Losing My Touch

To the families I babysit for, thank you. Babysit, eat, sleep, repeat. That has been the routine for the past ten years of my life, though it seems I am losing my touch. Last weekend while I was watching the neighbors, O.D.M. fell out of the stroller and smacked his head on the pavement. Umm... he is eight months old! It was very scary. He is usually pretty chill and seemed completely normal afterwards, minus the GINORMOUS goose egg on his head! I was still terrified. What if he had a concussion? It was near bedtime but I was not about to let him sleep. I realized in all the time I have spent babysitting I had no idea what to do if a baby bumped (or slammed) their head into pavement. Luckily, everything was fine.

As if it could not get any worse, this past weekend I was babysitting for the (future) professor of sharks. While I was grabbing a game out of the closet for us to play my five year old professor went flying backwards down the stairs. I did not see it happen because my back was to the stairs (as was his) although I heard the bam, thump, pow as he bounced his way down the stairs. He is a super tough cookie, shedding only a few tears, before he was back to normal. While we played the game I watched the bump under his eye grow bigger and redder. Not fun. Thank goodness he was oblivious to my terror!

Both sets of parents were very understanding and assured me this could have just as easily happened when they were around. Their right! In both instances I was standing right there and in no way contributed to the accident. Still, when the parents leave the children are my responsibility. Two freak accidents in two weeks on my watch is more than even I can handle. And while I have ten years of experience, I am not always sure exactly what to do. Just when I think I have seen it all, I'm wrong. Similar to parenting (I presume), babysitting is a never ending learning experience!

Not to make light of these accidents (thankfully both boys are doing fine) nonetheless each experience only makes me a better, more confident babysitter. I am not trying to make a career out of this so called profession, but I have a true understanding of why you want to know, trust, and have an experienced sitter watch your children. I am extremely thankful 90% of the families I have worked for respect me and my time, know me well, truly trust me with their children, and are thankful of my past experience. Thanks again! What ever will I do without you and your children in Lesotho?