Denise R.

We had Denise as our full-time M-F nanny for 5 months, from age 3mo-8mo. In the end, she ended up quitting for personal reasons and gave us 12 hours notice. While I'd like to excuse this behavior, it unfortunately was a recurring theme during the 5 months we employed her. I had spoken to 2 of her references prior to hiring her, who raved about her punctuality and communication. They said she called out maybe once in the time she worked for them, and on the rare occasions she was running late she communicated well. This was not my experience. She overslept or forgot her alarm not infrequently, maybe 1-2 times a month. She also had frequent "emergencies" in which she'd text me late in the night saying she couldn't come to work the next morning. I'd only see them at 2am because I was awake breastfeeding, so I'd have a few hours to come up with a plan with my husband. We are both full-time physicians and have tight schedules and many patients who depend on us showing up, so having to make last minute work changes due to unreliable childcare was a big issue that not only impacted us but our patients and colleagues. I would estimate she had 1-2 last minute emergencies per month, in addition to the 1-2 planned appointments she had to attend per month. In the end my husband blew through 8 of his 10 sick days over 5 months for Denise, and that doesn't include the time I took off to accommodate Denise's schedule. As for the actual child care, Denise was fine. She sat and watched our daughter play and I saw her reading books occasionally. We asked her multiple times not to be on her phone when the baby was awake and playing, and she eventually complied. We also asked her if she would take the baby for walks around the neighborhood, which she did for a month and then wouldn't restart despite multiple requests. She wasn't great about sticking to our preferred nap schedules but I let that go. In the end, she was fine. I felt like our baby was overall safe and being cared for and if she had any concerns during the day she didn't hesitate to reach out. Ultimately I would say that my experience with Denise wasn't consistent with what her references or the reviews on this website had described. Perhaps it just wasn't a good fit. But I think what is more likely is that her priorities and availability shifted after she had her own baby, as it naturally does. I don't blame her for prioritizing her own baby and child care, but just think it makes it difficult for me to consider her reliable child care for me and my baby.

Ms. Denise is absolutely wonderful! We use her services for date nights a couple of times a month and she is super reliable. The kids love her and are always excited for her to come and she always takes such good care of them. We are so grateful to have her as a sitter!

Good communication and flexibility. Reliable and responsible.

Denise was our lifesaver, plain and simple. I went back to work at 14 weeks postpartum and Denise was the most understanding, patient, and kind nanny for our baby. My husband and I both have demanding jobs that usually require us to leave around 5:30-6 AM. Denise was not only punctual and reliable but more importantly, she would also give us a heads up if she was going to be a few minutes late, which was rare but the open communication was very appreciated. Denise watched over our baby boy until almost a year old, when we decided to put him in daycare. The love and joy our child holds for Denise just warms this first-time mom’s heart. We couldn’t have asked for a better person to have nurtured and cared for our little one these last couple of months and 100% recommend her. We can’t wait to have her back for random date nights and weekends!

Denise has been absolutely wonderful with our little one. She quickly learned our daughter’s routine and treated her just like her own family. Our little Lilly is always happy, clean, and well rested when we return home. Denise is a first rate baby sitter, and I highly recommend her for anybody’s childcare needs.

Denise has been so wonderful with my children. I have 2 under 2 and never had anyone except close family watch them, and she is phenomenal at making them comfortable. She manages naps, meals/bottles, diapers, and everything else flawlessly while keeping to our schedules. I love hearing my kids laugh when she is here, confident that they're in good hands! Should our schedules align again I would absolutely rehire Denise.

She is absolutely amazing! Highly recommend.

Denise started watching my kids when my youngest was 4 months and my other one was 2! She bonded immediately with my babies. Never did my kids sit in front of a screen all day. She reads to them, plays with them, takes them outside, anything to keep their little minds busy. I’m so fortunate to have met Denise and we just love her. She’s punctual, honest, caring, and a really good communicator. I love that when she watches my kids I get updates about feeding times, what they’re up to, and the sweetest pictures. She’s great and we all just adore her. Definitely recommend.

Denise has always been very punctual and professional. Communication has been excellent, and she even sometimes will send cute pictures or videos of my son and what they're up to while mommy and daddy are at work. I appreciate that she is able to work the late hours we require for our job, and she has always been flexible if we get out of work later than expected. My son gets so excited when the doorbell rings once she's arrived! I would recommend Denise to any parent, especially those with toddlers.

Denise has excellent communication and time management skills. She bonded instantly with my son when he was just 4 months old. Now at 9 months old, he gets so excited to see her! Denise has been great at following any direction given and helps out with baby dishes and occasionally baby laundry. She feeds him and plays with him, and changes him throughout the day. She never leaves him in his play pen or bouncer to entertain himself, she’s always either in the play pen with him or sitting next to the bouncer to play with him. She loves on my son just like I would, she lets him snuggle her for naps and she is always very patient when he is fussy. She does babysit other babies and kids throughout the week and is very diligent about the health and safety of the babies as she goes from one family to the next. She has excellent communication when it comes to anyone being sick. As a first time mom I was so scared to let a stranger come into my home and watch my baby, Denise has relieved all my fears. I feel completely confident leaving my baby in her care and hope she will continue working with our family for a long time!