Nanny Diary- Spina Bifida Awareness Month

Hi everyone! October is spina bifida awareness month. In honor of this I thought it would be great time to write about my experience with it.

The first time I was introduced to spina bifida happened a little over a year ago. It was at that time I became a nanny to a baby who has spina bifida. I continued to watch her for the year and still watch her from time to time. It was during that year that I learned a lot about spina bifida and everything it entails. I learned about the different equipment used and all the therapies that are needed.

During my time working with baby I learned a lot and I gained a lot. Even to this day I still get excited each time she hits a major milestone. In fact, I wrote this post while this little girl was sleeping. She had spent the night crawling around and pulling herself into the bath with her sisters! Of course, all of this was done with a huge smile on her face.

Working with this child was so great and it really opened my eyes to spina bifida and other developmental disabilities. It really got me interested in developmental disabilities and I plan to continue my work as a nanny in the field of developmental disabilities!

-A

*Picture from the Spina Bifida Association website.

Nanny Diary- Burned Out

Hi everyone! Today I wanted to share with you the chaotic and busy week I had, and  by the title I am sure you can tell it ended in me being burned out and not feeling to great.

This past week I took on extra hours at work so I was working full time. I also told another family I would do daycare drop off and pick up/bedtime routine. It was very exhausting and I was rushing between the daycare and my job. Even after getting home I did not get to relax like I had hoped. I would begin to do homework and post my blog post for that day. It was not until this morning I realized I was burned out and really needed a break!

Even though I had a crazy week it was also very eye opening and helped me to realize I could make some changes so that I do not get overwhelmed in the coming month when I have to balance a full time job and going to school full time. The biggest thing I realized I could do is do one assignment a day and not all of them on one day. This would not only help me have a less stressful week but I also would do better in school because I am giving my attention to one lesson instead of three. The second thing that I learned is that I am able to schedule my posts to post to my blog by itself. This will make it so that I am not rushing to type and format posts.

At the moment I am working on homework and rushing to type this post. However, I do look forward to trying these new ideas this week and hopefully will be able to relax a little bit! What do you do to ease your work load? Let me know in the comments below!

-A

Nanny Diary: New Family

Hey everyone! This is going to be a super short post today. There have been quite a few changes for me. If you could not already tell by the title I am no longer watching Baby P and her sisters “B” and “D”. I started working with the old family I use to nanny for again! Today was my first day working with “J”, “M” and “A” again. It felt great being back and I had a lot of fun with them today. I will definitely miss seeing Baby P and her sisters though!
I look forward to sharing more nanny diaries with all of you and hope you will continue to follow me and this new family!
-A

One on One Time

Hi everyone! This post is a couple weeks late, but I had the chance to spend time with B, D, and Baby P individually this past week. It was such a fun experience and I wanted to talk a little about that.

I started out the day with D. We started our outing with a trip to the library. While there we got books, played with puzzles, and played with toys they had there. After the library D and I went to Paradise Valley Burger Company for lunch. D loves cheeseburgers and she devoured it in minutes! We had such a great experience while eating lunch. The guys at Paradise Valley Burger Company drew a smiley face on her burger in ketchup, which she loved! According to her “she felt happy after eating her burger.” It really was such a fun trip!

When we got home it was Baby P’s turn for some one-on-one time. She is a baby so it was not as big as D’s time. Baby P and I sat on the couch and read the new library books D and I got. She loved looking at all the colors, and loved looking at the unicorn book. However, by the time we got to the dog book she was totally over it, and ready for a nap!

B was the last one to have her time alone with me. She was not feeling well that day so we stayed in. B and I used our time to put together a Valentine’s Day craft. It took quite a bit of time to put the craft together, but it was a lot of fun!

Being able to spend time with each of the girls individually was such a great experience. It was a lot of fun for me and I hope for the girls too! What are some of your favorite kid friendly activities? Let me know in the comments below!

-A

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Things I Never Thought I Would Say

Hi everyone! Today I am going to do a nanny diary on things I never expected to say. Watching kids definitely makes you say some interesting things, and I am going to share those with you!

• “Stop licking me, you are a human baby not a puppy baby.”
• “We are not going to baby bird your sister.” (This was said to B when she tried to spit chewed up food in Baby P’s mouth.)
• “Goats do eat grass, but you aren’t one so don’t eat that.”
• “Well nothing you are a human not a goat.” (Same conversation as the previous one)
• “Please do not sing the hello darkness song while I am using the bathroom.” (This is in reference to The Sound of Silence from Trolls.)
• “You can’t eat playdough.”
• “You can’t eat the fake snow.”
• “Don’t eat this glitter.”
• “I will give you a quarter if you pet that dog right now. “ (This has been said more than once)
• “Be careful or you’ll end up like Bobby Bramble.” (Reference from D’s favorite book)

These are just a few things that I can remember. Even though I have had to say a lot of weird things I love all these moments with the girls. I would not trade the craziness for anything! What is the weirdest thing you’ve said to your kids? Let me know in the comments below!

-A

Learning Patience

Hey everyone! Today I am going to do a nanny diary. This past week of work was a great lesson in patience! It was “D” who taught this all to me. I usually am pretty good at dealing with typical toddler attitudes, but this past week has been a little tougher.

This past week was the dreaded shark week for me, and with that “D” had what I am convinced is her baby shark week. This left both of us at odds with who really is in charge. There were a whole lot of  “no’s”, tears, temper tantrums, and negotiating. Through all of this I realized that instead of continually telling “D” no or do not do that I could say it once then focus on playing with Baby P. At first she would stand next to me screaming and jumping around in anger, but then she realized that if she stopped and would listen she would get the attention she wanted.

Even though the week started out tough and I wanted to pull my hair out “D” and I ended up having a great day today! What are some of the things you do when you need more patience? Let me know in the comments below!

-A

 

Life as a Nanny

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a great first day back to work. Mine was crazy! Today I want to do a new sort of post. A few months back I heard about the book The Nanny Diaries written by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. I have yet to read the book, but the whole idea really sparked my interest! In the spirit of that book I have decided I wanted to do a nanny diaries type post. It will not be every day, but I am sure I will have one at least once a week!

I am a nanny to 3 girls under the age of 6.  I will refer to them as “B”, “D”, and Baby P! I had the privilege to watch “D” when she was an infant and am now getting to watch her again. Baby P is the main child I nanny for, but for the next month or two it will be all three girls, the main portion of my day is spent with “D” and Baby P.

“B” is the oldest and she is my helper! She can be a handful at times, but whenever I am trying to help the two youngest girls or am covered in spit up she comes to the rescue! I cannot count how many times I have had spit up down my leg and all over Baby P and “B” has come running with a cloth. She not only is great at helping with Baby P, but she will help “D” get things down or talk to her when she is feeling angry and needs some extra love. “B” loves Shimmer and Shine and all things Disney! She is definitely my go to kid when I have a craft idea.

“D” is the middle child and is definitely the most chill! However she does have her crazy moments like all toddlers. “D” is always up for anything which I love! One of her favorite places to go is the library to check out books. “D” currently likes any television shows. I recently showed her Higglytown Heroes, a show from when I was a kid, and she is obsessed! There is not a day that goes by where she is not asking to watch Higglytown Heroes. “D” is not only the one who loves every show, but she is the one who also says the funniest things! She is like a teenager stuck in a toddler’s body!

Baby P is the youngest and is the easiest! She is the most patient baby I have ever met! I have mentioned Baby P in a few of my posts. One of the things I have mentioned is that she has spina bifida. However, she does not let that keep her from doing anything! She is constantly trying to roll and pull herself up into a sitting position. I am so proud of how much progress she has made and of all the milestones she is hitting! Baby P is always happy and smiling, but when she wants attention she will let you know. Just today she spent five minutes screaming continuously. She was not angry or upset in the least bit; she just wanted everyone to look at her. When the girls and I did look she started cracking up. Baby P’s favorite things at the moment are; watching television with her sisters, playing with toys and teething toys, and occasionally kicking “B” and “D” in the head with the bar from her corrective boots.

I truly love working with these girls, and they make my life so much better. There are those days when I am ready to pull my hair out, but I would not change a thing! I hope you all enjoyed learning about these girls, and will continue to join “B”, “D”, and Baby P on all of our adventures!

-A