This is a recap of Swe-cha's first week in daycare, you can check out our family blog for a blow-by-blow & more detailed account of his daycare experience.
At first, I thought it was going to be a breeze, he immediately went towards the toys and did not even give me a glance when I dropped him off on his first day. There was very little crying and the daycare staff found him easy to pacify.
On day 2, daycare started calling me an hour after I dropped him off. He was crying non-stop and was upsetting the other kids and making them cry too (I had dropped him off an hour before naptime, this turned out to be a big mistake!). I had to go back and pick him up again.
By day 3 and 4, the daycare and I had worked out a plan to bring him in between 9 to 12nn everyday (instead of the original schedule of 3 days a week). We were also asked to adjust our schedule and get him to bed earlier and get him awake earlier as well.
Today was supposed to be his 5th day in daycare but I decided to keep him home because it was raining outside. This turned out to be a good decision because he had a fever by this afternoon.
I experienced a lot of different emotions this week, so much drama w/c was timely in a way because this is Oscars week, after all :) After dropping him off on day 1, I felt so sad and disappointed that he didn't cling to me at all. I felt like an empty nester and would sob every now and then because I was missing my little boy so much.
On day 2, I knew how it felt like to be called into the principal's office and have your child sent home from school. By nighttime, I was feeling so much pressure because I was worrying about the next day - what if he does it again ? what if daycare won't accept us anymore ?
By day 3, I felt such a load lifted off my shoulders when the daycare proposed a different schedule for us to ease Swe-cha into daycare. I was so relieved to see that they were willing to be flexible and work with us. J (daycare owner) tells me that "he wants to be carried all the time!" and that they have to let him cry so he'll learn and when they do put him down, he cries and follows J around - it broke my heart to hear this.
By day 4, Swe-cha did so much better in daycare. They try to avoid carrying him so he does not get used to it but when he isn't being carried, they have someone sitting nearby. They found out that he is okay so long as someone (an adult) is near him.
I had so many great plans to get our house in shape when Swe-cha goes to daycare. As it turns out, between dropping him off, picking him up, stopping by to peek through the windows to see how he is doing (stalker-style), and calling up daycare to check up on him... I haven't been able to get some "me time" yet and I'm even more exhausted than before. Hoping that next week will be better.
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