I’m a working mom to a very social and curious 12-month-old girl. She loves people — at restaurants she’ll watch everyone walking by, and when she meets other toddlers, she’s the first to reach out and touch their hands. She’s super outgoing and loves interaction.
But… if mom or dad aren’t around, she cries. A lot.
My husband has been working from home full-time, and I recently started a new remote job myself. We hired a nanny to help, but unfortunately, our daughter cried nonstop all day, every day for two weeks. The nanny struggled to soothe her, couldn’t feed her properly, and didn’t take much initiative. So, we ended up doing all the caregiving ourselves while trying to work — it was exhausting. We eventually had to let the nanny go and are now looking again.
We’re wondering: Would daycare be a better fit?
On one hand, she really loves people and could be distracted and engaged by the group setting. On the other hand, her separation anxiety is intense, and I’m worried she’ll cry all day without us and struggle to adjust.
Would a daycare help her grow and adjust faster, or would a more skilled nanny be a better solution right now?
We’re also thinking that even if she cries at daycare, we might at least be able to focus on work more consistently. With a new nanny, we might need to go through a long adjustment period again where we still can’t get anything done.
Would love to hear your experiences — especially if your little one had strong separation anxiety too. What worked for you?