I managed to eat toast today!

(Warning: I'll do a bit of random rambling in this blog post)

Yes, I did it, ate toast today. Now, it might not seem much to blog about, but for me it was a major breakthrough since I haven't eaten almost anything since Sunday. Lil man brought some nasty stomach virus from playschool and it hit me with full force. I've now discovered a reoccurring pattern; lil man gets some sort of kiddie virus from daycare/playschool, gets sick, gets better and then I get really really sick. Husband isn't affected. I don't know why this happens, because I haven't been a "sickly" person before, but I'm assuming its because I never went to daycare and don't have any immunity against these viruses.

Either way the constant throwing up got me thinking of the time when I was pregnant and of one specific incident in particular, as before last Sunday that was the last time I felt like this (and no, I'm not pregnant now, this time it's a stomach bug :). As some of my readers might have read from earlier entries I had a bit of complicated pregnancy.  Basically I threw up most of my time being pregnant, spend several days at the hospital on IV and ended up having to take anti-nausea medication meant for cancer patients since I became so thin and the IV wasn't enough. My host-mom was battling breast cancer at the same time and we had the same medication - we both thought it was pretty weird. 

This incident I mentioned happened during one of my hospital stays, pre-medication. One of the nurses was really concerned about me (since I was "in a foreign country without Mom"...) and thought that the reason I was so skinny was because I couldn't afford food. How she came to this conclusion, I've never understood, maybe I looked homeless or something, should probably pay more attention to how I dress, eh? :)  I tried to tell her that I have enough money for food, so she asked me how much I earned. Well, I earned minimum wage and she said that was not enough. I said I had savings and started getting a bit angry, because clearly she thought I was not telling the truth. She said she'd contact social services and get me some help, which I absolutely forbade her from doing. I tried to calm myself down and explain that this really wasn't about money, I had enough of it. For example, I was at the hospital with my laptop, if I couldn't afford food, I probably would not have a laptop right? In the end she got all teary-eyed and said she was just concerned about me, since I was such a sweet child (I was 30). I was still at the hospital when her shift ended and she came to personally say goodbye to me and as I mentioned in my previous entry, kissed me on the cheek and said if she could, she would adopt me :D

Needless to say this was one of the most bizarre experiences I've had in the U.S, and I've often wondered why she thought that my emaciated state was due to lack of access to food. Maybe this was a "common" problem among expectant mothers, which is a really disturbing thought. In the county where we lived, 13,8% of the population lives below poverty level, so I guess there was a chance I was so poor that I couldn't afford food. And I was unmarried at the time, and foreign, so chances of me being among the poorest of poor were probably higher. In the end I came to the conclusion that she was just a very caring person, who thought I was much younger than I was, and my skeletal state alarmed her quite a bit. Maybe she was just not accustomed to seeing people this thin, since obesity is a problem in Nebraska. Either way, it was a really strange incident, one that I'm not likely to forget.

To end this rambling blog post (I've been feverish as you can probably tell) on a happier note, I might add that we did indeed find a new playschool for our little man and despite bringing home the annoying stomach bug, he really likes it there :)

Wishing everyone a wonderful, and healthy, week!

Random Tuesdays 01/29/2013

A not so random fact on Random Tuesdays: our wonderful lil man turns 3 this week! Husband and I both feel ever so lucky to be the parents of such a fine young man, we are so proud of him! He was 3 days old when this photo was taken :)

Daycare anxiety

I've been lucky enough to be raised by a mom, who could stay at home and could choose whether or not to put us to daycare. My Mom was able to work from home and hence didn't have to worry about the obvious financial problems that arise, when you do decide to stay at home. I'm not as lucky and have started the hunt for a decent daycare spot for our lil man. And I do so with a heavy heart.

According to one of my Nebraskan friends (a single man) I'm clingy, since I haven't already whisked my kid to a daycare. I admit that the thought of my child being raised by someone else, someone that certainly doesn't have the time to focus on my child particularly and does not care as much as I do, causes me anxiety.  I think the anxiety comes partly from the fact that I've never been to a public daycare facility and have no idea how things really work there.

I wouldn't call myself clingy though. I have no problem parting with our little man twice a week. He goes to my Mom's once a week, so I can write my thesis/attend MBA classes and he also attends university daycare once a week. The university daycare is nothing like the usual daycare facilities. They have two caregivers and  max 6 children at a time. The place is very home-like and the caregivers are really welcoming. They don't go outside or do trips though, but since it's only once a week, that's fine. Lil man is always happy to go there, so I'm assuming he is having a good time.

If only the local daycare facilities would be the same. Unfortunately that is not the case, they are huge with lots of children and few caregivers. I would rather put our little man to a private Montessori daycare, but there's none nearby. And the problem with the nearby public daycare is that it is completely full, so our lil man might not even fit there. In that case I have no idea where the city will place our lil man.

Daddy holding two-day-old little miracle

Edit. It seems blogger published this unfinished entry earlier than I meant it to be, so I'll vent more on this issue later :) 

Hope everyone is having a great week!

What's in a name?

When we were choosing names for our lil man, I did a lot of research on names. I looked up websites, where people had written about their experiences being named so and so, had they been bullied, did people often misspell their name etc. I started my search for the perfect name from one of the top 100 America's baby names sites. I chose all the names that would be pronounced about the same in both Finnish and English. Then I checked that they didn't mean anything funny and I also checked the initials. I didn't want our child to be ridiculed, because his parents made a bad choice naming him. I tried to be really careful, although I know there is a great chance that at some point our lil man tells us that he hates the name :) Luckily he has three names to choose from! 

The reason why I was being very careful was, of course, the fact that I have a name that got made fun of. Not too much, but enough to make me double-check things before naming my child :) The people who joked about my name, probably felt it was harmless teasing. No one ever aggressively bullied me and the joking around ended pretty soon after elementary school. While in general I like my name, I wanted to make sure my son doesn't have to face as many jokes made about his name. When my parents chose my name, they obviously knew it was an "edible" name in English, but they didn't think it would matter. My dad actually loved the name even before I was even born. He named his first sailboat that. So later, I got named after my dad's sailboat haha.

(Even though I made a huge effort to find a good name for our lil man, I met someone whose dog had the exact same name. I think lil man won't mind though :)

After moving to the U.S to go to college, my former Finnish last name (I now have my husband's American one) became the interesting factor about my name. People would often presume things based on my names, or wonder where the name came from. For example, once when I was at a doctor's office, the nurse who called me in looked really surprised, even speechless. She apologized and said she was really dumbfounded when she saw me, because based on my name she had expected an Asian patient. The doctor himself asked me if I had some Italian heritage, since my last name sounded Italian to him. When I told him it was a fairly common Finnish last name, he asked me if I'd ever been to Finland. Well, maybe a couple of times :)

My first name also got some attention. My dorm roommate in Nebraska assumed I was African American based on my first name. It was a bit of a surprise to her when she finally met the blonde Finnish girl :) We'd never talked before we moved in, because my roommate had been busy all summer riding horses and hadn't checked her email. Luckily we got on great!

A while back, Finn For Life posted about "pseudo-names" in her blog. She wrote about how foreign people order coffee from Starbucks and give the cashier a pseudo-name, which the cashier can easily write down. A bunch of my foreign friends did this in the U.S. Some of my Indian friends shortened their long names in to T.J or Mac. Other friends of mine made up entirely new names to themselves, that sounded bit like the original version. For example the Finnish name Jaakko became Jake etc. I also know that some foreign people Americanize their names when they get U.S citizenship, since getting jobs and dealing with everyday issues is easier if you don't have to spell your long name several times before it's written down correctly. During my work placement class in Nebraska, the instructor recommended this Americanization to some of us. She said she wished she didn't have to, but she thought some of us would have better chance of getting an interview, if the company knew how to pronounce our names easily. 

Have any of you ever had trouble with your names when abroad? Have people guessed where you're from based on your name and gotten it all wrong? I'd love to hear your stories :)

pics from weheartit.com

Hope everyone is having a fabulous week!

Random Tuesdays 02/28/2012

Two years ago I became a Mom, and I'm so proud to be one :) I already posted a photo of him as a newborn, so here's the light of our lives at 27 weeks of gestation. Already a handsome lil man ;)

Babies! - what was it like to have one in the United States :) pt IV - the baby and more hospital stuff

I never went into labor, so I can't tell the usual stories about how much labor contractions hurt etc. I did have contractions for many many weeks though, so I have a pretty good idea how the bigger ones must feel like. I spent many nights awake counting the contractions and hoping I wouldn't have the baby just yet. Well, I made it to 8 months and like my nurse said, I should be proud :) And I am proud of my lil man, who clearly is a fighter!

In the end he did show up very suddenly. My husband (then boyfriend) had gone home for the weekend, when I had to be taken to the hospital once again. I talked to husband and told him I'll be fine, little did I know haha. It turned out that I was not fine and I was told I was in such a huge risk of having a seizure (due to high blood pressure) that the baby was going to be born in 20 mins. I told them very adamantly that no he isn't, but for some reason they didn't listen to me ;) While they were preparing the O.R, I quickly called husband (who was 7 hrs drive away) and then called my roommate to come to the hospital, so someone would be there for me and take photos. At that time I was living with a couple of male roommates, all aged 21 :) They were the sweetest guys ever, who probably hadn't in their wildest dreams imagined that they'd be seeing a baby born at that point of their lives :) Anyways, one of my roommates did make it and was there with me the whole time, until my husband got there (about 4 hours after the baby was born, he drove fast!). I have to say I could not asked for a better roommate! He handled the surgery like a champ and took amazing photos too!

There's not a whole lot to tell about the c-section. I told them I wanted to see as much as I could and I didn't want any restraints, since I'm a very calm person (they sometimes put restraints during the surgery, so you won't move since you are not under full anesthesia). I got an epidural and then felt a little tugging and pulling and there was the cutest baby boy ever :) My roommate took photos of the surgery and then followed the nurses who took care of the baby, while I was taken to the recovery room. The c-section was not painful in any way and I was given plenty of painkillers to remove any pain I had afterwards. In fact, I declined the painkillers most of the time, since I didn't feel the need for them. The nurses thought I was a real trooper, but to be honest, it was not that painful. Within 12 hours of the surgery I was up and walking, albeit very slowly :) I never had any trouble recovering from the c-section and the only reminder of it is a small scar.

The hospital had excellent services, the nurses were very helpful and they always had time for me. If I needed them, they were always a phone call away. The hospital also had a lactation consultant who helped me to start breastfeeding the baby. She was a gem, I had all these silly questions and she answered them with patience :) The consultant was also just a phone call away and I think she was probably my favorite of all the staff members, she was so caring! The hospital also had excellent room service, so whenever I was hungry, I could just call and order. The menu had a variety of meals to choose from (appetizer, main course, dessert, non-alcoholic drinks) and as a vegetarian I was happy to notice they had several different vegetarian dishes as well. There was a separate night menu in case you got hungry in the middle of the night. Once a day the dessert cart came by and I could choose a piece of cake. They had super-yummy cheese- and chocolate cakes among others. So I was being well fed :)

When the baby was about a day old, a administrative person came to my room to fill in the baby's information, including his name. In the U.S the babies often have names before they're born and I was being very "secretive" according to my friends when I didn't tell them what I was going to name the baby as :) I did announce the name right after he was born though and I recall the nurses asking me the baby's name while I was still in the O.R! The babies are often officially named at the hospital, so they can have their birth certificates and social security numbers as soon as possible. You can wait to name your baby afterwards as well, but if I understood correctly the baby won't be able to get an insurance or social benefits until he or she is named. I think majority of parents name their baby officially at the hospital.

I was at the hospital for 3 days, which was the maximum time the insurance would pay, some insurances allow even less hospital time. I think some women leave the hospital the next day, since they have to pay certain percentage of their hospital bills themselves. Unfortunately my baby didn't weigh enough to be discharged at 3 days, so he had to stay there for a few more nights. The insurance did pay for one extra night for me to stay at the hospital as a "hotel guest" though, which meant that I could sleep in my room, but couldn't use the room service and the nurses would no longer attend to me. That was fine with me since I was feeling much better by then. After that I had to leave, so I went home for the nights and when I woke up I went straight to the hospital to be with my little man. He was discharged a few days later and has been fine ever since :)

After we got home, I had a nurse from the hospital come by and check up on him once and after that my nurse from the first time moms programs continued her visits, which was really nice since otherwise I was home alone with a newborn baby after a major surgery :) There are no paternity leaves in the U.S so husband had to go back to work right away. And maternity leave is pretty nonexistent as well.
We also continued seeing our primary care physician, who took care of everything. All in all having a baby in Nebraska was a pleasant experience. The quality of health care was excellent and health care professionals bedside manners were just from another planet compared to some of their Finnish counterparts I've met. A very stressful and complicated pregnancy turned into an easy birth and now I have a wonderful little man brightening my life :)

The precious outcome at the age of 1 week:)

Is there anything else you'd like to know about having a baby in the U.S? Please feel free to leave me questions in the comments box, I'll try my best to answer :)

Pt I, Pt II, Pt III, Pt IV

Babies! - what was it like to have one in the United States :) pt III - classes and hospital + a baby shower

Before I got pregnant, I didn't really know much about babies. I'd never even held one in my whole life! So I figured it was time to educate myself by taking a couple of classes. My insurance covered a birthing class and baby care class. I think they normally cost like $65/class. My insurance also covered a baby car seat fitting in which they also gave a car seat for the car (!). Besides these two classes I also attended an 8-week baby care class organized by the local anti-abortion organization out of curiosity (I'm very pro-choice by the way, but not pro-abortion).

I did not learn that much at the anti-abortion baby care class, but I got to meet other moms, most of them very low income women. Most of us were in our 20s, I assume, but there was also this 12-14 year old girl there, with her mom. I have to admit that I felt really bad for her, whoever got her pregnant should be jailed, she seemed so fragile. Good thing she had a very supportive mother. A couple of the moms seemed to be there because some legal trouble had required them to, they were not first time moms. Husband (then boyfriend) and I found this class to be very eye opening, we really started considering ourselves privileged to be able to have such a secure life. The class discussed raising children, financial matters and the organization also provided the moms-to-be with baby furniture, baby clothes, diapers etc. Despite being very critical about these anti-abortion organizations, this one seemed to care about the well-being of the babies after they were born as well. The lady that ran the class was very sympathetic and understanding of the moms situations. She really cared for the women and tried to help them in every way she could.

The paid classes had higher income parents and the low income parents were noticeable absent. I think my husband was one of the few guys attending the free classes at the organization, but the paid classes had both parents there. The childbirth class was an express one, 16 hours of childbirth education in one weekend! They had longer ones too, but husband's work schedule didn't allow us to take one of those. This express one was really enough for us, since I never did go through labor. Basically we introduced everyone, watched dvds (really gross ones I have to say haha) and practiced lamaze breathing and other relaxation techniques. None of this ever came in handy, since I ended up having that emergency c-section. The only thing this class did, was make really scared of childbirth :D The baby care class was more useful, we learned a lot about caring for the baby and also baby CPR, which I found very important to learn about. The class was attended by both parents and we got our designated baby dolls to practice with :) We also got this rather good booklet about baby care, which I read afterwards several times. Both of these classes were held at the Catholic hospital, but religion was never mentioned.

The hospital also had free arranged tours for parents-to-be, so we attended one. I didn't really need to because I had already been there so many times, but it was good for husband to see the place. A lot of the parents attending were there to shop for a hospital as in they were trying to decide, which hospital to have their baby in. This was kind of a sales pitch for the hospital staff and they gave all sorts of brochures praising the hospital and a thank you gift (a photo frame) for coming to check out the hospital. The hospital's baby center was really nice and
home-y. The birthing rooms had a jacuzzi, a tv, a couch, recliners etc. and lots of room to walk around. There was a room service you could call to order foods and also a kitchen for the dads to snack from (it had coffee, soft drinks, milk, ice cream, jello, crackers, soups etc.) There were separate wings for birthing rooms and recovery rooms. All of them were private, so no one had to share a room at any point. The corridors were quiet, in fact I never saw or heard other moms while I was a patient in there. I just saw their babies through the nursery window :)

Since I didn't know much about babies in general, I had never been to a baby shower either. When my friends suggested they'd plan one for me, I was a little hesitant. I don't like being the center of attention and I didn't really know what they were about. Turns out the baby shower was a lot of fun! We played different games, for example a baby food quiz, and enjoyed good foods. The baby also got a ton of presents, including toys, clothes and diapers. I think moms-to-be have baby showers in Finland these days as well, although none of my mommy-friends have chosen to have one.

Stay tuned for the last part... :)

Our room at the hospital

Tired husband sleeping on the couch :)

Pt I, Pt II, Pt III, Pt IV

Babies! - what was it like to have one in the United States :) pt II - doctors and nurses

There are no health care centers specifically meant for pregnant women in Nebraska, like they do in Finland ("neuvola") In fact there are no public health centers like there are in Finland at all. Instead a pregnant mother is taken care of by a primary care physician, your own doctor, or a gynecologist throughout the pregnancy. Since I was on state insurance, I didn't really get to choose my doctor. I did get to choose whether I wanted a male or a female doctor, and I chose the latter. I was, once again, lucky and my doctor was amazing. She worked in this Christian health care center, but she was in no way judgmental, and in fact very culturally educated and open-minded. All her babies were born in the nearby Catholic hospital, which is where I had my baby as well. And no, I'm not Catholic and I'm not overly religious either, but this was never a problem. Being foreign was not a problem either, only once the nurse that called me in looked really dumbfounded and said that she is very surprised to see that I'm white, since judging by my name she was expecting an Asian patient :D Just to be clear, I had one of those usual Finnish last names at that point :)

All my doctor's visits, which I had about once a month, were pretty much the same. They checked my weight, took a urine sample, checked my blood pressure, listened to the baby's heartbeats and asked me how I was doing, did I need anything etc. My doctor always had plenty of time for me, answered all my questions and remembered who I was and what had happened before. She also sent me to a specialist from early on, since I had complications and they worked together. I ended up having my baby only a month too early, probably thanks to them. The nurse that did home visits told me afterwards that she never thought I would make it to 8 months, so that's how complicated my pregnancy was. So besides my doctor's visits I had nurse, through a program for first time moms, visiting me every month during my early pregnancy and then every two weeks in my last trimester. With her we went through everything there was to know about being pregnant (nutrition, development, warning signs etc.), childbirth, and about taking care of a baby. She brought me brochures and we watched dvds and talked about what it was like being pregnant, and what it was like to become a mom. She was just amazing and I'm so glad I had her as my nurse. I'm especially glad that she was around to talk to since none of my friends in the U.S were pregnant or had children. She visited us once a week for a while after I had the baby as well. She basically weighed the baby and we talked about how to take care of him and how I was feeling. I really wish all first time moms had such an understanding and knowledgeable person to talk to, I don't know what I would've done without her.

The hospital nurses were really friendly as well, some of them overly friendly. I look quite a bit younger than I am (at least compared to my American peers) and often the nurses assumed that I was a teenager, especially since I was not married at the time. I was hospitalized several times during my pregnancy, so I met quite an array of nurses. They were all these smiling warm people that took my condition seriously. One of them seemed to take quite the liking to me, probably since she thought I was really young, and as I was leaving home she came and hugged me with tears in her eyes and said she would adopt me if she could :-) A lot of the nurses were wondering where my Mom was and why I was in the U.S without my parents. One of the nurses was also very concerned about my school, now that I had a baby. I told her I plan on staying home with the baby for a while and she told me that "you know, it's really difficult to go back to school if you drop out now" :D No one ever asked me what I did for living and just assumed I must be in school.

All in all the health care professionals were caring and knowledgeable people (although perhaps a bit naive...) and I felt like I was in good hands. And in case anyone was wondering, the Catholic part of the hospital could only be seen in the crucifixes on the walls, the health care professionals did not mention religion ever. A priest visited my room once and asked if I wanted to discuss bringing my child up as a Christian, but as I was not Catholic, I didn't feel the need for it. I was also visited by a Lutheran volunteer, an elderly lady, who brought some pictures I could hang on the nursery's wall. She also asked if I wanted my congregation to be notified of my child's birth, but when hearing it was in Finland she smiled and said she'd let me do that :-)

To be continued... :)

Helping a minutes old baby :)

Crucifix in the room we stayed in with our newborn baby

Pt I, Pt II, Pt III, Pt IV

Babies! - what was it like to have one in the United States :) pt I - costs and insurance

One of my friends suggested I'd write about having a baby in the good ol' U.S of A. No worries, this won't be one of those TMI birth stories, just a description of what happened.

A lot of my friends in Finland have asked me how was it different from having a baby in Finland and to be honest, I really have no idea! I've never had a baby in Finland, nor do I really plan to. My friends have told me something about their experiences and judging by those I'd definitely choose Nebraska over Finland. That is, if I had the money to choose...

Having a baby in the United States is extremely expensive. Even with a really good insurance you'll probably end up paying quite a bit for having the baby. I have to say that I was one of the really lucky ones and got state insurance due to my low income. I was working as an archivist/conservationist when I got pregnant and only had travel insurance from Finland and grad student medical insurance from the University. Neither of these two covered a normal pregnancy; the travel insurance covered complications, but not for example a normal childbirth. The university insurance considered pregnancy like any other disease (yup, that's what they told me), 20% co-pay and there was also a limit to the costs. Before someone says "why didn't you get a better insurance, if you knew you were getting pregnant!", I'll admit that getting pregnant was a huge surprise for me, I'm one of the 2-3%. But it was a happy surprise, I didn't know I wanted to have children until I got pregnant :) As for getting a better insurance than my current ones, it wasn't really an option. I had a pre-existing condition (pregnancy) and no commercial health insurance company was going to accept me.

After I found out I was pregnant, I planned on returning to Finland. I planned on working for a few more months and then flying back. Turns out I had one of those extremely complicated pregnancies, spent majority of it hugging the toilet/plugged into an IV/in bedrest. My doctor told me that I was under no circumstances allowed to fly, so I was stuck. Luckily the state of Nebraska at that time was extremely lenient when it came to cases like mine. I got the limitless state insurance, because my baby would be a U.S citizen when born on American soil (to an American father as well I might add). Now I was incredibly lucky, because right after I had my baby, the state changed it's policy and no foreign person, pregnant or not, is anymore eligible to the state insurance. Previously only pregnant women were eligible, since they were giving birth to future citizens, whose medical bills became the state's problem after they were born. And as everyone knows, good prenatal case helps to lower healthcare costs after birth. The policy was changed due to political reasons, since "undocumented immigrant women were having babies with taxpayers money". What the general public failed to understand was that once these babies were born, taxpayers would pay the healthcare costs anyways and would end up paying more, since there would be more problems with these babies, who had not received prenatal care. But this is a political issue I might tackle at another time.

So I got the state insurance, which was a very good thing, since the hospital I had my baby in estimated that the costs were over $50 000, probably closer to $100 000. So when I say it's expensive to have a baby in the U.S, I mean it's ridiculously expensive. Obviously a normal childbirth does not cost this much. Unfortunately I had to stay at the hospital multiple times during my pregnancy and had ultrasounds every month and on my last trimester, every week, sometimes twice a week. I had serious blood pressure problems and prolonged nausea, which caused me to be stick thin. In fact I was so thin, that when I had to have an x-ray, the nurse asked me if there was any chance I was pregnant. I was eight months pregnant and had the baby the same day :-) And in order to kill the possible suspense right here, I ended up having a perfectly healthy (tall and skinny) baby boy :)

Basically the state insurance (also known as Medicaid) paid for everything, including cab rides to the hospital/clinic. I would just order a cab 24hrs before my appointment and they'd come and pick me from my doorstep. This was a necessity, since I didn't have a driver's license and there was no public transportation to speak of.

I decided to publish this entry in four parts, so to be continued... :)

It's a boy!

Pt I, Pt II, Pt III, Pt IV

Why don't friends with kids have time?

When I was expecting our bundle of joy, I figured I'd go back to work after 9 months. I figured I'd go crazy if I didn't. I was a homemaker in Germany for a while (without children) and it almost drove me nuts. Idleness does not suit me. What I didn't realize was that Moms are not idle, quite the contrary :) The lil man keeps me so busy I haven't had time to finish my thesis. My friends, who don't have kids, wonder what on earth am I doing every day. I confess, that's exactly what I wondered when I didn't have kids. I figured they were just lazying at home or something haha. I wish I had read the following Washington Post article back then, it pretty much explains it all:

In Finland we have this amazing maternity leave system, the government basically gives you money to stay home with your child until they're 3. Not a whole lot of money after 9 months, not enough to pay a mortgage, but enough to buy food etc. And it goes without saying that you don't have to stay at home, we have a very affordable daycare system too. In the United States, the system is quite the opposite. You usually get 6 weeks unpaid, and if you come back, you might even get to keep your job (yes, that's my attempt at sarcasm:). Quality daycare is super expensive, in fact daycare cost more than I earned as an archivist, so I didn't even dream of going back to work, nor did I want to. Here's my controversial two cents: I don't understand why people have kids, if they take them to full time daycare at 6 weeks. I mean accidents/surprises happen, and I admire people who take responsibility, but at the same time most of the time having children is a planned thing. If you don't have money/time to be with your children at least until they're 1, why have them? Perhaps I don't understand the biological need some people have to reproduce, and that at the same time they don't have the need to raise their own children. I will also never understand women (aside from those with health issues) who take their young, under 3-year-old, kids to full-time daycare, but stay at home as stay-at-home-moms. In my opinion, stay-at-home moms take care of their own kids. My controversial two cents ends :)

I contemplated long whether to post this entry or not, since it could be understood the wrong way. So as an end note I'd like to point out that I do not think ill of people who put their kids to daycare at 6 weeks and go to work, I just don't understand them. We all make our own choices. Also, I'm definitely NOT saying going to daycare is bad for children, I'm just wondering why parents make certain choices. My husband was put to daycare at 6 weeks and he turned out fine :)

P.S I voted :)