Anybody have experience using nannies/au pairs?

[NewJeffCT]

My wife & I are considering it as right now I have an hour drive in the morning & in the evening to pick up our 19 month old daughter at day care at my mom's house and also get to & from work. With winter coming, we thought nanny or au pair may be an option rather than me fighting my way through snow & ice 5 days a week. We're not looking for anybody long-term - most likely 3-6 months.

Obviously, we'd like somebody we know who has a grandmother, aunt or daughter in a local college to help us out, but that may be tough - my wife's family is in China, and while she may have plenty of relatives that would be willing to help us out, getting a Visa for them may be a problem. And, my family is not exactly local and my mom ain't going to be moving in with us. My wife refuses to attend the local Chinese church to try & find people there, even though I had thought it a good idea (lots of Chinese have grandmothers / aunts living with them that are looking to make extra money)

Anyhow, if you have used a nanny or au pair to help take care of your children, what was your experience and how did you find them? The only time I hear about either one is when it involves a tabloid-esque scandal.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

1. Using them, how?

The perverted minds want to know.

[NewJeffCT]

3. Perv!

I'm sure my wife will have final say just to make sure we get somebody appropriately old & ugly enough!

I edited my message to make it a bit clearer...

[trotsky]

2. We have friends who are using an au pair.

Have been for a few years now. She is from Poland, and seems to take care of their kids really well. The au pair program has a lot of strict rules, but they are mainly intended to keep families from taking advantage of the au pair. (They need to have certain time off, and aren't supposed to do your housework, etc.)

Daycare has worked well enough for us, so we never pursued it, but from what I've seen I wouldn't be afraid to.