Well, you can do what I do -- hire them, but spend the first few weeks being in the house when they are, working upstairs on the computer with one ear open, getting a feel for how this person is interacting with your kid.

I'm finding that as my kids get older, the younger babysitters are better -- the college/grad student. More of an older sister type than a surrogate mom type.

Yeah, I'm planning on hopefully finding someone (high school neighbor) to come in a couple afternoons a week to help me out. This way I can have this person play and watch the kiddos while I tackle some heavy housework & cook a nice dinner. Then if this works out this person will hopefully be able to babysit at night maybe once a month so my hubs & I can have a night out as a couple.

Allison, I plan to do just that. Probably longer than the first couple of weeks, in fact. I like my home office and as long as Damian doesn't come and interrupt me too often, I want to stay. (He likes to check in with me from time to time.)

I lean toward younger women, too. The one we'll probably hire is in her 20's, I think. Nice. Smart, too. Fingers crossed it works out.

Grace, I too look forward to monthly nights out as a couple instead of a family. What a luxury.