Most will think of this as a horrifying disaster. All those meetings, your 1:1 with the boss, and that never ending to-do list, all put on a disruptive hold, as you get that call from your nanny. She’s sick and you need to be home to take care of your bebeh.
Turn it around, this is a great reason for you to take to the day off, and enjoy every moment of it with your child. Work can wait. We get so caught up in our day to day routine with work that we lose track of other aspects of living. This is especially true for Bay Area and Silicon Valley. A unhealthy unbalanced work-life culture that tends to make you feel horrible when you need to take the time to spend taking care of your family.
Harsh Truths:
Nannies will be sick every once in a while.
My Advice
You have no choice: you have to be home, learn to appreciate the opportunity to spend time with your baby. This is by no means a bad thing. Screw your meetings (just for the day) its bonding time.
If you really need to get some critical work done, see if you and your partner can both WFH (work from home). You can try to cover for each other while in meetings. You will have to put in some extended hours, but at least you get to spend some time having fun playing peekaboo, changing diapers, and reading some fun childhood stories.
Be prepared for having your nanny out for a few days. You and your partner may need to work from home for a few days. It’s always good to have a few backup nannies lined up too. This is especially important when you are starting off with nanny care and are getting used to the new nanny and a new routine. If you have just gone through nanny interviews, keep the best candidates’ contacts for this exact situation, and make sure you part with them on a good note.