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Am going back to work on Monday after 1 yr mat. leave and dreading it because...

24 replies

walbert · 13/10/2007 21:07

... what if my dd ends up enjoying herself so much she prefers my parents or my mil to me?? (And yes, i know it sounds stupid and i'm cringing while i'm typing this but once mentioned it to dh and he looked at me like i was mad!) The thing is, esp with mil, dd face just lights up when she see her gp's, and dh, where as with me, sh seems to look as if to say, oh, it;'s you. wheres dinner? Am i really being that petty and stupid? It's nt work that's the issue, i'm only off back part time luckily, so i can't complain but i'm dreading coming home or picking her up and dd crying when gp's go rather than being chuffed i'm back. Am i a very very very daft person?

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ImBarryScott · 13/10/2007 21:49

Oh, the whole handing over you baby thing is just so hard, isn't it?
my dd started nursery last week, and I was a little bit that she didn't give me second glance when I left - too busy rolling round the room. I guess that's the price I pay for having an outgoing little one who's happy with others.

I think it's lovely that your DD loves her GPs so much. It's probably exciting for her to see them if she doesn't spend all day with them. My DD always lit up when DH came home from work, and I was very . But now I have to leave her for work, she'd thrilled to see me too.

chocolateshoes · 13/10/2007 21:58

you are your dd's mum and she will always love you and have that special bond that you have built up over this last year. And no you are not daft, you have all the same doubts and worries that we all get. You will still see lots of her if you are pt. Her face will light up when she sees you - she'll probably have that little smug 'I knew she'd come back but I am glad' look.

Good luck - it'll be fine

egypt · 14/10/2007 04:18

oh don't worry walbert. she will be so chuffed to see you when you return. be thankful that she is happy with her gp's. i left dd with mil a few times to work and she cried her heart out, reaching for me. it was horrible. that is the most painful part, when they are not happy. you'll both be fine. and benefit!

Meglet · 14/10/2007 09:50

She will be fine and so will you! I went back (part time) after a year 2 weeks ago and DS's care is split between mum, DP and dad & stepmum. While I know he has a wonderful time with them all and does lots of different things he is thrilled when I get home. I'm much more fun with him on those days too and TBH its a lovely break being at work. As DD is with your family she'll love it. I'm sure everything will be ok.

callmeovercautious · 14/10/2007 09:54

I agree with Imbarryscott, my DD started Nursery a few weeks ago 2 days a week. At first she was not bothered at all and seemed to treat me as part of the furniture. Now she is away from me a little bit she seems to appreciate me more!

She does not cry at Nursery as she is happy there but she is very pleased to see me in the evening when I collect her and our days together are much more fun for us both. I suppose it's like any relationship - absence makes the heart grow fonder

EffiePerine · 14/10/2007 10:00

Would echo the fact that your DD will be incredibly chuffed when you come back from work - DS's face lights up when I come home (have been at work since he was 6 months) and we enjoy our days together when I'm not at work. Def the best of both worlds for us. I was worried about him not loving me any more (he is cared for by DH/cm when I am at work) but he is actually happier and more balanced from having a range of experiences. Anyway, he's now a lovely year old (apart from not sleeping atm, grrr) so we must be doing something right

EffiePerine · 14/10/2007 10:00

How are finding being back at work?

ImBarryScott · 14/10/2007 10:28

I've been lurking, so I won't ask about the obvious. I really miss DD when I'm at work, but the opportunity to drink hot coffee and use the loo in peace just couldn't be passed up .

Judy1234 · 14/10/2007 10:32

Well it's not a competition. Children have large amounts of love to give lots of different people and we don't own or possess them. They may well love a father more than a mother or even a granny but as long as they are loved does it really matter?

Also as mothers we aren't always better than anyone else at everything to do with our children and it's great if they are exposed to different influences.

I expect it will all work out fine.

inthegutter · 14/10/2007 10:39

Absolutely Xenia. When my dd started at her childminder, I was delighted that she loved being there. Imagine how awful you'd feel if you were leaving your child somewhere they weren't happy!! This is a particularly 'mummy' syndrome I think - you don't get dads fretting over whether their kids are going to love x,y or z more than them - they just seem to be able to chill and enjoy their kids. As Xenia rightly says, we don't 'own' our children; they may depend on us for different things at different phases of their lives, and they need to know that they are loved, but from the word go, they are independent people who have their own lives.

screamsprout · 14/10/2007 10:41

It's hard to think that they don't need you in the same way, but try to see it another way - would you want her to be miserable all day without you? Surely it's better to have a slightly deflated ego than an unhappy child?

screamsprout · 14/10/2007 10:42

Oh and sorry, didn't say good luck. I had a year off and found it hard to go back. Just think of the good bits - grown ups to talk to, hot coffee etc and know that you are the most important person in your child's life - and you will be fine!! Welcome to the world of working mummies!!

Judy1234 · 14/10/2007 13:47

Yes, well having got the first three through to university you get a perspective on what matters to them (that they're loved) rather than child as possession whom the mother has to prove she and no other on the planet is closest to and best with. In fact we borrow our children for a short time and we're lucky to have them.

Meglet · 14/10/2007 13:55

I have to agree with the delights of going to the loo and having a cuppa in peace. Bliss

inthegutter · 14/10/2007 16:57

Xenia can I say I really like the way you express it - yes, those of us who have children are truly lucky to have them and we should never forget that. I also think most of the hang ups and anxieties that mothers have over their children are rooted in this belief that because we have physically carried and given birth to them, we must therefore somehow prove that we can do everything best for them. I used to agonise over the fact that dd1 always seemed closer to dh than to me, from when she was small. Thankfully, dh is a wise husband and helped me put it into perspective. Yes they are closer, but so what? They have the kind of personalities that just 'click'. I have a closer relationship with dd2, and then a diferent relationship altogether with ds. My ds adores his grandparents, whereas dd1 doesn't really get on with them and dd2 can take them or leave them. dd1 loved her childminder to bits, when dd2 came along it was a clash of personalities so we put her in a nursery instead, which was absolutely the right thing for her as she loved all the other children and the busier environment.There is no rule which says mothers naturally are the best at everything - thank god!

LilianGish · 14/10/2007 17:40

Aren't you lucky to be able to leave dd in the care of her grandparents. Good luck with your first day back.

tigermoth · 14/10/2007 17:47

Good posts Xenia - I agree.

Judy1234 · 14/10/2007 18:57

23 years ago I was 22 and I was working full time and employing our first nanny (who stayed for 10 years, daily, live out)... I think one of the things I learnt quickly is that people do things different with your children, your husband does, the people who look after them and teachers at school and that we kind of need the humility to realise we may not always be right.

The other thing I noticed was that actually it's quite good for children to see different views - that sometimes the mother or father gets their stance wrong and it's good for the child to have that wrongness diluted by exposure to someone with a different view.

I always like this advice:-

"And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, speak to us of Children.

And he said:

Your children are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,

for they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of to-morrow,

which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and he bends you with his might that his arrows may go swift and far.

Let your bending in the Archer's hand be for gladness;

For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so he loves also the bow that is stable.

Kahlil Gilbran

FloridaKbear · 14/10/2007 19:00

After the first day you will breathe out at realise it's going to be fine. I can't believe I'm going to say it but I actually agree with Xenia today.

inthegutter · 14/10/2007 19:59

I'm going to start a Xenia Appreciation Society

tigermoth · 14/10/2007 21:00

very thought provoking, xenia - thanks again

Meglet · 15/10/2007 15:04

walbert - how did it go today?

xenia - loved your post

Judy1234 · 15/10/2007 15:29

Good. I hope it goes well.

walbert · 15/10/2007 20:15

Bonjour all! Thanks for all your posts, they were all very nice and made me realsie I was being a bit daft, but was (only for a little bit) being entitled to indulge myself! Work was fine (it was like i'd never been away, and remembered loads of system sign-on's from over a year ago, which is either very sad or very clver.... ) dd was fine with her gp today, no great firework display when i came home as she was crotchety and needed a sleep, but had a bounce round in bed, a nice bath and now in bed... after a couple of weeks i probably won't be looking back!!! I know that i am pretty lucky that she is being looked after by gp's so there will be lots of love, attention, and time and effort being made, but also a bt of discipline and so on, so i really can't grumble overall. And good luck to everyone else who said that they had recently gone back to work.

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