Baby Sitting!


It’s ThrowbackThursday and this is what I had to dig out from my teenage life. Actually, watching those twins play peacefully reminded me of the dislike I had towards a baby’s cry. I believe babies should cry yet I wonder why they really do unnecessarily and this kinda makes me uncomfortable with a lot of other things.

What happens to a baby’s sleep? Why do they all wake up crying loudly as if they were not sleeping at all? Or do they dream about how they will immediately open their eyes and start yelling? Were they even asleep after all? I had asked myself these questions back then when I was babysitting my kid brother. Oh my! That baby gave me headaches. And he really deprived me of many playtimes. You could lay him only for him to wake up the next second.

Not that I hate that I had to babysit him, I really appreciate a lot of good stuff that I learned back there. Only that I feel we should speak some of these things out. These young brothers and sisters owe us credits for the good care we gave them and for the sacrifices, we made. Parenting is not easy fellas. 

Because frankly, today babysitting is quite easy compared to how it used to be back in the day. Then we did not have as many ‘effective’distractions as we do now: smartphones or iPad that babies could be given to play with when they cry, or games to occupy them a bit when you make that call. I even see some parents give their children car keys to play with. Forget thedanger of chocking in case they swallow or the kind of infections they can get when they put them in their mouths, and just imagine kubembelezwa na vifunguo za gari.

Now take an instance back in the day that a baby would cry for one the many silly reasons they do. First, that kid would be thoroughly warned.“Cry again and I will slap you hard you forget that you were even crying.” “Cry and I will send you off to the monkey and he will eat out your tongue.” And if it was in the night, “If you cry, that mad woman will hear your horrible voice and take it away.” Such would scare babies to hush even before you had finished the threat.

Nevertheless, there were the stubborn ones. Those who would drive their mamas crazy. Those who would make their parents hit them repeatedly. I have not yet asserted how this really worked. At the end of it all, both the parent and the kid would be exhausted only to sleep.

Worse of all there were those kids who could cry a lot. Endlessly. My baby brother was one of them. You could lull him to sleep rocking-and-singing, as gentle as you could. Then you would see him sweetly doze off in your arms and you will be convinced he is out until an attempt to lay him on his coat. You’d withdraw your first arm from underneath him as slowly as you could not to wake him. Then the second hand. That is when the ninja would startle with all his lungs out. What happened to your sleep?

What really  happens to their sleep?


6 thoughts on “Baby Sitting!

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  1. You know why babies cry? Cuz they do not know the words. Ha ha ha ha

    Babies today ARE different then the babies you recall from ‘your day’. That is a true story! They are much wiser today. You can see it in their eyes and actions.

    I just watched a baby go thru its first year and a half of life. One example of what I am talking about: She never had to be told to stay away from the hot stove. She would instinctually go across to the other side of the room, when the hot oven door had to be opened. Where as her older sister had to be told/taught to keep away from the hot oven. They are literally a different breed of baby today.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. They don’t know the words true. Haha

      So your baby in the story observed and learned….. And maybe instinctively walked out of heat .. smart!

      Well I find it hard to categorise this: When this baby was about 2, she started rolling instead of crawling. And she did it all through untill she was able to stand on her feet. Which she did just on her own. Normally, babies crawl, but for for her she rolled then one day she just picked herself up.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. That’s amazing of the rolling girl. I am curious, how long ago was that?

        I have recently experienced similar.
        It tis the same child I mentioned before. She too did not crawl. She scooted around on her rear end.

        She would push along the floor with one hand, while the other hand was extended behind her, like the rudder of a boat. She was VERY fast! Then, one day, she walked.

        Liked by 1 person

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