Babysitting

Last night I went over and babysat Theo and baby Ben. It was tough! I should remind you that Theo is just over 2 and baby Ben is not even 2 months yet. I've taken care of two kids at the same time before, but never when the youngest was so young. I did pretty well for my first time taking care of both and learned important things for next time. I haven't taken care of Ben in the evenings yet so I was still trying to figure out his routine and try to make it match with Theo's to satisfy both their needs. Apparently their schedules change in the evenings and I wasn't quite prepared for this change. 

It all worked out well and Theo had some good interactions with his baby brother before going to bed. Apparently when he has his parents at home, Theo tends to ignore Ben and do his own thing. Maybe its because when I babysit I play with Theo so taking care of both I hold Ben and narrate for him so Theo gets more interactions that way. One particular interaction was really cute. I gave Theo a bath and Ben was brought into the bathroom also. I had to lay him on the floor while getting Theo out of the tub and Ben started to cry (he was hungry but had to wait for the bottle to warm up). Theo's towel is made to fit over his head with a lion face on it, and then wraps around his body. As I wrapped Theo up and placed him out of the tub, I told him that Ben seemed really sad. So Theo leaned down close to Ben and said "Roar, I'm a lion, roar, see baby Ben?" and Ben stopped crying, not in a startled way, and just gazed at his brother. Of course it didn't last long, but I definitely praised Theo a lot, telling him what a great older brother he is, helping Ben stop crying. 

That family is great and they definitely treat me well. We hadn't talked about how much they'll pay me for taking care of two kids and I usually just ask the same for two as I get paid for one. But this family said that they really appreciate that I was willing, and able, to take care of both so they gave me some money extra. It's so nice being able to trust that they aren't going to take advantage of me and that they appreciate me.