First Day of School ... or, Daycare

So today felt like Holden's first day of school ... only he was going to daycare. Either way, the nerves were on edge from the parental side of things. We readied clothes, bottles, and food for Holden, and headed off to the Learning Center this morning. The center is new (with a brand new building), and we have spent over a month learning about their services -- but also coming to the realization that this is one of the only places we could get Holden into without a waiting list. So today, it was game on.

First of all, Holden is in the "Little Dippers" classroom with two other infants (who are 6 weeks old and 3 months old, so the level of play and interaction with other kids seems limited). Other than being a bit peeved that he's not in the same classroom as his girlfriend Isla, he seemed to love it on his first day. All new toys to play with, and a big room to crawl around at break-neck speed. And new people that cater to your every need. Also, no napping (or, at least, very little napping going on today ... but maybe he was just so excited to be in a new place, and it's just not the same as napping at home, that's for sure).

After dropping him off in the morning, Bryna and I went about our separate ways during the day (me at the Museum, and Bryna at the University). Then, around 12:45pm, we both simultaneously decided to pay Holden a visit. Yes, it is possible we missed him, but we also wanted to check up on this whole daycare thing. When we arrived, Holden had just been put in his crib, asleep. Since he had not napped in the morning and played a ton, he was zonked and fell asleep before we got there. And you know what that means -- short nap. Oh, one other thing ... he had also bonked himself in the nose when trying to walk around a piece of furniture they had there in the room. Yes, this is something we're going to have to get used to (and they are, too, at the daycare center). At the end of the day, Bryna picked up Holden and he seemed happy (but tired from not napping all day). He had played to his heart's content and beyond.

So what do the overbearing parents think after one day of having their little sweetie in day care for one day? Well, we're of course suffering from our own case of separation anxiety, which manifests itself in all kinds of questions and accusations directed toward his new care providers. But, in our defense, I think they also have some things to work out. For instance, we worked really hard to sleep train Holden (ie. getting him to learn to fall asleep on his own, and not just from rocking or nursing) -- and I'm not going to let some daycare teacher take that away as they rock Holden to sleep with a bottle (which is what they seemed to do today, but not what we asked them to do). And who sleeps comfortably under the brightest fluorescent lights known to man -- can't we dim those lights a bit! (sorry, but I hate fluorescent lights). OK, ok, I'm going into crazy, overbearing parent mode, but it's rough sending our 'little bug' off to be cared for by strangers, essentially. It's going to take some adjustment time (for us, and the new daycare center). But, I think we'll survive. I mean, does anyone ever like the first day of school?