Any tips for getting the "ideal" helper? What kind of questions should we ask during the interview? first time mum here... so kinda clueless...... but we want her to help with looking after baby...... thank you!

I think this is an extremely subjective topic. Every mum and dad might have a different answer to this, but whenever I am asked for advice in the early stage of selection, I suggest to ask yourself, whether the helper should primarily clean or primarily babysit. This helps you think about what skills you are looking for and apparently the 'perfect' helper can't do all perfectly. So when we selected ours, we were looking for personal soft skills with kids, because our "ideal" helper should look primarily after our son.

If the helper is mainly for the baby, you need someone who has the right personality and I would also say ask her about how she looked after babies in other homes. I asked mine to tell me what she would do in case of an emergency at home with the baby when my husband and I were both out.

Thanks for the ideas, Sumati and Rico! I'm just so lost at preparing to ask because my friends warned me that they'll just say "yes" to everything because they want the job. I guess it's a matter of luck as well, on getting the right person.

thanks