First Time Leaving Baby with Sitter at Night

When my daughter was about the same age as your daughter, my mom insisted on watching her over night so that my husband and I could go away for our anniversary. I was anxious too. I was worried that my daughter would be upset I wasn't there.

But there was no reason to worry. It was really like out of sight out of mind for my daughter. A little bruising for my mother ego, but it was good for my marriage. Chances are that you are worring more than your daughter will. Enjoy your evening out. Your daughter will be ok.

good for you to go out! it is time! i would say just have the sitter call you if the babe wakes up and is unconsolable. go somewhere nearby and enjoy it. chances are you won't be out more than 2 hours anyway. also, if she wakes up have the sitter just hang out with her and if she is happy awake then the sitter doesn't call you...otherwise she will call. big deal, one night babe is up past her bed time...but you are out nuturing your marriage and yourself...relax..enjoy...good luck :)

That first time away is the hardest. Just make sure where ever you go is a place you can get in and out of quickly. You don't want to go anywhere that you will have to wait an hour for a table or anything and then another hour for your food. More likely you have more anxiety over the separation than she will. My kids are 4 and 2 and I still have a hard time leaving them in someone else's care. We have one trusted friend that the kids love that makes it easier to relax when we go out. The kids are very familiar with her and very comfortable with her, so it eases the anxiety a bit. We know she loves our kids as her own, so that helps. We also know that if she were to have any problems she wouldn't hesitate to call us if that was necessary. Really what it boils down to is finding someone that works for your situation. The one time I had to leave my daughter with someone else (my son was in preschool so I didn't have to worry about him) was horrible for me. I ended up leaving early to go get her since I was worried about the quality of care she was receiving. When I picked her up she was completely fine and even had a good time in my absence, but I found it hard to relax and enjoy myself not knowing how she was doing. So my advice is make the first couple of outings brief so that you can ease yourself into the separation. And be prepared that the first time you probably won't really enjoy yourself at all. Give yourself permission to call once and check on her, but try not to call obsessively, you don't want to send the message that you don't trust your caregiver.

What have we done about this? Suffered through it. You will probably be nervous the whole time, and maybe call home a few times. That is normal, and it gets easier over time. Then you have to deal with other nerve-wracking things, like your daughter driving alone at night. And then you sit there on pins and needles until she comes home.

My son has been giving us grief at bedtime since he was 6 months old and I thought he'd never go to sleep for a sitter but as it turns out he gives the sitters no problems. Your child can be a whole different person when they are away from you. I'm sure it will be just fine!

I'm sure she will be fine!

My daughter will be 6 on friday, and has never had a babysitter. She has stayed at a friends house for a couple hours to play with friends, but that is it! otherwise she is with her uncle or grandparents for an hour while Dad and i go to dinner

Since you are leaving her with someone she knows, and since you are not going to be gone overnight, I am sure she will be fine. Your sitter can rock almost as well as Daddy can... so go have fun! It's tough the first coupke times, but it gets easier, and it is SO important to have that couple time!