Martha D.

Martha was with us for about 3 months--give or take. And, for the most part, she was great with our son. The last few weeks were tough ones though. Our son became much more active and needed more supervision, which seemed to take its toll. Because I had trusted her, we made the decision to finally let her give our son a bath. Within 3 minutes of being left alone, I heard him choking on water. When I went to investigate, Martha brushed the situation off, said he had dived into the water and she wasn't used to so much water being in a bathtub. Fair enough. I asked her to tell me next time and the water can be lower if that's what she's comfortable with. Needless to say, we took baths off the table altogether as a precaution. A few weeks later, while she held our son, he lunged out of her arms and went headfirst into the back of the couch (which has a hard back). I immediately took him in order to provide comfort while Martha laughed (maybe nervously) and said "Bud, you gotta stop diving everywhere." Nope. As I comforted him, she came up behind me and tried to suggest taking him out for a walk.. I ignored her on this. These things made me nervous and made us question if she could keep up with our child. He is a super active and big boy. So when Martha gave two days' notice, it wasn't a big deal. She seemed to have a slight problem taking any direction or advice I would give her on caring for our son. Naps were one of them and what he could eat. She was with us twice a week, but acted as if she knew what was best for our son. We had been weighing our options already, so this was perfect. She said she had a lit going on and needed time off. I said I was happy for her and wished her the best--life happens, no big deal. She would end on Thursday (it was Tuesday)--fantastic. Nope. She gave me an attitude most of the day. Not sure where it was coming from. I have always been kind and respectful toward her, and our relationship had been fine up until that point. If there had been an issue, I would expect her to be able to come to me and have an adult conversation. Nope. She had a breakdown in my living room after I asked her not to throw things at my cat's cat condo. It sounds weird, it was weird. My cat hated her from day 1 and I already asked her to minimize and cease interactions with her. My cat had hissed at her on multiple occasions and I've had to even place her in our room alone. Not sure where the confusion came in for Martha. What made me highly uncomfortable is to discover that while out on walks, Martha was doing just the opposite. And I was wondering why my cat would be in such a great mood when I left my home, and then in such a foul mood when I returned. I tried explaining to Martha (who has a cat) why that puts Wes in a dangerous situation that she is taunting my cat while I am not around. She didn't understand. She became over emotional about a simple conversation. It was weird all around. Great start, weird last day? I'd recommend her as a great nanny for a not so active, smaller child. Watch her around your pets. Make sure she understands boundaries.

We love Martha. She has been with us for almost two years and is a part of the family. Both my son and daughter remain excited to have her here on the days that she comes even after all this time. She is very hands on and involves my kids in all sorts of activities: art projects, cooking, the outdoors, educational games and projects. She goes with them on outings to storytime, the zoo, ice skating and all kinds of neat things. And she is great at just playing with them or reading with them too. I trust her completely and know my kids are always in good hands. She is helpful around the house with small chores too, which is unnecessary but greatly appreciated! All in all, at the end of the day, both my kids and I are sad to see Martha go home:)