Javier turned 4 months old on Aug 22nd. We’ve been taking him to daycare for 3 weeks now and sometimes it’s OK, sometimes it’s not. I’m struggling, but trying to remain positive. What kills me is that I’m at work more than I’m with him, and I feel like that’s just not right. I know he’s having fun and I know that being there, for him, can be a good thing, but I have this weird feeling about the whole idea. How is it that I have a child and then I turn around 3 months later and hand him over to other people to care for him - to somewhat, raise him. My husband and I should be doing that. The time he spends at daycare is very valuable time and I think that Javier is being short-changed because we have to be at work. I don’t know, just seems odd to me and I just feel torn. But what do I do, quit my job? I can’t! So then, how do I accept that this is what you do – how do I come to terms with the fact that in our culture, most of us drop our kids off at daycare and go to work?
Aside from this daycare dilemma, Javier is adapting so well to life on this planet. He’s very chill, very comfortable, and seems to be taking it all in. He’s very alert and absorbs everything around him. He loves to smile, giggles at times, and is truly delightful to be around. We are very lucky and we are very proud. A good example is that I took him to Chicago to meet his extended family and we took a 9 hr bus ride. Not once did he cry. People around me were nervous at first, but then I was told that they’d forget there was a baby on the bus. The same was when we returned. It was only 7 hrs back and he ended up sleeping through half the trip. An older lady had complimented on what a good baby he was. My husband and I can tell he loves to be around people, which I’m grateful for. He’s beginning to show signs of having a very healthy and fruitful personality. People are saying to watch out though – our next one may not be so easy…
Javier has finally slept through the night without a feeding! He’s done this twice already and boy does it feel good. I’ve woken up and thought, I should go check on him – make sure he’s breathing, but I fall back to sleep trusting that he is. Sure enough, he wakes us up at about 6am and is then ready to eat. He starts his day with a smile, something I need to learn how to do. I have to admit, my son keeps me young in so many ways.
And my goodness, how time is flying. He is growing, thriving, showing a personality, so many wonderful and amazing things happening. I love this so far, this being a mom/parent thing and I’m so excited for more! I still can’t believe that I have an offspring though. It hasn’t sunk in and I don’t know if it ever will.
