…it was at this point I realised I needed a bit of me time! ….
…Yes, I did it! It took me about 8 months to feel confident that Charlie would be fine without me for a few hours (or was it the reverse?). I felt the need to do things in the manner of my old, pre-Charlie self, which essentially meant dashing around, ticking things off my to do list and ending my day feeling satisfied that I had done some exercise, completed some mundane jobs and fed my soul…
The challenge with being a mum in Dubai is that most of us don’t have family to help out and some of us (more than you might think) choose not to have in house help. So when it comes to being able to leave your little one with a ‘stranger’ just for a few hours, it really can be challenging. My pre-requists in choosing someone was that they had to be experienced and a qualified nurse (in case of emergency), have good spoken English, fair price, reliability and most importantly someone smiley and happy.
A friend recommended Nightingale Home Nursing as all their carers are qualified nurses. Booking was easy and I received an email after my call, confirming the nurses name and rate. I will admit on the morning of my ‘time out’ I was a little apprehensive as I felt a flicker of guilt and concern…but eventually I emptied my bag of nappies, wet wipes, toys, bits of food and baby clothes replacing it simply with with a huge ‘to do’ list, laptop and a pile of books!
The nurse arrived promptly and I was impressed as she immediately asked to wash her hands she then asked about Charlies’ routine and I introduced them both and they played whilst I prepared to leave the house, I noticed them both laughing and smiling together so that put my mind at ease. The nurse asked sweetly asked if there was anything she could do (when he napped) like washing his bottles or fold his clothes etc and with that I said goodbye, closed the door….and wheeeeeee I was off!! in manner of Thelma and Louise, I sped down the road, with the sun on my face and wind in my hair with not in a care in the world ..never to be seen again…..well not quite…but it was rather lovely to leave without having to worry about Charlies’ routine….these precious few hours were now MINE!
The funny thing is I had planned huge amounts for my morning ‘off’ but actually all I indulged in was a wonderful yoga class, followed by an impromptu coffee with dear friend. The nurse sweetly sent me a Whatsapp update of a picture of Charlie sound asleep and told me what he had eaten and comforted me that all was well.
I returned home after my morning ‘off duty’ recharged, fully energised and ready to be mum again. I noticed that the morning off had done me the world of good and in turn my little boy. Before she left I received a log of his morning naps, food intake and activities and Charlie didn’t seem to miss me at all and dare I admit it but he seemed to enjoy having someone else to play with!
5 steps to leaving your little Darling:
1. Source a qualified nurse
2. Introduce nurse and baby before you leave
3. Recognised you need and deserve ‘time out’ and inturn your LO will benefit!
4.Trust that everything is under control
5. Close the door and do ANYTHING that makes you feel good
So what about you? Would you leave your baby with a stranger?….
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