Daycare anxiety ??

The anxiety got better- it did take a while. I had originally planned to be home with baby for at least 6 months, but our situation changed and that wasn’t an option anymore. Dropping off my 3.5 month old for the first time I thought would kill me… and god it was hard those first few weeks, still is sometimes; as you put it, you’re handing over your whole world. It sounds dramatic but it was like a physical ache. But yes, it gets easier, particularly knowing you’re doing what you have to to provide for them and give them a stable life. And there have been huge benefits to daycare for me, particularly as a FTM with no ‘village’… I’ve gotten a lot of guidance when I needed it, particularly as she started reaching (and occasionally missing) milestones… having a grounded, experienced resource who knows her well is gold dust. And she’s ended up very well socialised (she’s 2 years 4 months now.) She learns a lot from the older kids and loves going there. Just hang in there - you’ll be okay.

My son’s daycare has a ton of cameras and a strict no-cell-phone policy. That made me feel a lot better than just leaving him with a random stranger because there was plenty of oversight in place.
When I first dropped him off, it was really hard to leave. He started screaming the moment we walked in. The daycare workers told me it was common and that a lot of babies get upset during their first few days because everything smells different and is unfamiliar.
Leaving him there while he was crying was incredibly difficult, but I did it. Thankfully, it got better with time. We also made sure to have plenty of one-on-one time together every evening when we got home.
It was especially hard because he was a Velcro baby, and the daycare had a policy of not holding children unless it was absolutely necessary. Even so, he adjusted, and things became much easier after few weeks.