Going back to work....

GenaAndJosh

I know I have expressed this to many of you about my anxieties, but the truth is, I'm the bread winner (which kills DH) and the struggling economy truly gives us no choice right now.  Spencer will be slighly over 14 weeks when I go back (on 3/2), he'll be with a woman who is licensed/registred with the state and the only 'baby' there.  It is 3 people who work there (the woman, her husband, and sister) with 5 other kids between the ages of 1-5.  I know a few people that have used her and are/were very very happy with them.

So other working moms....tell me how you dealt with the first day/week and how you deal with it now.  It's breaking my heart right now, but I know in the end I will be a better mom and he will have a better life.  TIA!

CesEve99

it gets easier day by day.

the first couple of weeks is the hardest - you'll miss him A LOT and it takes time to get used to, but believe me, it gets easier.

i left mady with her nanny when she was 5 months old....i NEEDED to go back to work as well. what made it easier is that my nanny is a family friend. i used to check up on mady 4 times a day...now i just call once in the morning and once in the afternoon (big improvement on my end). what i love is that she is being taken care of with my nanny's 3 grandchildren and she treats her as one of her own. mady also gets daily interaction with children which i know she enjoys.

the house duties when you get home is the next hardest thing to get used to - start a routine, a schedule, whatever it takes to make your life easier.

gl - i know exactly how you feel!

TayLynn

((hugs)) to you and Spencer!

I'm always a phone call or email away. 

FSUSammy

It was very hard for me the first week even with Mikey at the daycare just downstairs from my office. I was able to pop in on him which was nice but it was still difficult leaving him with someone else. It DOES get easier though. What helped me so much was seeing how happy he was there. And now that he is much older he even liked it more. He has so much fun playing there with the other kids and their cool toys. He's quite the dancer thanks to daycare! LOL

My best advice is to take lots of pictures for your desk and call as often as you need until you feel 100% comfortable. If you shed a tear or two, or a couple hundred! It's ok too. 

taxbride

The first day was tough.  I started back to work at the end of the week on purpose so I would have fewer days till the weekend when I could have my little guy all to myself all day again.  My first day, I forgot to bring his milk!  I was breastfeeding, though, and since his daycare was right across from my job, I just decided that that day was going to be a wash work-wise, and I traipsed across the street three times that day.  It was kind of a nice transition for me.

I think the most important thing is trusting the person(s) who are caring for your child while you are at work.  I really had a good rapport with the teacher in the infant room at Cedric's daycare, and I felt like he was in good hands.  Plus they were very good about following the schedule that I left for them rather than their own.

And the best part is that at the end of the day, I showed up and he was happy, not crying or otherwise distressed.  That made it a little easier.  I think it's easier sometimes when they're younger b/c they don't have separation anxiety yet--Cedric was 4 months old, and I think it's a great age to start daycare.

Good luck!!  You'll do fine.

Tania

PS: I second Sam's rec to have photos at your desk to look at.  

taxbride

Oh, and it definitely gets easier!  Now that Cedric is almost two, he loves going to "school," and he carries his own morning snack in by himself and is very happy there.  And I've even dropped him off when I have the day off so I can get some work done at home (something I could never imagine doing when he was an infant!).