Mommy on Alert!

Today was Abigail's first day of daycare. It really wasn't supposed to be until August 3rd, but I had a meeting at the ed center and didn't want to take Abigail, so I dropped her in for half a day so it wouldn't be a complete shock when she started staying there 8 hrs/day. (Yes, I ALREADY feel guilty about leaving her that long - or on some days longer, I am sure.)

First of all, it was such a challenge to even get out the door with all that stuff. Taking her to daycare is going to add about 15 minutes to my morning routine - 15 minutes I don't have. I guess that means I'll be getting up earlier. (Oh joy.) I dropped her off, went to my (short) meeting, then drove around and looked at houses, then worked on Abigail's first birthday party; I actually got a lot done! In between the looking for houses and the birthday party planning, I thought about stopping in on her at the daycare and just "peeking in" to see how she was doing, but I didn't. I called; they said she was fine, so I decided not to disturb her.

BUT, when I went to pick her up a little after lunch, I could hear her crying the moment I walked into the day care (okay, okay, so the infant room is near the entrance to the building -- so not the point!). I ran over, put on those little bootie things to cover my feet (policy for the infant room since the babies are on the floor) and ran in. As soon as she saw me, she literally started laughing and giggling and talking. She was INCREDIBLY happy.

As happy as I was to see her happy to see me, I was also a little concerned that she may have been unhappy all day. I'm going to be watching VERY closely these first few weeks. So what if they think I am a helicopter parent. It's my baby girl, and I will do everything I can to make sure she is safe and happy!