I decided I needed to take the afternoon off on Wednesday in order to secure a spot for Emily at a day care. We all knew my mom couldn't stay with us forever, and we've had September in mind for the past couple of months as the date we'd transition. Emily will be 6 months old, and we thought that was an age where we wouldn't feel like she was so tiny and helpless.
I set up tours with four places that were all rated as 4 or 5 stars (the highest ratings) by the NC Division of Child Development. The tough thing for us is that we had a great place picked out in Atlanta before we moved, and now we had to start all over! The other tough thing is that a couple of the places we were excited about seeing initially had wait lists of over a year, so we had to take those off the list. I told Mick that even if we'd known we were moving when I was pregnant, it still might not have been enough time!
After leaving each of the first three places, I called Mick in tears. Nowhere was going to be good enough for our little Wiggles! Maybe it was the cribs lined up against the wall that made me feel like I was in a baby prison, or the fact that none of the people seemed like someone I wanted to hold Emily--whatever it was, I came away wondering how I could resign and be a stay at home mom. The fourth place, Gateway Academy, was different. I got a good feeling from the minute I walked in the door, and it just felt like the right place. The people were fantastic, and all of the kids seemed genuinely happy to be there. I liked the place and the curriculum, and it's only a few miles from home. I even singled out a little girl about Emily's age who I just know will be her best friend :).
Emily would start out in the Infant 2 room, which is babies from 6 to 10 months. Since she'll be right at 6 months when she starts, they thought it was better to start her there rather than have to transition her twice (once when she started in the 0-6 month room and once a couple of weeks later). They also recommended that we move in gradually--so one day I might go in with her for an hour or two, then I'll drop her off for an hour or two, then maybe go a couple of days a week. I like the idea, and hope that will be easier on both of us than just dropping her off on day one.
The next step is for Mick to go with me and see the school; then we'll pay a registration fee to hold a spot for Emily and choose her start date. While I still know that dropping her off that first morning will be the toughest thing I've ever had to do, I now feel like this is the best thing for her. There was a one year old boy in one of the classrooms who had just started day care for the first time, and he didn't stop crying the whole time I was there. The teachers said the transition had been really difficult for him, and I can't help but think that the older she gets, the harder the transition will be for Emily.
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