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My advice, from a failed attempt at a nanny share, is to make sure you lay ALL your cards on the table upfront. Make sure you really know and like the other family and make sure each family is really clear about everything that is important to them and what they need in terms of hours, days, budget etc. And put it in writing!

We were talking with another couple for months about doing a share and when it came down to finally choosing someone to hire they started to throw out new requirements. For example, we found a nanny we really liked and left the initial meeting feeling really good, and thought they felt the same way. Later they said that nanny was an absolute no-go because of a minor lisp?!? We also agreed to a budget of $8-9/hour each, later they said they wanted to go up to $11/hour. Needless to say I had put everything we initially agreed to in writing and they had agreed to it. I had some initial reservations about the couple, I should have listened to my gut, because they turned out to be crazy! We dumped them before ever finding a nanny.

I think my biggest advice would be to make sure you and the other parents are on the same page with things in general. I briefly did a nanny share with two toddlers, and it wound up being *really* difficult because of the differences between the two families. Like one was all healthy and organic, and the other ate only mac-n-cheese and frozen waffles. So the healthy eating kid wound up just wanting to eat the unhealthy kid's food, and it was a fight for me to get her to eat her own. And I kept them both at the more laid back family's house, and their kid was allowed to jump on her bed. I let the other one do so as well, and even after finding out that it was allowed in that house the mom got mad at her for it when she saw her doing it. Which confused the kid because she didn't understand why the other was allowed and she wasn't. That sort of thing made it way harder. Not as much of an issue early on, but it could definitely cause trouble later.

When I was doing it, the hours were definitely uneven. I just got paid $10/hour for one kid, and $15/hour for two. So it was cheaper for the parents when I had them both, but I made more. It was a little hard on weeks when my hours varied from the norm, but as long as things stayed the same it wasn't difficult since we calculated it out ahead of time.

I think most nannies are good with it as long as they feel comfortable taking care of two. It's better money after all. But I'd recommend finding someone with actual experience with two. It wound up being a lot harder than I expected, and I was very relieved to get out of it. (Though there were a lot more factors involved than just that there were two. It was also too many hours for me (50 or so), and the issues I mentioned before with the difference in parenting, and the one kid's mom had just run off (with another woman, interestingly) and abandoned her and her dad, so she was dealing with all the emotional freakouts of suddenly not having her mom, etc.) But still, I chose not to nanny for two again, even though I thought at first that I could totally handle it.

Anyway, sorry to write you a novel, but there's my input! Hope it works out for you!

We did a nanny share really successfully for a year and a half until we moved away. We miss our nanny and the other family so much! We followed the Park Slope Parents guide pretty much to the letter: http://www.parkslopeparents.com/docs/THE%20PSP%20GUIDE%20TO%20A%20Nanny%20Share.FINAL%282%29.pdf

I'd say it worked out because both families were laid back (though not in a jump-on-the-bed and eat waffles sort of way like @torchwood's!), didn't pinch pennies, and needed roughly the same number of hours. We also had the best nanny on the planet, and wanted to do everything we could to keep her happy and supported, so we were pretty flexible when she needed time off or made requests.

We paid the same amount each week regardless of how many hours we needed (i.e. random vacation day, pediatrician's appointment, etc.). I think if you try to calculate an hour here or an hour there to save a few bucks, it could be more trouble than it's worth, plus it probably evens out in the end.

We really loved our nanny share experience. I hope it works out for you!

ETA I highly recommend a nanny who has share experience. Ours did, and was under no illusions that it would be easy. It's a really challenging job (no way I could do it!) and it was nice to have someone experienced and confident.

@Ms.Badger: I know this wasn't directed at me, but I just ordered all diapers/wipes from Amazon and had the other family pay for about 1/3 (since we hosted full-time, I figured we were using more because of nights/weekends). Our nanny also cooked food for the kids, so usually we would buy the ingredients and also the nanny's food. At first I tried to keep strict track of what we were spending but that got overwhelming so the other family just ended up paying me about $40 every week or two for those incidentals.

We also had a petty cash envelope that we would each contribute to every so often for outings (admission to the zoo or playspace, snack for the nanny if she took them to a coffee shop or something).

@Ms.Badger: We drop off a box (maybe 3-gallon size plastic box?) each week that has enough diapers and wipes for the week, extra clothes, season-appropriate things that might be needed (swimsuit or jacket) and a few snacks and pouches if they are needed. Even though the girls are so close in age, they wear different size diapers, so we couldn't really share, but it's not a big box, so it's not a big deal to store it. The host family also stores an extra carseat for us so the nanny can take the girls to story time.

I also pack breakfast and lunch each day, but I'm pretty sure the girls share food (which we are ok with and there are no allergies.)