My husband says our toddler is ready for daycare, but I’m not

"This is the first thing we can’t agree on, and neither of us is willing to budge."

I’ve heard it so many times.

Blink and your baby will be graduating high school.

Before you know it, she’ll be getting married.

Life goes so quickly and soon, she’ll be having her own babies.

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Time is flying by

Our little girl is a week shy of 14 months old, and I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have been able not to have to put her in daycare yet.

I work part-time during the evenings from home, and my sister (who, by an absolute stroke of magic, had a baby six weeks after me), helps me before hubby gets home to take over.

Over the last year, it seems time has gone by at warp speed, but in some sort of vacuum where looking back at photos from months ago seems like such a distant memory– a lack of sleep and waking multiple times a night is probably the culprit.

I don’t want to miss a thing

Whenever she sees another person, her face lights up, and she loves babbling away and playing no matter their age or whether they are interested in indulging her waving or not- although she usually wins them over in the end.

She loves being around people, but I love being around her, and I have this awful idea that if I give her away every day, we will lose that incredible bond we both share.

It’s not that I’m overprotective and expect her to live with me until she’s 45, but with time shooting past quickly, I’m worried she’s growing so fast that I’ll miss it.

I’ll only have this time with her once, and it’s so precious to me and being away from her feels like a limb is missing.

These photos feel like they were taken yesterday and a lifetime ago.

Not seeing eye to eye

My husband, however, sees it in a whole different light.

“Daycare will be so good for her,” he tells me, probably on a nightly basis.

He typically rattles off the benefits of childcare, from boosting her immune system (like bringing gastro home on the regular is a selling point) to helping her learn independence and social skills.

He tells me his patients at work talk of how relaxed I’ll feel having time to myself, and I deserve to have some freedom.

But I think for him, having the tough job of leaving home each day to head to work will remain unchanged if she starts daycare, whereas I think I’ll be lost.

“She has no idea”

I’m imagining the comments people will have in their minds as they read this…

“Does she realise how privileged she is to be having this first-world problem?” 

Yes, I am aware of how incredibly lucky I am to be in this situation.

“Having time to yourself is the best thing ever!”

I just feel weird at the idea of me paying for her to go to daycare so I can relax on the couch and watch Grey’s Anatomy. 

“What should I have for dinner?”

Random question to wonder while reading this, but why not chicken tacos?

RELATED: I won't take my 3yo to daycare if my wife hasn't got him ready

They say time flies, so why wouldn't I try and get of much of it with her while she's so little?

I might be wr… wro… 

It appears my husband may be right– it’s a rare occurrence, but it does happen from time to time.

“Do you really think our daughter will love her daycare teacher more than you?!” he said through a chuckle.

Maybe we’ll start shopping around at local daycares to get a sense of what it’s actually like to help ease us into it– and by ease us, I mean me.

They say distance makes the heart grow fonder, so perhaps time apart will be good for both of us.

But until then, I’m going to keep appreciating every single day I have with her before she thinks I’m really uncool and embarrassing.

Originally published as My husband says our toddler is ready for daycare, but I’m not