First week of daycare!
Thursday and Friday were Matthew's first two days at daycare. All things considered, I think it went very well indeed. He likes his teachers, he likes the room and its toys, and he plays happily with the other babies (to the extent that ten-month-olds can do so, anyway).
This is a very AP-friendy daycare center, and we're thrilled with it so far! They encouraged me to drop in to nurse Matthew whenever I want, for instance (the place is only five minutes away from our house, so I can do that easily). The caretakers engage the babies, hold them a lot, and even rock and walk them to sleep if need be. They allow cloth diapers, remarkably. The choice of toys is terrific -- simple, well-made toys with no electronics, lots of books, sturdy wooden furniture for Matthew to climb on, etc. And the director is a delightful woman whose childcare philosophies match ours.
There are six babies in Matthew's "class," with only five in actual attendance this week, and three adults taking care of them. (In point of fact, there will often be more than that, because staff members keep dropping in to play with the adorable babies.) The second day, only three babies showed up, including Matthew -- so they got one-on-one attention! Hard to complain about that.
So how did Matthew do?
The first day, he cried some, which was to be expected given that he was cutting a tooth and already super-cranky. He took one nap in the morning, and refused to take an afternoon nap. Also, he refused to take a bottle of EBM. But we kind of expected that, since he's never liked bottles. Whenever I came into the room (such as when I stopped to nurse him at lunchtime), he was being held by someone, which means that (1) he wasn't happy, and (2) they were trying to help him feel better.
The second day, he seemed more cheerful in general. The caretakers -- "teachers" in this school -- told me that early in the day, he had a giggle fit! Apparently you could hear him giggling down the hall. He took his usual two naps, and continued to mostly refuse the bottle (he drank one ounce; yay). Again, I stopped at lunchtime to nurse him, which is a pattern I don't mind falling into, honestly.
We've arranged to potentially have him there from 8-ish until 3:00 every weekday. He's not going to be there that long every day -- when I can afford to not work on a given day or afternoon, I'll have him with me -- but at least we have the option, which will be nice during weeks when my consulting gigs have me onsite for several hours at a time. I'll miss Matthew, obviously, but I know now that he'll be in skilled and caring hands. Literally.
This is a very AP-friendy daycare center, and we're thrilled with it so far! They encouraged me to drop in to nurse Matthew whenever I want, for instance (the place is only five minutes away from our house, so I can do that easily). The caretakers engage the babies, hold them a lot, and even rock and walk them to sleep if need be. They allow cloth diapers, remarkably. The choice of toys is terrific -- simple, well-made toys with no electronics, lots of books, sturdy wooden furniture for Matthew to climb on, etc. And the director is a delightful woman whose childcare philosophies match ours.
There are six babies in Matthew's "class," with only five in actual attendance this week, and three adults taking care of them. (In point of fact, there will often be more than that, because staff members keep dropping in to play with the adorable babies.) The second day, only three babies showed up, including Matthew -- so they got one-on-one attention! Hard to complain about that.
So how did Matthew do?
The first day, he cried some, which was to be expected given that he was cutting a tooth and already super-cranky. He took one nap in the morning, and refused to take an afternoon nap. Also, he refused to take a bottle of EBM. But we kind of expected that, since he's never liked bottles. Whenever I came into the room (such as when I stopped to nurse him at lunchtime), he was being held by someone, which means that (1) he wasn't happy, and (2) they were trying to help him feel better.
The second day, he seemed more cheerful in general. The caretakers -- "teachers" in this school -- told me that early in the day, he had a giggle fit! Apparently you could hear him giggling down the hall. He took his usual two naps, and continued to mostly refuse the bottle (he drank one ounce; yay). Again, I stopped at lunchtime to nurse him, which is a pattern I don't mind falling into, honestly.
We've arranged to potentially have him there from 8-ish until 3:00 every weekday. He's not going to be there that long every day -- when I can afford to not work on a given day or afternoon, I'll have him with me -- but at least we have the option, which will be nice during weeks when my consulting gigs have me onsite for several hours at a time. I'll miss Matthew, obviously, but I know now that he'll be in skilled and caring hands. Literally.