My husband and I are very lucky. We have a lot of family that live just a hop, skip and jump away. You know what that means.
FREE BABYSITTING!
I can only name a handful of times that we have ever had to hire a babysitter for a night out. Between my mom and Logan’s parents, we are usually set.
I have nothing against finding a sitter, I would just prefer to have a family member watch my three-year-old and four-month-old for free and possibly overnight so I can sleep in the next morning.
Plus, I have heard that grandparents that babysit their grand kids live longer. We are really doing them a favor.
This past weekend, we ran out of family luck and had to get a sitter. I 100% trusted the sitter we hired, as she came highly recommended.
This was the first time I had a sitter that wasn’t family for my infant, so I was a little nervous. I started a note on my phone that I planned on texting her so she would have the instructions that I went over when she arrived. Just in case she forgot something.
I started with the instructions for my infant. I had less than ten instructions. Bottle with 8 ounces of water and 4 scoops of formula at 7:30 pm. Burp. Diaper change. Place in sleep sack. Place in crib. Turn on humidifier and sound machine. Close door.
I guess he is easier than I thought.
Then I started the list for my three-year-old Henry. I have described him as mischievous before. I have also used the word firecracker. All in all, he is a very funny and quirky kid.
And he really likes to stick to his routines. We do the exact same thing every night. And I knew if the sitter didn’t follow the routine, she would have a much harder time with him.
This is where my note got a lot more interesting.
“Henry goes to bed after Simon goes down. 8:30 pm at the latest.
First thing he will do when you go upstairs is want to brush his teeth. He gets to pick between his regular Hulk toothbrush and his Paw Patrol spin toothbrush. You will have to name all of the superheroes on the front of his toothpaste tube before he will agree to put toothpaste on the toothbrush. If you do not know your superheroes well, they are Hulk, Thor, Iron Man and Captain America (clockwise starting top right). Only then will he actually brush his teeth. After he will then drink water from the faucet which I think is disgusting but I let him do it anyway.
He will go to his room next. Put him in a nighttime diaper.
At bedtime, he will want you to read him a story. I laid two books he really likes out on his bed so hopefully he will pick one of those. But most likely he will pick his Batman & Robin activity/coloring book. It has no words and is about 30 pages long. You will have to make a story up. If you are unsure who a character is just ask him. He will let you know. Do not try and skip pages. He will notice. He thinks Mr. Freeze is called “Professor in a Robot” because I forgot his name the first time I “read” it to him.
He sleeps with a pillow, blankie, other blankie and Elmo or Bear. He will throw everything else on the floor.
He might try to sleep in the dog bed next to his bed. The dog does not sleep there, Henry just pulled it up to his room. Just let him sleep there. He will get in his bed at some point during the night.
Turn on the sound machine on his dresser.
Make sure you close his door all the way. He will jump around and play in his room so don’t be surprised if you hear some thumps and bumps. Everything is fine unless he falls out of bed and hits his head. In that case, he will want you to change his pajamas because they are wet. From him crying.
We should be back by 11 pm. Text me or call if you need anything!”
I don’t have any more words for this note. Henry loved his sitter. She must have really known her superheroes.
For more, follow my blog at HashtagMomFail.com!