Hellobee Boards Topic: Who do you rely on most to babysit?

Hellobee Boards Topic: Who do you rely on most to babysit? https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 18 May 2026 13:38:28 +0000 banana on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-864076 Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:45:37 +0000 banana 864076@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My mom and MIL. I don't think I would trust anyone else! fancyfunction on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-864075 Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:44:53 +0000 fancyfunction 864075@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We're very fortunate that my MIL is 15 min away and my parents are pretty close. They both watch her at least once a week and she has slept over both of their houses. It's convenient enough for my MIL to come at night too when we want to go out on weekends. Rainbow Sprinkles on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-863998 Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:16:34 +0000 Rainbow Sprinkles 863998@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My parents (15 minutes away, in their 40s) My in-laws (2 blocks away, in their 50's) My younger sister (15 minutes away, 21, very available) pinkb on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-863878 Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:56:16 +0000 pinkb 863878@https://boards.hellobee.com/ A co-worker of mine has watched LO for us, she is our go to if needed. My family is 3 hours away, they do watch her when we visit or when they come stay with us. DH's parents are smoker/ drinkers and cant follow instrctions to save their life. And SIL would but she is 38 weeks pregnant. LindsayInNY on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-863864 Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:45:51 +0000 LindsayInNY 863864@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We'll have to find a babysitter. We don't have any family nearby! sotomorrow on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-863854 Mon, 17 Jun 2013 17:39:37 +0000 sotomorrow 863854@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My sister and best friend are our most frequent babysitters, although they both live more than an hour away. Also my in-laws have done it a lot even though they live in a different state (but are retired), so if I know in advance, I can ask them. I'm planning on asking our neighbors with kids if they have anyone they recommend as we just moved 70 miles. Honeybee on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-272289 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 13:09:43 +0000 Honeybee 272289@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We don't really have family close by (my parents are 5 hours away; DH's are 16 hours away), so even though our parents have babysat for DD on a couple occasions, it's been very rare. We've only used a babysitter twice, and both times we used girl's from DD's daycare. We put her to bed, and then went out late, and the girls just hung out and watched tv while we were gone. pinkcupcake on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-271813 Mon, 27 Aug 2012 00:06:03 +0000 pinkcupcake 271813@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Nobody... My mom is close but due to health reasons isn't able to watch LO. My sil has watched LO for an hour or so while I ran errands but that's the longest anyone other than me or DH has watched over. Not sure if I could trust non family to watch her yet since she's only six months old... Mrs. Yoyo on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-271379 Sun, 26 Aug 2012 13:36:56 +0000 Mrs. Yoyo 271379@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I am currently biting said bullet right now and hiring a couple of babysitters via Care.com. We have NO family around and I am so, so worn down. There's a big university here, so there are plenty of college students around who need an extra buck. Fingers crossed that we can establish a trusting relationship with someone. LuLu Mom on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-271366 Sun, 26 Aug 2012 13:13:46 +0000 LuLu Mom 271366@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Luckily both sets of parents are close and our best options. Otherwise my sisters are close and my DH's cousin is close too and already says she has dips after grandparents! We trust them all. Mrs.B on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-271348 Sun, 26 Aug 2012 12:58:33 +0000 Mrs.B 271348@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Cchoi4: We have NO family that can help babysit so we have an older lady come to watch the kids for a few hours so we can at least go out to dinner. She is getting older though so with LO #2 on the way we will likely look at a new sitter when he/she is born. I am also a SAHM so finding a sitter can be hard. mrs. wagon on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-271321 Sun, 26 Aug 2012 12:07:18 +0000 mrs. wagon 271321@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My MIL has come for weekends when we had to go away, and that has worked out just fine. My parents watched Wagon Jr. when we were in the hospital having Lil Miss Wagon. But now that we have 2, I'm not so sure I'd ask any of the grandparents to babysit until Lil Miss Wagon is around 2 or 3 years old. Just too much of a burden to ask them to wrangle them both! We have a very close friend who lives 5 mins away who loves our kids and actively tries to be a part of their lives (she's an angel), and she volunteers to babysit at least once a month. She's put Wagon Jr. down for bedtime before, but since she's so close by, we usually put him to bed ourselves and she just watches him while he's sleeping as we go out to dinner. We'll probably continue to have her sit for us with both kids in the post-bedtime way so that we can have regular date nights. chopsuey on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-271314 Sun, 26 Aug 2012 12:01:20 +0000 chopsuey 271314@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We've only left LO with DH's aunt. If I lived closer to home my mom and sister would watch LO a lot :) autumnlove on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-271292 Sun, 26 Aug 2012 11:34:24 +0000 autumnlove 271292@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My MIL and parents. My parents don't live nearby though! luckypenny on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-271290 Sun, 26 Aug 2012 11:32:24 +0000 luckypenny 271290@https://boards.hellobee.com/ my MIL. my family is on the east coast so she is all I have but man am I grateful for her! While I was pregnant (38+ weeks) she would pick me up almost everyday to go for a walk, get lunch, or just get out of the house so I didn't go crazy. Now she comes over three times a week to watch DD while I go to the gym/finish chores. I love her and she is very respectful of everything that I do with DD. She was sick for two weeks and it made me realize how grateful I am to have her :) MamaMoose on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-271262 Sun, 26 Aug 2012 10:41:45 +0000 MamaMoose 271262@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Our LO isn't here yet. But we have no family near by so that's not an option for us. But we have a number of friends who have already offered. Plus our next door neighbor has two babysitters she uses and really trusts (one is her neice) so we will use them as well. I definitely don't want to be one of those couples who never has a date night because I don't have / won't use a sitter. eeh on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-271235 Sun, 26 Aug 2012 10:01:20 +0000 eeh 271235@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We use either set of parents who each live about 10 minutes away. Also use our neighbor who is a bonus nana or our other neighbors who are a young married couple. Or siblings if we're going to be in their city. And my husband's coworker has a very trustworthy 14 year old so we use her and her best friend as a team. I agree with the previous comment about checking with a college. While working on my teaching degree I worked for several families who contacted the education department looking for a sitter. Another option would be to check with your church youth group, college class, singles group, etc if you are into that kind of thing. looch on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-271232 Sun, 26 Aug 2012 09:57:39 +0000 looch 271232@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We found our sitter through a website, she came to our house for a year and a half, but now she's off doing some schooling, so we are without a sitter again. It's hard, when you either don't have parents closeby or they are working and can't take time off. Rubies on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-271227 Sun, 26 Aug 2012 09:53:12 +0000 Rubies 271227@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We have our parents close by whom we trust but if we didn't, I would ask a trusted friend for recommendations? heffalump on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-271169 Sun, 26 Aug 2012 07:43:36 +0000 heffalump 271169@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We've only had our parents babysit. I was just talking with dh about this last night because I know I'm a crazy person, I'm sure lo would be fine with someone else! But our parents both live close and my mom is able to take off work when needed, plus I think she'd be upset if I hired someone instead of asked her. emcoco on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-271168 Sun, 26 Aug 2012 07:37:53 +0000 emcoco 271168@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Could you call a nearby college's career office for some recommendations? My university had a "chidcare binder" for students who were looking for part-time or occasional sitting jobs and I found two great families that way. I know one of my friends has used that same resource now that she has kids and has a handful of nursing and education students who she trusts to hire for occasional sitting either for a night out or if she wants to run some errands sans kids during the day. Andrea on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-271161 Sun, 26 Aug 2012 07:00:47 +0000 Andrea 271161@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We have a sitter who is friends with my weekly cleaner so we will call her a few times a year. If we didn't have her, then I am not sure we would ever go out since we don't have family in the same state. CupQuakeWalk on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-271128 Sun, 26 Aug 2012 00:34:03 +0000 CupQuakeWalk 271128@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Cchoi4: my mom or MIL but neither will come over so I have already invested in a Pack N Play to take over when they babysit so if he is sleeping in a crib...at least the playpen will resemble that and he won't be too thrown off. :/ Sucks but...my mom still has a husband and a teenager at home so she can't just drop everything and come to my house all night to watch baby:( My MIL is probably going to be better at listening and following our instructions though! Mrs. Pen on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-271123 Sat, 25 Aug 2012 23:39:16 +0000 Mrs. Pen 271123@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My mom doesn't like coming to our house to babysit either which poses issues for his sleep too. But if I need a sitter she is my first call. We make it work. But she's only babysat him maybe two-three times in 6 months?? Once my brother babysat here, he was our first ever babysitter! I would have him do it again, but not for more than a few hours. he'll be a better sitter when Cobi is older. I would call my sister too. Other than that we don't have any other babysitters but have never had the need either. I know several of my moms friends would if I needed one! Cchoi4 on "Who do you rely on most to babysit?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-do-you-rely-on-most-to-babysit#post-271121 Sat, 25 Aug 2012 23:32:06 +0000 Cchoi4 271121@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Even though husband and I have three (yes THREE) sets of parents in the vicinity, none of them are great choices for babysitting. -Set #1 - 70 yrs old, back problems, get tired easily -Set #2 - have rigid schedules, go to bed and wake up early, do not want to come to our house to babysit can sleep in his own crib, and don't really listen to our instructions -Set #3 - lots of current drama for them. (i.e., possible divorce) Husband and I have siblings but they all live out of state. I am a SAHM so we've never had a nanny or babysitter (other than our parents at times)... Anyone in a similar boat? Did you ever just bite the bullet and call a babysitter from one of those sites so that you could have a night out?