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06/07/2005
Don't tell Mom the babysitter's odd
A few weeks ago I was shopping at the local hippie food co-op and paused as usual in front of the big bulletin board at the front of the store. Between the suggestions from members — "Please bring back vanilla soy rBST-free fair trade tie-dyed hacky sacks!" — and notices of community events — "SolsticeAlive! 'Round-the-Stump Rondelé Kokopelli Naturist Invitational" — there is always something to make me leave the store humming happily, tripping merrily toward my SUV on my pedicured toes (lacquered glamorously in Love That Patriarchy Pink).
That day, what made me happy was this sign:
Caring young woman with
10 years of child care experience
B.S. in child development
Newborns to 4 years
$10 / hour
Not only did I tear off one of the tabs with her number, but I tore down the whole goddamn sign to be sure, absolutely sure no one else would snag her first.* And I took home that tab and called her.
We made a date for her to come over and meet us. She arrived punctually while Charlie was napping. She and Paul and I sat at the dining room table and conducted the world's most perfunctory interview. I believe the only questions I asked were, "Have you ever been in jail?", "Are you high on drugs right this very moment?", and "When can you start?"
She was perfectly pleasant, if a little...well, odd in speech and manner, prone to a silent smiling stare. I chalked it up to those drugs she was high on right that very moment and showed her around the place. When Charlie woke I introduced them. As we all played on the floor with Charlie in his baby gym, he didn't scream, shrink away from her, or indicate in any obvious way that he'd recognized her face from the "Wanted" posters at the post office, so I decided the babysitter would be Charlie's new best friend and invited her to come back the next Sunday.
"Oh, yes," she said, and played with the baby. Three minutes and several cycles of the musical star later she looked up and said gruffly, "Can you pay me?"
"...Huh?" I said, nonplussed.
"Pay me. Can you pay me for that time on Sunday?"
Now, where I come from, that part of the relationship is understood. She makes nice with my kid and pretends she finds him delightful; I slip her a twenty and pretend I called her references. But okay — in addition to the high on drugs part, I figured she must be nervous and eager for the work. "Oh, yes," I said heartily, and laughed a beefy ho-ho-ho as if she'd said something witty instead of something...well, strange.
Her first session with Charlie proceeded without incident. Paul and I were both home, loitering ever so casually to make sure she didn't turn him into her own tiny lackey. Charlie cried, but then he does, so I didn't worry. And, yes, I paid her.
The second Sunday he cried, but then he does, though I worried just a bit. I'd resolved to let them sort it out together. I equipped them with toys, books, and bottles, let the babysitter know that I was available for questions, and then sequestered myself in my sewing room where the hot hiss of the steam iron might drown out the yelling.
It didn't, not entirely. At the two-and-a-half-hour mark, I could stand it no longer, and loitered casually down the stairs — if "loitering" could be presumed to be locomotive, and if "casually" could be construed as tripping all over myself, falling ass over teakettle — and asked the babysitter if there was anything I could get them.
I meant more books, more toys, a warmer bottle. Her eyes brightened, and she said, in a guttural bark, "Do you have any food?"
"...Huh?" I said, nonplussed.
"Food. Do you have any food?"
Now you must understand that this was during a mere three hour engagement, nowhere near a mealtime, and I found both her timing and her manner worthy of a cock of my eyebrow. Eager to please, however, and interested to see what she'd do, I got out the peanut butter and the bread and watched as she put Charlie in his feeding seat and left him there crying while she made a sandwich.
I can do that. Paul can do that. God knows we do it all the time. Why, some of the finest sandwiches I've ever enjoyed were moistened with the savory tears of my son. I can even see a babysitter doing it when she's on a long shift and it's inarguably time for a meal break. But I can't figure out why she thought it was a good idea to do it while I was watching.
She finished her sandwich, collected her pay, and said she wasn't sure if she'd be able to come back — "but I'll call you to let you know as soon as possible." It's Tuesday and she hasn't called. It's not looking good.
I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm disappointed not to hear from her again. From the start I'd found her odd, but not in any alarming way. She was pleasant to Charlie; she clearly liked him and was even able to coax a nap out of him. Her services were affordable, even factoring in the astronomical cost of feeding her. And it was easy: one sign, one tab, one call.
I'm not looking forward to starting back at square one just when it had started to feel like we might get some kind of short weekly break from the relentlessness of child care. And I'm also a bit taken aback, wondering why she might prefer not to return. She obviously liked the baby, so that's not it. I paid her asking price, so that's not it, either.
I am forced to conclude that she simply didn't care for my cooking. Great. Now not only do I have to find a new babysitter; I have to hire a personal goddamn chef for her to boot.
_____
* I can't believe I have to say I didn't actually take the sign with me, but if I don't, I'll get ten e-mail messages excoriating me for it, one high-fiving me, and one from an amiable-sounding chap named Floorboard D. Nuisance with the subject line, "Re: Hi Im Jenny! I jsut put my wbcam 0n l ine !!1!"
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I agree - the babysitter sounded odd. Maybe it's best she didn't call back?? You didn't mention that you checked her references, maybe that might help. After all, someone just might say that the cow ate them out of house and home and they had to file bankruptcy to cover the cost of peanut butter. Maybe?
Hmm, I dont like her. At all. Good riddance. How can she just put him down crying? NOT allowed. Bring him over to my house, Rose and Beauty will look after him. He can hang out with A & K.
No, I don't want him to be influenced by Adam's bad behavior.
I had a babysitter who really did eat me out of house and home. Of course, she was there for the entire workday, and I told her to "make herself at home in the kitchen". That didn't mean for her to consume an entire gallon of ice cream in 3 days, or to defrost the vat of vegetable soup my mother made for me and eat it all in one afternoon! It was amazing to me what one (normally sized) woman could eat. However, she was willing to come to my house and care for my baby while I worked, and I trusted her with everything but my food, so I put up with it. The babysitting thing is hard, and it sounds like you got an odd bird. Maybe the next one will be better!
Coming from someone with the world's best babysitter (who I can rarely afford to use even at $10 per hour but STILL) she sounded odd and maybe it's good riddance.
Perhaps she was disappointed that you weren't LEAVING your house so that she could rob you?
Perhaps you need to upgrade to digital cable?
Perhaps your hippie food co-op peanut butter needed to be stirred?? Maybe try good old Skippy next time??
Anyway, you will find a better sitter, really. I found mine because she works part-time at the daycre I used to send my kids to, but daycares seem to be a great place to find sitters, so maybe you could break into one and ask around???
Anyway, good luck.
Oh I don't like her at all either!
I have found that experience isn't really that big of a deal when finding a good babysitter, it is finding someone who genuinely loves children. Teenagers and college students are usually good because they have lots of energy. And for $10 an hour, I think you'd have quite a few to choose from.
Good luck.
Maybe it was the loitering. Maybe she really wanted two peanut butter sandwiches, but you kept loitering so all she could get was the one.
I agree with the others. Bye Bye Odd Bird.
As an experienced babysitter/nanny, I would at least call her and just be blunt...ask her what it was she didn't like. That way you can be "prepared" for the next one. :)
Oh, and babysitters LOVE junk food...Little Debbies, etc...you get the idea.
It IS a bit odd that she left him crying in his feeding seat, though...but $10 an hour is really really good...I mean, for her...expensive for you???
Rachel
I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm disappointed not to hear from her again.
You are?!
I think she sounds awful. I know Charlie isn't easy -- but this babe ought to have jiggled and played and coo'ed him until her arms ached.
You are a better woman than I...
I woulda fired her when she asked about being paid.
Ok, What Lisa said is totally true. You didn't leave. That is the kiss of death for most baby sitters. I wouldn't babysit if the parent was home, because I always felt like I wasn't doing it right, or was being silently critiqued...
Does this make sense?
Alot less hassle when the parent isn't there.
Rachel
The worlds best baby sitters are often found on a college campus - particularly if you aren't looking for someone every weekend night. But you do have to feed them - chips are good enough - they are bordering on starvation all the time.
Good luck on the hunt, and I totally would've taken the whole sign.
"Please bring back vanilla soy rBST-free fair trade tie-dyed hacky sacks!"
Grin. You got these boards right on the nose. (I once saw a request for cut fruit on the salad bar because "my salad needs jazz hands.")
Ah, but I made it very clear that we needed help during the days while we were both at home so we could actually get stuff done around the house. She may not have liked that part of the arrangement, but it shouldn't have been a surprise.
I'd have to agree with Rachel on calling her back and finding out what the issue was. ALTHOUGH she should have returned a call to you already, out of consideration at least.
I don't think it was the fact that you were at the house anyway. if she was as experienced as she said then it shouldn't have bothered her... know what I'm sayin'.
Very weird though that she jsut took a snack break like that...
Thanks for a smile on a day where they are few and far between.
I did plenty of babysitting in my youth and while the jobs with parents in the house were a bit more awkward, I was certainly willing to take them. I have to agree that she's just plain weird and you'll find someone better. I know teenagers are out of fashion as babysitters these days, but especially if you're going to be in the house, they can be some of the best - eager, enthusiastic, and quite possibly willing to work for less than $10 (some in my neighborhood still get $5!). Good luck with whatever you do. Wish I were closer - I'd hang with him for free!
(And hey, you get the Weirdword Q. Dictionary spam too? My partner and I are DROWNING in them, but nobody else we know gets them.)
Speaking as a mom who has had a LOT of babysitters, you have to go on your gut feeling. She just doesn't seem like she was all there. And if she did this at the second babysitting session, trust me when I say she probably wouldn't have improved but actually would have become weirder as she became comfortable in the job.
I know how you feel though. I just started asking girls I knew who looked college age(the girl at the coffee shop, the girl at the bookstore, people I talked with on a daily basis) if they knew of anyone who wanted babysitting hours. Inevitably they would know of someone.
Another thing I did was to put a flyer up at a college on the floors where their nursing students had classes and where their education students had classes. I got three or four names that way, alot of those students are looking for extra money.
And I didn't do this, but a friend of mine did. She put an add in a couple of different church bulletins that are handed out after services on Sundays. She eventually hired a grandmotherly lady to watch her kids once a week.
Hope that helps!
Okay, when I was a nanny, and granted it was about 8 years ago now, I got paid $10/hour, and I not only did the shopping, but I cooked most of the meals too. I even cooked for parties and family gatherings. (To be fair, I love to cook, but still...)
I would have been mortified to ask for a sandwich to be made for me.
Don't take her back. Ditto on the college bulletin boards, also if you're in an HOA, put an ad in the newsletter.
Check your HOA for a list of babysitters too.
Well, there ya go. If you HAD taken the sign, she'd still be around. Clearly some other mother who shops at the Co-op scooped her up. Face it, you f*cked up. Don't know what you'll do now. Don't know where you'll ever find another peanut-butter-eating, semi-comatose, amiable space cadet with a casual work ethic to sit around and let Charlie scream...
When Mallory was six months old, she cried so much when we left her with a sitter, that we came home to find the little teenager looking like she had seen the creepy girl in "The Ring." We asked is the baby cried the whole time, she nodded her head yes. We asked if she wanted to babysit ever again, she nodded her head no. Then she took my money,walked silently out the door and we never saw her again.
Of course you didn't steal the sign, that would be wrong. You just stole all the little tabs off of it. You are such a quick learner, on your first kid only! You make me proud.
My guess is that she didn't like being with Charlie when he acted like such a baby. You must make friends with Moms with teenagers, or with high school teachers. High school teachers hold that gold ticket - the school directory- and they can tell you who will likely come to teach Charlie about sex, drugs, and rock and roll and who won't. After all, you are the mom, you should be the first one to teach Charlie how to roll a really big one. Not a teenager, who may not do it right.
Before I started my Experiences Collectionâ¢, I'd heard people talking about 'trusting your gut' and it went right over my head. You know that your gut told you there was just something ... wrong ... about her. I've had several variations on that theme, one of which I am sorry to say I let continue for 18 months. All because I felt timid about either challenging the situation or making a change. Not that anything disastrous happened, but I do still feel bad about it. When you have the right babysitter, you will actually feel good about Charlie being in that person's care, and that's a very satisfying feeling.
Wow...I hate to say it, but I wouldn't let that oddball within 10 feet of my son.
I found a home based daycare through a parenting list I'm on. A few of the SAHMs do this to help support their families (making them WAHMs then I guess). I especially like it, since I know these people and their parenting style.
I have really liked both of the providers I've had. One put in her resignation because she was having difficult giving Ryan the attention he needs (he has speech problems, and uses sign primarily - see blog for whole, long, not so sad story). My new provider is great.
I love having people who take Ryan to parks, the zoo, and to play in the fountains. It's great that he still gets to experience all of these fun things while I'm not able to be there.
you are soo better off w/o that crazy psycho so called babysitter! Alex's first sitter was lucky she was left alive after I caught her allowing him to scream when I called to check in over the phone.
Ugh, I'm in the process of babysitter searching right now too. It's a big fat fucking drag. This one sounded like a bit of a flake - I'm sure you can find someone better than that. Who, you know, might actually take care of Charlie for you.
I don't know where you are located, but I've had a lot of success with Craig's list. Good luck!!!
My $12-an-hour, professional,nanny, 20-year-old sitter tends to be overly attentive... she won't let the baby cry and at the first whimper, gets her up from her crib after bedtime, which means tired baby the next day. Last time she had her girlfriend (yes, that kind of girlfriend) over, which was fine with me, but the three "girls" had quite a party, and the baby didn't go to bed until 10 pm!
She's great, though. Empties the dishwasher without being asked! Tidies everything! Plays Brubeck on the piano! But she's off to the next thing, soon enough. Going to school on the mainland to become a midwife. As it is, she's a doula, and has cancelled on us at the last minute, theatre tickets in hand, because one of her clients took priority.
Our baby, at 11 months, is just a bit shy of the age at which I would leave her with... oh, anyone, really. Until she's steady on her feet and off the bottle, I want her with someone who is skilled in BABY care. Nico, of course, requires someone mature enough to be willing to stab him in the leg with an auto-injector, if need be, so really, there's no end in sight for us: high-priced, fickle-pickle caregivers.
Geo and I were just discussing if we ever thought we'd go out on a date again and have it cost us less than $200.
Just thought I'd chime in here...
I've been a babysitter/nanny off and on for the last decade+ and as my main source of income for the last three-four years. Now, I live in NYC, so the pricing is a bit different, but for most of my families, $10 for one kid is normal.
But this woman sounds like she was probably not all there. Care for child first, then care for self. If I know the parents are going to be there while I'm sitting (yes, not the most comfortable of situations, but it can be fun if you like the parents) then I bring my own snacks and eat them one-handed while playing with the kid(s).
Another suggestion is to check out playgroups. Charlie might be a bit too young for these now, but in about 6mos to a year you'll be thankful they exist.
You have to be comfortable with your sitter. This is the person who will be raising your son when you can't. S/he has to be part of the family. My best jobs are when the parents think of me as a sibling who is stopping in. I'm friends with most of their friends, their parents recognize my voice on the phone, etc.
Good luck, and don't be afraid to fire those weirdos!
I gotta agree with the others -- good riddance to that sitter.
I've had the same nanny for my kids for the past 3.75 years, and she is so attentive and wonderful to my kids that *I* sometimes end up feeling like the neglectful one. She would never, ever have allowed one of my babies to sit and cry while she fixed herself a sandwich. Not a chance.
Rather, this wonderful woman is the one who taught me (among other things) how to calm a colicky baby, how to entertain a four-month-old with books, how to use Play-Dough to get a wild toddler to sit down and relax, the wisdom of a pre-nap bath, and how to keep my kids happy and entertained without the TV. She does all this while also keeping the toys picked up, the laundry clean, and the dishwasher filled, run and emptied.*
So, if you didn't like this sitter -- and she didnt' treat Charlie like he's the best baby in the world (because, of course, he is in your world) -- then I say keep looking.
Amy
*All for $12/hour (which is the going rate in Chicago for 2 kids).
aw man, she sucks. I mean, she didn't even offer to share her drugs?
Julie, she's bad news.
I had triplets, and they never cried. I have another baby, and she never cries. Except for the colicky stage of course. Beyond three or four months old, why should a baby ever cry except to indicate they need a bottle or a nap or be picked up, or, when very little, a change of position? I found that once I gave them what they wanted, they were happy and they stopped crying pronto. That's why they never cry (for more than 30 seconds that is). Because their needs were always met.
And in case you're thinking that "giving in" might spoil a baby, they're not spoiled at all - just well cared for. Everywhere I go in public I get comments from strangers on how well-behaved my children are. So giving them what they need right away - even if that means holding them a LOT as babies - hasn't spoiled them.
I would never leave my baby in the care of this woman. Why should your son be crying at all? Doesn't she know how to satisfy his needs and wants? Doesn't she care?
(Oh, and by the way - it's a good idea to really check those references!)
Julie, she's bad news.
I had triplets, and they never cried. I have another baby, and she never cries. Except for the colicky stage of course. Beyond three or four months old, why should a baby ever cry except to indicate they need a bottle or a nap or be picked up, or, when very little, a change of position? I found that once I gave them what they wanted, they were happy and they stopped crying pronto. That's why they never cry (for more than 30 seconds that is). Because their needs were always met.
And in case you're thinking that "giving in" might spoil a baby, they're not spoiled at all - just well cared for. Everywhere I go in public I get comments from strangers on how well-behaved my children are. So giving them what they need right away - even if that means holding them a LOT as babies - hasn't spoiled them.
I would never leave my baby in the care of this woman. Why should your son be crying at all? Doesn't she know how to satisfy his needs and wants? Doesn't she care?
(Oh, and by the way - it's a good idea to really check those references!)
The video is beyond fabulous. He is gorgeous and mesmerizing!
Thanks for sharing!
What a wacko.
Julie, I'll come babysit for you! I live in Boston, don't you live in new england? I work all the time though, so I could do it every 5th saturday. well, maybe that isn't so helpful.
I used to babysit in college and high school all the time though, and would always get people through word of mouth. I just told teachers I babysat and inevitably they would call me with friends. Maybe try that?
Emily has asked me to extend an invitation to Charlie to come on over and play. She's willing to share her Gymini and says mom makes funny faces to entertain.
Julie, she sounds cuckoo to me. I have run the gamut: babysitter, nanny, Gymboree slave, daycare worker...she sounds weird to me. Yeah, it's uncomfortable to sit when the parents are home, even for me, but I would NEVER ask to have a snack when the kid was bawling. The hell? I'd be mortified that the babe was unhappy hanging with me. You are better off without, seriously. Check colleges, definitely.
Babysitters are tricky. I was a lousy one once myself, although I was not odd. This one sounds not only odd but quite frankly, disinterested. Must have been the drugs.
I had to cancel a sitter recently because I found out she was sneaking out of her parents' house at night and stealing the car. I mean, if she can't be trusted while there is an adult at home, am I going to leave her with my precious children?
I occasionally use a young family member (15) but not for long periods of time. Junk food is not a must but is a plus and she seems to enjoy the fact that we allow her to cook and play in the kitchen. Our kids love that as well because she almost always makes a cake or cookies.
When the child can not communicate with you yet it's just scary. Unless it's a close friend you can trust leaving him ALONE with someone is a risky call. Good for you for hovering!
(Oh, for crying out loud, folks, I did call her references! What on Earth do you take me for?)
Well, a longtime lurker here, but I remember the "looking for a babysitter" stage so well that I had to join in. It took us forever to find one, but we now have a babysitter who is a young schoolteacher, fresh out of college. She needs the extra work to pay off loans. I think she's wonderful and she really does like kids (chooses to spend all her working hours with them) has extra training that the school required of her (CPR,etc.). Might be worth checking at a local school or two and seeing if they'd let you post on their teacher's lounge bulletin board.
I'll wish you luck anyway, I know it's hard!
Oh, shit, I just can't let this go.
"Just me," I'm uncomfortable with your suggestion that babies cry only when they're not well cared for. If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that Charlie does cry, despite my good intentions and my best efforts. So why would you say such a thing? Am I not meeting my child's needs? Is that what you're implying?
Delurking to suggest posting at grad schools if there are any nearby. I am just finishing both law school and a great babysitting gig. We grad school types are desperate for kids but they are a long way off - makes us good sitters I think. Yours was FAR from a good sitter.
I don't know Julie. I think Just Me has something there. None of my kids have ever cried either. EVER! Not even for 30 seconds b/c I made sure they had what they needed b4 they even knew they needed it. That's just good mothering. Any hag does that much. I mean, don't you LOVE Charlie? How could you leave your child alone for even 5 seconds with that lunatic without checking her references?!?!
on another note:
DAMMIT!! I thought this was going to be it! Hate her!
I agree, comb the local college campus. Just b/c this one didn't work out doesn't mean another won't.
oh, yeah. She's got a lotta BS in child development, I'd say!
It's so hard to look for a sitter and then actually find one. Had a friend ask a potential sitter "what would you do if the baby was choking?" knowing the potential sitter wasn't CPR certified or anything. Potential sitter looks at the baby thoughtfully and says "Aw, baby, don't choke."
We stay home a lot. Sad, but true.
I've had a few sitters for my little handful. A good sitter for us is one who makes the mama feel comfortable from the start. The best ones actually take pains to reassure me. I love that & find it a sign of babysitting greatness.
(P.S. I'm a new Julie fan!)
When I was 16, I was hired to watch the kids of a choir director at a local church during choir practice. I was only supposed to watch her three kids.
Unfortunately, she had me watch them in the church nursery, and consequently, everyone else who had kids thought that the church was sponsoring a babysitter for all the kids, just like during a service. So I got stuck with all these kids all the time, and never got paid for it.
Anyway, there was one little girl, about 18 months old, whose mother had to pry her off of her to leave, and left her there for an hour and a half screaming uncontrollably, and she was inevitably screaming when she picked her up. The baby refused to let me touch or console her in any way. It only made it worse. Consequently she was usually left to scream by herself while I dealt with all the other kids.
I must have looked like the worst babysitter ever. I *felt* horrible, and I couldn't believe that the mom would let her child suffer like that, but she didn't seem to care. I did that gig for one semester and the quit because I couldn't take it any more.
I'm not defending your babysitter in any way (I don't agree with what she did and I would be concerned, too). It's really hard to take care of kids who cry, though.
Rebecca and I will be lucky my sister lives 300 meters down the road and her mother lives about 3 kilometers away so we will have instant baby sitters.
check out my blog about rebecca's pregnancy
www.markwyld.blogspot.com
thanks
mark
Oh, well, as for me and the triplets who never cry, I think it just has to do with my proufoundly enormous head, which is conveniently located up my ass.
Haaa.
I tried to write a funny, breezy entry about our potential daycare choices awhile back, and the super-sincere yet completely-missing-the-point assvice-givers drove me to close comments in a cranky, defensive huff. (Did you know at Kindercare they EAT CHILDREN? It's totally true. If you are even thinking of using Kindercare you are a BAD MOTHER.)
Note to self: Do not ever attempt a funny, breezy entry about a hippie babysitter either, because 1) the assvice, MY GOD, and 2) you are not nearly as funny or breezy as Julie.
Do they hire hippies at Kindercare?
Hm, she sounds suspect to me. I'm thinking that it's good that she didn't come back because she did sound rather odd. But you know, I wasn't there or anything, either. But letting my baby cry when I am paying them not to...It's one thing if it is me or Hub, but someone who is paid to entertain my child, I just don't trust that.
*ducks and forges on*
Any one in Tampa Fl that needs a baby sitter while you are home and will actually feed me and come get me AND pay me 10 dollars an hour go ahead and email me. I am in the process of helping my fiance fight for his 3 year old daughter and though I didn't need to work till now I am not looking for anything big or permanent (though I would imagine after Gabby is home I would still watch your kid. :o) this actually might be something I would willingly do. Julie, if you were here it would be perfect. Then you would be oh so close if Charlie didn't stop crying and I could do the "proper" thing any well trained babysitter that babysits whilst the parent is home would do. I could just give him back. ;o)
from above:
Potential sitter looks at the baby thoughtfully and says "Aw, baby, don't choke."
So scary, it's funny. So funny, it's scary. :)
I cared for infants steadily from age 13 through 24... yes, it's hard when they cry a lot. Find someone with *infant* experience, who understands the crying and remains calm, loving and steady. For that, you don't need a BS. In some cases, a BS might actually disqualify you... heh.
One 8 month-old-girl took forever (many weeks) to warm up to me... she couldn't even look at me, because it just reminded her that I wasn't her mom, and she'd cycle right back into bawling. I spent many, many hours strolling, singing, rocking, playing with or reading to her, all while positioned *behind* her. Just so that she wouldn't have to look at me until she was ready.
When her mother left, this baby's terror was abject. It was hard work, but there was a deep satisfaction in comforting that child, and a great sense of achievement when she finally was ready to engage with me directly.
I liked the challenge of soothing a baby out of a crying jag. And if I couldn't do it, I was ready to to stick with him through the long haul - walking, rocking, jiggling, singing, patting, humming, dancing all the way.
Of course, I felt completely frantic when my own baby was colicky. :)
Good luck in your search for a sitter - this post was just to remind you that there are folks who LOOOOOVE babies and will totally connect with Charlie and you guys.
PS - where did you find Love That Patriarchy Pink?? I'm burned out on Capitalist Whore Cerise, need a change... just so long as it's over $10/bottle and I have to drive a ridiculous distance in my SUV to get it.
No, Amalah, they eat hippies at Kindercare.
I can understand the confusion.