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My whole life my intention was to stay home for a couple of years and not miss a breath of my childs life.

When we were planning a baby my husband dropped a bombshell: He wanted to return to study. He had been made redundant from several jobs and clearly his career wasn’t going to provide for us down the track. Already in our thirties, we didn’t have time to put off baby making. A decision was made, I would return to work at 3 months and DH would be SAHD.

Once bub was born we realised we were blessed with a content little sleepyhead. DH was also getting a few barbs about not providing for us (even though I earn enough to cover the bills), so he asked if he could work a couple of days a week for himself – my in-laws provided a ute to allow him to do this! So at 3.5mo my son started daycare 3 days a week.

I was not impressed at all, and started visiting bub at daycare in my lunch hour.

However in time I’ve started to see daycare as a blessing. I’ve gotten to see how the carers REALLY treat the children and my centre is fantastic. My little boy has blossomed with all of the attention.

At 8 months he is now clingy, but is happy to go to his carers because he knows them.

When I have a concern about a mark on him, his hearing or if he seems a bit off – I have professionals who know my child and other children his age to provide feedback. They know his routine and that it’s strange for him to only nap for 3 hours in a day, not 5.

I’m not a bad mum, my child adores me and no matter who is with, his whole face lights up when I walk in the room, even if I only left him with dadda to go to the toilet.


Posted anonymously, 7th February 2015


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  • What a lovely story. Just goes to show, it’s the quality of time not the amount of time we spend with our kids that counts. Sorry your life didn’t go to plan, but happy to see its worked out anyway

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  • At the end of the day, it’s your family and not anyone else’s.

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  • my child is 11 month old and i am feeling so torn between sending her to daycare or not.hearing your story makes me feel more confident in sending her to the right daycare.

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  • It must have been tough making all those decisions but looks like you are all happy with them in the end. :)

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  • My daughter was in daycare by the time she was 3 months old also, my son was 6 monhs when he started. I used family day care & adored my carers for everything they did for us. My sons carer has a son the same age as mine, they are the best of friends now & go to the same school now. we catch up for play dates ow instead of care. It has done wonders for my kids confidence they are both very out going & are great at making friends.

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  • top story to read

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  • Well done. It’s so great to hear a story of empowerment such as yours. I also didn’t plan to send my son to daycare, but circumstances arose that bought about the decision

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  • I think now a days mums are looked down at if they return to work before baby is 1 year old but i believe mums actually benefit from heading back to work.
    Dont get me wrong im not saying every mum has to return to work as peoples situations are very different to another.
    What you are doing works for your family which is great.

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  • Childcare is great for kids. And I think it’s easier to introduce them at a young age before they become too attached to mummy!

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  • And your plans can always change too; you may go down this path and then change plans again. As long as your bub is safe and feels secure and you are all happy.

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  • Also; you are not a bad mum. Guilt is a waste of time and energy.

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  • Each family and their situation is unique and various work/home plans work for different people. Providing for your family in many ways; emotionally and financially is important. As long your family unit is happy and physically and emotionally healthy that is all that matters.

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  • I totally agree.. daycare is a great thing and most people I know who work in childcare are beautiful people who really love their job. So happy to hear your positive story as generally we only hear the bad things

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  • Congratulations on posting this story, many people are scared and judgemental of people putting babies in daycare, I had twin boys went back to work fulltime when they were 10 mnths old, I then had a daughter when they were 20 mnths old and I returned to work when she was 5 mnths old, mainly because she was an unplanned pregnancy and I suffered post natal depression and work was my escape, I survived, my kids survived and they thrived, my children actually went into fulltime family daycare with a fantastic lady for several years and could all read and write before commencing school, she also looked after them after school, and I ended up being a single mum and if I needed to go away for a few days with work commitments she would care for them overnight, I never had any concerns, my parents were a great support and could have cared for them for me but I did not want to burden them with the care of grandchildren and that gave me the option if I wanted to go our socially I could ask mum to help as she was not exhausted from caring for grandchildren all week, she actually became a very good friend of the daycare lady and to this day they are still in contact, I think if you are happy and the child is happy it is a win win situation. congratulations on finding a good solution for what is really a very short period of time in a lifetime.

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  • You’re not a bad mum, no. This may not have been ideal in some ways, but I don’t believe your son will suffer for it either.

    Reply

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