First Visit by a Sharma - Nicknames - and the Nanny Search Begins

FAMILY VISIT


Yogesh's cousin, Rahul (Shyamal) came to visit us on Friday evening - what fun! He lives in Toronto with his wife Sara, and was in town briefly for a conference. He thought Deven looks acceptably like a Sharma, so we'll keep him! He brought the cutest shirt for Deven to wear - so very Silicon Valley. No photos yet; but we'll take and post them once Deven fits into his new uber-fashionable duds.
More photos and brief videos from Rahul's visit:



NICKNAMES
Many people in Yogesh's family have nicknames: Rahul is Shyamal, his sister Rachna is Noopur, their cousin Kamini is Meenu... Yogesh didn't get a nickname beyond 'Yogi' but I don't call him that because I've got an Uncle Joergi, and don't want to confuse the two! Deven seems to be taking the Sharma trend to the new generation; so far his nicknames include:

• Muffin
• Milk-face
• Mr. Poopypants (thanks, Heather!)
• Baby Bird
• Lil' Devil
• LaLaa
• Motu LaLaa
• Dr. Dee
• D

THE NANNY SEARCH

Aargh. Before Deven was born, we took the advice of our wise friends Tom & Kaya, and put our names on the waiting lists of all the reputable daycare centers we could find (that's 5 in all; $225 in fees thank you very much!) We even were accepted into one of them...but have since heard some very poor feedback about the place, and about how even 'average-quality' daycare for young infants can hurt them in the long run. That, coupled with my general anxiety over leaving the little guy in group care so young, left me awake for 3 hours on Wednesday night while Deven and Yogesh snoozed peacefully (any of you who know how sleep-deprived new parents are, know that 3 hours of anxiety-induced insomnia is precious sleep NOT to be wasted on worrying!)

So, we discussed a Plan B; something we'd toyed with for a while now: Hiring a Nanny. I wasn't initially keen on the idea, because we've all heard horror stories about this method of childcare as well - and it's bloody expensive! I mean, we're talking well more than a year of college education - but what's the price of your child's well-being and feeling secure about their day-to-day development? So, we have a few unique twists that we're going to try to work out:

1. Daadii. We've invited Yogesh's mom to come live with us again. She is too frail to be Deven's primary caretaker by herself, but bringing her back would not only provide important 'nanny oversight', but also - and more importantly - it would give both she and Deven precious 'Daadii-Potaa' (Grandmother-Grandson) time together. She's excited by the idea of coming to stay with us again, but is understandably not looking forward to the 26-hour flight.


2. Share-care. Because nannies are frightfully expensive (at least the ones you want watching your children), we've spoken with another nice couple, Ute & Kevin, who have a son just 2 hours older than Deven. We've committed nothing yet, but have agreed to attempt to find a nanny willing to care for both of our little guys together in one of our houses (likely ours, given #1 above). Could be a way to save a bundle, and allow the two little guys to grow up together with both a full-time Nanny and Grandmother there to watch over them.


3. Hindi-speaking Nanny. We've started posting online for a Nanny, specifying someone who speaks Hindi. This is important, because Yogesh's mom is more comfortable in Hindi...and finding someone suitable isn't as easy as it sounds. Though we live in a major world city; the majority of Indians in the Bay area live in the South Bay areas of Fremont and Sunnyvale, leaving a dearth of potential Hindi-speaking nannies here in San Francisco. So, although it's officially 'too soon' to begin searching for the right candidate; we've posted ads in the major free Indian online sites and craigslist; and have gotten a couple of phone calls already. We have our first interview with a potential candidate tomorrow - wish us luck! See the text below - this is what we're seeking in a candidate. What do you think?

We are looking for a nurturing, responsible, mature and energetic Hindi- and English-speaking nanny to care for our son who will be 5 months old, starting in early September.

• Days/Hours: Mon - Fri 9:00am – 6:00pm (some flexibility)
• Starting: September 3, 2007 (some flexibility)
• Location: Our home in Noe Valley (convenient to both BART and MUNI public transportation)

Requirements:

• Experience working with infants
• Fluent in Hindi and English (Plus: knows or willing to learn sign language for pre-verbal communication)
• High level of energy and creativity, love of children and knowledge of various phases of development
• Child/infant CPR certified, with updated immunizations
• Background check (Trustline-certified preferred)
• Comfortable with a very friendly cat
• 2-3 excellent references
• Non-smoker

Responsibilities:

• Maintain/Develop healthy feeding and sleeping schedules
• Developmental and entertaining activities (i.e. reading, singing, taking walks, etc.)
• Walking to parks/library, etc.
• Light Housework and cooking for the child

Our family is Indian-American. We will pay market rates, benefits, vacations, etc. for the right person to join us. Please email me at ..., or call ...