We did something this weekend, we have never done before: we got a babysitter! Woo-hoo!! When Lana was a baby, we never got a babysitter because we were new to VA and didn't know anyone, certainly not anyone we would leave our precious new baby with. Plus Lana was high-maintenance, its not like a babysitter would be too excited about watching a screamer for hours. When we moved here to the NW, Bill's parents soon followed and we had instant babysitting. But Lana was 18 months old and was not too keen on staying anywhere without me. She would spend one day a week at her grandparents' house. She did one overnight at their house when Lana was nearly 2 and it was a disaster--she cried and cried and said she never wanted to do that again. So we didn't push the issue and we have always returned before her bedtime.
Bill and I almost never go out. When my mom lived with us, she watched Lana once a month or every other month, while we went out to dinner, but I always felt bad about it b/c my mom was at home all week with me and Lana and was sad about not having a job. It felt kind of rude to ask her to stay home on a Saturday night. But its so important for our relationship to have a date night once in a while. An overnight in Seattle is still a dream for us at this point. A weekend away seems like a total impossibility. Lana is still not receptive to staying at her grandparents house or my mom's house overnight and now having Lacey too just compounds the problem. Part of the problem is that Bill's parents and my mom each had one child, 30-some years ago, so dealing with 2 kids, one being an infant is kind of overwhelming for them.
So this past weekend, we had a fundraiser to attend and Bill's practice was sponsoring the event, so we really needed to go. We hired a babysitter! My friend has a babysitter that watches her kids during the day and she is magical. She has 4 kids of her own, all grown and she thinks watching 2 kids is no biggie. Plus Lana knows her from playdates at our friend's house and she feels comfortable with her. Everything went great! I didn't even wonder how things were going, I just went to the event, had 3 glasses of champagne, (which totally made me silly), spoke to grownups and most importantly I had a nice time with my husband. When we came home, both girls were sleeping and the magic babysitter even did the dishes and folded laundry! WOW!
Bill and I really need to get out alone more often. We love spending time with the kids, but so often he takes one, I take the other and we don't see each other at all! Whether its the magic babysitter, or some other babysitter, I don't want it to be such a rare event.
The best part? The next morning Lana says to me, "Mommy, I missed you last night!"
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4 comments:
Yay for dates and babysitters! That's awesome. As for overnight trips, the more you do it, the more Lana will get used to it. The grandparents can handle it--don't feel bad. (Don't feel too bad anyway. :-)
I'm so glad you guys had a night out. That was much needed, wasn't it?
It really is magical almost when you find "the" babysitter. Our situation is similar in that we moved to Vegas 6 years ago and have no family here at all. We have alot of friends, some with kids, but not to the level where we could do an overnight. We didn't get a night out with J until he was 10 months old -- when we found our perfect babysitter, who sat for us regularly (maybe every 6 weeks or so) so we could have a date. We haven't managed a night out together since having Jr., mostly because of his sleep issues and scheduling stuff but we're trying to go on a date this weekend now that he stays asleep until midnight most nights. It's so important.
As for overnights, not sure when that will ever happen. To date the only night J has ever spent "away" from us in his entire life was when my mom was in town the night Jr. was born. A weekend away? Only in my dreams...
Good for you guys! We need to get out more often, too. We have a great babysitter but sometimes the motivation is hard to find for some reason.
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