If you didnt have to ..... would you???

[Willow]

I agree, give it a go!

DD started preschool this year and although i felt guilty at first because I'm on mat leave at the moment, it is the BEST thing we've ever done. She LOVES it. She is a very energetic, active little girl and when DS arrived i just felt like she wasn't getting the time, attention, stimulation, interaction etc that she needed. She goes 1.5 days a week (preschool closes at lunch time on Thursdays) and next year I'm considering putting her in another day in preparation for school the following year, she loves it that much.

She was 3 though and I was very lucky, despite her never being in care before we've not had a single tear or even a hesitation. The first day I came back to pick her up she stood at the fence and yelled at me to get back in the car and go home - OK, it's funny now, but it broke my heart at the time! LOL. I went into it with the plan that if it was distressing for either of us (mainly her! LOL) we would take her straight out and try again next year.

The main reason I did it was for her, but I must admit I love having those days with just me and DS. I feel like he's getting my undevoted attention and I can just enjoy him without having to chase DD around. As well as the advantages others have mentioned like getting groceries done or just putting DS in the pram and hitting the shops - much easier with one child than two.

The illness thing does suck though...she's been sick more often in the last 6 months than in her entire life. Worse than that though is she brings it home and DS gets it too. He's up to cold #5....DD didn't get sick at all until she was about 18 months old. So that's sucked, but it's the one negative.