Anna W.

Irys has been caring for our little baby girl since she was 5 months old. After we met Irys, we knew she would be very good for our little girl. Irys is strong, assured, well qualified with tons of experience caring for children of all ages. It was stressful for me as I headed back to work; however, I felt I had one less thing to worry about because I felt so confident with Irys. And, she has lived up to my expectations in every way. For example, I was very nervous about sleep training my child as I didn't think I would have the strength to listen to her cry at night. However, Irys was there to help coach me through the process and hold me accountable to making sure I was consistent in my behavior with her. Also, as I started to feed A. solids, Irys was there to help me cook, puree and freeze tons of homecooked food for my child. She would help me come up with creative combinations of food that she cooked for other children and to keep me on schedule with introducing new items to A. on a safe and scalable plan. As well, Irys was flexible with our work schedules. There were a couple of times where my business trips overlapped slightly with my husband's return flights. Irys was more than willing to stay with A. until late at night to take care of her. We always were thankful for this. Irys is strong willed and knowledgeable and appreciates direct communication. She will be direct with you about what she believes your child needs. We valued this as we always felt we were in the parenting process together with Irys. However, if we believed something different than Irys, we would have an open conversation about it - and Irys would go with our wishes, even if she disagreed slightly. We appreciated her passion and care for our child and have learned a great deal about children from her. She has been wonderful and we know she will be for you too. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me directly. Thank you, Jennifer and Dave

Dear loving parents: Choosing the perfect nanny is never an easy choice. This was our first baby and I was returning to work after 7 months of maternity leave. Feelings of guilt and inadequacy as a mother were starting to weigh on me heavily as my return date drew closer. I interviewed many nannies and after meeting Irys I knew that she would be a great addition to my daughter's life. Irys is a very strong, confident, knowledgeable nanny. She considers her role as an extension of your role as a mother/father. She will play an active role in helping you doing what is best for your child. - She encouraged us to potty train Madelyn at age 1 when Madelyn started to show signs of interest in the potty. I thought it was a bit early for a child to be potty trained but now Madelyn goes poop in the potty at least 50% of the time. - I wasn't very good/strict about Madelyn's sleeping habits. To get her to take a nap, I had a very involved, labor intensive process of "feeding her milk, touching her face in all the right spots, etc." .. took about 30 mins. to 1 hour for her to fall asleep. Irys took over and sleep trained my daughter. It was difficult at first but after a few training sessions Madelyn was falling asleep on her own within 5 mins. - She taught Madelyn many big girl things: how to use a fork, spoon, etc. She encouraged Madelyn to walk when Madelyn started to show signs of being strong enough to balance on her own. - Irys is regimented and methodical but also loving at the same time. When Madelyn was sick, Irys made a week's worth of chicken noodle soup from scratch and made sure that she was given extra TLC. - Irys has extensive experience in taking care of children. She likes to make suggestions to the parents regarding their child's developmental stages. In rerun, she appreciates it when parents express their expectations regarding her daily responsibilities. If you disagree on an issue, you can let her know and she will always revert back to your wishes as the parent. At 9 months Irys thought that Madelyn should start getting more solids vs. milk. My husband wanted Madelyn to get as much milk until she turned 1 year old. She may not have agreed but she fulfilled our wishes as the parents. - Education and reading is important to Irys. Irys would take the girls out to the library and read them books that she deemed to be relevant to their growth and development (e.g. potty books). - Be organized as a parent. You should know what you want out of a nanny. Tell her your expectations for the day. I don't think I was as organized as I wanted to be. At the time I met Irys, I had no idea the profound impact that she would have on Maddie's life. She has been such a blessing and have helped us with our first year of parenting. Maddie wouldn't be pooping in a potty or using a fork at this age without her that's for sure. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me. Thank you, Victoria and Chris