New Daycare Success!

Our son has been at a new daycare for about a month and a half. Its been a relief that he's (usually) excited to go in the morning and wants to stay in the late afternoon. We've found ourselves immediately able to trust the new teachers and learn from them, too.

I was worried about packing his lunch for the first time and remembering the new, seemingly complicated routine. We quickly got acclimated and we're happy to report that he's been eating the packed lunches. Of course I still worry about everything (like, if he eats 100% of his lunch, does that mean I didn't pack enough?)

The first few weeks were a little tricky as our son became comfortable with the new people and environment. And then the daycare was closed for a week for cleaning, which made the return yet another transition.  But now we're there for good, or at least a few years. It is a relief to know that he's safe and the teachers there are taking good care of him.

Phew. Onto the next transition(s).

Thank you to River Road Montgomery Child Care Association

The Maples' painted garden

On Monday, our bambino started to transition to a new daycare closer to home. We're both back to ground zero as he acclimates (more on that soon), but also so much further along than that first day he attended Montgomery Child Care Association's River Road Center. We will truly miss everyone at River Road who took such good care of all three of us, from our son's presence in the classroom to a certain nervous mamma's regular calls in the beginning.

We want to thank the creative and attentive teachers at River Road for caring for our bambino these last seven months. He learned so much, including sitting in a toddler-sized chair with his friends to eat lunch, which seemed like an insurmountable task at first. He really loved working on group art projects with his group, the Maples. He learned so many new words and actions and tasted new foods, like peas and lemons, that he asks for at home now. We've grown, too, watching him and learning from the teachers, his peers and other parents.

Thank you, all. We'll miss you and never forget our bambino's first school. 

Daycare Update: Week 3

Group Daycare Art

The first day I dropped off our bambino at daycare he cried. Hard. One of the caretakers said she’d bring him to the window to wave as I left. I hurried down the stairs and out the door only to see my child reaching for me through the window while crying hysterically in another woman’s arms. I held back the tears until I turned away. Like my son, who understood less about daycare no matter how much we explained, I was in a full panic.

Our son continued to cry hysterically when one of us dropped him off or picked him up. Then he stayed home sick for a few days and we started the next week with the same crying.

Somehow, by mid-week of the second week, he didn’t cry when we dropped him off. He wasn’t smiling, but he seemed ok. What a relief that he was finally getting comfortable and enjoying his time with the other kids and the caretakers.

We received written and verbal reports about how the 18-36 month olds made a group ball polar bear with cotton balls, hand prints and other (messy) things we’d never tried at home. I was told that he tasted some new foods, like oranges (which he refused at home), chicken teriyaki and sloppy joes. He sat in his chair next to the other kids to eat. He was sleeping (there was photographic proof!) on a cot while all the kids napped and particularly enjoyed dancing to music and reading books.

Between calling the daycare to check up on him, I’ve been catching up on work and the endless things on my to-do list that I put off these last 18 months. I even caught up with a few friends and saw the El Greco exhibit at the National Gallery.

“Me-time” may have evolved into a glossy magazine cliché, but it is vital. We all need time to be ourselves, as well as parents, spouses and workers (in my case, teacher.) And artists need time to work on their art, both the creation and the business side of it (submitting, etc.) I have just started to think and draft a few lines that may become the next writing project and that feels impossibly wonderful.

While I still feel guilty for (what sometimes feels like) abandoning my son, I know he’s learning new skills, including navigating relationships with other grownups and children, and having fun, too. And this mamma of a child who doesn’t sleep for 8 consecutive hours at night needs time to be a better person and in turn, mamma.

Daycare Playdates: I didn't skip them after all

I was thinking about skipping the daycare playdates last week.

My son's nap was too short the first day, so that seemed like a good excuse. (He can't possibly go sleepy!) Then he bumped his head and cried a little. (He needs the comfort of his mamma! At home!) I closed the living room window and slammed my fingers into the baby guard (I can't drive injured!) After we finally got ourselves buckled into the car,  I made a few wrong turns on the way to the daycare. (Oh, well. Can't find it!) But, then we made it the first day. On a gloriously colorful fall day.

I wanted to hate it.

I wanted to come home to my husband - in the dark at 5:30 pm - with a long list of good reasons why our son should always be home with me, even if that meant it would continue to be hard for me to teach, write and otherwise do, well, most things.

But it was great. Predictably, our bambino had some happy moments, some clingier moments and some, well, mundane moments. And so did I. At one point he patted me on the back and walked away. I didn't cry; at least not in front of him.

The kids sat in toddler-sized chairs and ate crackers and drank water out of plastic cups. Our bambino stood behind his seat and looked at the other kids in wonder. Or maybe that wasn't wonder and he was thinking, "Why would you guys do that? You don't have to do anything they say," as he leaned over the tiny seat to grab another fistful of crackers.

They sang songs, danced, marched, played with blocks and trucks and then went out to the gated playground under the trees. The teachers call the kids "friends," and kept encouraging the kids to play with their "new friend," our bambino. The teachers were super considerate, attentive and nice. (I can't even imagine working with eight emotional toddlers exploring the world without too many words with which to express their frustration, all day for days on end. I'm already thinking about holiday gifts.)

So, I guess we'll go back this week for playdates through December. And then he'll start full-time.

Full time? Most likely. You know, I'm keeping my options open.

But I'm also thinking about seeing movies and having lunches with friends. (At least, I think I still have friends to meet for lunch after not seeing them for so long.) I need to focus on working and writing, of course - all during nap time, snack time and awake time. Even during the bambino's awake time. Amazing.

Daycare Deadline

bambino on his way to independence...

Our son starts full time daycare on Dec. 1st.

Dec. 1st isn't that far away.

This deadline has been looming for some time. It is both a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel and a terrifying moment. Our son needs more stimulation and social activity than either of us can offer him, even with all of the library programs we take him to, and I need more time to teach and write. It is obviously the right choice, but I still feel conflicted about it.

We've chosen a lovely center where friends sent one child and will be sending another who will soon be in our son's class. It is a well-lit location with experienced teachers and we'll be able to attend with him twice a week the month before for "playdates" so that we all become accustomed to it (although I do imagine the smallest one in the family will acclimate the quickest.)

I have long lists of things to do starting on Dec. 1st, but I'll probably sit in my car nearby the first day or two and cry. Or eat Cheetos. And cry. My little baby, who will be 18 months, will be (somewhat) grown up and have his own world with his own friends. Sure, there's a weekly newsletter and we'll receive more reports than we will know what to do with, but... he'll be taking his first steps into a new world.

Our sitters sometimes take him to the playground and local parks. The other day, I took him to a playground and a mother whom I didn't recognize said hello to my son by name. He'd already met them one day when he was out with a sitter. I suppose he is already starting to live independently of us.

I intellectually understand that independence is the goal, but it is still an adjustment from the needs of a tiny peanut whom we held in our arms most of the day 16 months ago. Don't tell the daycare, but I'm hoping to sometimes play hooky from work and take him out for surprise adventures. That is, until he tells me he'd rather be with his friends in daycare.