Are you a parent who has worked in the business environment before having your own child? If you are used to being surrounded by adults and a busy office, life at home with a brand new baby may be quite a shock to the system. You may feel like this is the biggest task you have ever faced having 100% sole charge of your new child.
Babies can be so unpredictable and when they come along they often don’t perform the way books say they will. You can have the best idea’s in the world and think that you will be able to work whilst the baby is sleeping, this is very unlikely unless you have additional support of family or an experiened and professional nanny. It is also not a good idea to over extend yourself in those early weeks, you, your body and your new baby need time to adjust and holding yuor baby and seeing how delicate and dependant he or she is on you should make you stop and realise what an important job you now have.
It is not a paid job, it is one that involves unpredicatble sleep and feeding routines, unknown crying and lots of love and common sense. If you went for a job working for a family, what traits would you look for in them? Would they have to be relaxed, easy going, strict, gentle, organized or simply happy parents with great well behaved children? As am employer what qualities would you look for in an employee of yours who was to look after your own child?
If you have a job to return to what would you choose live-in/home help/au-pair or a nursery /day care centre and how would you prepare yourself?