This morning after leaving Oliver in his classroom at Rosewood, I saw a new mother sitting at the entrance to the daycare with her infant daughter. She was reading through the enrollment materials. Her face was drawn, slightly tired, definitely apprehensive and a little sad. I think I looked exactly the same way the first time I visited Rosewood. The thought of leaving Oliver in someone else's care for most of the day seemed unbearable.
However, my mood that morning was happy- I was bouncing out of the center looking forward to finishing up some things at work. The contrast really struck me.
Then I wondered, how did my feelings change so drastically? Was it seeing Oliver thrive while at daycare? Was it the amount of freedom daycare afforded me? If I say yes to the first question I feel like a good mom. If I say yes to the second, then I feel guilty. Is it okay to enjoy a few hours each day away from our children - even knowing those hours are necessary?
What happened between that first day, dropping him off at daycare and crying on the way to my office, and this morning, looking forward to my day knowing that I would see him at lunch to nurse and then again after work?
Will this process of separation repeat itself for the rest of his life?
Oliver has been eating solids now for about two months. He started out with rice cereal and breastmilk, then graduated to mashed sweet potatoes. Since then he has had apples, pears, plums, carrots, bananas, and butternut squash. Yesterday, he finally ate some peas mixed with sweet potatoes. I was so proud of him! 
Sharing the river with the cattle (we stayed upstream).
