My Dreaded Decisions

Since becoming a parent, decisions are ususally made after much thought is put into them and they don't normally come easy (at least to me).

Pampers or huggies?


Swaddle or don't?


Let them cry it out or not?


I mean the list goes on and on. I'm a very indecisive person any way so now that I have to make decisision for another person...YIKES!

Most of the time I have managed, but there is one decision that has taken me8 LONG MONTHS to make.


DAYCARE!


Since having Avery, we knew that our current (at the time) situation was going to change, as she doesn't take children under the age of 2. This posed a whole new set of decisions to make:

Do we leave Aiden where he is and put Avery somewhere else?

Do we move Aiden (AGAIN) so that he and his sister are together?

Do we put Aiden in an actual preschool somewhere?

AHHHHHH, it's just been too much for me to think about. It took Aiden so long to get used to this current place that I just couldn't see moving him. Plus he'd grown very fond of his teacher and her kids. BUT.....having he and Avery together would be great for both of them (not to mention easy on mommy).

The other thing is that in reality all could stay the same. Aiden could stay where he was and Avery could stay home with Nana, but this too had some major cons and I needed a change!

Luke and I went back and forth about what to do and since it was SUCH a hard decision to make we always just let it go and continued on with life. Then after Christmas I decided to make a move.

We got some reccomendations from a few friends and I knew a few of my swim moms who did daycare nearby so in January we decided to start interviewing candidates for both kids.

The first two were good, but then....we met with Miss Winsome! I've known her for a while since I taught her little boy to swim and we always talked about the possibiltiy of having the kids come to her once the new year arrived but I always disregarded since I was so wishy washy with what I was going to do. Winsome was our last interview and I was very eager to see how she ran things. From the first day I met this woman, there was something very sincere and calming about her. I could tell by her child's manners and nature that he was brought up very well too!!

Let me tell you....I've never made a decision so easily as I did once I left this woman's house! It was perfect and it was like this huge weight had been lifted off my chest!

FINALLY...an EASY decision!

We are now in day three of our new school and I couldn't be happier. Aiden and Avery both seem to love it. I don't have to fight Aiden to get dressed in the morning and he talks about Miss Winsome constantly!

YAY!

I'm crying just talking about it...I'm so happy!

Daycare

Aiden is back in daycare. After being home with me for 8 months I have put him in a home facility three days a week. The woman is absolutely wonderful but things aren't going well. He's suffering from the worst case of separation anxiety ever. It's really hard, because each morning (that he goes) is a struggle. He begins crying when he realizes that he's getting dressed to go somewhere that early in the morning. And then if I manage to get him settled in the car on the way there (a big 5 min drive) the instant we pull into the driveway the tears begin again. Usually I have pretty thick skin, but this morning was very rough for some reason.

Apparently he's having good and bad days. Some days she says he only cries for a half hour...but I still feel that it's way too long for him to be crying. Yesterday she said he had a really rough day and that whenever she couldn't give him her undivided attention, he began to cry. I can't help but feel guilty that I'm the reason he's acting this way. It's so hard to go from being with mommy or Nanna all the time to being with some stranger who has to share her time among four children. UGG...what's a mommy to do?

I don't want to pull him, I feel like he's going to act like this where ever he goes. He needs this structure and now that I'm back to work, we have no other choice. If there was only something that could soothe his anxieties (besides time).

I know that eventually he'll get over this, but it's so hard to see him like this every day. I know he likes it there. If he knows he isn't going, he talks about the place all day long. But as soon as you tell him he's going he has a melt down.

Usually I don't want the time to pass, but in this case, it wouldn't hurt to speed up a bit :)

It will get better....it will!!

New Daycare Adventure

Today was Aiden's first day at the new daycare. This woman is wonderful and I think Aiden's time here will be very good for him! He's been home with me for almost a whole year now and I think it's about time he get some good old fashioned structure in his life.

(I hate to admit that working from home doesn't exactly allow me to give Aiden the best structured day)

So, drop off today went better than expected. He only cried for a second before I left. I thought about him all day, wondering how he was doing, but knowing he was fine. I daydreamed about how it would play out when I picked him up. I imagined that I would walk in and he would yell "mommy" and run up to me. That's not exactly how it happened.

First, when I walked in I turned the corner, Aiden looked up briefly and then resumed his play on the floor. No biggie right?? Well then I noticed something very blue around his mouth. It seems that he tricked his caregiver into giving him his paci all day. I feel bad because I think my reaction was a bit much and she felt very guilty for having given it to him, but I simply explained that he only gets it at sleep time. My fault..I should have been clear about that up front.

Little bugger...tricky one, he is!

Needless to say, I didn't get the big exaggerated welcome I was hoping for, but it was still wonderful to see him at the end of the day! Apparently he did great and aside from the paci fit, he didn't cry a bit all day!

Hopefully tomorrow is much better!

A Brief Catch Up

Well where to start. It's been a while since I posted last. Aiden is growing like a week..changing in so many ways each day. I come home and it seems like he's learned a new trick, or word. I can't believe how smart he is. He's really beginning to test our boundaries.

He's a BIG climber. Anything he can climb on he will. We have stool in our kitchen that use to get to the higher cabinet shelves. It's Aid's new favorite toy. He loves to climb up on it and see what mommy is doing. We now have to move EVERYTHING away from the edges due to tis new skill.

Two weekends ago I took a trip to New York City to see some very good friends of mine from college. Luke was working nights so my mother in law took Aid for the weekend. This was a HUGE step for me, being away from him for so long. While I thoroughly enjoyed every minute with my dear freinds, it was good to get back to see my little man. Robyn came to pick me up from the airport on Sunday and when I hopped in the back seat to greet Aiden his eyes lit up so big and bright. It melted my heart.

Last week was his last w/ Miss Tracy's daycare. We really did love Tracy but we were beginning to have some real issues...and due to the economy we were forced to pull Aid. Luke's mom is retiring soon and she will be watching him 2 or three days a week. I am looking forward to that very much!

Aiden's newest thing is swatting. When he gets really angry about something, he will go over to the nearest thing (person or not) and swat at it. Sometimes he will knock things over. It's so hard to not laugh at him when he gets going on one his swatting tantrums. On the bright side...spring is here and the flies will be out soon....hopefully he can put some of that swatting to use ;)

Until next time.....

Aid LOVES LOVES LOVES to brush his teeth now...let's hope this lasts!!

Bathtime is ALWAYS a good time!!

Naptime Companion

Sleeping has been a little bit of a struggle at daycare lately so I thought that it might help if Aiden took his monkey with him for nap time. This morning was thier first adventure together.

Mrs. Tracy's Daycare

We are offically one week into our new daycare routine! As most of you know my little sister Danielle has been our nanny since Aiden was 8 weeks old. She has done a fabulous job with him but she is about to have a little one of her own so we were happily forced to find a new day care provider. This wasn't easy..but I found a wonderful woman who came higly recommended by a mommy in my neighborhood. She runs a licensed daycare center out of her home. It's only been a week but we are very happy with everything so far. Aiden seems to be adjusting well too, although he really isn't able to tell us otherwise right now.

Financially it's a bit of a strain but we will make it work. Due to Luke's schedule, he will get to spend 6 whole days a month with Aiden so that will save us a little $$ and Aiden will get quality daddy time too!

On a side note...we have stopped swaddling Aiden at night and we are giving the Ferber sleep technique a try. Last night was the first night and he fell asleep after only 10 minutes of fussing (not crying). I'll keep you posted on how it goes!