Hellobee Boards

How far away does she live from you?
If she's not far (say less than 10 min drive) maybe morning for 2 hours and evening for 3 hours on her normal days? Assuming she's not on other jobs the same day, because that could get dicey. But if she's otherwise free maybe help in the morning so you guys or he can go to the gym, then evening for some date nights.

Or maybe just keep her normal hours because who knows what might come up. You might let her go early some or all the days (in which case I think you still have to pay her for all the hours to maintain the relationship) but it could be nice to have her on hand. Maybe your DH will also want some time to himself and the sitter can watch the kids while he does XYZ. As much as I love my son, I have to have some time to myself. Is he the same way? I understand that he's away a lot and wants to spend time with the kids, but maybe ask him if he'll also want some time to relax? Maybe he has a lot of that being away from home though, I don't know what his tour is like.

Or like you said, maybe he'll just need an extra hand. Maybe the sitter will read or watch tv a lot while he's there, but if he needs a hand it might be nice to have her there since you said he's not well versed in caring for two. She can drop what she's doing and help. Or maybe he'll want to spend one-on-one time with each kid and she can take the other?

Could she grocery shop for you or run other errands during the down time? Light housework like ironing or folding laundry? Something that's not potentially offputting like "scrub my toilet", but easy stuff she could knock out while watching a show.

I would consider how much I value her and really want to keep her after the month is up. If good childcare is easy to come by in the hours you need, then you can be a bit more strict and say "we don't need you for all or any of the hours this month. We hope you will still be around at the end but understand if you can't" and be prepared for the outcome.
If you/your kids love her and it's hard to find childcare in the hours you need, I would tell her the situation and that you really want to come up with a solution that keeps her happy and paid but doesn't interfere with your husbands precious time with his kids. Give her some options you think of and allow her to think about it and maybe she'll have a great suggestion you hadn't thought of. I would have the conversation plenty of time in advance (2 weeks?) so you have time to sort it out and you're not leaving her or yourself in the lurch.

I think I would aim for a combo of things, maybe ask if she'd be willing to swap some of the hours for date nights. Then I'd have her come for abbreviated normal hours and have her either split kid duty with your husband or give him some time to himself and if he doesn't need her have a couple of projects for her- grocery shopping, organizing kids clothes, toys and art supplies, getting projects ready for kids, maybe wrapping holiday presents of the timing is right etc. I'd obviously check with her and see what she's open to but I'd stress that it's a temporary thing and that you really want to keep her on until things go back to normal.

If your income isn't changing during that month, I'd keep her pay the same. But I always err on the side of keeping the nanny happy and appreciated! 15 hours/week is not that much and I definitely think it's fair to see if she could be flexible on when you use the hours. Date nights, errands, maybe she could watch one kid while your husband takes the other for some one-on-one time. I know I find it hard to care for both kids at once, plus your husband probably wants a little time to recharge. Take advantage!

I would pay her and find other things to do (cleaning, house chores, house projects) or alternative child care hours - (date night, dates during nap time, or even holiday shopping). We didn't need our nanny as much this fall because we enrolled our kids in school and then lost our baby that was due this fall. Instead, she does laundry, meal prep, cleaning, house projects (think - basement and closet organizing, dusting, food shopping, Target trips).