I currently nanny for a 9 month old boy, C, and have been with him since he was 5 months. I am a live-out nanny and MB is an ER doctor and DB works from home/travels often. Here is a typical day for us (times may vary by 20-30mins or so, but he is on a fairly consistent schedule!)
8:00: I arrive and say hello to everyone, C has already been given his morning bottle
8:30: I feed C some breakfast, we practice signing "eat" "more" "drink" and "all done"
8:45-9:15: We play on the floor, practicing standing and pulling up
9:15: Change diaper, read some stories, bottle and bed, C goes right to sleep and rarely fusses
9:30-11:30: C naps, I read, get bag ready for outing, tidy toys
11:30: Change diaper and head downstairs
12:00: C has lunch, usually yogurt, cheese and crackers, fruit etc.
12:15-2:00: We usually go on an outing to music class, swimming, active tots, library etc.
2:00-2:15: We relax at home for a bit, practice signing "play" "book" "help", practice crawling
2:15: Change diaper, read stories, bottle and bed
2:30-4:15: C naps, I unpack bag, do dishes, do a load of his laundry, read
4:15: Change diaper and head downstairs
4:20: C has a snack... baby food or crackers, fruit, etc.
4:30: I do a final check to make sure I have updated his daily log with all his eating/sleeping and any interesting info and either MB or DB takes over so I can go home!
7:00pm C goes to bed and sleeps until 6:30am (and naps for 4 hours a day... good sleeper, I know!) He is a very happy little guy and I love him to bits!
16 comments:
That sounds like an outstanding job! What a nice family.
Careful with the pulling-up/standing practice...9 months is still pretty young for that kind of thing and his bones and legs might not be able to support his weight, so if he's not initiating it I wouldn't overdo it. Crawling is an important stage and babies shouldn't be encouraged to rush it!
He can pull himself up by himself and LOVES to walk around while holding your hands. He has no interest in crawling right now :)
This is the article I was referencing:
http://www.janetlansbury.com/2011/03/9-reasons-not-to-walk-babies/
I go back and forth on whether she's totally whackadoodle or not, but her work always gives me food for thought. In any case, you sound like a great nanny and your little guy is lucky to have you!
I'm glad you are teaching baby signs! Is he using them functionally yet? He is still really young so I'm guessing not... Either way, I think it's awesome!
Sounds like a great day! I'm jealous of those naps haha.
Lucky you...you get four hours of free time a day!! Great thing he is such a great sleeper. Not all babies are.
You sound like a great Nanny to me and your family is very blessed to have you in their lives!!
Kudos. ♥
Yes, the 4(ish) hours of naps a day are great! The family is awesome and they actually encourage me to nap/read/relax while he naps and they are always trying to make me things for lunch. C does not do any signs as of yet (he is only just going to be 9 months in a week), but I think he is starting to understand what they mean. We sign "all done" to him constantly because right now he spits (as in spraying everything in a 3 foot radius) when he is done something...which is very annoying. He pulled to a stand for the first time when he was 8months 2weeks old. Now he WILL NOT sit on the floor for more than just a couple minutes...he needs to stand, stand, stand!
OP I think that is great that your bosses encourage you to rest during the baby's rest times. I have had families who encourage me to do the same, yet sadly these families seem to be in the minority. Most families I have worked for expect me to load/unload the dishwasher, do the laundry, sterilize the toys, organize the child's drawer/closets, etc...since I am technically "on the clock." These families don't care if I get burned out or not, it seems they only are concerned w/getting as much out of me as they can before the day ends. I find that if I get to rest during nap time, I am more refreshed and energized when my charge wakes up and I can use that energy on him or her. I have more energy to run around, walk to the park, etc.
I wish more parents were more concerned w/their child's well-being than a clean house.
I want to be able to sleep like that. Sigh
and also logical my sister was walking at 10 months. She was almost able to do it at 9. So it isn't too early and I don't know how it would be damaging to the child if it was too early.
I think OP is doing a wonderful job. The only other thing I would add into the schedule is a time for shapes, letter, numbers, and colors. Yes he may be too young to speak to you but his baby brain is absorbing the information whether he knows how to use it or not. Simply pointing out a red flower everyday is good enough.
You sound like a great nanny and it sounds like you work for a great family. Wonderful situation all around.
Logic it's not unheard of for kids that age to start on walking.
But, my pt mother would agree with you about forcing babies into positions they haven't developed into .
Oh, C gets lots and lots of stimulation Phoenix! I always talk to him about what I'm doing (one snap, two snap, three snap...left arm in your coat, right arm in your coat), what he's doing (open the barn door, now get the blue sheep out, good job!). We like to talk about the colours of cars as we walk and how the tree bark feels, the flowers smell, the grass looks etc. I used to volunteer at a centre for infants whose sole purpose was to enrich them! I wish I could sleep while he sleeps, but sadly I am a picky sleeper and I need my bed :P But it is very nice to relax on the couch with a book. The parents totally understand that it allows me to recharge and be ready to do fun stuff when C wakes up!
Phoenix, it's fine if the child initiates the standing/walking on their own. I had a cousin who walked at 9 months or so. Of course babies develop at different rates. However, encouraging a baby who doesn't show signs of walking to walk isn't good for them. Their bones aren't developed enough to support their weight and they can end up bowlegged. And Janet Lansbury (again, I can't decide whether she's nuts or not, but she seems to be making reasonable points) asserts that "helping" a child walk conditions them to depend on adults for play, prevents them from making the natural movements appropriate for their age, and gives them a false sense of security that could lead to them trying something risky because they don't know their own limits because an adult has been helping them too much.
Please keep in mind before you flame me that a) I think OP is a great nanny--I said so in a previous post and I still think so; b) I'm pretty sure walking little kids around won't scar anyone for life; c) Janet Lansbury may well have snakes in her head.
I am responding to you, Phoenix, because you said you "know how it would be damaging to the child if it was too early", and I wanted to clarify that if the BABY is walking on their own, obviously it's not too early, but if you force it on a kid who's not ready, there could be problems.
crawling is not a milestone and many babies don't ever do it at all. some just "scoot" on their bottoms before they begin to pull themselves up and walk.
http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/features/baby-milestones-6-to-9-month
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