The Silver Lining

Day three drop off at daycare went much smoother. There were no tears all day, and we got there just in time for "music time." Abby got a drum to bang on, so she was occupied from the start. I think that had a lot to do with it. It was nice to leave and know that she was happy and content.

Now that my three days of meetings are over, I will have the rest of this week off and then all of next week, then I start back to work full time, which means that she will be at daycare full time. I hope that the week break doesn't put us back at square one on August 3rd. If it does, at least I know that it will get better. :)

After I picked her up, we went over to my aunt's house for a cookout. My cousins from Colorado were visiting, and it was their first time to meet Abigail. I was so ticked that I forgot my camera! There were a total of 12 of us there, and we had a good time! My little cousins Katy -14, Connor-11, Megan-10 and Brandon-7 were excellent with Abby. She really took to Megan!

Daycare is Killing Me!

This morning when I dropped off Abigail at daycare (my schedule got rearranged at yesterday's meeting and I have to go in for two more days of meetings), she started crying and reaching for me and saying, "Mama, mama, mama!". It broke my heart to leave the classroom with her so upset.

I knew that this would happen, especially since we have spent nearly the entire summer together 24/7, but that doesn't make it any easier. She's at the separation anxiety stage in her development, and we've been together quite a lot recently, but after picking her up crying yesterday and then leaving her crying today, I almost couldn't handle it! My brain was saying that she will be fine, it is normal, but my heart was telling me to run back in there and scoop her up!

I somehow managed to leave the building and go to work, but today I DID stop by during my lunch break unexpectedly to peek in on her and see what she was doing when the daycare didn't know I was coming by. She was sitting in the floor playing with another baby and smiling. The teacher said that she only cried for a little bit after I left (probably less than I did, ha!) and has been fine ever since. It was easier for me to go back to work this afternoon, but I still rushed out and raced over there to pick her up. This afternoon, she was happy to see me again, but no tears. She even waved bye-bye to the teacher and to her new friend, Logan B., who also waved bye-bye to her. (Okay, so that was cute.)

Whew, I certainly hope the worst of it is over.

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!

Children, Children Everywhere!

Sometimes I go to the babycenter.com website and read posts from other mothers who have babies that were born in November 2008, the same time as Abby. It's a great resource for any questions I may have.

A few days ago, there was a lot of talk about a place called The Little Gym - it is a gym for tiny people, ages 4 months until 12 years (I think). After reading so much about it, I decided to look one up and see if there was one in my area, and good news - there are several! I looked at the programs and saw that Abby could take a parent/child class for babies 4 months - 10 months. A class called "Bugs". We decided to try it out today. It was incredibly fun! The class started off with singing and clapping; we did jumps, walking, running, scissor kicks, wheelbarrows, upside down meet and greet, played with the parachute, played with balls of all sizes and textures, and had "mat" time. We got Abigail to do somersaults and backflips! It was fun for both of us. She liked the parachute, bubbles and balls the most. She squealed and laughed the whole time! I liked her interacting with other babies her age and the fact that we had a safe place for her to try new activities--together. There were actually two babies there who are only three days younger than her (different families, not twins), and it was nice to talk to their mothers. Plus, it gave me a lot of great ideas of things I can do with Abby at home. We will definitely go back! http://www.thelittlegym.com/Pages/parent-child.aspx

After that, we went to GP to tour/interview a day care center. I had already done research online (to look at reports of investigations, deficiencies of a daycare or in-home baby sitter listed with the state, go to http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Child_Care/Search_Texas_Child_Care/ppFacilitySearchDayCare.asp or google Search Child Care Texas), gotten parent referrals, driven by and reviewed the curriculum. All I needed was to see it for myself and to talk to the director/teachers. When I got there, I was very pleased. The campus director let me watch all the classrooms, not just the infant room to see how everyone interacted at all levels. Abigail will be in the same classroom with two fellow teachers' children. Fun!

The director was very informative and answered all my questions during our 1.5 hour tour/interview -- I was thorough with the questions. Plus, she was very nice. After I left, I timed it to my new school - 6 minutes. Nice! I guess Abigail will be attending that school come August. Just gotta get the paperwork in, because they only have one infant slot left!