On the days that Armando and I both work Dom goes to my parent's house and my mom watches him. I have no idea what they do all day but they sure seem to be having fun together- at least my mom does- Dominic pretty much just goes with the flow. He is such an easygoing kid and loves whoever he is with that he doesn't really require too much supervision in the first place.
While my mom was in Texas with Becky, my Tia Fab watched the baby. It actually worked out pretty great because she lives close to McKay and it was super easy to pick him up and drop him off every day. My Tia loved having him and I could relax knowing that he was in good hands. Tia Fab hasn't worked since the Ogden Mall closed down years ago, she never learned to drive and so she stays home- she watched my sisters and me when we were young, she's watched my cousin's kids and now that her grand-daughter has a baby- she watches her great-grandbabies too: It's a tradition :)
Since I struggle with anxiety anyway, I've been waiting for it to rear it's ugly head since Dominic was born. My midwife told me that I had a lot of factors going on that could lead to Post-partum depression: I was a first time mom, I had a Winter baby and a history of anxiety- No bueno.
As time went on I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop..... It didn't happen. I was emotional every once in a while, sure, but nothing worse than PMS or pregnancy hormones had been.
I was sure that I would begin to be anxious about returning to work... didn't happen then either. Maybe it is because I have the reassurance that I don't have to place my son in daycare but I've had no frantic phone calls to my mom in the middle of the day. No rigid schedules that I'm making my mom stick to while I'm gone. In fact when I dropped him off with my Tia, she asked about a schedule for feeding and I was dumbfounded... "I just feed him when he's hungry" I told her... and I pretty much do. He eats when he's hungry, sleeps when he's tired and pretty much hangs out the rest of the time.
I feel confident that he is being taken care of and I feel so loved when he sees me and his eyes light up or he giggles when I pick him up after work. I love that I am able to get the better parts of both worlds: working and being a mom.
There have been some horrible stories in the news lately regarding daycare centers- abuse allegations, injuries and even a death. It horrifies me and makes me hug by son a little tighter. I'm so grateful that I won't have to ever put Dominic in a daycare- I would just quit and stay at home if we didn't have anyone I trusted to watch him.
Looking back, I don't ever remember being watched by someone who wasn't a family member. My mom and dad worked opposites for a long time so someone was always with us, my Tia Fab watched us for a while and then my Grandpa watched us when he retired. If my parents went out we stayed with cousins or my grandparents... we asked to sleep over almost every time we went over there anyway so they probably got more date nights than a lot of parents.
My mom went to Texas for a month to be with Becky when the baby was born, I flew out for a week with my dad and Dom to visit as well. Jen was with me in the delivery room when I was in labor and I was there when Wes came. It makes me appreciate my family so much more knowing they are there to help out.
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