Baby Sleeps, You Date – Sleep Quick Tip

This post is not about baby sleep per se, but I do think it’s relevant. I am writing this post from my friend’s house while I “babysit” her 2 boys. One thing we both have struggled with are challenging sleepers and thus, it makes it hard for us to feel comfortable going on a date with our husbands because we worry about the babysitter (whether it’s grandma or a babysitter we pay) putting the kids down for bed. After all, we don’t want anything to get in the way of our kids’ precious sleep! Add to that, we don’t want to put grandma out (esp. when they live 20-30 minutes away) every time we just want to go out to eat dinner. And, well, paying a sitter costs almost as much as the date!

So, one day I had an idea. What about a babysitting swap? Now, maybe this is well known to many out there, I don’t know, but I sure hadn’t heard of anything like it, so I figured I’d share it with you, too! My friend and I decide on one date night a month for each of us. One night a week, we go over the other person’s house and make sure the kids stay safe while the other enjoys a night out with her husband while the other husband stays home with our kids (I’d say even the husband at home with time to relax wins, too!).

The great part is that it is very little “work” to do because we make sure to go over after the kids are in bed…which is why I can type this brilliant article up right now. The best part is, it doesn’t cost us anything but time which makes dating much more affordable! And, we don’t have to worry if the kids went to bed okay or not, which lets us enjoy our date that much more.

If we have to call each other home because something goes awry (hasn’t happened yet knock on wood), we would know the other person would understand. Of course, the only way this works is that we trust each other and have become great friends, but it doesn’t mean you can’t find a friend with a young child that you can do this with, too! Since there is no true work involved, it doesn’t really matter if you have 1 kid and the other has 4 or vice versa. We happen to live 3 doors down, making it even more convenient, but as soon as my other good friend (who lives 15 minutes away) gets her son sleeping better, I plan to add a 2nd date a month babysit swapping with her, too!

Any questions? Now, get your baby sleeping through the night and go out on a night on the town with your spouse/partner/friend!

Any dating tips you want to share? (Rated G please!)

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