Daycare Thoughts

Ok, ok.  I know it.  I'm a bad blogger.  For those of you on my back about how it's been MONTHS since my last post, I counted.  It's been exactly 25 days.  So there.

I've had quite a few moments where I have thought, that would be a great idea for a post!  But then I get sucked back up into the task at hand, whether it is parent or school related, and I forget completely.  I'm going to start trying to keep a list.  You know I love lists.  I'm queen of post it notes at work, so I always have some handy to jot down ideas.  I'm going to try to get back into the at least one post a week mode.  Promise.

So, here are some thoughts about our first three weeks in day care!

1. Perhaps having Steve do drop off wasn't the best plan.  She LOVES getting there in the morning.  Crawls right in, goes to the teacher, plays.  Loves it.  She is often the first one there (but also the first one picked up!), and has a little one on one time with the teacher.  I like this because it gave her some time at the beginning to feel comfortable with her.

The problem is pick up.  Evelyn SCREAMS when she sees me.  It isn't that she doesn't like it there.  I know this because I peek in the door at her when I get there and she is loving life until the moment she sees me.  I can see the thoughts she is having.  "MOMMY!  You are so mean!  I didn't even REALIZE you were gone and how much I missed you until just now!"

2. The boys are making Evelyn quite daring.  We have gotten multiple "incident reports" for falls and bumps already.  It's because she is trying to stand up like the big boys do.  She climbs up to stand on the shelves.  She went from crawling to standing in days, and now is even moving between the couch and coffee table.

3. I don't want to talk about the day I forgot to put a nipple in her bag for the afternoon bottle...

4. The best part about daycare was when she immediately started sleeping through the night because she was so exhausted from all the playing and crawling and climbing she does all day.  Unfortunately that only lasted about a week and a half because then teething started (we have two bottoms!!).  On her first day she was completely passed out basically before I could strap her in the carseat:

5. A negative, her napping has gone seriously downhill.  Evelyn had just gotten into a great napping routine about a week before we started, and that has gone out the window.  She just can't get used to sleeping when all the other stuff is going on.  It makes for very short evenings with her.  :(

6. One of the best parts of being a working mom is that I am so darn tired when I do go to bed that I have become a great sleeper myself.  In general, I'm asleep within minutes of putting my head on the pillow and if she does wake up, most nights I fall back asleep relatively quickly.

6.  Finally, and the reason I knew it was time for a blog post, you know daycare has become a big part of your life when it enters your dreams.  Last night I dreamed that there were suddenly eight kids in her class (the maximum number of infants allowed) and also a bunch of toddlers there "visiting" some of the other kids.  Evelyn was in her crib trying desperately to take a nap.  There were the regular teachers there, but also a bunch of other adults there (some were people I work with) chatting and just hanging out.  I was furious because she was trying so hard to sleep.  So I guess the lack of naps thing is really on my mind.  

More to come.  Probably in about three weeks...