Host mother Amy from Chicago recently shared with us the touching story of her whirlwind journey from new mom to au pair host mother. When she and her husband received the news that a baby girl had just been born and was waiting for them to be her adoptive parents, their life changed. While learning the ins and outs of diaper changes, late night feedings, and everything else that comes with raising a newborn, they also had to quickly figure out a plan for child care. That’s where Loir, an au pair from Israel, entered the picture…
“Unlike most families, my husband and I had absolutely no lead time in coming to the conclusion to have an au pair take care of our newborn baby. So from the beginning our au pair meeting story was unconventional.
After 10 years of trying to have a family, my husband and I were ready to give up. We were 20 days from the deadline we had given ourselves after the nightmare of many tries. Attempting to accept our situation, I happened to be on a girls’ weekend with friends at a spa in Utah. My husband called and told me a baby was born only four hours away from me, and she was waiting for us to be her parents! At the hospital they admitted me, gave me a room and brought our daughter to me. I held and stared at her for 24 hours barely moving until my husband flew out to join us, and then we stayed for another week until we received clearance to return home to Chicago.
A week after returning home, amid getting the nursery together and figuring out what a newborn baby needs, our social worker asked what our plans were for child care once I return to work.
Having lived abroad after college and loving different cultures and languages, I always thought that having an au pair would be ideal, but I didn’t know how to approach finding one. And then once I learned about the process and how long it can take from start to finish, I realized how late we were to planning, having already used one of my three months of maternity leave!
The first time I spoke to Lior, much like the incredible story of how our daughter found us, I knew there had been other cosmic forces at work this time too. I had been looking for the right au pair for a month, but one late afternoon I reached out and she was open to speaking right then, despite it being practically midnight in her time zone.
We talked for 90 minutes. I learned a lot about her background, her big heart, her love for children and was impressed that other than taking only two trips abroad for a few weeks total, her English was outstanding! I had my husband join the chat, and before long she not only understood his sarcasm and joking but was clever enough to return the joke on him!
I realized that understanding when my jokester husband is being literal or figurative would be key in anyone coming to live with us. So for us the decision was made immediately. He emphatically told me we had found the au pair for us.
Within six weeks she joined us, and we’ve never looked back. That’s only where the amazing connection began… it’s been a great fit from then on out!”
Are you also searching for the right child care solution for your family? Learn more about hosting an au pair with Au Pair in America!
