John and I are planning a trip to Chicago for a weekend to visit friends. We debated whether or not to take Baby Z and decided to leave him at home with babysitters (aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends). Every day I think about it and wonder if that's going to be okay. On one hand, I'm pretty sure everything will be fine, and even missing a few naps here and there isn't going to hurt him. On the other hand, I think about the worse case scenario of major meltdowns and babysitters that vow never to watch Baby Z again. And the very worst case, which I'm sure many parents have worried over: Baby Z gets sick or hurt and we're not there for him.
Between now and then, every touchy nap and every finicky mood makes me worry about how the weekend will go while we're away. I keep thinking about all the little things I need to tell each babysitter-- when he smacks the bottle with his open palm, it means he's enjoying it, not that he doesn't want it anymore; sometimes he won't take his bedtime bottle in the living room, but if you take him to his darkened bedroom, he'll eat some there, and on and on. You can imagine the spreadsheet I'm going to have waiting for them. But I have to remember that they're not going to be a surrogate Mom and Dad while we're gone. They are going to be loving, caring, fun aunts and uncles, grandmas and grandpas-- including the indulgences, slight blunders and heaps of laughs. They are going to do their very best for Baby Z, and Baby Z will get early lessons in adaptability.
And the most important lesson will be for me-- learning to let go.
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2 comments:
You are going to have a great time away and we are all going to have a great time babysitting. If you decide that you want us to do an overnight, we really have no problem with that. Let us know....
I'll let Auntie Eia et al be the guinea pig for this one, and then take my turn after you are totally blase' about leaving your precious morsel for the weekend.
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