Au Pair? Oh Yes!

Today I had a meeting with Birte from the Au Pair for Kiwi Kids Company.

Two years ago in the June/July Issue of Little Treasures I stumbled across an article called "Au Pair? Oh Yes!" The first line caught my attention "Another pair of hands has made the world of difference to these busy families.... and it doesn't cost a fortune". It  introduced three different families who had hosted Au Pairs, logging a typical day in the life.



I found this link which gives a great definition of an Au Pair:  
The word "Au Pair" is a French term, which means "on par" or "equal to", denoting living on an equal basis in a reciprocal, caring relationship between the host family and the children. An aupair will typically be a young woman and sometimes a young man from a foreign country who chooses to help look after the children of a host family and provide light housekeeping. The aupair is given room and board and is typically paid a weekly "pocket-money" salary. Aupairs generally stay with their host family for one year. 

When I discovered I was pregnant with our 3rd child, (after I got over the initial shock), I couldn't help but worry "how will I manage"? not just "it's going to be hard work" but literally how will it be humanly possible with two hands and only 24 hours in a day to look after three kids under three! Especially since I am flying solo half the time.

There are a lot of amazing single parents out there, who have managed with three (or more for that matter!) on their own, in fact I have a few as friends and have huge admiration and respect for them. But all of them will openly admit, it was VERY challenging at times, especially during those pre-school years.

So I found myself asking this question, "What are the most important things I want to acheive and preserve after baby number 3 is born?" Immediately the word BALANCE popped into my head.

BALANCE is a mantra I try to live my life by (I hope to do a blog series on BALANCE for a full-time mum) I appreciate the uniqueness of us as individuals I know that  people handle pressure, chaos, deadlines, tragedies all in different ways. I have suffered from bouts of depression and anxiety over my life, Im not ashamed to admit that. So I know what sets me off.


To achieve balance in my life I need to:

• Feel connected in my marriage (which takes "alone" time), have a meal out from time to time, a walk on the beach, a movie, even half a hour chat over coffee.

• Have time to socialise without my "mummy badge" on, this could be a marathon chat on the phone with a friend, a night out dancing, or just a walk with a girlfriend, its more about connecting as woman to share in life's up and downs than what we are doing.

• Have time to pursue my individual interests. I love going to day-time movies by myself (Chris thinks this is weird!), reading the display mags at the library on a rainy afternoon, trawling the interior decorating blogs for inspiration, planning my next house project and of course shopping! 

• Spend one on one time with each of my children; to do things that they really love. Take Bianca swimming or make playdough caterpillars and autumn leaf collages with her. Walk Sienna to the park on her own, or build her sandcastles that she can smash down in the sandpit. The times I spend one on one with my kids is the times their individual character really shine through, I get an extra clear window into who they are as people.

So back to my meeting today.... For me an An Au Pair will be a key component in keeping this BALANCE in my life. She will help with the frantic mornings, coercing children into clothes, the breakfast meltdown, getting those first loads of washing and even the slow cooker on for the day. An Au Pair will free me up to enjoy precious bonding and long breastfeeding sessions with my newborn and quality play-time with the girls.  She will be able to take my girls to their activities such as gym and music class and (this is the luxury part!) be available to babysit two evenings a week so that Chris and I can enjoy time as a couple.

We are in the process of finding an Au Pair that will suit our family dynamics, I will be keeping you posted!