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I've had no luck napping with the baby naps but I'd guess it'd completely depend on the nanny and her/his preferences and the compensation package.

I think if you agree on a distribution of hours it should be ok. A lot of people seem to think live in nannies are slaves but I'd be sure to set a number of working hours that is fair to everyone.

Alright I'm back.

When you hire/interview the nanny you should come up with a list/contract of expectations and needs. This is vitally important because I was a live in nanny who was very taken advantage of because we didn't get these things in writing. When I tried contesting the 80 hour work weeks, because I'd been told 50 hours, they turned it on me and said firstly they never said 50 hours and secondly that I must be unhappy if I was counting hours. (sighs).

Being in agreement about the detailed specifics of the job is very important for happiness of both parties.

So if you want her working all day M-F, that would be more than $100/day, especially where you live... however this also depends on what perks you are planning to offer her and her experience.

My perks were:
room & board - a private room with a lock and supposedly my own bathroom (but the 1st grade boy used it a lot)
food
use of car during my time off, they paid for gas
health insurance
paid sick days
paid holidays
2 weeks paid vacation
a housekeeper who would deep clean my room/bathroom every other week

All that considered I made a decent amount of money. But given your location I would suggest at least $10/hour, even with the perks above. You might be able to get away with a little less if you provide cell phone and gym membership too.

It's also important to decide if you are going to do hourly/salary. I was salaried and that's how I was taken advantage of - they never counted my hours. But salary could also be nice as long as you have all this in writing and stick to the agreement.

As a live in nanny my duties included:
Getting up with the kids between 7-8 am
providing breakfast, getting dressed and bringing the older two to school
facilitating naps for the younger two
cleaning up after breakfast and general upkeep of messes the kids made/I made
picking up kids
making lunches
transportation to/from other activities
going on walks with the kids
facilitating art, crafts, play, etc
preparing easy dinners for the kids, clean up
light house work
simple errands for the family
putting the kids to bed
family laundry

I essentially worked 7:30am-7:30pm. They also wanted me to work every Sat. night so they could have a date night.
If that's the kind of schedule and duties you think you might need I would offer no less than $550/week as long as you offer some type of perk... for instance I was given a credit card from the mom to buy my own groceries - it was great being able to eat what I wanted and buy my own good. That was a HUGE perk!

also with live ins: you should have a set time they start. Please please don't say, "whenever baby wakes up" because you obviously couldn't say that to a live out nanny. Same rules apply - be courteous of boundaries and space! Once the dad brought in their 2 month old, into my room at 5am and said he'd been up all night and needed a break... but that was NEVER part of my agreement - to get up that early with a newborn! It made me upset. So whether the baby is up at 5am or 9am, set a fair time, like 7am.

As far as napping while the kids nap - she could... but if you have other duties you want (like making dinner) I doubt she'd be able to.

Soooo in reference to your original questions: Yes a nanny can/will work all day if you pay them well/offer good perks, most are willing to cook dinner but sometimes only for the kids - not the family (I never cooked for the family!).

I am sure you would be a very fair employer - but I think it's easy for families to think their nanny can do everything and your children should be her whole life... which isn't true. So just keep that into consideration. Also - as a nanny - it was great to have monthly "updates" where they talked about my performance and if there was anything they would like to see change and I talked about the kids and any issues/struggles they may have. We kinda did the parenting thing together and agreed on solutions/disciplines as a team which was really great and I loved that.

Good luck!! and sorry I wrote a novella!

@Mrs. Bee: It's in my blogger inspiration book - writing about the nanny experience "from the other side" haha I have so many I need to sit down one day and just write write write lol!

@Bao: I actually REALLY loved it!!! even though it was hard and challenging and in the end not ideal - that year was the best year of my life, hands down. I actually wish I had stayed in NY and worked for another family as a live in. It was a GREAT way to make money with minimal expenses, so I was able to save to complete another year of college.

@Mrs. Pen: Great post!

@Andrea: I had a huge bedroom- they have me a king sized bed! And lots of space so sometimes I hung out in my room. I did have a tv but it was small and far from my bed so it was a pain to watch. Sometimes I just hung out in the den to watch tv and sometimes I did hang out with the parents- especially the mom. We were like best friends we talked about everything, cooked together, watched tv together etc. she was like a big sister! Haha
But I also immersed myself in New York while I was there! I joined a weekly volleyball game and made a ton of friends. Within two months of living there I had a boyfriend (who became my husband!!!). So DH-then-boyfriend would come hang out at "my house", or we'd go out, or hang with friends. I made one really good friend who is now one of my best friends and we hung out a lot too!

I also started taking some college classes online so I had that to keep me busy too. I was 19 and living life- I never sat still- always moving, like I said- best year of my life!

Minnesota was home so I only went home once that year. Plus I usually have to work Saturday too, so I could never just take off for the weekend, I would have loved some weekends trips with the then-boyfriend but I usually had to work. My days off were Sunday and Monday.

Oh speaking of boyfriends- that's an awkward but important discussion to have with the nanny too! Will you be comfortable with her dating if she meets someone- how do you feel about her having a boy in your house, her room, when you have two daughters? You have to be honest because it IS your house, your family. I was lucky my nanny family LOVED DH and he loved their kids- so he would sometimes come over while I was working to just hang out and they were okay with it. But they were open about boundaries and what they were comfortable with and I appreciated that.

Sorry it's so much to think about! But I really want you to have the best positive experience you can!!!

I had a live-in nanny, but the difference is my baby was around 17 months when she started. DD napped once in the afternoon for a big chunk of time, so she was able to cook/prep then. She also looved to cook and she wanted to, so she just made it happen... she had to eat too, haha. also, she was a live-in nanny all her life, so honestly, i just went with the flow in regards to what her tasks were.

Basically, she started at around 9:30 when DH would go to work and I came home around 4:30 or 5. She would quickly get dinner ready while I played with DD and some days she ate with us, some days she retreated to her room to watch her favorite K drama, or some days I came home late because of work etc... Some days we'd cook together too (i.e. she'd cook, i'd do what she said, haha).

Also, we were clear that from the beginning, DH and I wanted the flexibility to be able to come home a little later than usual once a week or to go out for a few hours on the weekends sans baby. That didn't happen every week, but it was nice that we had been clear about it from the start, so when we were able to go on date night or had to stay late at work, it was ok.

if anything though, i was the one who was encouraging her to rest more and not do so much once i came home from work... she would cook, I'd try to help... We would eat and as for evening dishes, I would do it when I could. If I didn't get to it, she would kindly do it for me. She was just awesome... I was sensitive not to get too spoiled by her though...

I think with a live-in, you do have to state your expectations right from the start, as with any caregiver, but you do have to be flexible here and there a bit more since they live with you... Talk about it at the interview. For us, I had the pleasure of getting to know the old family she worked with, so I just asked how they did things. For example, I wondered if she went to the grocery on her own, or went with the family, etc...

Good luck finding someone!