One of the most challenging decisions new mothers make is deciding when it is okay to leave their newborn with others.
Canadian journalist Rebecca Eckler received first-hand experience when she decided to leave her newborn with her fiancé’s mother and nanny to take a 10 week vacation.
“My fiancé runs a charity golf tournament every summer in Mexico,” Eckler said. “I will be tagging along, not to golf, but to lie around, read, visit the spa, and eat a lot of guacamole.”
Eckler, who wrote about her experience on Mommyish.com found that her vacation time was beneficial for both her and her baby.
“A happy mom makes a happy child and you know your child better than anyone else.”
She proudly declared on the website: “Yes, I’m ditching my baby….I think that, even from his early age, I’m teaching him a sense of independence.”
Not everyone could empathize with Eckler’s choice.
“When my daughter was young, spending a night away would have been more stressful than relaxing,” said fellow Mommyish.com blogger Lindsay Cross.
Another blogger went as far to call Eckler “self-indulgent.” They posted that “if you need a weekend away after only 10 weeks, you weren’t ready to become parents.”
Although this is Eckler’s second child she did admit that the first time she left her oldest was tough.
“I spent my night looking at photographs of her, calling my parents every 30 minutes to see if she was all right,” she said. “But I was a first-time mother then.”
“Nine months of pregnancy is a very long time and is very hard on a woman’s body,” she said. “Pretty much by two weeks, in I think most women actually do need a vacation.”
