so last night for about an hour i babysat my friend's one-month-old. it was the first real encounter i've had with a newborn one on one... and it was interesting.
he's a really cute little thing, and just learned to smile, so we got a lot of giggles and babbling noises and he seemed to really like looking at matt. after a few minutes he started to get fussy so i picked him up, and the rest of the time we had him he went back and forth from fussing, to quiet/focused, to crYing... it's very hard to know what they need, i think. to me it seemed like his tummy was hurting him, but he might have just wanted his mama to come back for all i know. then just before she came back he started to suck on his knuckles so i decided maybe he was hungry.
i was really, really impressed with myself for being totally unphased by the crying, even when it was intense. it just didn't bother me. i felt bad for him and wanted to make him feel better, but because i didn't know exactly what the problem was i just kinda bounced him around and paced the house. sometimes it helped. i guess i just figured crying would really bother me?? apparently pregnancy hormones help with that, which makes sense. i am also reassured by my lack of awkwardness with him... usually i'm funny/shy/weird about babies, but that seems to be gone too. i was totally comfortable hanging out with him.
the worst part was my cat's reaction. i've been worrying about how she would take the intrusion of a noisy little attention-stealing creature into her world, after having me all to herself for the last 8 years... i got my answer last night: not well. both cats were very interested but undisturbed by his presence, until he started to really cry. as soon as the volume piped up, usha started crying too, loudly, and kept hovering around my feet; at one point we were on the rocking chair and she actually reached up towards him, though i'm not sure why. (i was keeping them both at a distance on the off chance the baby is allergic to cats.)
when i started pacing with him while he was crying, both cats were at my ankles, and after a few minutes of usha yelling--in what must have been an attempt to shut him up--she bit me! nothing serious, just a little frustrated nip, but i was so shocked... she was being aggressive to MY FEET because the baby was crying and she couldn't get at him. great. i am sure if he had been in range she would've smacked him a few times. *sigh* i locked her in the bedroom after that, but she kept yelling.
i really do not want to deal with an angry cat and a crying baby at the same time. usha is my original "baby" and i have NO intention of getting rid of her, but i'm not sure how to help her cope. neki, the big fluffball, was fine of course. totally easygoing and unperturbed by all the noise, just curious about the noisemaker. but then, she's barely bothered by the vacuum most of the time! i'm sincerely concerned about what will happen if usha is a brat about the baby (and moreso about how matt will react).
but anyway, back to the point: besides the unexplainable crying, which was really not a big deal, that was easy. if i'd had a sling it would've been even easier--the trickiest part was holding him securely and supporting his head all the time, especially while he wanted to move it all around and pick it up! so yeah, this should be fine. and when it's my kid i doubt i will be quite as obsessively careful as i was with him, so it might be even easier.
then again, i got to give him back after an hour, so that wasn't exactly a taste of what's to come...
he's a really cute little thing, and just learned to smile, so we got a lot of giggles and babbling noises and he seemed to really like looking at matt. after a few minutes he started to get fussy so i picked him up, and the rest of the time we had him he went back and forth from fussing, to quiet/focused, to crYing... it's very hard to know what they need, i think. to me it seemed like his tummy was hurting him, but he might have just wanted his mama to come back for all i know. then just before she came back he started to suck on his knuckles so i decided maybe he was hungry.
i was really, really impressed with myself for being totally unphased by the crying, even when it was intense. it just didn't bother me. i felt bad for him and wanted to make him feel better, but because i didn't know exactly what the problem was i just kinda bounced him around and paced the house. sometimes it helped. i guess i just figured crying would really bother me?? apparently pregnancy hormones help with that, which makes sense. i am also reassured by my lack of awkwardness with him... usually i'm funny/shy/weird about babies, but that seems to be gone too. i was totally comfortable hanging out with him.
the worst part was my cat's reaction. i've been worrying about how she would take the intrusion of a noisy little attention-stealing creature into her world, after having me all to herself for the last 8 years... i got my answer last night: not well. both cats were very interested but undisturbed by his presence, until he started to really cry. as soon as the volume piped up, usha started crying too, loudly, and kept hovering around my feet; at one point we were on the rocking chair and she actually reached up towards him, though i'm not sure why. (i was keeping them both at a distance on the off chance the baby is allergic to cats.)
when i started pacing with him while he was crying, both cats were at my ankles, and after a few minutes of usha yelling--in what must have been an attempt to shut him up--she bit me! nothing serious, just a little frustrated nip, but i was so shocked... she was being aggressive to MY FEET because the baby was crying and she couldn't get at him. great. i am sure if he had been in range she would've smacked him a few times. *sigh* i locked her in the bedroom after that, but she kept yelling.
i really do not want to deal with an angry cat and a crying baby at the same time. usha is my original "baby" and i have NO intention of getting rid of her, but i'm not sure how to help her cope. neki, the big fluffball, was fine of course. totally easygoing and unperturbed by all the noise, just curious about the noisemaker. but then, she's barely bothered by the vacuum most of the time! i'm sincerely concerned about what will happen if usha is a brat about the baby (and moreso about how matt will react).
but anyway, back to the point: besides the unexplainable crying, which was really not a big deal, that was easy. if i'd had a sling it would've been even easier--the trickiest part was holding him securely and supporting his head all the time, especially while he wanted to move it all around and pick it up! so yeah, this should be fine. and when it's my kid i doubt i will be quite as obsessively careful as i was with him, so it might be even easier.
then again, i got to give him back after an hour, so that wasn't exactly a taste of what's to come...
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