I really dislike feeding time. Whether its chicken tenders cut up into micro sized bites that subsequently get stuffed into the mouth of a toddler at an alarming rate or heated up squash and oatmeal that smells like its been in the fridge a few too many days only to check the expiration date and find that its still months away. That is, in fact, how it is supposed to smell.
I keep a baby girl that just turned 6 months. She is trying out a pediatrician's definition of solid food (my definition is smelly mashed up disgustingness) So we went through oatmeal/cereal which is not so bad.. (she prefers the round purple spoon says the mom.. does she really care? I doubt it.) Now its the veggies and everything could not have gotten more complicated. Its heat up a bottle and put half in a sippy cup and heat up some squash (gag) for 12 seconds and give it to her alternating bites and sippy cup then give her some formula and then heat up some oatmeal for 16 seconds and do the same thing now put the contents of the cup back into the bottle and heat it back up and give it to her. Ok the kid is screaming through the whole thing because um.. newsflash she's hungry so it's very stressful. And quite frankly I find all the steps mundane and redundant.
I am sure that the whole process of helping a child learn how to eat and embrace the differences in tastes and textures I imagine is supposed to be rewarding and even enriching. Meanwhile I find the experience to be one of the most stressful situations in my life second to working a car wreck with entrapment next to a busy highway in the middle of the night (that my friend is where the phrase stressed out was coined) Overall I think this is a huge hassle.
Feeding time used to be one of my favorites because baby was happy and so was I. At this point, to my dismay, I have now come to dread it.
Confession #3
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Traffic is ridiculous in the town where I live. Thanks to the morning commuters headed to glorious walmart the 10 miles it takes to get to the interstate takes about 45 minutes. This morning I left early, apparently too early, the Walmarters must not have to be there until later because I got to the subdivision like 30 minutes early.
I parked to read. I settled into my seat and then my stomache growled. I don't usually eat breakfast..but I'm not usually up that early either. Across the street is the golden arches staring me right in the face. I'm reluctant, but I give in and drive over and munch on a buttery delicious bacon, egg and cheese biscuit. It's so good I wonder why I dont do this every morning. I could become one of those people that gets up early every morning, goes and gets a biscuit, watches the news oh or reads the newspaper that would be fun! But then I realize that I hate getting up early, nothing but old ppl are in Mcdonalds that early, and the news is depressing.
So I get the crumbs off my shirt and drive to the house to keep the year and a half old black baby that grabs my boobs every week. I love my job.
Confession #1
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Let me be upfront.
The best part about being a nanny is being able to give the kids back. I think there should be a disclaimer when you take the job warning you that it may or may not corrupt your view of having your own children.
The worst part is when you keep kids during a meal time but aren't given anything to eat. So not only are you starving, you're making food for screaming, mostly disobedient children. After a while shells and cheese no longer has any appeal.
Overall being a nanny is great. It can be relaxing when you're rocking a serenely sleeping baby in a chair that is so comfy you really wonder if it is kosher to sleep while the baby naps. It can be irritating when the parents fail to let you know that the 10 month old has been sick for 2 weeks and can't even suck a pacifier because he can't breathe out of his nose. And it can be unnerving when a baby is so used to mommy putting them to sleep that they pretty much won't have it any other way.
Perhaps that's why I like it.. it's like me
It's never dull, never boring and never predictable :)
