Dreading going back to work

[kaytee87]

I go back to work at the end of July, my wee one will have just turned 1. I go back full time and he will be in nursery and cared for by grandparents.

I feel like crying every time I think about leaving him. We have an amazing bond, I always know what he wants and he's such a happy wee thing. I feel like we're going to lose that closeness. He won't understand why he suddenly can't see mummy during the day 😭

I will only see him for an hour in the morning then about an hour & a half at night before bed. I don't know how either of us will cope tbh. He also doesn't Nap well anywhere other than his cot so he's going to be exhausted as he won't Nap properly at nursery.

My work paid me extra mat pay and I've used up all my accrued holidays so I can't switch to pt just now but am thinking I'm going to try in January.

How will I get through til the end of the year. People that have gone back full time how was your bond affected? Did you lose some closeness?

DS was six months when he started nursery full time and it was tough. I hated it. But I don't think it's affected our bond.

I was worried about naps too, but Mumsnet told me that the nursery nurses would find a way and they have! He naps in a cot at nursery but refuses to do that for me

I felt miserable for the first week or so and there were tears (on my part), but after that we settled down into our new routine and I quite enjoy doing non-baby things and getting a break during the day. We're even considering putting him into nursery for a couple of days when DH and I are on holiday, so that we can get some time to ourselves (we don't have any family nearby so haven't had a babysitter for a very long time).

It'll be fine, but part time is the ideal in my opinion and if you can get it you should definitely go for it. That's not an option for me unfortunately but I think it would provide your whole family with a nice balance.