Going Back To Work

[s2391r]

Hi,

I'm a first time mum, and returned to work last week. I'm fortunate enough to bring my son who is 6 months to work with me, as I work in a nursery. I am able to see him whenever I like, however the first week was really hard for me, although he is in the same building as me, I'm scared of losing my bond with him, as daddy picks him up before I finish, I get home between 5:30 - 6:30pm so I get to spend an hour or 2 with him before bedtime, and I do bathtime and read him a story while daddy gives him his bedtime bottle. I'm just asking has anyone else returned to work earlier and still has a strong bond with their child? I have such bad mum guilt but me and my partner are planning to mover to a larger house so financially, going back to work would help this process be much quicker. I love my son so much and would hate if he starts to not love me as much due to not seeing me as much as he did in the first 6 months of his life. I really do try and see him as much as I can when I'm at work, but it's only for short periods of time, I just hope he doesn't hate me in the long run for putting him in full time childcare at a young age. Please anyone who has returned work early, would love to hear about how you and your child's relationships are now, as I'm riddled with mum guilt and anxiety of losing that special bond. :(

You won't lose any bond.

Both my parents worked full time my whole childhood and maybe i would have loved them more had they been at home more but i don't have a clue how. I can honestly say that having a mother who worked, who had a career she trained hard for and excelled at, gave me the roadmap i needed to find a career i excel at, while still being an excellent mum. I went back to work (from home, with DH being the full time parent) when DD was 3 months and i have no regrets.

Try and look at it that you are very fortunate you have a job where you can still see him throughout the day. My son is 6 months old I’ve just gone back to work to a job where I get him out of his cot asleep drop him off to mother in law’s at 7.00am and pick him up at 5.00pm as this is my only option financially. I have huge mum guilt that I might miss out on some of his “firsts” or he might have more fun with her but it’s a sacrifice I have to make to provide for him. I don’t feel like our bond has changed since being back at work I just make sure to enjoy my time with him when I’m not at work.