Find Child Care and Peace of Mind with LxBlue

Sponsored Post Disclosure: Opinions are my own and not swayed by compensation of any kind. This was a sponsored post, but I limit such posts to companies that meet my moral standards and I feel I can really stand behind (hey, I'm not a sell out).

My son is almost two years old and we've never used a babysitter. The longer we waited, the more terrifying it became! There's also the money factor. If you follow my blog you know I'm pretty budget-minded. But as the months have been flying by I have been slowly preparing myself for using a babysitter. Recently, we started doing "mommy sitting" swaps with our friends, which has been awesome! But even though it's a pretty fare swap, it still always feels like you're asking for a favor since you're not paying them. And of course they're not always available. So, yes, I knew it was time to bite the bullet and find a babysitter.

Find a babysitter... Where? How? How do I know if I can trust them?? Well, I've got one word for you: LxBlue!

When you find a babysitter or nanny that sounds good, you can purchase the "Peace of Mind" package for $39, which gives you their contact information, background check results, and what references said about them. Alternatively, you can post job listings for free, which their babysitters and nannies can apply to or you can request the job listing to be sent directly to candidates you're interested in. If they are interested in your job ad, you'll get a notification and from there you would need to purchase the "Peace of Mind" package in order to contact them.

After that, you're on your own - you can call, email, invite them over for an interview, or just go ahead and book them to watch your kid(s). You will negotiate rates and pay the sitter or nanny directly. LxBlue doesn't get involved or take commission after contact information is purchased and received.

How LxBlue worked for me:

I recently had a work event that I had to find a sitter for. Our FIRST sitter. I logged onto LxBlue and quickly narrowed it down to 3 women in our zip code that sounded nice. I purchased the Peace of Mind package for one, only to find out she wasn't available for the day/time I needed. Whoops! I changed my strategy and posted a job ad and within a few hours had a response! I purchased her Peace of Mind package, called her, and she came over to babysit the next day! I was totally nervous, but from the second she walked in the door she was polite and kind and started playing with my son right away. She arrived early, which was great, as she could hang out with my son while I was getting ready, and by the time I left I knew he was in great hands. When I came  home 6 hours later, the house was in tip top shape and my son was taking a nap in his crib (something I haven't been able to get him to do in about 6 months!!). Wow. This whole babysitting thing can be pretty freaking awesome.

I want to give a huge thank you to LxBlue for helping me feel a little less nervous with our first ever babysitter, and also a virtual high five to the great, awesome, and lovely babysitter we used, Nikia!

LxBlue is a company I ran across a few weeks ago at the Brooklyn BabyFest and am I ever glad I did!! They are not just any old website for listing babysitters or nannies. Oh no. LxBlue interviews each candidate in their office. TWICE. They also do 4 different background checks (driving, 50-state criminal background including Social Security verification, and credit checks), and confirm and interview references. They are so strict with this process that they only accept about 20% of applicants interviewed!! So basically you can rest assured anyone you find on their website is going to be trustworthy, reliable, and an all around rock star.

How LxBlue works:

There is no subscription fee. You just go on their website and search! You can narrow down your search by zip code, babysitter / nanny, live in / live out, and a variety of desired skills (see the screen shot below).