Sunday, September 23, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
A Happy Post
Despite how it may seem from my last few posts, our house is not a bastion of negativity. We are in fact a happy little family. :-)
Maeve had a relatively good day at daycare today. She only cried for about 15 minutes after I left and even played a little bit with the other kids. She was happy to go outside and played in the sandbox. She only slept for half an hour at nap time, but still that's not too bad over all. When we arrived at 4 pm she burst into tears again. I guess she'd been saving it up. Luckily, those tears didn't last long either. I wish she had more words so that she could tell us if she understands that we will come back to get her every day.
Since it was such a nice day, we took her to the park to feed leaves to the goats and play on the swings and slides. When we got home, she was so tired that she was stumbling over her own feet. After dinner and a little story time, she's gone off to bed an hour early. Hopefully that doesn't mean she'll wake up an hour early tomorrow!
The name Maeve has Irish origins and means either intoxicating or joyous, depending on the source you're reading. She is both of those to us. We are thankful every day that she is now part of our family.
I'm going down the slide by myself this time.
Why can't I wear all three hats?
Sharing a cup of tea with Aunty Carolyn.
Maeve had a relatively good day at daycare today. She only cried for about 15 minutes after I left and even played a little bit with the other kids. She was happy to go outside and played in the sandbox. She only slept for half an hour at nap time, but still that's not too bad over all. When we arrived at 4 pm she burst into tears again. I guess she'd been saving it up. Luckily, those tears didn't last long either. I wish she had more words so that she could tell us if she understands that we will come back to get her every day.
Since it was such a nice day, we took her to the park to feed leaves to the goats and play on the swings and slides. When we got home, she was so tired that she was stumbling over her own feet. After dinner and a little story time, she's gone off to bed an hour early. Hopefully that doesn't mean she'll wake up an hour early tomorrow!
The name Maeve has Irish origins and means either intoxicating or joyous, depending on the source you're reading. She is both of those to us. We are thankful every day that she is now part of our family.
I'm going down the slide by myself this time.
Why can't I wear all three hats?
Sharing a cup of tea with Aunty Carolyn.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Bottle Alert!!
We recently bought a new sippy cup for Maeve. It was by a company called Born Free. The reason I was drawn to it was that it claimed that the valve design is easier for the child to suck and therefore reduces the risk of inner ear infection.
I also noticed that they said the bottle was bisphenol A (BPA) free. I'd never heard of bisphenol A so I decided to look it up. Yikes! Turns out that Bisphenol-A is a hormone-disrupting chemical considered to be potentially harmful to human health and the environment. It has been known that scratched and worn polycarbonate feeding bottles will leach this chemical into liquids. The bottles we use (Dr. Brown's) are polycarbonate. We've stopped using them!
Alternatives to polycarbonate bottles: glass, polyethylene or polypropylene. Right now we've gone back to the Playtex bottle with the disposable liners.
According to one document here are some examples of polycarbonate products
Safer alternatives: Non- polycarbonate product examples
If you want to find out more:
http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/environmental-health/childrens-health/chemicals-in-baby-products
http://www.bisphenolafree.org/
http://www.newbornfree.com/pics/bornfree/index.htm
ABC News clip on You Tube (here)
I also noticed that they said the bottle was bisphenol A (BPA) free. I'd never heard of bisphenol A so I decided to look it up. Yikes! Turns out that Bisphenol-A is a hormone-disrupting chemical considered to be potentially harmful to human health and the environment. It has been known that scratched and worn polycarbonate feeding bottles will leach this chemical into liquids. The bottles we use (Dr. Brown's) are polycarbonate. We've stopped using them!
Alternatives to polycarbonate bottles: glass, polyethylene or polypropylene. Right now we've gone back to the Playtex bottle with the disposable liners.
According to one document here are some examples of polycarbonate products
- Bottles: Avent; Dr. Brown’s; Evenflo (clear); First Years; Gerber (clear); Playtex Vent Aire; Sassy; TupperCare
- "Sippy” cups: Gerber Suzy’s Zoo & Sippy Snacker, Playtex First Sipster & Sparkling Sipster
Safer alternatives: Non- polycarbonate product examples
- Bottles: Evenflo glass or pastel polyethylene plastic; Gerber polypropylene opaque plastic; Medela breastmilk polypropylene storage bottles and polyethylene milk storage bags; disposable bottle systems with polyethylene plastic inserts (e.g., Playtex Nurser, Playtex Drop-Ins)
- “Sippy” cups made of polypropylene or polyethylene: Avent Magic Cup; Evenflo cups (inner lining); First Years Take & Toss; Gerber Color Change, Sport Fun Grip and Soft Starter; Playtex Sipster, Big Sipster & Quick Straw
If you want to find out more:
http://www.environmentcalifornia.org/environmental-health/childrens-health/chemicals-in-baby-products
http://www.bisphenolafree.org/
http://www.newbornfree.com/pics/bornfree/index.htm
ABC News clip on You Tube (here)
Monday, September 17, 2007
Food for thought
One of the mindless routine things that I do in the morning is turn the radio on for background music and to catch the weather reports, etc. It usually stays on low while we have breakfast. I figured it was just in the background and would not affect our interactions with Maeve at breakfast--in fact, I never even thought about it that much. But we are going to shut it off from now on. According to an article in the National Post, having the radio or TV on, even in the background, may slow language development because the child may have a hard time hearing words clearly with the extra noise.
We often take the opportunity of Maeve being in her high chair to go through word and picture books. She's pretty good at pointing out the things we ask her about on the page... when she feels like it. She really likes it when we can actually produce the item and she can match it up with the picture in the book. Food and household items work well; animals... not so much. Not too many cows hanging around our house. For that, we rely on toy replicas.
Since we're doing both English and a little bit of Mandarin with Maeve, I don't want to further confuse her with competing background noise from the radio. So for now, the radio will be off while we are trying to talk to her.
Here's the URL of the article if you are interested: http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/artslife/story.html?id=850ca729-5d72-4ab7-a9fe-ac351cde6d53&p=2
I'll have to see if I can find the book they refer to.
We'd already decided to limit TV for her after reading that it may affect her brain development and has been potentially linked to symptoms of ADHD. e.g. inability to focus. (www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/tvapril.pdf)
But I guess for every study that shows it is bad, there's another study that says it isn't. For now, we'll continue to err on the side of caution. The TV and radio will stay off while she's awake...mostly... I must confess that I'm a bit of a TV addict. I use it to wind down and relax. It can be very brain numbing... which I guess is part of the problem. Good thing "Lost" is on after Maeve's bed time. I guess I can always record it and watch/fall asleep in front of it later...
We often take the opportunity of Maeve being in her high chair to go through word and picture books. She's pretty good at pointing out the things we ask her about on the page... when she feels like it. She really likes it when we can actually produce the item and she can match it up with the picture in the book. Food and household items work well; animals... not so much. Not too many cows hanging around our house. For that, we rely on toy replicas.
Since we're doing both English and a little bit of Mandarin with Maeve, I don't want to further confuse her with competing background noise from the radio. So for now, the radio will be off while we are trying to talk to her.
Here's the URL of the article if you are interested: http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/artslife/story.html?id=850ca729-5d72-4ab7-a9fe-ac351cde6d53&p=2
I'll have to see if I can find the book they refer to.
We'd already decided to limit TV for her after reading that it may affect her brain development and has been potentially linked to symptoms of ADHD. e.g. inability to focus. (www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/tvapril.pdf)
But I guess for every study that shows it is bad, there's another study that says it isn't. For now, we'll continue to err on the side of caution. The TV and radio will stay off while she's awake...mostly... I must confess that I'm a bit of a TV addict. I use it to wind down and relax. It can be very brain numbing... which I guess is part of the problem. Good thing "Lost" is on after Maeve's bed time. I guess I can always record it and watch/fall asleep in front of it later...
Saturday, September 15, 2007
She's adjusting
This was a tough week for the Fordes.
Mama only stayed for 45 minutes when she dropped Maeve off at daycare Tuesday and Thursday. Maeve cried quite a bit at first and needed her soother to calm herself. She refused to let any of the caregivers console her. Pat and I suspect she doesn't want to let someone replace us as parental-figures. After all, she's had people she thought of as her parents replaced by strangers once before ...
We've had well-meaning friends assure us a baby Maeve's age cannot possibly remember anything about the loss of her foster parents. We presume---and pray---that she can't recall that terrible sadness, not in any direct way. Nevertheless, we're sure her fear of abandonment is deep and at times all-consuming. When we've had to leave her before, the expression on her little face when we return seems so lost and rejected that we suspect she experiences a feeling something very very bad is happening---perhaps even a subconscious worry that we may not be coming back for her.
Maeve probably can't conceive of that in concrete terms ... Yet the pain and fear are absolutely real for her, clearly readable in her expressions. Maeve can look as though she's wholly crumpled in on herself, as though she's given up all hope---that's just how she appears and acts on awful days like these.
On Tuesday, we could see her on the webcam walking back and forth through the room, avoiding every other child and adult, going back to the rear window to look out, then up to the front door, then back again, and again---and again, every time we checked. Over and over for hours she made that horrible hoping-for-us-to-reappear circuit, clutching her blanket and a little Elmo doll to her as if they were the last lifelines she had in the world. She was surely searching for us, wondering where we'd gone and especially why.
We were told she did manage to play with a few toys during the day, but apparently she cried continuously even as she played. At lunch, during the ensuing nap time and then at the 3 pm snack time she was okay. The caregivers were amazed that she ate so well. I don't know where she puts it all because she's still so petite, hasn't gained an ounce in months ... After snack time, she had a relapse and cried continuously until we arrived.
We've witnessed numerous instances of Maeve's remarkable memory in the past; and the previous time we arrived at the Daycare to pick her up during the snack time. Maybe she remembered that, and was scared when snack time ended and we still hadn't appeared.
Once we arrived, she cried in Baba's arms for a little while but settled down by the time we got her to the car. Mama, on the other hand, was a mess ... Seeing how lost and afraid she'd been (not evident on the webcam, which doesn't show us her expressions) I became so upset that Maeve noticed me crying, and got upset again herself!
We decided to take her out for a dinner of chicken, veggies and potato at Swiss Chalet, followed by a visit to her aunt Colette, uncle William and cousins Sarah and Mike. Seeing them seemed to sooth her emotionally. She actually cried out in delight when she saw Sarah, who has babysat her before (and later in the week Maeve cried aloud again when she saw Auntie Sheila, cousins Miller and Bram---seeing extended family has, this week at least, proven extremely reassuring to her).
During Thursday's stay at daycare, Maeve cried for a while again, but did play a little with the toys and participated in some activities like art and story time. Still, she wouldn't take consoling from the caregivers and needed her soother and blanket. As on Tuesday, she was fine during lunch, naptime and snack. This time she did not cry after snack. Instead, she saved it up until we came to get her at 4---when she saw us, her look of assessing calm instantly melted down into a jittery wail of relief. She'd been keeping her fear pent up, hoping for the best ... By the time we got her out to the car, she seemed much better, back to her usual contented self.
Which was a great relief to us. And as Thursday was a beautiful sunny day, we took her directly to the park after daycare, where she fed leaves and grass to the goats. Maeve loves doing that!
All the stress is affecting her sleep. She seems to wake up with night terrors 2 or 3 times a night. She's also a bit more clingy and asks for her soother and blanket more than she used to. But all in all, she seems to be adjusting--as do I, slowly... In a couple more weeks, she'll be going full time.
We pray this early easing-into-daycare will help Maeve to feel confident that we will always come back to get her at the end of each day.
And we're still making the most of our days together. Today was a grand day out. We started our Mandarin Nursery Rhyme class and went to the local Medieval Faire in the park. Now she's sleeping like a baby!
Maeve gets ready for her first day at daycare.
Feeding the goats after a tough day at daycare.
I want you... to check out my new strawberry hat.
Queen Maeve is agast at the Royal Medieval Faire
Don't worry Baba. I'll get you out of that jail.
Mama only stayed for 45 minutes when she dropped Maeve off at daycare Tuesday and Thursday. Maeve cried quite a bit at first and needed her soother to calm herself. She refused to let any of the caregivers console her. Pat and I suspect she doesn't want to let someone replace us as parental-figures. After all, she's had people she thought of as her parents replaced by strangers once before ...
We've had well-meaning friends assure us a baby Maeve's age cannot possibly remember anything about the loss of her foster parents. We presume---and pray---that she can't recall that terrible sadness, not in any direct way. Nevertheless, we're sure her fear of abandonment is deep and at times all-consuming. When we've had to leave her before, the expression on her little face when we return seems so lost and rejected that we suspect she experiences a feeling something very very bad is happening---perhaps even a subconscious worry that we may not be coming back for her.
Maeve probably can't conceive of that in concrete terms ... Yet the pain and fear are absolutely real for her, clearly readable in her expressions. Maeve can look as though she's wholly crumpled in on herself, as though she's given up all hope---that's just how she appears and acts on awful days like these.
On Tuesday, we could see her on the webcam walking back and forth through the room, avoiding every other child and adult, going back to the rear window to look out, then up to the front door, then back again, and again---and again, every time we checked. Over and over for hours she made that horrible hoping-for-us-to-reappear circuit, clutching her blanket and a little Elmo doll to her as if they were the last lifelines she had in the world. She was surely searching for us, wondering where we'd gone and especially why.
We were told she did manage to play with a few toys during the day, but apparently she cried continuously even as she played. At lunch, during the ensuing nap time and then at the 3 pm snack time she was okay. The caregivers were amazed that she ate so well. I don't know where she puts it all because she's still so petite, hasn't gained an ounce in months ... After snack time, she had a relapse and cried continuously until we arrived.
We've witnessed numerous instances of Maeve's remarkable memory in the past; and the previous time we arrived at the Daycare to pick her up during the snack time. Maybe she remembered that, and was scared when snack time ended and we still hadn't appeared.
Once we arrived, she cried in Baba's arms for a little while but settled down by the time we got her to the car. Mama, on the other hand, was a mess ... Seeing how lost and afraid she'd been (not evident on the webcam, which doesn't show us her expressions) I became so upset that Maeve noticed me crying, and got upset again herself!
We decided to take her out for a dinner of chicken, veggies and potato at Swiss Chalet, followed by a visit to her aunt Colette, uncle William and cousins Sarah and Mike. Seeing them seemed to sooth her emotionally. She actually cried out in delight when she saw Sarah, who has babysat her before (and later in the week Maeve cried aloud again when she saw Auntie Sheila, cousins Miller and Bram---seeing extended family has, this week at least, proven extremely reassuring to her).
During Thursday's stay at daycare, Maeve cried for a while again, but did play a little with the toys and participated in some activities like art and story time. Still, she wouldn't take consoling from the caregivers and needed her soother and blanket. As on Tuesday, she was fine during lunch, naptime and snack. This time she did not cry after snack. Instead, she saved it up until we came to get her at 4---when she saw us, her look of assessing calm instantly melted down into a jittery wail of relief. She'd been keeping her fear pent up, hoping for the best ... By the time we got her out to the car, she seemed much better, back to her usual contented self.
Which was a great relief to us. And as Thursday was a beautiful sunny day, we took her directly to the park after daycare, where she fed leaves and grass to the goats. Maeve loves doing that!
All the stress is affecting her sleep. She seems to wake up with night terrors 2 or 3 times a night. She's also a bit more clingy and asks for her soother and blanket more than she used to. But all in all, she seems to be adjusting--as do I, slowly... In a couple more weeks, she'll be going full time.
We pray this early easing-into-daycare will help Maeve to feel confident that we will always come back to get her at the end of each day.
And we're still making the most of our days together. Today was a grand day out. We started our Mandarin Nursery Rhyme class and went to the local Medieval Faire in the park. Now she's sleeping like a baby!
Maeve gets ready for her first day at daycare.
Feeding the goats after a tough day at daycare.
I want you... to check out my new strawberry hat.
Queen Maeve is agast at the Royal Medieval Faire
Don't worry Baba. I'll get you out of that jail.Sunday, September 9, 2007
A little bit of daycare fall out
All in all, Maeve seems to have handled the first 2 days of daycare better than her mother. However, we have noticed a few things that might be fall out from the change--of course they could just be coincidence.
Maeve has a little bit of a cold. It is just a bit of a runny nose and it barely seems to affect her. Well, except that she is wiping her runny nose with her hand all the time and smearing it all over her face. Yuck! I'm sure we're going to get worse things like flus running rampant through the daycare.
She also doesn't sleep through the night any more. We had a good run of several weeks where she was sleeping through from the time we put her in the crib (usually around 8 pm) until 7:30 am. But since daycare, she wakes up several times during the night and we have to console her by rocking her and singing to her. She usually goes back to sleep after 15 or 20 minutes, but sometimes not. Maybe it's the cold? Or maybe she is feeling a bit uncertain because of being left at daycare. We can't know. All we can do it is assure her of our love and that we will always come back for her.
She's also gotten a bit constipated again. (One day she'll be really mad at me for putting this on the blog!) It doesn't seem as bad as it was before. But the poor darling is clearly in pain when she has a BM. It could be the new foods (like rice crispy squares), but it is likely the stress. So we need to keep up with the flaxseed oil, prunes and digestive enzymes. Thanks to a tip from Maeve's aunt Evelyn, we've also found out that corn syrup in the formula helps. I wish we could do more for her though.
Other than those few things, she is still our giggly little love.
This week, I'll be trying to only stay for an hour in the morning and then leaving her for the rest of the day. I hope she adjusts to it. And I hope I do too!
Maeve has a little bit of a cold. It is just a bit of a runny nose and it barely seems to affect her. Well, except that she is wiping her runny nose with her hand all the time and smearing it all over her face. Yuck! I'm sure we're going to get worse things like flus running rampant through the daycare.
She also doesn't sleep through the night any more. We had a good run of several weeks where she was sleeping through from the time we put her in the crib (usually around 8 pm) until 7:30 am. But since daycare, she wakes up several times during the night and we have to console her by rocking her and singing to her. She usually goes back to sleep after 15 or 20 minutes, but sometimes not. Maybe it's the cold? Or maybe she is feeling a bit uncertain because of being left at daycare. We can't know. All we can do it is assure her of our love and that we will always come back for her.
She's also gotten a bit constipated again. (One day she'll be really mad at me for putting this on the blog!) It doesn't seem as bad as it was before. But the poor darling is clearly in pain when she has a BM. It could be the new foods (like rice crispy squares), but it is likely the stress. So we need to keep up with the flaxseed oil, prunes and digestive enzymes. Thanks to a tip from Maeve's aunt Evelyn, we've also found out that corn syrup in the formula helps. I wish we could do more for her though.
Other than those few things, she is still our giggly little love.
This week, I'll be trying to only stay for an hour in the morning and then leaving her for the rest of the day. I hope she adjusts to it. And I hope I do too!
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Daycare Day 2
Apparently Maeve is more able to adapt to change than her mother is!
Today was day 2 at daycare--Maeve is going Tuesdays and Thursdays in September, then full time in October. I decided to hang out there in the morning and then LEAVE her for the afternoon--until about 3. She was pretty good in the morning. Started interacting with the other kids a bit more and with the caregivers. Still, I was quite dubious about when to leave and how things would go once I was gone.
I got her started with lunch, which was chicken burgers and salad. I wanted to make sure the pieces were cut small enough that she wouldn't choke. Despite my efforts, she did cough a little bit on something. But I think that was because she was shovelling it in so fast. She's not used to getting breaded chicken and thought this was the greatest thing since I let her try sliced bread! (Whole grain bread of course!) Any how, she got through one serving and was starting into more when I announced that I was leaving and would be back later. Her entire face went cherry red and she started to bawl. I thought I was going to have a breakdown! I gave her a big hug and a kiss and left the room.
My heart shattered into a million pieces as I listened at the door and heard her crying out for me. I didn't think I was going to be able to leave. But one of the caregivers picked her up and soothed her. She seemedd to calm down a little bit, so I left.
I called Pat from the car and raced home so that we could get on the daycare's webwatch to see how she was doing. Unfortunately for the webcam, nap time is right after lunch. They pull the blinds down and it is a bit difficult to make out which child is which. We only went for the Ultralight high speed, so the video is a bit choppy too. And, I'm still working out the bugs with our wireless network. We're pretty sure we were watching Maeve being cuddled and soothed by Shannon during nap time. "I knew she wouldn't sleep" we exclaimed. "Poor baby. What have we done to her. "
I cried for about half an hour as we discussed child care alternatives. I just didn't think we could get through this! Maybe a nanny; or a home daycare where there are less kids; what if I work 3 days a week and you work the other 2 and weekends... etc. All the stuff we had agonized about before.
At 2:30, when nap time was over, the blinds were opened and it was much easier to see. We spotted Maeve standing at a table, just looking around. She had her back to the camera, so we couldn't see her face. Was she crying? Was she just zoned out? We couldn't tell. She stayed in that spot for about 20 minutes (well it may have only been 5, but it seemed like a long, long time to us). Then she seemed to just wander into a corner for a while. That was it! We're going to get her. She's probably so traumatized that she's curled up in a corner whimpering.
I made a bottle to help sooth her and off we went. Luckily, the daycare is only 5 minutes away.
We went in and there she was sitting at the table having her snack. Calm as could be. She cried when she saw us. But after a 1 minute cuddle and kiss from Baba, she wanted to go back to her snack. After all, how could we compete with a rice crispy square and pure apple juice? She never gets sweet snacks like that at home. And we always water down the juice. Now she knows what she's been missing. SUGAR!!!
So we hung out with her for another 15 minutes as she finished her snack. During that time, every little boy in the room wanted to play with Pat. They kept bringing him toys and where crawling all over each other to get his attention. I've never seen anything like it. The girls were either a bit afraid of Pat or just ignored him. But the boys... you couldn't get them away from him. Maeve watched from her seat at the snack table. Kind of confused as to why Baba was playing with all these other kids, but apparently not disturbed by it. She just kept eating her snack as I sat beside her.
After that we left and she was perfectly fine for the rest of the afternoon and evening.
The caregivers said that she didn't eat anymore after I left. She cried for about 20 minutes and had a hard time falling asleep. She only slept for about 45 minutes. When she woke up, she cried for a few minutes, but stayed on her cot and was quiet for the rest of nap time. Then she was just quiet and observing what was happening around her until snack time.
You mean she didn't have a complete melt down? Didn't she miss us? Really? She was ok? Geez, you'd think we were disappointed that she adjusted better than we expected. What strange parents!
So, in the end she seemed to handle the afternoon reasonably well. I, however need therapy...
Today was day 2 at daycare--Maeve is going Tuesdays and Thursdays in September, then full time in October. I decided to hang out there in the morning and then LEAVE her for the afternoon--until about 3. She was pretty good in the morning. Started interacting with the other kids a bit more and with the caregivers. Still, I was quite dubious about when to leave and how things would go once I was gone.
I got her started with lunch, which was chicken burgers and salad. I wanted to make sure the pieces were cut small enough that she wouldn't choke. Despite my efforts, she did cough a little bit on something. But I think that was because she was shovelling it in so fast. She's not used to getting breaded chicken and thought this was the greatest thing since I let her try sliced bread! (Whole grain bread of course!) Any how, she got through one serving and was starting into more when I announced that I was leaving and would be back later. Her entire face went cherry red and she started to bawl. I thought I was going to have a breakdown! I gave her a big hug and a kiss and left the room.
My heart shattered into a million pieces as I listened at the door and heard her crying out for me. I didn't think I was going to be able to leave. But one of the caregivers picked her up and soothed her. She seemedd to calm down a little bit, so I left.
I called Pat from the car and raced home so that we could get on the daycare's webwatch to see how she was doing. Unfortunately for the webcam, nap time is right after lunch. They pull the blinds down and it is a bit difficult to make out which child is which. We only went for the Ultralight high speed, so the video is a bit choppy too. And, I'm still working out the bugs with our wireless network. We're pretty sure we were watching Maeve being cuddled and soothed by Shannon during nap time. "I knew she wouldn't sleep" we exclaimed. "Poor baby. What have we done to her. "
I cried for about half an hour as we discussed child care alternatives. I just didn't think we could get through this! Maybe a nanny; or a home daycare where there are less kids; what if I work 3 days a week and you work the other 2 and weekends... etc. All the stuff we had agonized about before.
At 2:30, when nap time was over, the blinds were opened and it was much easier to see. We spotted Maeve standing at a table, just looking around. She had her back to the camera, so we couldn't see her face. Was she crying? Was she just zoned out? We couldn't tell. She stayed in that spot for about 20 minutes (well it may have only been 5, but it seemed like a long, long time to us). Then she seemed to just wander into a corner for a while. That was it! We're going to get her. She's probably so traumatized that she's curled up in a corner whimpering.
I made a bottle to help sooth her and off we went. Luckily, the daycare is only 5 minutes away.
We went in and there she was sitting at the table having her snack. Calm as could be. She cried when she saw us. But after a 1 minute cuddle and kiss from Baba, she wanted to go back to her snack. After all, how could we compete with a rice crispy square and pure apple juice? She never gets sweet snacks like that at home. And we always water down the juice. Now she knows what she's been missing. SUGAR!!!
So we hung out with her for another 15 minutes as she finished her snack. During that time, every little boy in the room wanted to play with Pat. They kept bringing him toys and where crawling all over each other to get his attention. I've never seen anything like it. The girls were either a bit afraid of Pat or just ignored him. But the boys... you couldn't get them away from him. Maeve watched from her seat at the snack table. Kind of confused as to why Baba was playing with all these other kids, but apparently not disturbed by it. She just kept eating her snack as I sat beside her.
After that we left and she was perfectly fine for the rest of the afternoon and evening.
The caregivers said that she didn't eat anymore after I left. She cried for about 20 minutes and had a hard time falling asleep. She only slept for about 45 minutes. When she woke up, she cried for a few minutes, but stayed on her cot and was quiet for the rest of nap time. Then she was just quiet and observing what was happening around her until snack time.
You mean she didn't have a complete melt down? Didn't she miss us? Really? She was ok? Geez, you'd think we were disappointed that she adjusted better than we expected. What strange parents!
So, in the end she seemed to handle the afternoon reasonably well. I, however need therapy...