Nanny Imp

So since the first of July I have been keeping my friend's little boy as his nanny. She brings him to my house and he hangs out with me all day until she gets off of work.
Since everyone that I speak of on a regular basis gets a name on here I shall call him Frogger. I give him that name because of his favorite toy, a frog, that makes him smile.
Save for a total of probably three hours together, I have enjoyed every minute of keeping him and I am not saying that just because his mother knows about my blog. I really have enjoyed keeping him, it is always fun for me to have a baby around but it has also been a learning experience. I have learned a lot in the last month.

The number one lesson was reiterated today and that is "One of the most helpless feelings and frustrating things in a parent's life (or nanny) is when the baby is crying and you cannot figure out why" Frogger for the most part is a happy baby, yes he fusses when he is tired or hungry but then again don't we as adults as well? Who can blame him for that part.

Today though he was downright screaming and nothing I did seemed to help. I got to the point where I wanted to cry myself because I had no clue why he was screaming and felt that I should know. I am, after all, the all-knowing adult that is supposed to be taking care of him, right? Of course, much later after his mother had arrived we figured out that the nipple on his bottle was not working correctly so though I had thought he just "didn't want the food" it was actually that he could not get more than an eensy bit out and it was frustrating him.

Stupid nipple!

It made me realize later after I was alone and things were calm again that parenting can be a very humbling experience. It was a blow to the heart when you cannot soothe the baby. Then when you are at wits end and realize it was all about a malfunctioning nipple it is a blow to the pride. Why didn't I think of a malfunctioning nipple?

It is an interesting lesson. Alas though it is my bedtime because I have to be up early to meet Frogger, so Until Next Time....