Experience on babysitters?

[Sheree2000]

Me and my boyfriend are planning to go out for his 23rd birthday in 2 weeks and we’d like to go to a hotel for the night after…we rarely go out much and if we do it’d be on a little date not for the whole night. I don’t have the greatest support system I have my nan who may help at times to watch my daughter but she’s 62 and has back problems so it can be difficult at times for her and then my mum dosent help out much as I have a younger brother who’s 5 so he’s still very reliant on her. So my only other option is a babysitter which I’ve thought about before but never gone through with as I have anxiety and there thought of leaving my daughter with a stranger for the night scares me even if they’re trained and experienced it’s just out of my comfort zone also my daughter still wakes 2/3 times in the night not for milk but to get into bed with me and for comfort and I know if she wakes and I’m not there she’s with a stranger then she’ll get distressed and I dunno how the babysitter would react. What’s peoples experiences on having a babysitter?

Babysitters arent all the same, sorry if that's stating the bleeding obvious but unles you happen to have the same babysitter as another poster what are you hoping that posters will say?

was simply looking for peoples experiences with babysitters I know I wouldn’t have the same as them just wanted to see if it’s a good route to go down

Honestly if your child still wakes up 2-3 times a night and comes to you for comfort then I don't think you can leave her with a paid babysitter overnight yet. I'd do it with a trusted family member or someone the child knows incredibly well but not a stranger, sorry.

I feel for you as I went through the baby years without any family support and had my first night away with my husband last year (my dc are 10 and 8), it's really hard on a marriage.

Maybe start with an evening meal out using a babysitter and try to find someone local you can use repeatedly to get your dd used to them over time?

Good luck

Sorry ignore me, I misread!

Honestly if your child still wakes up 2-3 times a night and comes to you for comfort then I don't think you can leave her with a paid babysitter overnight yet

This ^

Of course you can't.

I mean, if there were something crucial, you might be able to consider leaving her as a one off with a parent or sibling, but - as you are asking - you are a long way from being at a stage of life where you can leave her overnight.

That's coming from someone who used paid, trusted babysitters from when dc1 was a few weeks old.

How old is your daughter? There is quite a big difference depending on age for how a babysitter might cope

I babysat for years it depended on the child when they woke, with some I would check they are okay and they could put themselves back to sleep, some we would sit and chat for a bit if they woke up, maybe have a drink and encourage them to read for a little while until they are tired. A different child would come and sit on my lap on the sofa until they calmed down and relaxed and we could try going back to bed again. Little ones like toddlers and babies, I would generally do something very calm with them and then puut them back to sleep or keep them with me until they dropped off.

A mire experienced babysitter will not always but generally be better equipped to deal with situations than a new and young one.

My daughters nearly 2 and a half so still pretty young hence the waking in the night still so it makes things a bit more difficult compared to looking after an elder child that’s a bit more independent. Thank you for your comment I appreciate the perspective of someone who’s babysat.

We use nursery workers who are background checked and first aid certified. See if you can find any through networks you know xx