Life has been pretty crazy the past few months - as you can surmise from the fact that until yesterday I hadn't written any posts since early August. That just so happened to coincide with the start of the school year. Coincidence? I think not.
Right now it is 3:30am and I'm sitting up listening to a coughing baby and feeling pretty helpless. Every few weeks or so Abby develops what I like to call "Daycare Kennel Cough". She'll cough and cough all week (worse at night), but not spike a fever. I think it has something to do with the weather changing and her drainage. So, while she coughs, this mama sits up all night and plies her with cough syrup and cuddles. I think the worst feeling in the world is when your baby is sick - even when it's minor - and you can't do anything about it.
*Reminding myself that she would either build up her immune system NOW or later in preschool. Daycare Kennel Cough does not make me a bad mommy. Rinse. Repeat.*We've fallen into a pretty good routine with me going back to work this year. I am teaching half-days at EC - 3rd and 4th block AP European History. I really couldn't have asked for a better schedule. Abby and I get up around 7am each morning, breakfast together and play for 2 hours or so. Then she toddles around the master bathroom with me while I shower, dress, and get ready for the day. If I'm lucky, she naps from about 10-11 (if daycare is lucky, she doesn't and she naps there instead!) We are dressed and headed out the door by 11am, so that I can drop her off with her teacher Mrs. Cindy and be at school by 11:42 for class change. I start off the week arriving at school about 20-30 minutes early to get some housekeeping done - but by the time Thursday rolls around, we are usually pushing it just to arrive on time!
Abby's daycare is about 2 minutes from my school, which I think has really helped me with the transition. I know that at any moment I can drop what I'm doing and be at her side in no time flat. It makes it easier for me to concentrate at work and not worry about what she's doing and when I'll see her next. It also helps that Abby ADORES her teacher, Mrs. Cindy. She didn't feel like this the first 2 weeks, and we had a rough time saying goodbye in the morning - but then one day everything changed and now she actually grins and reaches out to Mrs. Cindy when we arrive. I have to admit, the first time I saw her reach for another woman, I just about lost it. It does make me feel good to know that she's staying with someone who will love on her and play with her almost as much as I would.
There are usually 2 or 3 other infants in Abby's room on any given day. Right now Abby is the oldest since she is over 1 and not yet walking. They will not move her into the 1 Year Old room until she's walking well - which is just fine with me! That one year old room is crazy! Babies walking around everywhere and getting into everything. No, I much prefer her to explore in her cozy little infant room where she can be Queen of the Cribs! She has some boy friends that are a little younger than her that she likes to chase around and play with. There are also tiny twins who just started a few weeks ago. Abby is learning to get used to hearing newborns cry and learning not to crawl over them or poke their eyes out: two skills I'm sure Monkey appreciates her learning NOW. She's a very empathetic baby (she can always tell when I'm not feeling good or having a bad day) and she has been known to bring piles of toys over to any baby who is crying at school to make them feel better.
I teach until 3:30, then am usually at her school for pick-up around 4:15. 99% of the time she's happily sitting on the floor reading a book or crawling around on the baby slide with her friends. Her entire face lights up when I walk in and it makes my whole day. It's like we had never been apart for those 4 hours! Every now and then I'll show up and she's had a bad day - which leaves me feeling sad and guilty the rest of the night, wondering if going back to work is really worth it. Of course, it IS worth it - seeing as how I had no financial choice this year. In addition, those bad days are few and far between - I just love seeing her grow and learn in ways I couldn't teach her by keeping her cloistered at home. She's really opened up to people in the poast few months and is learning to socialize with other children. She came home blowing kisses this week - talk about melting a mama's heart! - and she is really pushing to learn to walk since she sees the boys doing it at school.
When we get home around 5 each day, we play in the living room while we wait for Daddy to get home. Right now Abby's favorite thing to do is push things from the living room to the kitchen and back again...over and over! Although she has a baby doll stroller, little car, and scooter we specifically bought for this purpose, she would rather push chairs, boxes, and Ginger instead. Matt usually arrives home around 6pm - you should SEE her face light up when she sees her Daddy! - and we all have dinner. Abby gets into the big tub in our master bath around 7, where she splashes around for a good 15 minutes or so while I try to wash her slippery self, then we do pajamas. Matt alternately reads her Pajama Time or Goodnight Moon every night while we sit in the rocker and have our "Nigh-Nigh" bottle. Then down she goes until (hopefully) 7am...when we will start it all over again!
Is it routine? Yes. But I love it, and so does Abby, I think. We could continue this routine indefinitely, but something tells me that everything is about to change in 2-3 months' time. And it will be rough for a while - I'm completely expecting a mommy-meltdown for the first few months of having 2 under 2. But I think we'll fall into a new routine soon enough. And it will probably be even better.
