I don't want to be one of THOSE moms

Each day that I work, I spend my lunch breaks with Haven at his daycare. I feed him and then we play. I use the word play loosely, as he can barely grab a rattle and is most content to sit in my lap and watch the other kids. It's the highlight of my day and I like to think it is the highlight of his as well.

I love to be able to spend time in the room with Haven since it affords me the chance to get a feel for the room and the teachers. I've gotten to know the teachers and most of the other baby's names. I know the teachers especially like Haven because he's adorable (what? he is.) and not a big cryer and I think I've discovered a reason for them to like me (what? i'm likable).

After I fed Haven yesterday, I returned to the infant room. Oh, premise: the daycare has cameras in each room and parents can go online to see what's going on with their kid. So, the head teacher asked me, "Do you watch Haven on the cameras?"

"I can't get it from work - our system is too slow." (One more joy of working for a nonprofit.) "But my husband sometimes looks."

"Well..." She rolled her eyes, "This one's Mom just called and told us to put a sock on his foot." She covertly motioned toward one of the babies who was getting pulled out of his walker by a caregiver, sock in hand. She went on to tell me about the parents who call to tell her what to do for their child as they watch their computer monitor from work. Virtual parenting, anyone?

I understand feeling some paranoia about leaving your child at daycare. I think it is my daily visits that make it bearable for me. But also, I'm just laid back, I guess. I wouldn't bring him to that daycare if I didn't think they could take excellent care of him. I returned to work with one thought: I want to be the parent those teachers are talking too, not about!