Equipped To Mind The Baby?

New grandmother Kim Carillo was thrilled to be asked to look after grandson Harvey, but then the instructions began to arrive…

I’d just become a grandmother for the first time, and a few weeks after the baby’s birth, I was thrilled when my daughter, Catherine, asked if we could have little Harvey for a sleepover.

The question was, were we equipped for the task? My husband Charlie and I are strong and healthy grandparents, but that’s not what I mean by equipped. I’m referring to actual equipment – the likes of which I’d never dreamt possible when my own children were born!

The morning of the sleepover was brisk as we were bombarded with online deliveries of baby equipment courtesy of my daughter.

“Just some bits and pieces that you’ll need for his overnight stay,” Catherine informed me.

By midday, my kitchen was jammed tight with cardboard boxes containing all sorts of baby gadgets, much to my husband’s horror.

“How long is he staying for?” he asked anxiously. And so the unpacking began.

First up was a bottle making device that wouldn’t have looked out of place in my local coffee shop, promising perfectly prepared formula bottles at the press of a button.

I wouldn’t have been surprised if it had offered a cappuccino option!