Mary Poppins

Our nanny is like a younger, modern version of Mary Poppins.

Okay, maybe I exaggerate.

But she's frickin' awesome.

This was our first week of letting someone else care for our baby.  I'm not going to lie, it was rough in the beginning.  More for me than for Abbey.  Abbey is fine.  But it's difficult to watch someone else care for your baby.  I was a wee mess of anxiety there for a while - full of worries.  Would she take a bottle?  Would she eat enough?  Will she cry the whole time?  Will she nap?  Will the dogs behave themselves?  Will the nanny be attentive? 

I'm happy to report it all went well.

There were some bumps along the way the first day.  Abbey wasn't thrilled to be with the nanny when she knew I was around.  She wasn't eager to take a bottle.  She wasn't eating a ton.  (Nothing will send me off to a neurotic spree like thinking my baby isn't getting enough to eat - how I OBSESS about this kid and how much she's eating and whether it's enough.)  But day two was awesome.  I mean AWE.SOME.  No crying! A nice long nap! Plenty of eating!  Tummy time!  Activities!  Singing!  Books! CLEAN BOTTLES AND COUNTERTOPS!

Yay.  And Whew.  Abbey was a champ - she had a great day.

I had a pretty good one, too.  I was only away from Abbey for a few hours at a time, and while it was nice to have a taste of freedom, I missed my girl every minute.  I also felt a little bit guilty to be shopping at Nordstrom Rack instead of being with her.  The ugly truth is I felt more like myself for the first time in months.  Well, the new version of myself.  Because everything has changed.  I'm glad for that.  I never thought that something would pry me from a sales rack so easily.

At the end of the day, after the nanny went home, we enjoyed a wonderful, tear-free night with our little one.  I made dinner for the first time in months, giving my husband a needed break after working all week.  He got to watch the hockey game uninterrupted.  I got to watch my DVR recording of "Grey's Anatomy" while Abbey napped in my arms.  We then enjoyed a restful 9 hours of sleeping baby overnight, and happy smiles this morning.  We all got a break from one another yesterday.  My worries have pretty much evaporated.

Thank you, Mary Poppins.