babysitting

Last Saturday night, Tony and I went out alone for the first time since Cole was born. We have left Cole briefly with our parents once or twice, but never for more than an hour or so. Our friends Mark, Elaine, and Nina came over to watch Cole, and Nina really deserves the most credit for making the evening successful. She's only a month and a half older than Cole and her presence kept him thoroughly entertained. He gave us big hugs when we left and was a little uneasy, but with 3 of his favorite playmates there he was ready for fun.

I called about 10 minutes after we had left to see how the transition went, and Elaine said he settled in immediately. [I did a lot of babysitting as a teen, and I remember the transition that takes place after the parents leave. Most kids put on a show for their folks before they leave, and then quickly settle down for fun with the babysitter.] They had popped in the Sponge Bob movie and everyone was fine. The only trouble they had was that he would not go to sleep for them. He cried and insisted on being picked up by Mark. I know Mark and Elaine would not fall for this trick with their own Nina, but they didn't have the heart to let Cole cry. Everyone was still awake when we got home at 12:30 a.m., although Elaine didn't look very perky. Cole passed out quickly, but he made us pay on Sunday. He woke up still tired and was fussy, squirmy, whiny mess, but at least we all had fun on Saturday night!