From the moment your baby is born, and you enter the madness that is parenthood you are second guessing yourself. But crèche has added a whole new set of problems I wasn’t prepared for.
The Settling In Period - AKA Intensive mammy torture
On his first day settling in when he screamed hysterically as I left, they were the longest thirty minutes of my life. Worse still when we bumped it up to an hour and then two. The tears lessened, but the pain in my stomach and my chest grew. “It’s nice to have a few hours to yourself though isn't’ it?”, asked my husband. I mean yes but it would be nicer still to enjoy them. Instead I did a gym class and got a look every time I sprinted away from my designated circuit to just quickly check my phone… again. And the fear as you pull up and walk inside, ears craned to the direction of his door… is it.. Quiet?? Is he not crying? Oh he loves it, thank god. Only for them to bawl hysterically the second they see you. You wonder if it will ever work out, they will never settle. So what now? How do I tell work I can’t come back? Do we get a child minder? It will take weeks. Can we even afford a child minder? WTF am I actually going to tell work? Then the unthinkable happens. One day, they are neither crying when you arrive, nor do they cry on sight of the place. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then a new fun torture starts.
