In Good Hands

Coming back to work after maternity leave was not an easy thing to do. I missed Baby B; I felt guilty for leaving him in Child Care; and (here's the worst part) when we picked him up in the evenings, he smelled like someone else.

Now that I've been back to work for a month, I've come to the conclusion that Child Care is an amazing opportunity for Billy.

At his parent/teacher conference (not nearly as silly as you'd think), I could tell that his teachers adore him and know him. He's not just another baby in their room - he's Billy, with his own likes and dislikes and personality. And it's not just his direct teachers that know him - the entire staff says hi and comments on an aspect of Billy's day nearly every day. You wouldn't think much would happen in his day worthy of comment, him being less than 4-months-old and all, but it does. Yesterday, the kids went on a 'field trip' to the gym on campus. A few weeks ago, he went on a stroller walk. Last week, he made me a Mother's Day gift (which I'll post a picture of later). With any luck, he'll even have an entry in the Child Care Art Show to be held in the campus gallery next month.

I feel a lot better about leaving Billy at Child Care now that I know how much fun he's going to have, how much he's going to learn and how serious his teachers are about his care and education. As evidence of that, the above picture was taken by one of his teachers and then e-mailed to me because it was one of the first times he'd grabbed a toy. If they are that excited about that step in his development, I know Billy is in good hands.