Safety. What a huge issue when you have kids. It starts before they are even born. Worrying about what you eat, every little pain or cramp, what happens to the baby if you're too stressed, too tired, don't eat right. Almost every mom I know made at least one emergency call or trip to the Labor and Delivery to check on some concern during pregnancy. With my first child it was worrying he didn't move for several hours. After an hour hooked up to the fetal monitor, we went home feeling sheepish but relieved. With my third child it was sharp pains early in the pregnancy that made me sure it was ectopic. One ultrasound later and we're back to sheepish, but relieved!
There is so much to worry about and then they're born and it all quadruples and more! Now you have to worry about crawling, putting things in their mouth, sharp edges on tables and fireplaces, car seats, germs, developmental milestones. How do you handle separation anxiety, sleeping patterns, diaper rash, eating patterns. Send them off to school and now they're gone from you all day. What do they do there? Are they making friends? What if other kids are mean to them? How do you keep them safe? This month my 11 month old developed a serious kidney infection. My doctor told me he would call in a prescription for an antibiotic after the cultures showed the type of bacteria. He did not tell me what he was calling in, but when it was at the pharmacy, I picked it up and started giving it to her. She developed horrible stomach problems and after 5 days on the medication with several calls to my doctor, we discovered the pharmacy gave us the wrong antibiotic. She was prescribed 5 ml, 3x per day of Keflex but was given Omnicef. On Omnicef her dose should have been 2.5ml, 1x per day! I was appalled! How could this happen and how could I have kept her safe?
Whew! It can be alot to worry about. Mostly, I think we go with the flow. You just slowly learn what you need to know - how to use that suction bulb thing to clear their nose, how to tell what their different cries mean, when to let go and let them figure it out on their own. But lots of things need a manual! It seems like there is so much no one told you about when you had the baby. What if you don't bond right away to the baby? Is something wrong with you? What if you don't know how to get him to stop crying or to let you leave the room for a second? Mom support groups are great, and lots of reassurance can come from other moms. I had a great support group with my first two kids. We met in a breast-feeding support class here and then were friends for over five years. Sometimes I was hesitant to even mention my fears to my friends, but when I did, I always got the support I needed.
One topic we frequently debated was babysitting. Did you have a good sitter? How did you find a sitter? How could you know if she would be safe and loving even if the baby wasn't acting so loveable that day? We struggled through the early years, but finding sitters was always difficult. I had another friend with a negative sitter experience when she hired a regular sitter for her infant and later found out the sitter was leaving the baby in her crib almost the entire time. Leaving her crying and sometimes not even feeding her. Horrible! The family didn't trust other sitters in their home for a long time.
Many of these things led me to SeekingSitters for my own use. I wanted a consistent sitter base so I didn't have to scramble in an emergency, and I wanted to trust my sitters. This is also what I want to provide to Lubbock. Background screened sitters with extensive experience, but also sitters who have support behind them. My sitters can call me anytime if they have a question or concern. We meet monthly to provide support and a team atmosphere and we will cover questions such as how to soothe a crying baby, how to help children separate from their parents, and what are developmentally appropriate activities for different age groups. Parents can call me at anytime to ask for more information about specific sitters and can mark sitters as Preferred on their profile. It is babysitting with management! And that has to bring some relief.
Parenting is a stressful job already. Babysitting should not be another thing you have to worry about! Save that worry-energy for the criticial things like monitoring medication and staying SAFE!
For more great information about Nanny Cams, Background checks, and other critical babysitting/parenting concerns, you can visit the corporate blog site at http://seekingsitters.com/blog/blog.html. Adrienne Kallweit is the founder of SeekingSitters and also a mom of three herself!
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