Babysitting 9 month old... HELP

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Tomorrow I will babysitting my 9 mo. old godson... Now I have never really dealt with kids all the much.... how to stop them from crying... how to entertain them.. when to know if they are hungry.... Changing diapers.... the whole 9 yards

Any tips?? I need all that I can get.... I am excited but nervous... I will have him from 10-4.... give or take a half an hour

I am going to bring him on my errands... but what if he starts crying??

Wow I am so unprepared... Embarrassed

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Oooh. Can you do something more short-term first? 6 hours can be a looooooong time with a 9-month-old.

For starters, I'm not sure if you should plan on doing anything but taking care of him. Going on a walk, sure, but a trip of any kind brings all kinds of complications -- not insurmountable, by any means, but if you're this unsure of what you're doing, I think you might want to cut out all the complications you can.

Do you know his nap schedule? Presumably he'll be napping at some point during that stretch and it's good to know what to expect (if only roughly).

Feeding schedule is another one to find out, and what he eats exactly. (Breastmilk? Will there be enough? Formula? If so, how is it prepared? Food-food, and if so, what? 9 months is early for solid food.)

Entertaining a 9-month-old is pretty basic -- hold him, make faces, talk, tickle, etc. Will you be watching him at his house? He probably has a bouncy swing or a play area or something.

Knowing the nap and feeding schedules will help you figure out why he's unhappy if he starts crying -- whether it's about time to sleep, or about time to eat.

How does he usually fall asleep, too? Just put him in his crib? Rock him in the rocking chair? Carry him in a sling?

Hope his parents have told you some of these things, and if not, ask 'em!!

Good luck!

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When he cries, kick him. But not in the head. You could hurt him that way.

When time to change the diaper, just take it off, then put him face first in the tub, and run the shower on his asspipe. Wipe him using your foot, you don't want any of that nasty stuff on your hands.

If he's crying too much, give him a shot of whiskey. If you can't find any whiskey in the house, shoot over to CVS and get some NyQuill. Give him 2X the dose in case he's got a high tolerance or is extra awake.

When on your errands, make sure you leave him in the car. You don't want to annoy the other store patrons with his whining or smelly diaper. And leave the car window closed too, you don't want him crawling out.

I'm available to babysit next week if anyone wants to hire me, by the way.

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Don't panic. Seriously. Babies are like dogs. They smell fear. If you are nervous and upset, they get nervous and upset and then they cry. Test this theory by having a seasoned mom in the room when the baby will not stop crying. Then, pass the baby to the seasoned mom. The baby stops crying. I've seen it.

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That's definitely true.

I tend to stave off panic best with information, which is why I hope you can get it. But if there are no other options, and you just have to deal, take a few deep breaths and just do the best you can. Pay attention to the baby's cues. Hope he sleeps a lot. :-)

Oh and Slappy, we have a room in the basement, no windows or anything but it's fairly clean, wanna come be our nanny? We can pay as much as $10/ day!!

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sozobe wrote:

Oooh. Can you do something more short-term first? 6 hours can be a looooooong time with a 9-month-old.

For starters, I'm not sure if you should plan on doing anything but taking care of him. Going on a walk, sure, but a trip of any kind brings all kinds of complications -- not insurmountable, by any means, but if you're this unsure of what you're doing, I think you might want to cut out all the complications you can.

Do you know his nap schedule? Presumably he'll be napping at some point during that stretch and it's good to know what to expect (if only roughly).

Feeding schedule is another one to find out, and what he eats exactly. (Breastmilk? Will there be enough? Formula? If so, how is it prepared? Food-food, and if so, what? 9 months is early for solid food.)

Entertaining a 9-month-old is pretty basic -- hold him, make faces, talk, tickle, etc. Will you be watching him at his house? He probably has a bouncy swing or a play area or something.

Knowing the nap and feeding schedules will help you figure out why he's unhappy if he starts crying -- whether it's about time to sleep, or about time to eat.

How does he usually fall asleep, too? Just put him in his crib? Rock him in the rocking chair? Carry him in a sling?

Hope his parents have told you some of these things, and if not, ask 'em!!

Good luck!

His nap is btw 11:30-12... and he will sleep for an hour to an hour and a half but she said he will fall asleep in the car if I am out... but do I let him fall asleep before or after this??

She is going to leave me his feeding schedule and a list of other stuff

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Slappy Doo Hoo wrote:

When he cries, kick him. But not in the head. You could hurt him that way.

When time to change the diaper, just take it off, then put him face first in the tub, and run the shower on his asspipe. Wipe him using your foot, you don't want any of that nasty stuff on your hands.

If he's crying too much, give him a shot of whiskey. If you can't find any whiskey in the house, shoot over to CVS and get some NyQuill. Give him 2X the dose in case he's got a high tolerance or is extra awake.

When on your errands, make sure you leave him in the car. You don't want to annoy the other store patrons with his whining or smelly diaper. And leave the car window closed too, you don't want him crawling out.

I'm available to babysit next week if anyone wants to hire me, by the way.

Slappy I wouldn't let you babysit my goldfish let alone my child... I wouldn't even let you babysit my kid sisters pet rock.. you may harm it

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Bella Dea wrote:

Don't panic. Seriously. Babies are like dogs. They smell fear. If you are nervous and upset, they get nervous and upset and then they cry. Test this theory by having a seasoned mom in the room when the baby will not stop crying. Then, pass the baby to the seasoned mom. The baby stops crying. I've seen it.

I am not gonna panic... I just don't want to make him unhappy

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Slappy Doo Hoo wrote:

When he cries, kick him. But not in the head. You could hurt him that way.

When time to change the diaper, just take it off, then put him face first in the tub, and run the shower on his asspipe. Wipe him using your foot, you don't want any of that nasty stuff on your hands.

If he's crying too much, give him a shot of whiskey. If you can't find any whiskey in the house, shoot over to CVS and get some NyQuill. Give him 2X the dose in case he's got a high tolerance or is extra awake.

When on your errands, make sure you leave him in the car. You don't want to annoy the other store patrons with his whining or smelly diaper. And leave the car window closed too, you don't want him crawling out.

I'm available to babysit next week if anyone wants to hire me, by the way.

wow, this is great stuff.

what do you do if the baby gets hungry? I mean, what if you just packed enough lunch for yourself?
Is there something special they like to eat?

What if they want to DO something? They're pretty small, so maybe you can talk them into crawling behind the refridgerator to get that glass you knocked back there last year.

this all seems pretty hard.

do babies like to vacuum?

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Cool, you have some info. You can build on that.

For example, fine, he falls asleep in the car... then what? Do you drive around for an hour to an hour and a half? Does he have one of those carriers, just unsnap the base and take him wherever? (Those are useful.) If it's not the kind that snaps out, then take him out of the carseat, asleep, and put him... where? Any special techniques to do so?

If you take him somewhere, what do you bring if he gets hungry? If it's formula etc., can he have it cold or do you need to warm it up -- and if you need to warm it up, where/ how?

Did your friend give you any advice on how to get him to sleep if you don't take him for a drive? (I still think that if you're not used to this, a trip is an unnecessary complication. Not just food but if he needs his diaper changed, etc., etc.)

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She is going to put everything I need in his diaper bag... she will give me awesome instructions I know that.... she is my cousin so I am not too worried.... if it was my friends kid I think I'd be more worried.... if worse comes to worse I will take him to my house for a little bit, they can help me there

I am just nervous that he is gonna miss his mom and cry the whole time.. but he is usually good with me, but she is always there.....

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I'm with Sozobe. Complicating your first all-day, godson-bonding session with errands seems like a Bad Idea.

If you must go for the Extra Heroic Points, wait until after his nap. Start off with him clean and dry--and hopefully rested. If your godson decides that Soz and I know what we're talking about and he doesn't want to be out in public with a dithering novice, take him home.

At nine months, while he's still the apple of his mother's eye, he doesn't have her full attention for every minute of his waking hours, so your attention will be most welcome.

Find music that you like and dance with him.

Talk to him. Babies at this age are a joy--you can share all of your hopes and fears with them, they will listen intently and never tell.

Take him to the window and talk about the view.

When you're assembling his lunch, discuss the menu.

Remember, you can tell him that you're really inexperienced and providing that you aren't actually in tears, he'll probably chortle.

Good luck.

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Chai Tea brings up a good point. Babies have to eat, too. At least once every few days.

The key is, you don't want to a) spend any unecessary funds on baby food. I mean, you probably have to go drinking that night, and 2) give the little guy any of your food. You have to eat, too.

So the best thing to do is find something in the house for him to eat. Wait..but it's a baby, so he can't chew yet. So it has to be in liquid form. You can give him tap water...but babies like flavor. Well dish soap many times comes in either lemon or lime. So the baby will be happy with the candy-flavored soap, and you know it's nutritious since it's made out of fruit.

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My granpappy used to put me to sleep with whiskey and I'm pot mupid.
What were they thinking, eh?! "Yeah, just knock the kid out with some booze. That'll put 'er to sleep and stop the crying!"

Heehee, you're gonna have fun Crazie. One way or another! Smile

Babies that age are actually a lot easier to take care of than toddlers and up! They are so easy to amuse, and so wonderful to hold and talk to.

You've already got a lot of great advice from *what i assume* are some seasoned women who know what they are talking about! I grew up in a huge extended family and was babysitting since I was a kid. There's nothing to it really; just relax and be prepared.

PS. Don't forget to burp him/her Smile

Gas is one of the first things I suspect, other than the diaper or hungry, when a baby starts crying.

Oh: and ask for numbers in the rare case that something happens/the baby gets sick.

Have fun!! Shocked

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If he cries, just cuddle him, change him, feed him. Repeat as needed. Maybe a video if necessary.

Sing songs, play with blocks, do lap rides, read books.

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And I have to disagree with Noddy about telling the baby your fears. The last thing a baby wants to hear from its caretaker is "I'm scared."

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ok, she has a computer at her house so when I am there 2morrow if u see any threads that scream help, please don't ignore :-)

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DrewDad--

The tone of voice is all.

I'm not talking about weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, but a factual discussion of the flaws in this weary world usually goes over very well.

I've crooned babies to sleep at three in the morning marveling in a soft reasoned voice about children who are so inconsiderate as to deprive their mother of much needed sleep.

Think about how the phrase, "Vile child" (wile-chil') slips off the tongue. Granted, the plural, "Wilanous Chilrenous" is a little unwieldy, but with a bit of practice....

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I actually loved babysitting him... I had him for 6 hours, he didn't cry once... I fed him, changed him...played with him... we went for two walks around the block... He came to the store with me... He was awesome... He even grabbed out for me when my grandfather (his great grandfather) was holding him... so I am guessing that he does know who I am and is used to me! :-)

But I still want to wait a few years until I have a child.... As easy as it was, that was only 6 hours.... not 24/7!!

But I def. want on someday

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I'm glad it turned out well, CL. I checked in every so often on Saturday. The absense of an S.O.S. was a good sign.

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Babysitting 9 month old... HELP

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