I see a lot of people post about being afraid to leave their kiddos for an extended time to go give birth. I was one of those. I was never one to be away from my daughter. She was EBF, never took a bottle. I never took her to daycare or left her with a babysitter. I had let my mom watch her for a couple hours at a time a few times.

When I gave birth, she was 22 months old. I left her with my mom and sister. I also left them a 25 page manual on how to care for her. It included:

Her basic schedule and routine details

Meal protocols

Favorite food rankings

Bedtime/nap time/bath time routines

Disciplinary procedures

Illness protocols

A list of her words and signs and what they meant

Etc etc.

My husband made fun of me. Said I was crazy. I spent hours on it.

My mom and sister said they were so grateful for it. It helped keep her in her normal routine as best as possible, and made their job easier.

So, if you’re a weirdo helicopter, routine-oriented mom like me, I highly recommend creating a manual. 👍👍

I can’t post a picture because my pictures never work on here, but it’s a binder and is organized with tabs by section.