Me? Babysitting?

God knows how long its been since I last babysat for anyone and, now I think about it, why did anyone in their right mind leave me (no experience whatsoever) alone with their precious children? Now I have Jamie I doubt I will leave him alone with anyone other than fully certified relations, someone who has had a child of their own, or at least someone with a degree in childcare. But then I was in tears last Saturday when Jamie’s auntie and uncle looked after him! I would certainly not leave him with a young teenage (as I was) whose only aim was to eat everything in the cupboard and ring everyone I knew on their phone!! I suppose it’s a bit different now with mobile phones…… Anyway, I do remember babysitting for our next door neighbours at Pendine and after mentioning how I didn’t like the dark (or something) they never asked me again!! But that (and the revelations from the friend who accompanied me on a few occasions) is reserved for my other blog.

Anyway, back to 2009, and my brother asked my mother to babysit for him on Saturday night. She can’t do it (another Christmas party) so she asks me for him as its their anniversary. What she doesn’t tell me is that it is a surprise so when I say; ‘Still looking for a babysitter’ it kinda ruins it! So Saturday night I am driving down the A46 thinking ‘I don’t like the look of this snow’. They still decide to go out, but do return early because Horncastle has over an inch of the said white stuff while they are eating. They didn’t find me panicking about the dark but rather caught up on a lot of paperwork and feeling competent in the old babysitting. Noah; my nephew, only woke up once to be fed – the sucking of my finger told me what he was after. What was bizarre though was their AngelCare monitor. A write up says; Whether your baby is awake or asleep the sensor pad will detect all your baby’s movements - even the slightest breathing movement. The Alarm will sound on both monitors after 20 seconds of no movement. Well, this was like Chinese water torture, as the monitor lets out a beep at various intervals to confirm that they are still breathing. However the beep is not regular – as babies don’t actually breathe regularly – but even a fraction of a second later than before and my heart was in my mouth – madness!! And then when I took him out of the cot to feed him, the bloody alarm went off and I could only stop it by putting him back!! Other than that and the lack of knowledge about my brother's house and all their gadgets i.e. heating, TV, lights, kettle etc. I think I did well and felt a bit better about forgetting my Secret Santa at Noah’s Christmas party on Thursday. My babysitting may have made up for my baby brain – that is as long as they have not noticed I knackered their kettle!!