I Don't Like Other People's Babies...

I've never really been a kid person. I liked babysitting when I was young, but mostly because it provided me a legitimate way to get out of my house, be on my own, and earn a little money, not because I liked taking care of kids. I remember Pam, the babysitter my sisters and I loved. She brought her babysitting kit and always had lots of fun things planned for us to do. I was certainly not like her. I was, and still am, something of a minimalist when it comes to kids.

Today, for only a short while, I took care of a neighbor's 3 kids. Part of that time, they were all strapped in the car as I was driving MJ to school. Then, we played outside until their mom came to get them. They have an almost one year old, and he has gotten a lot easier to take care of. In the past, he has freaked out without his mom and spent the whole time crying. Today, he only cried for a while, but I have a hard time dealing with crying babies. And he doesn't really like me, so my picking him up only aggravated it.

Then there's the craziness. For lunch, there were 5 of them sitting at the table--ages 5,5,2,2 and 1. They all need something from me. And there's a lot of noise. I just don't do well in those situations.

I know it's different with my own kids, but it's still unnerving to think about the possibility of having a baby. Can I handle it? Will I be stressed out all the time?