Back in the Babysitting Saddle

So the babysitting gig went fairly well today. It was my so-called "trial session" to see how I performed. (Seriously, the mom* called it a trial session... I guess to make sure I'm no baby shaking Louise Woodward.)

I planned to take a photo of the baby, but the mom was home the entire time (working in her home office), and I thought it would be extremely weird if she walked out of the office, and there I was snapping photos of the kid on day numero uno. So I held back.

Turns out Serena sleeps a lot. And I mean a lot. She slept the first two hours I was there, which was lovely because that meant I got to just sit on the couch and do my Arabic homework unfettered by an infant's needs. She finally woke up around 11, and she was perfect while I changed her diaper (pee only, thank god), cleaned her pink eye (yes, oozing sleepies are a lovely thing), and played with her for a bit in the living room.

Then, because her mom had told me to do so, I attempted to feed her a bottle. This was not a popular decision. She turned from sweet little sack of sunshine to crabby applekins in all of 10 seconds. She screamed, she turned purple, she screamed some more, she flailed her arms, she squirted tears, and she screamed again. Meanwhile, I kept thinking about the mom working in the room next door, knowing she was like, "what the hell is going on out there?"

Meanwhile, if I picked the baby up, she got more pissed off. Yet it seemed inhumane to leave her on her little floor mat (although I did). If I talked to her, the sound of my voice pissed her off. Therefore, I stopped talking. So I was in the midst of a situation where the baby is on the floor alone, I'm squatting next to her trying to force a bottle into her mouth (silently), and the child is, frankly, fucking furious. Of course, this is the moment when the mom pops her head out to ask if everything is OK.

Oh yes, ma'am, just wonderful! Idyllic in fact! Can't you see how well we're getting on? She clearly loves me!!

Luckily, her mother had warned me of this exact possibility upon my arrival and appeared unsurprised by the behavior. Apparently, Serena is a bit fussy about new people, and she doesn't like bottles. I just had no idea how loud a three month old could yell. I believe I am still suffering from tinnitus.

Other than that little incident, it was perfect. The house was clean & quiet, and the mom is really nice. Turns out, I'm still hired and will start working regularly (every Tue/Thur morning) beginning February 20 after the mom goes back to work. I figure the baby will get used to me after a few times... or so I hope.

The rest of my day was rather uneventful. Class, the gym, and being productively lazy.

* = I'm calling her the mom because I don't want to use her real name... just in case she ever Googles herself or something.

ps - As a side note, I know some people just love the smell of a baby, but I'm not one of them. Baby lotion, good. Baby shampoo, good. Baby wipes, good. Sour milk and Ritz cracker smelling spit-up? Not so good. In fact, babies often smell like old cheese. Just my personal opinion.