Test Run

About once a month, I babysit for a two year old cutie who I met through mutual friends. She is so sweet and goes to bed so easily, I have been taking notes on the parents' techniques for a while. One time last fall, my husband decided to come with me when I babysat on a Friday or Saturday night. He had such a great time playing with her and being the big silly kid that he is and now he wants to come with me every time. They had asked me to babysit last Friday and I agreed. It had been so long since I'd seen her and I was excited to hear all the new words she has learned. My husband was excited, too. He even texted me the day before that he was for sure coming with me, though he would be meeting me there after work.

Last time we were there, we played in the backyard. My husband was monkey-ing around and she was loving it!

Friday morning, my husband got a text from his sister asking if we could babysit for her while she had coffee with a friend. She has a spunky 6 year old and an adorable 9 month old. We couldn't bring them with us to babysit the two year old because she has a pretty early bedtime, but we didn't want to say no to his sister because we're afraid she'll never ask us again. My husband offered to watch the girls by himself, but he was convinced she would say no if I wasn't going to be there. Well, she said yes! While I was babysitting at someone else's house, he babysat two girls - 9 mos and 6yrs - on his own!

Gwen had a great time chasing the dogs around and watching Discovery Kids. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about him being on his own with the girls AND our two crazy dogs. They love kids, but babies are new to them, so we're always a bit concerned with how they'll act around the little ones.

The dogs were great with her. They were curious and wanted to play, but according to my husband, they listened well and kept guard over her while she slept.

At one point, my husband texted me asking how much baby food to feed her. I told him she would probably let him know when she was done, so just give her as much as she wants.

Open wide! Later I asked if my advice worked and he said it did. She started fussing just a little bit when she had had enough.

Overall, the night was a success! He said it was fun, but also a little difficult. His biggest complaint? How do you do anything while holding a baby? He was trying to put a blanket down outside so she could crawl around and found it hard to hold her, keep the dogs at bay, and arrange a blanket. Practice makes perfect, so I'm glad he had this experience to help him feel more confident once we have our own babies.