babysitters

Baby Sitters

First Babysitter

Etta had her first babysitter at five weeks old. Her aunt and uncle looked after her for two hours while I had a tooth ground down at the dentist's office for my first gold crown. Etta did well in the care of her aunt and uncle and slept during most of my absence. They were impressed by how easy she was and are eager to come back again for more one-on-one time with the baby.

First Night Out for Mom & Dad without Baby

We arrived at my mother�s house at 5:30pm on a Saturday and set the scene for Etta�s care: a quilt and toys for the floor, a fully stocked diaper bag, a carriage for napping, bottles of breast milk in the refrigerator, and a full page of written instructions. I�d been away from Etta for only a few hours since she came home from the hospital as a newborn, but never at night and never for five hours straight. I knew 10 week old Etta would be fine with my mother, but I was still nervous.

My husband pulled me towards the door at 6:30 and we were off for our first date without our baby, a chartered dinner cruise on Lake Washington given by my husband�s office. Shortly after the boat pulled away from the dock the dinner buffet started. We dug in and as soon as we�d emptied our plates we were ready to leave, but there were no early exits unless you swam to shore. It was pitch dark out, so we weren�t able to distract ourselves with any sightseeing. We were silent for awhile and then began to talk about how much we wished we were sitting at home in front of the fire with Etta instead.

We acknowledged that we should be talking about our relationship, our goals in life, our other interests, or anything but the baby. We tried to think of things to share and finally came around to asking each other how we felt our lives had changed since Etta�s arrival. It was impossible to keep her out of our thoughts.

About a half hour before the boat returned to the dock I had to excuse myself to the restroom and relieve my engorged breasts. I�d forgotten to bring my breast pump so I stood over the toilet and squeezed my breasts by hand for ten minutes, trying not to spray my evening dress which was bunched up under my armpits.

Our "date" finally over, my husband and I sped back to my mother�s house and reunited with Etta, who was sleeping soundly in her carriage, face down. My mother knew that the American Academy of Pediatrics now said babies should sleep on their backs to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, but she couldn�t resist doing what she�d done with my brother and me as babies. Her rationale: "Babies are more comfortable on their tummies� You never slept on your back and you survived� She�s right here beside me so if she stopped breathing I�d notice�" I accepted my mother�s excuses and knew that it wasn�t worth a fight given the few times that Etta would be in her care. I had to give my mother the freedom to be a grandmother, and care for her beloved grandchild in the manner she felt best.