One of those "just so I remember it later" posts

Nap Status! Who cares? Me!
Yesterday Jack slept from 11:30 to 1:30. He took a cat nap from 4:30 to 5. He went right to bed at 7:30. He woke up for the day at 7:15. Could it be that one nap is getting him to sleep better at night as well? Be still my beating heart! Today won't be consistent, since he'll sleep in the car on the way to my folks' house (about an hour drive) but it feels nice to actually have a STRATEGY or something. You know? Instead of just going along with whatever and having no idea what to do.

I should have a post up at Parenting.com today, although it's not there yet. It's about babysitters... and how I am afraid of them. The neuroses! They multiply!

In other news, my kid is so freakin' adorable. NO REALLY. I'm realizing now that I was in some kind of Horrible Fog from about January to April. I was throwing up all the time, the weather was miserable, we never left the house and Jack was just entering the world of mobility. So I was having to keep him away from the books and the stairs and the cabinets and I felt like I did nothing except feed him and pick up after him. But now that I'm feeling like myself again, it's like I have this new baby. I'll say that his tiny personality has asserted itself (to put it nicely), but there are also these other things. Like, suddenly he's become sort of cuddly. I know! Last night Phillip and I were both sitting on the couch and he crawled up in between us and just hung out there for a bit, kicking his feet into Phillip's stomach and butting his head into my shoulder. My brother gave him a stuffed dog for his birthday and I thought, "Oh, cute, another stuffed animal" but PEOPLE, Jackson LOVES THIS DOG. He hugs it while riding in the car seat, he hugs it in the shopping cart. He has lots of stuffed toys and all of them are getting this treatment lately. And he doesn't just chew on them either! I know!

As for the other kid... I'm starting to be a little nervous about this one. This kid kicks me everywhere. She's not big enough to be causing any permanent damage, but still. Annoying. And! Scarier still, she is CONSTANTLY MOVING. I remember Jack kicking me a lot and I know I don't remember well enough to compare, but it seems like this new baby doesn't stop. First thing in the morning, all day long, when I'm trying to go to sleep... what if she's one of those energetic babies who doesn't like to sit and watch television? WHAT WILL I DO?

Anyway, I've got to take a shower now (remember when I asked you how to take a shower? Lately, with this late napping boy, the shower solution is Phillip watching him for a bit before he goes to work and SIGH I get out of bed.)

Now if only we can get some sun back to this part of the world all will be well. I swear, it's almost time for summer and we haven't even had SPRING. Where do I file my complaint?

Comments

[Lisa]

It is so fun when they start being all lovey dovey to mom and dad. Also, if I had to live somewhere with little sun, I might throw myself off a cliff. Today, here, it is sunny and 70 degrees. Thank God, because I am taking the wee one out for errands, and we could both use a little sun therapy after this cold.

[Kate P]

Yay for the nap strategy!

No need to freak about the baby--even if she won't sit still for Sesame Street videos, she might channel her energy into playing with her brother! My middle niece and nephew are 15 months apart age-wise and do just about everything together. Don't get me wrong, they like having things to themselves sometimes, but they hang together pretty well.

[Jess]

Maybe the new baby is just getting some of her energy out now so that she'll be ready to sit still by the time she's born. Doesn't it work like that?

[Jeni]

We've used a teen sitter four times; a set of sisters twice each. The last time we used them, a week ago on Saturday, our daughter woke up the next morning with a black eye and welts on both of her cheeks. Our daughter is nearly two years old. We took our little girl to the doctor to investigate the marks and to ask whether the makes were abuse or injury. Our doctor believes these marks were slap marks across her face. Social Services and the Sheriff were called and the young sitter denies hurting her, but the bruisies speak to clearly.

We did all of our homework before using these sitters. Several friends have used them, we talked to / met her the mother and we even have a family connection.

Even more concerning, the young sitter who abused our daughter appears very docile and sweet. To be frank, we doubted her abuse as much as anyone. We were shocked.

It is ironic that your post about teenage babysitters who occur so close to our incident. But we will never, ever use a teenage babysitter again. Ever.

[Lindsay]

Sounds like the new baby is going to be a martial artist.

[Dr. Maureen]

Amen and hallelujah!

I have used teen babysitters several times wihtout incident, but I am dying inside after reading Jeni's comment. We may never go out again.

[Kate P]

I'm sorry for what happened to Jeni's daughter. I think might be O.K. to wait until the kids are older before you let teens watch them. I started sitting when I was twelve that that's how I earned money all through high school. (I think it also taught me a lot about children and I'm grateful for that.) I have a suggestion: I took a babysitting "certification" course at the local hospital. (Talked about safety, childcare, etc.) Maybe the local hospital/school district/county/township might do something like that, and they'd refer "graduates" to you. Teens aren't going to spend their time at something like that if they're not serious. The internet is full of anecdotes and tends to skew negative about a lot of things. It'd be a shame for all teens to be condemned because of something like that.

[Charlotte]

They actually offer a babysitting certification course at the Red Cross. I second Kate's comment, a kid wouldn't take a course unless they were serious about the job. As with anything, you run a risk but you just have to do whatever you can to safeguard yourself and hope for the best.

How about a college student? A lot of schools offer EMT certification for wintersession, you could get one of those kids. You could probably post an ad on the campus bulletin or something.

I was left with a nanny most of the time. Granted, she wasn't young. She was more Mrs. Trumbull (of I Love Lucy) than anything yet I turned out (relatively) well. I suppose once you get past the initial fear it'll become easier.