't afford day care, so she came to the house with her kids and watched our twins as well. That worked out great for all parties.

[Logan]

Please define "use".

[Lathum]

Please define "use".

amazed it took this long