Let go because I didn't bond with the baby in a day..?
Using my throwaway account for this. So...I just got let go. And this was not discussed with me - it was discussed with the nanny I partner with. And she was tasked to relay the info to me. So I might be missing some nuance here 🙃. But the backstory is:
I've been working (with a partner, alternating days) for this NF for almost 2.5 years. I was brought on because they needed more help/hours than my partner could provide. And tbh the pay offered was not that great. $20/hr. No contract. No GH. No sick days or PTO. You get the idea. So I brought more "babysitter" energy to it. I'd play with the toddler, try to teach him manners, and keep him safe while the NP worked. My partner is more of a career nanny. Massively educated and massively experienced. Her reasons for working for such a low wage are her own but she's a unicorn find. And while I was liked, I knew I'd never be taken seriously like her. But, it was a job and the family was pretty nice, so I stayed. They recently had a new baby a few months ago and so far, only the MB had cared for him. Both parents are WFH. Their house is no screens, no noise, it's like a library in there with each of them working in their office. Everything gets heard.
Over the last few weeks, I've had a few *very* short shifts with the baby. Like two hours at a time. In that time, I observed that he was mostly an easy going baby and only got fussy if he needed to eat/sleep/or have his diaper changed. Mostly. I noticed at the very end of my hours, he'd start getting fussy for no noticeable reason. This would immediately stop when the MB showed back up. It was the first times he'd been separated from her any length of time, so I assumed he was just starting to miss her. Not in a cognitive internal monologue "where's my mom" way but more in a "I'm used to your smell, your body type, the way you hold me, and *this* person is different in all those things" type of way. When he got fussy towards the end, I'd use the bouncy chair and that seemed to work well.
Well, after maybe 3 of those short shifts, I was scheduled for the first long shift with the baby. I was informed by my partner that the NP did not like the baby in the bouncy chair. It was too passive for him, apparently. Which means the options were to lay him on the floor (on a very thin play mat) or hold him. That was it. No other carriers , swings, rockers, nada. Floor mat or holding. When he'd be fussy towards the end, he didn't seem to be comforted by me holding him and he got tired of laying on the floor after awhile. So I was unsure how that would work but I tried not to use the bouncy chair at all that day. During the day, every time the baby would start to fuss or cry at all, the MB or the DB or both would come out and take the baby from me. He'd be fussy and the MB would come in and say he should be hungry, I'd explain that I'd just tried to feed him and he pushed the bottle away/fought it/milk was just oozing out of his mouth. She'd take him from me and give him the bottle and he'd immediately start drinking. Or he'd be fussy, I'd try to distract him with a toy and it would have no effect then the MB would come in, wave the same toy in his face and the baby would stop fussing and smile. Things like that all day. I chalked it up to the transition and him not knowing me very well since all fussing and crying would stop the moment his mother came in. But all through the day, they wouldn't let me try to figure out what soothed him, wouldn't let me try to work it out, they'd just come in immediately and take him from me, offering no feedback or insight. It left me feeling pretty bad, like the baby hated me and I had no idea how to take care of him (though he was not my first and I've been doing this for 5 years).
Which brings us to now. They told my partner (not me) that they didn't think I was a good fit with the baby. Whom I'd spent around 10 hours with total at that point. That I was missing his que's and I guess was making him fussy, and wasn't engaging enough with him (because I left an earbud in one ear playing music very quietly and because I would glance at my phone at times. For less than 10 seconds at a time. But still yes - I'd look at it briefly. The only time I was actually "on" my phone was while he was asleep). And in the end it's their baby and if they don't like the care being provided it is absolutely their call. I don't hold that against them. But I do feel like I was kind of set up to not have much of a chance too. And I don't know how they think someone else will bond enough with the baby to make him not at all fussy ever and memorize his que's and every mood in like...the span of a day. Especially if their response is to come out the second he makes any noise and take him back. But maybe I'm wrong. Sigh there's so much more context but this is already like epic novel length so I'm just gonna stop lol. Thanks for the ranting space.