Lately I’ve felt so fortunate in our crazy schedule to have “me” time via babysitting and how important that investment has been for my mental health and wellbeing. So I thought I’d share some tips on getting a babysitter , because I think as parents, we all need a little break from our kiddos. And I know many of you, especially new moms, find these first steps a little bit scary!

Charlie was just 4 or 5 weeks old when we got our first babysitter and man, was that stressful. I felt pushed out of my comfort zone a bit… I mean, he was so little and I felt like I barely had his routine under control that I couldn’t imagine anyone else being able to handle him. Plus he wasn’t sleeping through the night and he was hard to set down that I just felt like someone else putting him to bed would make our night of getting up with him harder. But what a wonderful gift it was to have some alone time out with my husband! I came home and the baby was fine and all was well. What a relief.

We moved to Austin 8 years ago and have no family in this town. The only way we can find breaks from our kids is through hiring babysitters. I started with a few local friends asking around if they wouldn’t mind giving me recs or sharing ones they didn’t use so much. That was a good start. But eventually, I knew I’d have to branch out a bit to find more.

As you may know, both Eric and I are extroverts and need to get out a lot. Whether that’s even for just a long walk along the trail, we find babysitting to be crucial to our happiness!

When Charlie was born, we decided to start looking at Care.com and interview a couple of people just to get some extra help for date nights. The interview part was actually really important. I met a girl for coffee that had a solid profile but in person, made me uncomfortable. Too many red flags. No way was she going to be someone in the care of my child! But then I had a cup of coffee with someone else (Hi Madison!) and found a perfect fit. And we started with our new routine of date nights.

These days I hire sitters for a couple afternoons/mornings a week.  I am a stay at home mom, but with 3 kids, various schedules, and my own creative outlets, I knew that it was time to increase my help. I don’t like the idea of feeling like I can’t do it all, but really- none of us can! We can’t be 100% the best mom and 100% diving into a creative endeavor at the same moment. Getting space makes me a better mom. I get to take a deep breath, do what I need to do, and then feel refreshed to handle the craziness of 3 under 4.

Okay, so how do I find sitters? One way is through a Facebook network of local college sorority girls that many of my friends have used. It’s an easy way to post on a wall and a cute college girl will reply if she is free or not. I have found some fabulous girls through this method. Another I have used (because hello summertime!) is Bambino. There are pros and cons to this app, but mostly I have found great success with it.

The pros are that it’s an app that vets people and you can see the reviews they get from other parents. You can set it to your location and request a handful of sitters at the same time for a single job and see who accepts. Each person has a profile and ratings and reviews. The cons are that it’s hard to find negative reviews. And occasionally, someone will cancel the job just before. When that happens, they get a penalty on their profile. But still, you’re out of a sitter. BUT- I still have found some of my most trusted/lovely sitters through this network and for that, I am grateful. Usually I look for absolutely radiant reviews. Not: “she was great- will have back!” I say this because I had one girl charge me a ton of money for a job that she was doing while my kids were asleep, and I came home and the house was trashed. I went to leave a review that for the price she charges, I was not happy with the job, but the app didn’t seem to let me post the review. I’m not sure why but I obviously found that irritating. SO- just giving you the full spectrum. Look for the radiant reviews.

When I find an awesome sitter, I get their number, and I save it for future dates. I’ve found a great rotation this way and my kids are have become so comfortable with babysitters. It’s been quite a blessing.

I know babysitting can be an expensive, but YOU are worth it.

I thought this was a post worth sharing since I am often asked by friends how I find babysitters!