My in-laws live about 5 minutes away from us, and my mother in law regularly babysits for us. She watches my toddler son whenever I have doctor's appointments (which is frequently, since I'm pregnant), and for date nights 2 to 3 times per month.

She is technically a housewife, but she works part-time sewing for her friend's Etsy shop. She like crafts and sewing, so this job is enjoyable to her. She gets paid about $8 per hour. When I ask her to babysit during the daytime, I often feel like it's taking her away from her part-time job. She has to ask her friend for time off to babysit for me. However, she said she doesn't mind, since it's a couple times a month on average.

I would like my MIL to babysit more than she currently does. I'm due at the beginning of August, and I would like to have her come over and help me regularly as I adjust to life with a newborn and a toddler. When my son was born, I only had my husband helping me, and I think it led to me feeling completely overwhelmed and maybe even depressed. I was also recovering from a C-section, which I might need to have again.

My family isn't able to help with the new baby, so I was thinking about hiring a nanny or a babysitter, but DH said we should ask his mom to help out. Since she is working now, he thinks we should offer to pay her, so that it won't be like we are taking her away her ability to earn extra money.

My questions are: How much should we pay her? How will this change the dynamic we currently have with her babysitting? Will we be expected to pay her every time she babysits, including date nights? If I'm paying her, can I ask her to do more things like helping tidy up the house or running errands for me? Any advice?