One more before bed. It’s always been said that it’s great to be a grandparent or aunt/uncle because you can hand back kids when they start screaming.
What I haven’t appreciated before is that the parent probably also wants you to hand them back when the start screaming. The chances are you weren’t the cause of the screaming, and if baby is upset he/she want’s familiar arms, and the chances are also that the parent will be a lot better at settling baby than you (and will probably just get wound up watching you try!). Certainly if Ben is getting into a tizzy than I want either Anna or I to have him!!
This was a bit of a revelation for me, as in my limited experiences of babies before Ben came along, I always felt very guilty handing it back as soon as it started crying! However, I have noticed several people who have several children will hand back babies to their mother or father when it starts crying, and perhaps this is the reason why.
I guess it might change as they get older, or if you have other children..