Di, I agree whole heartedly with you. I never could have given my children away to go to work, and I find it hard to understand how any mother can do that. We lived on a very tight budget when our children were small, but we didn't care; as long as I could be home to raise our boys.

Our granddaughter is going through a fussy time right now, and I think only a mother or grandmother can take her little tantrums and slapping with a calm attitude. You need a lot of love to sometimes have the strength and understanding for some of the strenuous moments in child raising.

A Nanny or an Aupair doesn't love the child like a mother. I really don't know how they deal with the baby when it bites, kicks or just throws herself down in the middle of a store and has a tantrum. It's easy to love and enjoy a sweet bubbling baby, but how does a stranger deal with the hard disciplining moments? That would worry me the most as a mother.

Do you live very far from your DSD? Is it possible for you to at least check how the baby is taken care of? If you can do this, it might ease some of your worries.