Daycare preview week

Gradual entry week is now over. On our next visit, Tristan will actually be attending daycare.

The week went well. It was definitely a nice change of scenery for him. He was touching, exploring, and interacting with everything and everyone in sight. The biggest difference was that I was able to actually sit down and watch. No yelling necessary and no chasing after him so it was a bit of a vacation for me :) Even though it was a bit of a hassle to get dressed and pack him lunch, it was worth the trip.

It may seem like the same old thing every day but there are always stories to tell. Today, one of the babies got sent home for having a fever and not eating anything. Her mom came in to pick her up while one of the staff went through the sick form and procedure with her. More Christmas gifts arrived for the staff members from another baby's parent. It seems like all the parents are giving gifts to the caregivers. That makes sense. It got me thinking about how we could show our appreciation for taking care of Tristan down the road. While I am home, I can definitely bring in homebaked goods. Would that be sucking up? I wonder if the staff favors children whose parents are very nice to them.

All the staff members are telling me that Tristan seems like he will fit in easily. Today, they were impressed with how much he ate by himself. I have to admit, I made it fairly easy by packing him easy foods I knew he would eat. His lunch included leftover beef stew mush with cheese wrapped in a tortilla and then pinched into finger size pieces, chunks of yam, and peas. This was followed by cubed cheese and a mix of fruit.

The staff was also impressed that Tristan didn't cry at all when they changed him. I didn't even think about it but I guess they have seen enough kids to tell that Tristan will be fairly easy compared to other babies. I am very relieved to hear it :) I want this to be as easy a transition for him as possible. Since I have no immediate plans to go back to work, I will only leave him there part time even though we are paying for a full time spot. I will stay with him for a hour or so the first day as well. After that, we will just see how it goes.