Susanne texted me to call her last night while I was putting Allie through her bedtime feeding (another night of sleeping all the way through, and another day/night of no poopies). When I did, I was nervous. Mr. W said he was scared, too. We quickly agreed that if she says no, then we’ll ask if there are any non-monetary benefits we could provide her that would change her mind, such as more paid days off, since Mr. W and I have a lot of vacation days and holidays we can relieve her of duty. If she declines, then we thank her and move on to someone who’d be a better fit.

But Susanne said yes! She said she thought about it, and decided that if the money were the issue and we really would like her to be our nanny, and she wants to work for us, then it shouldn’t be just about the money. I thought that was a very Christian way of thinking. A working situation between employer and employee IS mainly about the money, but a more holistic view of it is whether it’s in both parties’ best interest, whether you like the person, it’s about the baby, and love, and helping others, etc. We still have to get together and crunch some numbers to decide how best to do this, but we’re gonna do it! YAY! She said the only hitch is that a family she babysits for had an emergency-type situation come up and they need her to be there full-time this month. She said they have no other option. That means that she can’t do a part-time trial period with me before she has to take over in May. That makes me a little nervous, but she offered to come over on weekends to acclimate to Allie’s routine, get Allie used to her, learn her way around the house and neighborhood. I agreed. At least that saves me some money for April, I guess.

I guess the bottom line remains the same — Susanne just needs to keep Allie alive until we get on the same page as to her routines and such. My cousin Jennifer only gave her nanny 2 days to hang around with her and the baby, learn their routine, before she went to work, and that’s working out just fine. Susanne is more than capable, and she asked to borrow and read the sleep book I’d referenced to understand my parenting routine, which can be done on her own without her being here.

Now I have to let down all the other potential nannies, the toughest of which will be Fernanda, still waiting to hear back after her interview with us.