on motherhood

I've been completely in love with my daughter this week.

That's not to say that I'm not happy to hand her off in the evenings; that I don't revel in Wednesdays, when K. is Annaliese's primary caregiver; but man alive, it's been fun to have a baby in the past few days.

She's nearly 7 weeks old. That means that if I was in the corporate world, it's likely I'd have headed back to the office in the last week and plunked her in daycare, with a nanny, or a grandmother, or something.

I don't judge any mother out there for what she does re. childcare. Go to any baby in a daycare center and say-- would you rather not be born, or endure daycare before you're ready? and I guarantee you that they'd pick being alive. You do what you got to do.

But it sucks that working women don't get more of a choice.

My baby's barely learned how to recognize me; she's nowhere near ready to entertain herself with strangers and other kids; she needs one on one attention. In other words, corporate America has completely ignored the needs of babies (let alone mothers) in their six-week window; I'm beginning to see why government workers in Canada get an entire year; maybe after a year, a baby will be alright in a clean, well-lit place stocked with other kids and responsible caregivers.

Extravagant, sure, but what's not extravagant about a brandnew human being?

Here's to hoping that telecommuting, flextime, and job-sharing makes motherhood easier for working women out there. I have a hunch it's hard enough without having to choose your baby versus your job.