Babysitting Co-op Works!

I am part of a start-up babysitting co-op in our neighborhood. There are about 11 families right now and it officially started May 1. I have seen requests opened and filled, but have not participated. I was a bit nervous to leave Norah with someone she didn't know, so I was making every attempt to socialize with the group (we have occasional play dates and mom meetings for that purpose).

Then Seth read about an event that Foodways Texas was holding at St. Arnolds Brewery and we thought, "What the heck?" This was supported by my friend Lisa F. pointing out that as long as we felt certain we were putting Norah in a safe environment, one approach might be to realize that even if she had a hard time with us leaving, she would survive and all would be well. She was right.

So I put out the request to the co-op and someone took it. I was surprised. After all, 6:30-10PM on a Thursday night isn't exactly ideal. We decided to go for it.

The day before the event I started prepping Norah. She got super excited that mommy's friend who was coming to stay with her had a little baby named Philip..."just like our Philip!" And she was thrilled that mommy's friend had a little girl named Tracey who was 3..."just like me!" Both would be coming with their mommy while we went to our event.

On the way home from school that day, in preparation for Tracey's visit, Norah prepared a list of things for them to do together. As one of us came up with an activity idea, I would tell her the letters one-by-one as she wrote the words. We frequently do this during our commute.

We started with "puzzles" but she got stuck on the "Z" so we moved on to:

- kitchen
- Candyland
- stories
- coloring
- tea party

Then she ran out of space, so she moved to her notebook to add:

- dollhouse

- costumes

- babydolls

Tracy was only going to be there for an hour before her daddy came to pick her up and take her home to bed, so there was no way they would do all of these activities, but I thought it would be a good way to get Norah engaged in the situation. When we got home we put everything out in "stations" so she and Tracey could choose what they wanted to do. 

I don't know if it was that, or if she is just growing out of a phase. She has always had a hard time with us leaving (though everyone who stays with her says she is fine within minutes), but she didn't this time. She waved goodbye at the window like usual and apparently didn't bat an eye. When we returned Megan said she was completely fine - played with Tracey for an hour, gave her a big hug when she left, walked Megan through the bedtime routine - which included books and singing in bed - and didn't make a noise after Megan left the room. 

Sa-weet! I feel a sense of freedom. The whole process worked perfectly, and when we got back we handed over a few coupons and were good to go. 

The babysitting co-op really seems to be taking off, and I see us getting a lot of use out of it in the future.