At what age did you first...? (survey) - Page 3

[MamaAllNatural]

Originally posted by daria
Wow, I'm really surprised by some of the replies! Six months, 9 months, or longer before leaving a child even with his father?

I feel concerned when I read other threads by mamas saying they can't ever leave their kids with the dad because the kids cry.
.

Daria,

The original question for this post was simply when you first physically separated from your baby. The issue here is not if someone feels or does not feel comfortable leaving their baby with the father. It is simply at what age did you feel comfortable leaving your baby. I was just curious to see how it might be different for more alternative mothers as opposed to more mainstream mothers.

I didn't put it here for us to judge eachother. Just simply to conduct a kind of survey I suppose. I don't "feel concerned" when reading your post, so please don't feel concerned while reading mine and the others. This is for curious minds and informational purposes only. I want everyone to feel comfortable responding, whether they first left their child at a day old, or the child is five and they still haven't left it.

[wwhippetcrazy]

nak

DD ~~ I left her with Dh around 10 months to return to work on night a week. I pumped, but she wanted nothing to do with that....I quit work after 4 weeks.....Dh is not a baby guy at all and did not like me leaving her with him for that long (6-9hrs).

As for solids....I didn't start any with her until she was 9 months old....she wasn't interested until then.

DS ~~ He is 8 months old and I left him last week for an hour and a bit to get my hair cut.....Dh and my brother had him even though he has said "that one doesn't get left" :LOL Like I said....Dh is NOT a baby guy.
He started solids a month ago....he seems to like to taste things, but never "eats".....

We do the mushed up real food, not jarred or cereal.....His fav seems to be my plum I was eating a couple days ago....

I wasn't overly comfortable with Dd going with anyone besides Dh or I until she was 15 months....then she'd go to a friends house and play....
Ds....too many people keep trying to give him crappy food....so until he's older, I won't leave him with anyone else either (bil tried to give him frosting the other day!! )

Jen

[Chi-Chi Mama]

Originally posted by MamaAllNatural
The issue here is not if someone feels or does not feel comfortable leaving their baby with the father. It is simply at what age did you feel comfortable leaving your baby. I was just curious to see how it might be different for more alternative mothers as opposed to more mainstream mothers.

I've been reading this thread, and wasn't sure if I wanted to respond. The way the question was phrased seemed to somehow imply that a 'natural' momma would not leave her child at an early age, like a mainstream momma would. In the post above, that feeling seems to be reiterated .

now, for my reponses: I went back to work full-time when dd was less than 3 months old. (or actually, more than full-time) I started working part-time this summer, when dd was 20 months.

Doesn't mean I was comfortable with it. It was the right thing for my family.

dh has been with her the rest of the time. I think the first time we left her with my family is when she was about a year old. Just didn't feel like we could have a good time doing something away from her. She's getting to 2.5, and has only been with us, or my parents or sisters. She is actually going to spend half the day on wednesday with a friend of mine, who has a daughter the same age - so that's a big milestone for us.

She first started having solids around 7 months. I pumped at work for over a year (sometimes 4 times a day) to make sure she had enough in the freezer when I was at work. She still nurses a lot when I'm home.

anyway, sorry for this long and kind of rambly response. I guess I just felt like maybe I shouldn't reply to this thread.. But I definitely don't consider myself a mainstream momma, even though I "left" her at 12 weeks to go back to work.

[MamaAllNatural]

Chi Chi mama,

I'm glad you replied. The reason I was curious is because I was at some parenting.com type place and it had a poll of when you first left your baby. I had a feeling it would be different here and it is. It was completely out of curiosity. Or maybe also because some people think I'm a freak that I haven't left my 7 month old baby before.:LOL So also I did want to know that I wasn't the only one in the world.

The food part is just because the mainstream media pushes so hard for early introduction to solids. I wanted to see when mamas that are not mainstream feed their babies. I definately think natural mamas wait a lot longer to introduce solids. I hope it's been as interesting to read this to everyone else as it has been to me. Please, don't be afraid! Reply!