I did something I hadn’t done in years.
I babysat. Big deal, you say–lots of people babysit. Babysitting is no issue with me. However, it becomes a whole new experience when you have your own 11 mth old child to take care of and a newborn. Add to the fact that my dear daughter isn’t used to sharing Mommy with a needy infant and we get fun times at Sabrina’s expense.
So, my cousin needed to run out for a necessity. Who to call but me, the cousin who keeps saying “holla if you need anything”. She holla’d alright. I arrived on time. She told me how to mix the formula (yes, my girl has never had a drop of formula) and I was armed with celly numbers. She’d just fed the baby, and he should stay sleeping for the next couple hours. Besides, she was only running to Wal-Mart for something. Wal-Mart is about 7 minutes away from her house.
Reality was that she was gone longer than expected. And baby actually woke up. Like any newborn, they only awake to eat. So, I got the bottle ready and took my girl up to see him. Then came my dilemma. I needed to cuddle the baby and feed him, and still needed and extra 2 arms to take care of my own child. Uhhhhhh…. Uhhhhhhh… Good thing I pray for strength. I picked up baby and fed him first. Then mine decided it was a good time to try and grab his socks and then the bottle from his mouth. I kept her off him and managed to keep his meal uninterrupted. All in all, it ended well. His mommy came home just as he finished the bottle.
Props to the moms with 2+ kids. I know it’ll get easier. Once Jamayia’s used to her cousin, taking care of both should be a breeze. This adventure though made me seriously consider the timeline/age gap that I should have between children. Don’t worry, that 5 minutes of juggling wasn’t enough to scare me off of expanding my family.
And my original offer still stands. Holla if you need me, Cousin.