I sent DS off to nursery this morning accompanied by a bottle of baby Nurofen (preferred to Calpol simply because of brilliant dosing syringe rather than trying to get spoons of medicine down 21 month old wriggler). He’s got a gunky cold and is extraordinarily grizzly, although it could also be the final set of molars coming through. Who knows.

Either way, he’s not really himself and the last couple of days have been very heavy going. (You know when they want to get up as soon you put them down, then down as soon as you pick them up, and the juice is the wrong sort in the wrong cup at the wrong temperature, and they are hungry but don’t want anything to eat and the ball is the wrong ball….)

Part of me felt tremendously guilty and selfish about this as I dropped him off with his lovely key worker – shurely I should be keeping my snotty boy at home and giving him lots of cuddles and stories all day? Plus if he is germy, it’s not fair to let him loose among other small children, right?

Another part of me said ‘I’ve got to work today. I need to get on with things. They’ll call if he’s really unwell. RUN!!!!’

Here’s my justification on the above points, your honour:

1. He’s a very cuddly boy but only when I’m lugging him around on my hip. He won’t sit still or sleep at home – he’s not actually ill, and is MUCH more clingy and moany at the moment with me than anyone else. He is happy at nursery and his key worker adores him. He gets loads of cuddles, and plenty of distraction and attention.

2. If it’s a cold, he probably picked it up from nursery in the first place. Exposure to low-level germiness is good for little immune systems. He’s had his swine flu jab so it’s not that. I have filled out a million forms so if he gets a temperature or is particularly grotty, he can have 5ml of ‘medsin’.

3. It’s one of my two and a half days a week in my home office. I need every hour. I have deadlines. I have lots of work to do for clients and I like my full work days immensely because they are, frankly, the only thing that keeps me sane and feeling like myself. If he was at home I’d still have to try and get some work done, which wouldn’t be fair on anyone. I’m only 10 minutes away, I work for myself and if I need to pick him up, of course I will (Never DH. But that’s another post).

So have you ever ‘dumped’ your child at nursery knowing they are probably not quite well enough? And then waited for the phone to ring…