Fearing Returning Back to Work After Maternity

For many moms, we have to return to work after our maternity leave us up.  Some women are fortunate enough to be able to take a full 12 weeks off, but others can only take 6 weeks off.  Going back to work is very stressful for several reasons.  The main reason for me is the separation from my daughter.  You have to think, she has literally gone everywhere with me since day one.  She has gone to work with me, to the restroom with me, and has gone everywhere I have gone for the past ten months.  Being away from her for nine hours a day, breaks my heart.  Not only have we spent everyday the past ten months together, but we only got to spend a short six weeks getting to know each other.  Some mothers are very fortunate to be stay at home moms.
Another reason that I fear going back to work is not knowing how well my daughter is going to be taken care of at the babysitters.  I am having family friend watch her while I am at work, but I still worry.  Will the babysitter tend to her every need, or just let her sit there and cry in a dirty diaper?  Will she feed her the right breast milk and not formula?  What activities will they do?  The list can go on and on and on.  For any mother, trusting someone else to watch your child is one of the most difficult things to ask but has to be done.

Also, I fear that something may go wrong and when I drop her off at the babysitters, everything is out of my hands.  I HAVE to trust this woman, but I know that my first day back at work is going to be so difficult.  I am not fortunate enough to be a stay at home mom, but I try to look at it another way.  I am a hard working woman who goes to work everyday to provide a good life for my daughter.  Although we can not spend every moment of every day together, she does have food on the table, lights, water, and a mother who would do anything for her.