Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Asthma and Sitters

Dear Asthma - YOU VACUUM (get it vacuum's suck?) and I STRONGLY DISLIKE YOU! YOU MAKE MY LIFE DIFFICULT and STRESS ME OUT. And I don't even have you!

Since Parker's ER visit on Dec. 21st I am finally starting to see his triggers, namely, this cold weather. He'd been fine, hadn't need any treatments and had been breathing fine since we saw his doctor on Christmas Eve. Then Sunday, boom, it hit. Don't think I didn't try to stop it...I mean, I bundled him up a lot: huge puffy coat (that might weigh more than him), gloves, hat, layers...but no, by the time he woke up from his nap at 4 that afternoon...he needed a treatment. Then he needed another before bed. And I went to bed super frustrated and bitter about the whole thing.

I am trying to learn Park's triggers...and it seems that the cold air outside is one. Which makes sense if you consider he started out with lung issues and the cold air can cause his lungs to be agitated and tighten. So thanks to this realization, I probably won't take him out much at all. At least not until the weather is warmer. He's always been fine when it's in the high 30's and higher, so until we see those days with little wind, we will stay in as much as possible. Don't get me wrong, obviously I will have to take him out at least on Sunday, but I am going to try to do my best to keep the cold air away from him...blanket anyone?

Which leads me to my next predicament. A sitter. I am not going to trust just anyone with my Park, sorry, I can't afford too. Which is making finding a sitter hard. I have plenty of friends who could watch him every now and then, but I would have to take him to them and I'd like to avoid that. I really would need someone that I could call up on a moments notice and be like, "Hey, need to do some grocery shopping, can you come play with Parker?" i don't know whether it would be good to post a craigslist ad for one or not. I feel like an employer, I want references and I want them to be CPR and First Aid certified. I want them to have experience and feel comfortable with a child who likely has asthma and who is my everything. Is this too much to ask? I don't want to sound harsh though... or no one will be interested. So what do you think, should I put up an ad and make sure that those interested know that I am going to be a bit picky in whom I choose.

Also, what's a good rate for a sitter? I haven't a clue on how much I should pay them. It's only going to be a few days a month and 2-3 hours those days. I hate this. I wish it were easier.

Advice would be appreciated on this...I have no clue how to handle finding a sitter and figuring pay and knowing what to ask those who are interested....

2 comments:

Carrie said...

I'm thankful to have a good resource in our camp staff & friends who volunteer at camp & are able to come & babysit when they can - a couple of them are certified teachers, who don't have teaching jobs, just sub, so they are experienced with kids & CPR & all, so that's very nice. I would look around your church, I think, before I would post an ad on Craigslist, because you never know who you'll get...but that's just me. :) I'll be praying for you & hope you can work it out! As far as pay, I don't know, for one child, I would say $3 or $4 an hour, but sometimes we pay $5, just to make sure our babysitters come back. :)

Renee said...

You might try checking if any of the colleges in the area have early childhood development (pre-school teacher) programs or other similar things since those might be students who want some part-time type hours but would be qualified, older, and good with children. Of course, the downside would be that you'd have to be able to work around their class schedules. Church also is an excellent resource. I know I worked for a family I knew from church while I was in college babysitting part time, and I really enjoyed it a lot! Hope that your search goes well. And will be praying for Parker's asthma.