How to make sure your baby-free night out goes smoothly

This article is sponsored by Dymadon.

Husbands. We love them, of course, but it’s no secret they need a little guidance sometimes. So, if you’re checking bub into daddy day care and heading out for some much-deserved you time, these easy steps will ensure your mobile phone stays blissfully silent.

I love my partner, I really do, and he’s grown into the job of being a father wonderfully, but in those early days - let’s call it the first year - he was walking around wide-eyed and afraid, as if he’d stumbled into some inappropriate adult situation without warning, and looking completely baffled by burping, bottles, baby food and, in particular, nappy changing.

This meant that, the first time I left him home alone with our baby son, I knew I’d have to be well prepared for any eventuality, and that I’d had to spend several days training him by rote in how to carry out the night-time procedures without me

The basics are, or should be, fairly easy of course. Make sure your partner knows where everything is, and how it works. It pays to be specific. Show them, again, which bottle to use, and which teat the baby will actually drink from, and how the sterilising process works.

It’s also a good idea to explain the wrapping system. Many mothers learn very quickly that both they, and their babies, will get more sleep if they are properly wrapped, which will prevent them from waking themselves with the accursed startle reflex. Sure, they’ll carry on about how you don’t need to show them but make him practice wrapping in front of you, repeatedly, until he’s got it right.

And yes, as painful as it is, go through the nappy process as well. Not just changing the nappy, but applying the baby powder, and any cream that might be required. Nappy rash is a nightmare, but it’s one that can be avoided with care and attention.

Then there are the little extras that can make all the difference, like making sure he knows how to give the baby medicine, like Dymadon, for example, so that something as minor as teething or mild cold symptoms don’t lead to a total meltdown and panicked texts for you to “PLEASE COME HOME NOW!”’

As parents quickly learn, it is truly remarkable how effective a liquid paracetamol medicine can be with babies and young children.

And kids today are incredibly lucky, because when I was a child, all medicine tasted like juiced Brussels sprouts, but today you can get it in Orange or Strawberry flavours, so that children don’t mind taking it, when necessary, at all.

It is vital that your partner knows the liquid paracetamol option is there, should he need it, but it’s also extremely important that he knows how much to give, and how to administer it. Explain all of that, in detail, before you go out to so they feel confident in that stressful situation.

Helpfully, Dymadon for Babies and Kids comes with an easy-to-use dosing device, which allows you to simply extract the correct dosage from the bottle using a clearly marked plunger. Another handy tip I’ve learned is to keep the box! The dosage chart is always printed larger on the box than the label on the bottle

Knowing your child is being left with someone who can confidently cope, and provide the kind of care and attention that you’ve been giving can give you peace of mind to enjoy your night off duty.

Trust me, the associated stress and guilt with going out and allowing yourself to enjoy a night off being Mum gets easier.

For more information on Dymadon, great-tasting paracetamol for children, go to https://www.dymadon.com.au

Dymadon is for the temporary relief of pain and fever in babies and kids. ALWAYS READ THE LABEL. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS FOR USE. INCORRECT USE COULD BE HARMFUL. IF SYMPTOMS PERSIST, WORSEN OR CHANGE UNEXPECTEDLY, TALK TO YOUR HEALTH PROFESSIONAL.