Babysitting

My mom is a babysitter. So I get to be around babies and children. I remember the first baby came into our family when I was in Standard Five. Well, my parents have always tell my brothers and I that we must treat the kids like our own brothers and sisters because they are a part of our family. Back to the point, the first baby was a boy. He was only two months old then. Oh my, he was small and thin. At first, I dare not carry him because he looked fragile and I was afraid that I might hurt him. After three months, I finally had the courage to carry the baby boy.

Two years later, his little brother came along. This baby was totally different from his older brother. He was very chubby unlike his older brother who was very thin. I can still remember the first time I met this little guy. It was a Saturday morning, I woke up and went to my parents bedroom. I was suprised to see a baby on the bed because he was supposed to come on the following Monday. I walked to the bed and had this beautiful sight. A chubby baby with two deep dimples on his cheeks smiling happily at me. At that time, I was thinking, "Oh my, this baby is very cute and he is smiling at me as if he is introducing himself to me, telling me that he is my new little brother." Then, I asked my mom why is the baby here today. She told me that his parents have something on and therefore, they need to leave the baby with us. That was my first time meeting him and that moment was so beautiful that I can still remember it clearly.

To be honest, I did not really babysit the two boys back at that time because I, myself was considered as a kid who still needs others' care. I started to help my mom babysit when another baby girl from another family came into our family. I was sixteen at that time and I was mature enough to babysit. This time, I was not afraid to carry newborn baby anymore because I have already got the experiences needed.

I have two biological brothers and I am the only daughter in the family. Therefore, I was very excited to have a baby sister. My brothers and the two boys were also very excited. Everyone welcomed her into our big family.

I was in Form Four at that time, I went to school in the morning and came home in the afternoon. I helped my mom to babysit the baby girl after school. I feed her milk, I changed her diapers, I sang to her nursery rhymes, I played with her and much more. When she was eight months old and it was time for her to start having semi-solid food. I fed her baby cereals and porridge. Cereals and porridge are very messy. When I feed her, she would turn her head around. The food would end up being all over her face. Sometimes I would laugh at her because the cereal or porrige on her upper lips looked like a moustache. Thinking back, I had lots of fun feeding her porridege then.

After I finished my STPM, I worked for five months and then I left my job because I have decided to take some time off and to stay at home before entering university. My darling sister was four years old then and she started going to kindergarten for pre-school study. Back then, I was very free and therefore I took care of her. Everyday, except for Saturdays and Sundays of course, I would bathe her after she came back from school. After that, I would feed her lunch. The next agenda would be coaching her on her homeworks. Can you believe it, pre-schoolers do have homeworks nowadays. After homework coaching session, it would be putting her to bed for her afternoon nap. After she fell asleep, I would take a nap too. When she woke up in the evening, it would be time for dinner. We would have dinner together while catching up on dramas. Then, her parents would pick her up in the evening or at night, sometimes at 7 pm, sometimes 8 pm, sometimes 9pm or even 10 pm.

So these are my experiences of babysitting. Honest speaking, I really miss those time I spent together with my little brothers and sister. Well, this is life and I have to leave home to further my studies in Kelantan. But I can still meet them up when I go home during holidays and semester breaks. And yes, I cannot wait to go home for this mid-semester and raya break. I get to spend some quality time together with my family members soon.