The last time we left DD with anyone and had a date night just DH and I was at least 3 months ago.
And the last time I got my hair done (due to not having a baby sitter or DH being in town) was 6 months ago.
And the last bridal shower I went to....I brought DD. ::gasp::
Seriously though, I would love to have family or friends closer so I could have more me-time or even more us-time for DH and I. You all are very lucky.
Re: I have to say, I'm jealous of all of you with babysitters.
So very true. I haven't been on a date with my H in months, because we don't have family or friends that live close enough. We do have a girl we call occasionally, but at $12/hr we can't do that very often.
It's really hard.
Holy hell. I'm quitting my job and going into babysitting part time! Seriously, I think I made $3/hr for a family of 4 when I was younger.
This is why I feel truly blessed that both my mom and my sister live 5 blocks from my house. They actually live next door to one another.
DH and I live next door to his mom but she isn't really trust worthy to keep our child for more than 30 minutes. She is literally BSC and is having serious medical issues that prevent her from taking her crazy meds.
I totally understand. We don't have any family near and all our friends have 2+ kids of their own, so I hate to ask them to watch DD.
We just moved here to this area 6 months ago, and it's hard to find a sitter out of the blue. It's hard to find someone you trust when you don't know anyone!
I totally agree! We have friends here, and family but without going into too much detail not too many people we can trust to leave DS with! We get a date night once in a blue moon but mostly we take DS everywhere with us. And we also have never left him overnight ... gasp! lol.
My DH travels a lot too, it is hard and just gonna be harder with #2!
Werd!
There is a free dinner at a fancy restaurant tomorrow night for the Mother's of Multiples club and we don't have a sitter!!! *(
Brady Phoenix, 8.29.09
Claire Zoe, 10.26.10
We are extremely lucky, we have a fantastic support system within 20 minutes of us. My parents spend their winters in FL, so my mom is already trying to figure out how she can spend every minute possible with LO every summer - we already have one guaranteed all-expense FL trip each winter, now I'm thinking 2 might be a possibility.
I grew up spending every single weekend of my first 9 years with one or the other set of grandparents, we were the only grandchildren on both sides back then so we (and our parents) lucked out. We had a great relationships with both sets and that same bond is very important to my parents. Luckily, DH was close to his also and his parents have already been a huge help with his nephew.
As for babysitters being $12/hour - HOLY COW, I had no idea!
I guess I don't get why people act like it is so hard to find a sitter.
We never lived closed to family and my parents always had someone - a connection from the church nursery, a friend?s older child, etc.
I am not worried in the least about finding someone we trust to keep the baby. And, I am not worried about the cost at all.
$15/ hour is nothing compared to letting my marriage get shoved on the back burner due to my husband and I not having date nights and alone time.
We know you're not worried about money, believe me.
And who said my marriage is on the backburner? This post is just ridiculous and reeks of judgy.
This. I understand the fear of leaving your LO alone with someone you don't know, but can't you contact a mommy friend and ask who she uses? There should be a fair amount of teenage kids who are qualified to watch your kid.
Do you have sitters lined up? How exactly do you determine if you "trust" someone? The only people I trust are friends of ours and I feel like I am seriously imposing when I ask them to watch DS. They would never let me pay them and I am basically asking them to give up their night for me. I am also not comfortable leaving DS with someone I don't know - as a prosecutor I am not very trustworthy of people I know through the grapevine.
FWIW - a "church connection" just sent a friends baby to the ICU for 2 weeks and luckily it sounds like he'll recover. While I agree you can find good non-family babysitters out there and this was a rare occurence, it's not a simple task but can definitely be done.
I go out of my way to offer to babysit to those I know don't have family/close friends in the area, because I agree you can't put a price on your relationship. It simply amazes me how many people have never had a night away from their child. I don't care what anyone says, EVERYONE needs a some time away from LO to reconnect with thier SO's.
I'm just saying for me, paying a babysitter is worth it if it means DH and I get our alone time which for us means out of the house enjoying a good dinner out. We are big time winos and foodies so, taking that aspect out of our relationship would be putting "us time" on the back burner.
I?m not going to lie ? I find it hard not to judge people that don?t actively continue to have alone time (inside of the home or outside of the home) with their husbands after having a baby. It would not work for us so that has my mindset skewed to putting it at a very high importance. I?ve also seen one to many marriages crumble after kids due to eliminating this from their marriage.
I realize I don't have kids yet and this could all change - I just don't understand the whole concept of not being able to find someone to have as a reliable babysitter - for any reason - not just date night purposes.
i babysit and can't imagine charging that much! for a toddler and infant i'd say $10 an hour tops! for just a toddler $5, for two toddlers about $8. $15 is ridiculous.
Currently going through our second deployment. Can't wait for Zoe to meet her daddy!
I don't think it's hard to find a sitter, we live in a city with few family members, and we haven't lived here that long. However, it IS hard to find a sitter that I trust will be a competent caretaker for my child that isn't still in middle school. Especially someone who can do the "bedtime routine" for DS, which is usually the time of day when we would need a sitter.
And yeah, at $15/hour we WOULD have to take the cost into consideration. Let's say we spend $50 at dinner, and are gone for three hours. Three hours of babysitting = $45, plus the $50 we just spent at dinner. Almost $100 for one evening? That would be a rare treat for DH and I. However, when Nana comes to town, DH and I make sure we get out for a cheap meal. : )
Yes - we have alraedy talked to numerous people that we would be comfortable leaving our child with once she is a bit older (probably 3+ months).
I talked to co-workers that live in my area, talked to my friends that use nannies that many be interested in weekend work, and have connections through our church.
Obviously things may not 100% mesh when we use them but, I have already met with each caregiver in a casual setting to make sure I felt comfortable with them. Add in that they all came highly recommended by people I trust and I am feeling pretty good about using them in the future.
I also have a friend that is due right around the same time as me. We have been talking about doing an every other month date night swap. She brings her daughter over and goes out with her hubby one weekend and then they return the favor. No money involved - but it is a win-win for both couples.
Ha! Yeah because dinner once a month is the only thing that keeps my marriage alive. We manage to keep our marriage healthy and happy despite not having a baby sitter.
And we also don't go to church, we don't have friends with older kids and we don't have any older kids in the neighborhood. I don't trust my kid with just anyone I meet either.
If you remember it, you were probably talking by then, don't you think? I think finding a sitter for a child who can't yet communicate with you is a whole 'nother story. Your infant/toddler can't tell you what the babysitter did while you were gone. An older child can. I think it's an important difference.
I'm so glad that I am not the only one a bit perplexed by this entire thing.
Who said I can't spring for one once a month, or once a week? We're very comfortable financially - I just don't AW it on here. I just don't always want to shell that out, and to be honest we're busy. That doesn't mean my marriage is on the backburner (in fact, it's better than ever and our 11th anniversary is in two weeks).
It's just hard finding someone you trust in the neighborhood or off of craigslist. And those are my options right now. I am glad you have other ones.
We don't have family in the area either.
And we aren't great about getting date nights in. I really try and create a network of other moms that i can at least swap with once in awhile.
Or how about this... I have heard of it and two times we used it the sitters stood us up. The girl we use occasionally now is from there.
I also don't get it. We have friends we sit for occasionally but to be honest, it drives us nuts that they never just pay a teenager to do it. They can afford it. Last time, we watched their kids at a hotel (so nothing for them to do) and on the way there, they called us to tell us they weren't ordering pizza like we had discussed. They suggested we drive through somewhere. They also originally asked us to do it for two nights in a row (the hotel was near our house). We asked if they could bring the kids to our house the second night and they declined and found someone else.
Our other good friends ALWAYS pay for a sitter when we go out- even when we tell them to bring the kids. They like their alone time and would never dream of not just calling a sitter. She stays at home and I would guess they make significantly less than the first couple.
We do have family here, but we will be usually calling a sitter. I don't want to impose on anyone or expect anything for free.
Okay, okay - just trying to make helpful suggestions instead of the back and forth attacking and judging. (and I don't think I'll find any playgroup "mom friends" since I work FL too).
Nope I was totally with you. My parents are an hour away and my SIL is a piece of royal work we have two friends in the area that would take our LO and DN if we needed a date night... I can think of five others that I wouldnt be comfortable with but would offer if I were to post it on FB lmao I never would though hahaha!. www.nannies4hire.com has certified nannies and babysitters IF youre interested
Someone else suggested this in their response, and I think it is worth repeating - see if somehow you can find a Mom friend with whom you can do a babysitting swap. I have a great friend w/a daughter the same age as my son, and we do a weekly morning swap (she takes my son one morning, for about 3 hours, and I take her daughter another morning). We have been doing this for over a year, and it is GREAT. I sometimes just think about how much $$$ I would have spent on all that babysitting. AND, we do date night swaps as well. This is the real $$$ saver. When we swap nights, I will go to her place to babysit, or she will come over when she is watching our son, since the little ones are going to bed.
Regarding actaually finding a sitter, I have to say, like many thing in life, it is a process and takes some work. We have a couple of sitters to call (we have no family living in town) and I have gotten them from Mommy web sites or referrals. I would see an ad for someone offering babysitting services, and set up a meeting w/this person. I brought my son to just see how the chemistry was. Next step is having her come over and spend about an hour or so at our place getting to know us and our son. I always asked for references and called all of them. The first time leaving my son w/her was for just a short time, then a bit longer, and longer, etc. And I always use people who are at least in their 20s (some even 30s), mature, professional, responsible, CPR trained, etc. And yes, the rate is a bit higher ($12 - $15 per hour) but totally worth it for my own peace of mind. Good luck!