The Wacky World of the Traveling Nanny

It always seems so glamorous--travel to other countries, see the world on someone else's dime.  It is exciting but the main thing you have to remember--It's THEIR vacation--not mine!  I average about an email a month about people who are looking for a new career and tell me "they love children", would love to travel with families and can you help me get started.

I try to remember that there were people who mentored me in the early years.  Travel nannies that specialized in newborn care who took the time to answer questions when I had situations with parents and looking for the right way to react.  I am still friends with them 15 years later.  No one I knew was doing the traveling or even the temporary nanny jobs back then so I was pretty much on my own.  I learned a lot by making mistakes.  Things I thought were common sense and I didn't need to put in my contract I found out Yes You Do! need to include even the minor details in the contract.

In the beginning I saw my role as someone who was just there to watch the children.  Later, I realized you needed to know the details of traveling in other countries or how to book travel and most importantly, review every one's travel arrangements if possible before the job started.

I remember one job, it was after I had some travel experience, where I met the family in the US and it was for a cruise. I was helping to pack and realized the only carry on for the child was a small diaper bag with 3 diapers, bottle/formula and a toy or two.  I knew that was not going to get it so I immediately unpacked my carry on of several change of clothes, personal items and put them in my checked in bag.  I put 3 change of clothes for my charge, 8 diapers, toys, books, more snacks as well as his special blanket and  bottle and a Ziploc bag of formula.

We had a flight to where we would change planes.  As we we finished packing I asked her how long was our layover and she was excited to tell me only an hour!  I guess she saw the shocked look on my face and asked "did she do something wrong?  Please don't tell me I did something wrong, my husband will be upset if things go wrong!"  I assured her was probably going to be fine.  After all, we had allowed plenty of time to get to the airport and it was a beautiful day.

We boarded on time and we both exchanged looks of relief.  Then we sat on the plane....and we sat...no movement.  The pilot finally tells us that we were experiencing some famous "dry lightening".  We could not moved because airport personnel were not allowed out till the dry lightening stopped.  I texted her to talk to her mom (she was in First Class and we were in economy) to see what the conditions were in our transfer city.  She texted back she was trying to see if there was any back up plan.  Finally, 45 minutes later, we were up in the air.  We were met at the gate by a cart and said our plane had left 10 minutes ago but if we could get to a different date in the next 15 minutes, they were holding seats for us.  Part of our party would wait for us there.  Once in the cart, we asked the driver to get us there as quick as possible.  We are piling on with the stroller, car seat and luggage and then he started to tell us he needed all of our names!  Really?  The father gave his name and unable to contain myself I said rather loudly "we don't have time for this!  Give me your chart and get going, I will fill it out!"  So he takes off and the father says a silent "thank you".  Almost there we see another member of our party who had gotten anxious and was going on a moving sidewalk to meet us.  We yell STOP and yell to her to get on the moving sidewalk!.  She finally made her way to us and the driver getting nervous, stomps on the gas and we do a small wheelie and we the stroller flies off the cart and people in the terminal are dodging our stroller!  Someone jumps off to get it as a passenger grabbed it and got it back to us.  We barely make it to the plane but we do get on...All is great now, right?

Well, it could have been but what we didn't know was the only thing left was the economy seats.  So my parents who had paid for First Class lost their seats.  To add insult to injury, there were only 3 seats together and the father would need to seat two rolls behind. I felt the stress rising so told mom she should ask the man next to her if he would trade seats as it was the same seat, two rolls back.  "I can't do that!" she says.  She got up to go to the restroom and I lean over and ""apologize about having him sit near a child but he really is normally good but we had missed our flight and the father had to sit two rows back."  "No problem", he says, "I have grand kids, it will be fine".  I am sigh realizing he hadn't gotten the hint.  Then the light bulb goes off and he leans over and says to the dad, "hey you want to change seats so you can sit by your wife?  I don't mind!"  Father tells him thanks and moves up to be by his wife.  She comes back and looks and says, "how did you do that".  He nods to me and I just smile!

What else could go wrong, right?  Well, how about they can't find our luggage?  I had a feeling it was in holding but they wouldn't let me go look.  Finally, the cruise people tell us they will keep a check on it and bring it to the ship later if it comes in. Nothing by that evening and so we missed the first formal as we only had what we had on.  I had put all my extras in the carry on bag but luckily I at least had extra diapers.  The cruise did give us some cruise shirts to sleep in.  They said it would be in the next port and we'd get it early in the am.  Nope...no luggage as it seems it was accidentally sent to Czechoslovakia! But probably that evening...Right....Now we are getting low on my extra diapers and would check poor little boy and say things like "it can hold a bit more pee"!

Problem was complicated by the ship carrying no baby items and the first port not being a place you could walk off and go into town.  They were going to try and find something on their excursions but there was nothing around and they had to rush back to ship with group.  By the evening it was apparent no luggage would be there that night!  It was becoming a desperate situation so that evening as we strolled I told them to look at all the bottoms of the babies on board and let's see if we could find a chubby baby that might have the same size.  

"We can't just go up and ask for diapers!", the father said.
"No, but I can!  Just help me look!"

Finally we spotted another chubby baby and I told the parents to go relax and have a drink.  I wandered and sat down next to the couple.  And of course we talk about the kids.  I start relaying all the complications with the plane, lost luggage, etc.  The father exclaims, "we can lend you some diapers!"  I did notice the dirty look the wife gave but ignored it and profusely thanked him!

By the time the parents came back I had 6 more diapers!

The next day we come into port where you can get off and walk into town.  All was well till I realized that like most port cities, the steps leading up the rocky cliff were steep and I had a stroller and a 35 lb kid!  Lordy, how was I going to get up those steps?  I noticed two men standing and talking by the stairs and did my best helpless female act of struggling to get stroller up first step. 

Needless to say I was successful and the gentlemen carried him up the steps and gave me directions to the Supermarche (always know what markets are called in that language) and with my limited French I made it to the store only to find 4 narrow steps with a door at top to maneuver to just get into the store.  Then when I asked about nappies, was told it was up "there".  Another 12 steps and I bought the last box in his size!

Midnight that night, we got our luggage!  I had managed to find two pairs of Capri on sale on the ship and would just wash out personals each night.  Nothing fit my slim mom so the ship washed her clothes each night and delivered them back to her in the early am.

The main thing you pack on vacations is a sense of humor.