When did you have people 'babysit'

Im exactly the same. I’ve only had my mum mind my daughter for a few hours while I went to get my hair done once in the past year of her life 😂. And I absolutely love my mum and she’s the best, but I just don’t need a babysitter.

I'm opposite to this I started having my kids go to see family from very early on so I could have a break and they could also learn to be good sleepers during sleepovers as there were a couple things in the first few months of my son's life I needed him to stay overnight with someone so we started early to get him to practice having a sleepover and he loved it and still does! My daughter at 10 days old went with my cousin for the first time as my eldest was struggling to adapt to her being in our life so I asked her to have her so I could spend the day with my eldest making him feel special and normal and then at 5 weeks old she had to stay overnight with my cousin when I was admitted to hospital for gallstones and she did brilliantly she didn't even realise she wasn't at home bless her

I went back to work at 9 weeks so from then my sister in law had her between 1-4 days per week. She started nursery 2 days per week from 10 months and she's doing fantastic. I feel starting them with people young really helps you have a moment xxx

I’ve found that having my baby go out to grandparents/aunties from a young age has really helped me, she is now absolutely fine at her aunties and at my parents house and I feel she will settle into nursery when she does go better because she’s used to having little bits of time away from me, it’s personal choice and opinion but I find if you don’t let them babysit it will only be harder for you as they grow up, my friend didn’t let her baby go out for a while and when she got to her aunties she got herself in that much of a state she was throwing up and hyperventilating shouting mama🥹xx

My son is 21 months and so far he's only been babysat if we both genuinely need to be elsewhere. He has got an afternoon coming up with my parents which is just for the sake of spending time with them, though. When I was on maternity leave, it was a combination of wanting to maximise my time with him, but also I hate putting people out so I don't like asking for favours 😅 He's been going to nursery since he was 12 months and he loves it there. All I would say is he's pretty clingy so when he does meet new people or we do leave him with family briefly, he tends to get upset at least initially. I imagine he'd be better at that if we'd left him more. But I wouldn't necessarily have done anything differently as he's our child and responsibility rather than anyone else's.

You’re not wrong. He is your baby and this is your motherhood. You do what is best for you. Unless you want the help, people pushing their desire to babysit is just quite annoying & selfish. This is your maternity leave, we don’t get this time back so spend it how you want ☺️

I had to go back to work at 3 months. I ended up finding a nanny who would come to my house twice a week and my partners parent came twice a week as well. As of right now with it being the summer (we lost our nanny to a higher paying family) my partner and I split duties. My boss is allowing me to work half days and he is currently on the night shift. Next week we will be in a nanny share and they are one now.

Alone around 18 months for an hour or two. I think there was 1-2 times they babysat before then but my husband was home and checked in every few minutes. Granted she just got comfortable with me leaving her with my husband right around then. She is 30 months now and has only been away from me for 3-4 hours max at a time and not very often. We are starting "school" at the end of the month and she finally seems ready for it (making friends and playing with other kids on playground for the past 1-2 months) but it is only 2.5 hours 3 days a week.

To each their own. But, in an attempt to see the other perspective, I think it's out of care for you. Any mom could use a break, even if it's only for an hour. Also, being in the care of someone else without a primary parent will help with separation anxiety in the long run. But again, to each their own. If you do plan on putting him in a nursery, I'd recommend doing short introductory drop offs to get him acclimated to you not being there. 1yr isn't too far off, so maybe take advantage of the offer for an hour a week and increase it every week, depending on how often he'll be in the nursery.

I don’t think there’s a right or wrong, but I think it can be quite beneficial to have your baby used to being looked after by others, especially if you plan on sending them nursery. It’s a massive adjustment to them and thankfully my boy settled in super quick as he’s used to being looked after by others. My friends whose babies started and didn’t have this all went through an intense crying and settling in period. Also agree with others that it’s nice to be yourself in them times too, rather than everything just being ‘mum’ about you. My mum and dad had our boy overnight once a week from 6 weeks old, and whenever I needed/had appointments/gym etc, so we could prioritise our relationship and ourselves x

11 months old and this was only because we had a wedding to attend. Do it when it feels right for you xx

I did this with my son who’s now almost 2. He has rarely been watched by someone other than me or dad. It’s good in a way however do consider the downfalls. Due to this he struggles being handed to anyone and me and dad leaving him no matter how much time we spend as a unit around this person. We are now working with my mum to try and encourage him to go nicely to her as she’ll be looking after him in 4 months when I give birth 🙈 I do wish I would have allowed him to be looked after by others sooner as it wouldn’t have caused half the problems we have now.