This was unexpected

So Monday afternoon Chad and I got the news that Alaina could start daycare three weeks earlier than we were last told. You may recall we had an original start of August 1, which got pushed to September 17, causing us to scramble to find coverage once classes started. So this was a relief but was not without irritation. They said if she didn't start August 27, she would get pushed to October 1. Annoying. And we had to answer right away. Irritating. But whatever. In the end, it works better for us. They recommended that we bring Alaina by to meet her teachers and start to get acclimated with the environment and the other babies. So Tuesday and Wednesday we went to visit. And that's when it hit me. Our baby is going to daycare. Now I should preface this discussion of my inevitable meltdown by saying we chose this daycare because we've heard great things about it. They use developmental research in choosing activities for the kids. They even have a webcam where you can check in on your child throughout the day (yes, I am fully aware I won't get work done the first week/month she is there...). We wanted her to be in a facility where she would be with other children her age. This is a good thing. I never wanted to be a stay at home mom.

But our baby is going to daycare.

This sucks. I was not expecting to be emotional about it. I knew this was what we wanted and it is a part of our plan. But it makes me so sad. I'm even getting teary as I type this. As I noted in my last post, Alaina loves nothing more than being held. Now she will be competing with other babies for attention. We have been so spoiled by having great in-home care. When I brought Alaina home on Wednesday, I just couldn't stop crying. Man, I'm going to be a mess on the 27th.



Here she looks like she's pondering yea, what were you thinking?

 

They're going to make me do tummy time, too?

 

But alas. We know she's in good hands and it likely will be harder on us than on her. She actually seemed to like it there. She loved watching the other babies! In fun news, she is so interactive. She has recently discovered that she can grab my face. She likes to grab hold of my mouth or cheeks. I guess it's only fair as much time as we spend squeezing her sweet chubby cheeks.

 

 

I also was going to talk about her sleep lately but I'll save that for another post.