First week Mummy went to work.

Laetitia started to go to the daycare (halte garderie) from 8:15am to about 6pm last Monday. It was an interim solution to the temporary work that I found. I found a three and a half weeks temp job and for the first week, Laetitia was able to have a spot in the daycare for the mornings to supplement her existing afternoons sessions there. However for the next two weeks, she will be taken care of in the morning by a babysitter. She is someone who has taken care of Laetitia before and is very experience with looking after children.

In the last week, everything went very well in terms of her day in the daycare. I would prepare her lunch the night before and they would heat it up and give it to her around noon. I was told that she was very independent and insist on feeding herself all the time. It was very reassuring for me to know that she is able to handle full day collective care very well. The next two weeks will be a test on how a combination of a part time nanny and collective care works.

Laetitia seems to not feel too much the difference of me working vs me staying home with her except on Friday night when I went out and Etienne was responsible for picking her up from the daycare and her night routine. I was told she kept asking for me and when they entered the apartment, she went "Cou Cou Mummy" a few times. So SWEET.

And of course, the final decision making would also come after this temp project ends. The big question of how much I enjoy going back to work vs the cost/quality of childcare possible and the trade-off between working and being home with my daughter. To add to the complex equation, I have to think about how much this affects Etienne as well. The last week that I was working has additional stress on him as well since he was responsible for helping send Laetitia to the daycare in the morning. He has mentioned a couple of times how nice it was when I didn't work. Knowing him, he was not trying to put any pressure on me regarding the decision to work or not. The other option I have is to go back to school (I am considering either doing a Masters in Marketing or a French language and civilisation course). We'll see how things pane out in the end. For now, I am enjoying the adult interactions and just the whole different experience of being a working mumy.