First Time Babysitting

Yesterday I went to fetch Franco at his school - just for fun. Unfortunately (luckily?) Gert did not leave the keys of their house, so after picking up Franco, I went to Thelwyn's. Franco was as good as gold from the moment I picked him up - just before his naptime at school. I got such a beaming smile! It made me feel very special indeed. Suppose he cried?! He was very patient while I thumbled and struggled to secure his seat with the seatbelt. Fortunately the car was not too hot. I thought he would nap in the 20 minutes or so it took to drive to Thelwyn, but when we stopped, he was still all smiles.

He lay on the couch next to me, kicking to his heart's content, while Thelwyn and I chatted. Martelize was not feeling too wonderful, having had her first shot in the morning, but she was not downright miserable either - just complained a little. It was special to see the babies' feet next to each other. We meant to take a photo, but we were so busy with our babies, that there was no time. We put Martelize in her cot and Franco on the double bed with pillows right around him. I did not want to upset his routine too much and it was obvious he was not going to nap with us around. He lay and kicked on the bed and gurgled a lot. When Thelwyn checked on him while I tried to rock Martelize in her cot, he laughed out loud at her! Later the kicking became less and he dosed off for 30 minutes.

Martelize did not sleep much - her little body was sore and just a trifle feaverish. I felt so sorry for her - and Thelwyn. One feels so hopeless.

When Franco woke up, he was very happy for a while and then started to get hungry. I heated his bottle, but oh dear, he would have none of it! He screamed and performed, but would not drink. I changed his nappy (just in case), changed the nipple and even tried to feed his milk with a spoon - all to no avail. He only became content when I gave him his dummy again and that without having drunk more than a few mouthfuls!

Dorette said this morning that he did not want to drink his bottle (with breastmilk) at the school at all. She tries her level best to keep up the breastfeeding in spite of the work, so she needs to put him to the breast in the evenings... but if he keeps on refusing the bottle? And if she does wean him and change to formula and he becomes a sickly allergic baby?? Please pray that he will start to take the bottle during the day. We are scheduled to babysit Franco for a whole weekend in October and he just has to be past his bottle strike by then!