Lauren was about 6 months old before I even left her for a long period of time with anyone. I think she was almost a year before I let her stay the night with anyone. I cried when I left her the first time. I kept thinking I was a bad mom leaving her so soon, would she be okay, would my mom or my sister be able to care for her like I do (please note that they both had WAY more experience, typical first parent syndrome.)
Claire was about 3 months old when she stayed the night with someone. I don't think I cried at all. I think I was ready to be child free for a short while by that time.
Brooke is 5 weeks old and she and her sisters stayed the night with their Aunt Sonja and her family on Sunday night. I had absolutely no problem leaving her, I didn't cry. I was fine. Does that make me a bad mommy? I kind of felt bad for leaving her but she isn't attached to the "girls." She takes breastmilk from a bottle and my sister and niece are more than capable of feeding her. It was just for one night and believe me, she had enough milk for at least a week:)
We needed this. We needed this time to reconnect from the chaos of having a newborn in the house, a almost 7 year old trying to adjust and a 4 year old just along for the ride. We needed time to be with each other and enjoy something without constantly having someone calling our names to get them something or break up a silly argument or change a diaper. It was a chance for us to do something fun and spend quality time with one another and catch up on some sleep.
So, what do you think? Do you think I'm a bad mom for trying to get back some sanity and have more patience with my girls? I hope not because I feel like I'm being a better mom by taking care of my needs so that I can take better care of my kids needs, and it was only 24 hours:)
I didn't leave Maggie or Ellie overnight until after they were a year old, but we left them for long visits with my mom and/or sister. I left Ellie for a few hours when she was a little over a week old so that we could take Maggie to lunch and pick out the light fixtures for the new house. I felt guilty, but we needed that time with Maggie. Mike & I had to travel to Sanford for a doctor's appointment when Ellie was 5 days old to close on our house there and were able to go with just Ellie, so that was sort of like a date. I think you do what feels right and it definitely gets easier as you add more kids. Glad you guys had fun.
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