First babysitter

I had my first babysitter today.

Well, not Tobey and Eli's first because of course they've been sat by grandparents, friends and hired church babysitters before for date nights, etc. But this is the first time in the day.

Well, not for Tobey because Donna did come and sit for me for my "baby tea" when I was pregnant with Eli. And Hoa has taken Tobey on several occasions.

Maybe it's really "my" first babysitter. My first scheduled and possibly regular help. I had June from church come and babysit Eli while Tobey and I went to Little Panda class. I had the usual "nervousness", mostly about trying to make the experience as easy for June (think prepping for a substitute teacher) but also realizing this morning that Eli might feel "left out" if Tobey and I take off into the sunset and he's left at home.

Things worked out great. Asking her to come early for the first time gave me the perfect amount of time to get her acquainted with Eli's routine. And as it turns out, Eli was napping when she came, which then introduced another set of uncertainty for me which is whether he'd be confused when he wakes up and Tobey and I are gone.

I got no phone calls while out which to me is a good sign. CC couldn't make it to lunch but we impromptu lunched with M and c. Since Tobey is at his best while eating, I felt like I was on vacation, being able to eat with minimal fuss and without having to reserve a small bit of attention on Eli. Although I had roughly the same sized diaper bag, I felt so light and free, only needing to hold Tobey's hand in the parking lot and not needing to also one-handedly navigate Eli's stroller. I wasn't as pressed for time because getting in and out of the car was quicker without having to negotiate getting Eli in his stroller before letting Tobey out of the car. It was a taste of my previous life of not only one child, but one child in a relatively easy stage.

I came back to a great report. A smiling babysitter who said things were easy. Eli had a nice nap but she did say he had a look of, "Who are you?" when she went in to pick him up. And although he didn't eat all that I had hoped, he was happy. I think I can get addicted to this.

And added bonus was raking the spikey balls on the front lawn with Tobey and Eli supervised from the stroller. Finding out our neighbor is having a garage sale that maybe we can piggy back off of. Watching Tobey play relatively non-destructively as Eli crawled around. Realizing that Eli fell asleep in his booster seat when I thought he was quietly munching on Cheerios. This is one of those days when I think, "Hmm, maybe having that third child isn't too bad."