A Bittersweet Morning

This morning has been rather bittersweet. Emma, Abby and Nate went to daycare for the first time today. Emma will only be at daycare for about 30 min. each morning before catching the bus and Abby and Nate will stay at daycare until just after lunch. I'm going to be picking them up every day at 12:30. They're going to daycare for several reasons but mainly to give me a bit of a break when the new baby comes. For the past several months I've had to get all four kids in coats and shoes and in the car by 7:45 to take Emma to the bus stop. I am so relieved that I won't have to do that with a newborn in the middle of winter. Abby calls daycare "school" and I really think this will be very good for her. She needs to be with some other kids her age and she needs to have some consistency as far as preschool work is concerned. Abby and I have been doing "school" together since this fall, but I have not been very creative or consistent about it and the boys are a constant interruption. Abby doesn't have a lot of interest in "school stuff" so I think the other kids in the preschool program will be a great influence. Abby was very excited to go to "school" this morning. She picked out her outfit last night and got her backpack ready. She was definitely nervous, but I think she understands that it's okay to be a little nervous when you do something new.


Nate is the one I worry about. I've had a very productive morning(it's so nice to go to the grocery store with just one child) but that little boy has been on my mind. Is he crying? Did he eat breakfast? Is anyone going to hold him and let him pull on their ear (that's his comfort thing)? He doesn't have his blanket with him, is he missing it? I'll be honest, it's nice to have less diapers to change, less meals to fix, less conflict to resolve between the boys, but I can't wait to go and get that little guy. I've already decided that I'm going to rock him to sleep for his nap today!! I am feeling guilty about the fact that he's even in daycare, yet there is no doubt that I need this break once the baby comes. I really want to be able to enjoy the first months of her life. I think it's going to be hard enough to adjust to middle of the night feedings again. I wish the boys were just a little older and that they got along a little better and then it wouldn't be such a big deal to have two two year olds in the house. Nate is in a class with children that are all younger than him, so I hope that he will enjoy being the oldest for a change and that he will gain some confidence in his interaction with other kids. I think he could benefit from daycare if he can get over his separation anxiety.

This whole daycare thing is a temporary solution to our childcare situation. As you can imagine it's extremely expensive to put two kids in daycare. I was totally shocked to find out that part-time daycare is costing over $900 a month. As you can imagine my sister, Amy, doesn't just have a spare $900 every month to pay for this (who does?). God provided at just the right moment and her house in Massachusetts just sold, so she has enough money to do this for about 2 months. We would love it if Abby and Nate could stay in daycare until June. My mom is going to retire from teaching in June, so she'll be able to help a lot more with the children and I should actually have an infant that sleeps through the night by June. So that's our big prayer request in all of this...please pray that God will continue to provide and pour out his blessings on Amy and her children.



Afternoon Update:

Well, Abby and Nate survived their first morning of daycare. Abby was not happy that I was picking her up. She wanted to stay all day. She loved it and fit right in with the other kids. Her favorite friend is Kayla, who was wearing a yellow shirt. Abby thought the chicken dance was hysterical and her favorite part was bouncing on the moon bounce. She can't wait to go back tomorrow when she gets to make a mailbox for her Valentine's Day cards.
Nate didn't have such a great morning. He cried for awhile when Amy left. He had finally recovered and was playing when another kid pushed him and that was the end of that. He cried some more and apparently asked for Emma a million times. Bless his heart, I know he'll adjust, it's just hard to see him have hardship in his life. Nate was not interested in having his picture taken, but I snapped it anyway. At least this experience has been documented.

Just a little update on Emma's big Month (a previous post): Emma celebrated the 100th day of school yesterday by making a necklace (100 pieces of cereal) and by making a crown. It was a very fun day!