A baby blog by Mary Pulley
I totally missed hearing from you guys! I took last week off. I didn’t get a chance to thank you all for the wonderful advice on what to register for. It meant a lot to me — that so many people took the time to reply on Facebook and under the last blog.
This week’s topic is daycare!
I must admit, it’s a topic that put me in tears a few times, and I totally didn’t expect myself to react that way. Experienced parents tell me how expensive child care can be. It’s not only the hit to the wallet that had me sobbing, though. I’ve been in baby bliss since I found out that I was pregnant! That’s despite morning sickness, fatigue, swollen feet, etc… Even the thought of missing sleep to fix bottles and change diapers doesn’t scare me as much as the thought of handing over my son!
I’ve been told that what I’m feeling is normal, and that most mothers wish they could spend each day with their new babies! But as a working mom, I know I’ll need daycare. I’m very fortunate to have a great husband with flexible working hours, most of my family living in Kansas City, and lots of in-laws. I have a great church family too! The group of competent, loving, and available people I know is pretty big! But I feel like once Landen gets here, I’ll want to spend every second with him! I’ll have 6 weeks or so once he arrives to bond with him and get used to this new mothering lifestyle. But the day I go back to work will definitely be a hard one. By that time I will have been with him every second of everyday for almost a year, and I imagine that it will be a bit lonely without him. Whoever does have him on my first day back better make sure they have unlimited minutes on their phone, because I’m gonna call and text ALL DAY!
The other issue is trust. I’m sure you all have seen the recent stories of child care providers killing the kids in their care or other older children beating up and abusing the smaller kids. The thought of these possibilities terrify and infuriate me!! Even the small things I hear from other moms’ childcare stories make me question if anyone can be trusted with my baby. From what they expose them to, what they feed them, who they bring around them, I just can’t help but be a little suspicious of every smiling old lady that looks qualified online.
So what I’m wondering most is if this feeling will eventually pass? Parents, how did you pick your daycare provider? What finally calmed your fears about trusting someone with your child? If you went with an agency or website, which did you use? What kind of background checks did you do? I can’t wait to hear your response!
Send your responses, questions and topic suggestions:
Email: mary.pulley@wdaftv4.com.
Facebook: facebook.com/marypulleynews
Twitter: twitter.com/marypulleynews
Be sure to connect with me to see photos and other things related to my pregnancy, my daily life, and the stories I cover at FOX 4. Talk to you soon!
