Today marks the end of our second week in daycare. Since I made such a fuss about our switch (and all my nerves) I thought I’d let you all know how the transition went.
One of my big concerns was that we were kind of ripping Gracie’s normal out from under her- sure, we told her about the changes but at 13 months she isn’t really comprehending what we are saying. That said, she made the adjustment just fine and seems acclimated to her new normal. We haven’t seen her former nanny, but we will have her over to babysit soon and I know Gracie will be over the moon when she sees her. The dog has had a harder time adjusting- he now has 2 days a week where he is all by himself, and he has made his displeasure known by going on 12 hour hunger strikes and ignoring us in the evenings.
Daycare itself is going really well. Her center really treats it like school- we get lesson plans and schedules. Every 2 weeks her classroom focuses on two letters and colors, as well as animals. They reinforce ideas in English and Spanish and work on baby sign language, which are all things our nanny did. I really like that they serve a varied organic menu, so Gracie is continuously exposed to new foods, textures and flavors. It is also good reinforcement that you can’t be served your favorite foods at every meal. Her tastes are so funny- she loves meatballs and sausage, but won’t touch chicken. She loves fruit, vegetables are hit or miss, and she loves bread (toast, a peanut butter sandwich) but she refuses to eat pasta. Luckily daycare helps us to keep reintroducing previously rejected foods, and I’m betting they don’t get their feelings hurt when she won’t eat something.
Her daycare teachers also seamlessly transitioned her to one nap a day (she’d been teetering on the brink for some time, but we couldn’t get it to click) so that alone has been worth the tuition checks. Speaking of which: I totally forgot to pay the first week. Oops. (Don’t worry, I paid the next day.)
Of course daycare has its downsides. Everyone bemoans the germs and we started fresh out the gate with sniffles, which she clearly caught at orientation the week before we started. In true toddler fashion she lovingly gave the sniffles to both myself and B. The trip to get her home isn’t the easiest, and I miss having her around the house when I work from home. That said, nothing beats the grin on her face when I walk in to pick her up, and her daycare teachers definitely dote on her (and all the other little ones). So far I’m happy with the decision we’ve made, even if I miss our nanny terribly.
