babysitting

I babysat for some friends last night. They have an infant that's not quite 3 months old- an adorable little boy. [side comment: This little boy's dad and I work at the same office, and he brought his wife and baby by the office earlier in the week. They were just showing him off, and they stopped by my office because it's connected with our boss's office (who was on a conference call at that moment). They let their little guy say hi to me and tried to encourage him to smile, but he wasn't interested. They said he was hungry and they'd try stopping by after they fed him. They put him back in the stroller and as he sat staring up at his dad, this tiny fellow's face showed the most utter consternation that I have ever seen! hehe- it was really funny- he was pretty hungry.]

So, back to the story-- I babysat yesterday night so they could go to the movies. I got there and unwittingly buzzed downstairs (instead of calling to say I was there in case the baby was sleeping). The baby had been sleeping but actually woke up just before I had arrived so I guess I don't get in trouble for being inconsiderate this time. They said it was unusual that he had woken up because usually they feed him and he should have just slept the whole time. They left and Little Boy was a tiny bit fussy but he went back to sleep. However, not much later he woke up and was fussier. I tried the pacifier- no luck. I checked to make sure he didn't have a messy diaper- nope, not that. I tried holding him but I think he looked at me and decided I wasn't his mom and he didn't like how I looked and he got pretty furious. So I put him back down in the crib and made a bottle of formula quickly. They use those bottles that have plastic bags and they squeeze out the air so that the baby doesn't suck in air. So I gave him the bottle and that was the only thing that satisfied this nearly inconsolable infant. They had told me that he shouldn't be hungry since he already just ate and that he would just keep eating forever so to now and then pull the bottle out and see if he was done or if he started squawking for more. So after a little bit I tried that, and he didn't scream so I set the bottle down. But quickly he was really displeased with me for having taken it away, so I grabbed it again. In the brief time I had set the bottle down air had snuck into the bag with the formula. Just picture me with a screaming baby in one arm (and when they scream they tense up their whole bodies so it's not as easy as holding a screaming sack of potatoes or something) and with my other hand trying to push the air out of this bottle. Let's get a clearer picture of this bottle situation: The bottle is like hollow 6-inch long plastic cylinder and the sack of formula hangs down, secured at the rim where the top of the bottle screws on. I don't know how long your fingers are, but it's rather difficult and inconvenient to try to push the air out when there is not much formula in there with 2, let alone 1 hand! With this child screaming like no other I was trying to force the air out too quickly and my amazing superhuman pressure made the sack explode and formula erupted everywhere. I managed to only spill a couple drops on the couch then made a nice trail from the living room to the kitchen. At that point I put the baby down and made a new bottle of formula as I traipsed all around through the spilled formula. (thank heavens for wood floors!) I wish I could have seen the look on my face at the moment of the formula eruption. I'm sure it was classic. :)
With the new bottle, my little friend calmed down again and his eyes drifted shut. He ate for a long time with half-open eyes like a sleepy cat. Finally he seemed close enough to sleep that I could take away the bottle and he didn't hate me for it. I laid him against my shoulder (I was sitting in one of those fabulous sliding rockers, btw) and we just chilled for awhile in case he had to burp. (a big ol' burp did pop out but he didn't spit up). Ok, now with all that background, this is the highlight of my story*:
Rocking in the chair, peaceful baby leaning against my shoulder with face toward me and I was just looking at him and then he totally giggled in his sleep a couple times at his dreams. It was so adorable! A sleeping baby laughing at his dreams! :)
He slept the rest of the night, and I read One-Hundred-and-One African-American Read-Aloud Stories (fascinating book of African folk tales, songs, African-American biographies and histories).

*ok, maybe that wasn't the highlight to you- maybe it was the part about me running around like a maniac and throwing baby formula all over their apartment-, but that boy totally tickled me and melted my heart with his little giggles.