They call this first week the "integration week". It's when your child starts off with a short 1-hour visit (sans mommy) and gradually works his way to a full day stay by Friday. I'd been looking forward to Brayden starting daycare for a few weeks now. I'm back at work, working from home, and having Brayden at home with me has posed an interesting challenge. My mother-in-law and sister, Christina, have been an amazing help but juggling everyone's availability to ultimately determine my own hasn't been ideal. So, Monday, Feb 6 was a day I had been anxiously awaiting.
Day one went decently well. Upon dropping Brayden off at 9:00 a.m., he seemed taken by the two little blonde girls already playing in the playroom. He was also greeted by two little boys on toys cars, which didn't interest him much. I stuck around for about 10 minutes to make sure he was comfortable with his new surroundings then snuck out. I didn't want to make a big deal of my leaving him. Good idea? Bad idea?
My hour away was spent on a conference call for work and picking up a bevy from Starbucks. The freedom was refreshing but I can't lie, I was itching to get back to the daycare centre by 10:00 a.m. and cuddle with my little man.
The teachers told me that he was great. He was having fun with the toys and other kiddos until around 9:30 when I suppose he realized I was gone and freaked out. He apparently cried for about 20 minutes off and on unit I returned to "save him".
Day two we attempted two hours. The first hour entailed indoor play followed by an hour of outdoor play. I was told he was a little upset throughout the first hour but calmed down once they got outside and went for a wagon ride around the playground. When I picked him up at 11:00 a.m. it was circle song time and he was sitting on the teacher's nap, completing the circle. He was calm and enjoying all the music. As soon as his eyes caught sight of me, he started to cry with his little arms reaching out for me. It was adorable.
With the success of the first two days, the teachers thought it be a good idea to have him stay for lunch on day three. I wasn't available to drop him off on Wednesday so daddy took a turn at the drop off. I guess Brayden's memory of the previous couple days kicked in as they were driving into the parking lot because Andrew told me that's when the tears started rolling. (heart-breaking)
At the 12:00 pick up, which was also taken care of by daddy that day, Brayden had just finished eating a yummy lunch of chicken and veggies and was evidently ready for his nap with lots of yawning and even a brief nodding off during the three minute car ride home. Overall, a pretty good daycare experience.
Just when we thought he was progressing well, Day four took a turn for the worse. Both Andrew and I had work functions that had us out of the house by 6:30 a.m. which meant calling upon my amazing MIL to step in for the 9:00 a.m. drop off. When I picked Brayden up at 2:30 p.m. (he was to stay for nap time this day) the water works were already on and I was told it had been a rough day. He had napped for one hour but when he woke up at 1:00 and didn't recognize where he was he got upset and wouldn't go back down. Poor guy... The teachers told me that since it was such a rough day for him, it was their recommendation that Day five be a repeat of the Day four schedule which meant instead of staying for the afternoon outdoor play session that comes after nap time, he be picked up at 2:30 immediately following nap time.
Which brings me to now. It's 1:30 p.m. on Friday (Day five) and I have yet to get a call to pick him up due to hysterics. This is very encouraging given that on Monday he's to begin the full time routine. I'm eager to go get him in an hour to learn whether he was any more calm today than yesterday. Hopefully he forgets all the sad times he's had this week and holds on to the fun memories of song time and toys over the weekend because Monday we start all over again.
