Leaving sensitive ds to return to pt to work

[poppydan]

My dp and I run our own business and we desperately need me to return to work a few mornings a week as we are over run with work and I can get nothing done at home.

My difficulty is that ds is only 8 months and has multiple allergies and has a very restrictive diet and so I am still bf and he wont drink my expressed milk from a bottle, only a spoon (!) or a cup. He is quite a sensitive lo and I know that leaving him is really not the best thing for him but am torn as I am also so worried that our business will collapse.

I really worry about the impact on him of not being there and whilst his potential childminder is very good, I know she has several children so worry that he may not get all his needs met. Does anyone have any advice or reassurance??

I wouldn't worry about bottles if you've made it to 8 months without them and only need to work mornings. Should be OK with expressed milk in a cup and whatever food he can manage. Mine would have just had water from a cup and solids while I was at work for a half day at this sort of age, with a bf morning and early afternoon.
If your business is potentially going to collapse without you working a bit then I think you probably need to work a bit! I have 3 children and with each child I hated the idea of going back to work but the reality was fine for both me and my children. And for us, much better for us all as a family longer term.
Maybe if you imagine he was, say, a 4th child rather than a 1st, then it might be easier to see that he can still be looked after well even if there are several other children to be looked after. And he won't be 8 months for long, and other children can be fun.
I wouldn't use the word sensitive about a baby. Do you mean clingy?

Hi and thanks for the reply. Yes, clingy is the word I think, but I probably molly coddle him a little as he has been quite poorly with excema and his allergies. He is my second, also have dd who is 4 and at school ft now - she was 2 before she went to a nursery so I feel guilty about not being at home with him as long. You are probably right about the milk from a cup and a little food being enough if I am only away for 4 hours or so. I know it is very unpopular to say (especially on mn) but it just doesn't feel right leaving him so young :(

I think the change from being with a small baby practically every minute of every day to leaving them, even just for a few hours, to go to work seems like a really big deal. But chances are he will be happy with the childminder, and you will do some work and stop your business from collapsing and you will both be fine. And if it really doesn't work out then perhaps you can revisit if you really have to work, or if there are any other possible arrangements (do you and your dp have to work at the same time or could you take turns caring for DS / working? Will you be able to get more work done while looking after DS as he gets older or is it that unworkable?). But it's got to be worth a try. And babies can be adaptable, although no one else will look after him in quite the same way you do it doesn't mean they won't look after him well.