DS is 17 months and has been going to nursery one day a week since April. It's a lovely nursery, and I have no concerns with it. However, he has been ill a lot - pretty much every time he goes there, he picks something up, which often means that the following week he is not able to go. That, plus a couple of holidays visiting family, has meant that his attendance has been sporadic.
I know babies pick up lots of bugs when they go to nursery, so that in itself isn't a worry. What is worrying me is that this is making it really difficult for him to settle.
He's a really cuddly baby and has recently started getting very, very upset when I leave him at nursery (now that he remembers that I don't come back until later in the day). His key worker, who is lovely, has assured me that he is fine in the day. He's often a bit upset and subdued in the morning, but by the afternoon he's more confident. Still, I felt like crying myself when I left him this morning.
He has started crying when I pick him up - last time, when he saw me, his lip wobbled and he murmured 'Mummy' and buried his head in my neck.
I feel really awful about this. Is he crying when I arrive because he's angry I left him?
I can see that one day a week is making it very hard for him to settle and I worry about the impact it is having on him.
His nursery fees are currently funded by my (very kind) parents, as DH and I are struggling a bit money-wise. I am a SAHM, and am using DS' nursery day to do housework, attend a regular hourly appointment and mainly complete some coursework for a course I am taking (which will hopefully enable me to earn some money in the future). I miss DS terribly in the day.
I'm not really sure what I'm asking of you all, to be honest. I'm just trying to work out whether I should take him out of nursery for the time-being.
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Is this unfair on my son? (1 day a week at nursery)
Kalypso · 29/07/2011 10:58
Thanks for the replies. Two half days - brilliant idea, I can't believe I hadn't even thought about that! I will definitely look into this.
I was a little down when I dropped him off shortly before I posted. However, when I arrived to pick him up, he was playing happily. He couldn't see me, so I stayed and watched a little. He was sitting next to another little boy, rummaging through a box. His key worker was asking him to pick out certain things, and he was toddling over to show them to her. He even had a little smile on his face.
When his key worker picked him up and he saw me, his lip wobbled for a split second and I said "Hello DS!" all brightly and held my arms out. He didn't cry, gave me a cuddle, smiled and then started pointing and babbling at the pictures on the wall.
So that made me feel a lot better about the whole thing! I do think the nursery has a lot to offer him - it's bright and airy, and the atmosphere seems reasonably relaxed (as opposed to one of the other nurseries I viewed, which felt really chaotic and disorganised). The staff seem very kind and they do lots of lovely activities. So I would like to keep on if I can.
I will ask about the 2 half days 
.
If I still feel it's not working out for him, I'll look into a mother's help. How much would they charge in London, do you think?
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