Daycare

Ruckus is 11 months old today!!  That is 47 weeks, for those of you keeping track in the most complicated way possible.  To celebrate his 'birthday' I dropped him off at daycare, haha!  But really, Ruckus started at an in-home daycare last week, and seems to be doing okay with it.  Today was his fifth day, and he has yet to cry when I leave, so he either enjoys his time there, or he just is used to me leaving him every day.  I'll recap the last couple of weeks for you:

Last Sunday, the 12th we met with Tiffany, who runs the 'daycare', at her house.  She was the only one there so I am not sure what her husband is like.  The house is a new one and is spotless.  It would be pretty hard for a child of my son's size to get into anything harmful, so that is good, and there is a designated playroom which is full of toys.  Ruckus seemed to like Tiffany and she showed us what would become his very own bin to keep his spare clothes and diapers in when he comes over to hang out.  My husband and I decided that we would try it out for Ruckus, starting with three days a week.  For this, she charges $90.

His first day was Wednesday, the 15th.  I took him over there on my way to work, and there were a few other children being dropped off at the same time.  By some strange coincidence, Tiffany has only ever been hired by parents with boys, so Ruckus may not discover the fairer sex for a few more years.  Tiffany has two boys of her own as well, the youngest being 1 and a half and the oldest 2 and a half.  So this brings the total to 6 children under age four at any given time.  I would charge a lot more than $30 a day if I were watching this many small children.  Perhaps you would have to leave your Valium prescription as you drop off your child. 

His first day seemed to go well, although he did not have a sufficient nap.  I was not surprised, as with any house full of little boys there is a lot of noise and activity, and Ruckus is not used to any of this on a normal day.

The second day was much the same.  Ruckus ate well, played nicely, didn't nap much, and didn't drink but a small amount of milk.  I took him home and coddled my baby, and he chugged a bottle of milk and dozed for a bit before dinner.

On the third day, Ruckus 'miss-stepped' and had a bruised lower lip when I came to pick him up.  Also, he had only managed to drink about five ounces of milk over the course of a nine hour day, which is not much, and significantly less than he drinks during the same time period at home.  I think Tiffany may have more children to care for than she has hands to hold bottles.

Over the weekend he did fine, napped well, and drank his milk as normal.  So I really do think that not napping and not drinking his milk at daycare is related to the distraction of all of the other boys, and that his caregiver does not have time to hold a bottle in my son's mouth.  I am not sure how I feel about this.  Naturally, I am concerned, but I am a logical person and of course one woman does not have time to drop everything so she can hold my baby, and 'baby' him in the manner to which he has grown accustomed.  She will not have time to rock him to sleep, or hold him as he snores, and he isn't used to sleeping for a long period of time without someone there to soothe him. 

These things are not necessarily her shortcomings, but rather they could be (possibly, maybe) habits that my son will have to get over, and grow out of.  This is hard for me to admit because my son is my baby.  He is not yet a year, just a small boy, and I don't really see the problem in treating him like a baby when it is my option to do so.  But I cannot expect others to do so, and this means that I must change my own habits so that he can act and react in a daycare appropriate manner.  Children crave consistency and routine and it is much easier on them if things like naps and feedings are handled in the same manner wherever they are spending their time.

I made an effort to put Ruckus in his crib for his naps, and he seemed to do alright for the most part.  And I also tried to get him used to a sippy cup with less success.  This will be a long process I suspect.  I took him back to daycare on Monday, and he had a mostly good day.  He seemed tired when he got picked up by his dad, and drank eagerly from his bottle once they got home.  He stayed home with dad Tuesday and Wednesday, and I took him back to daycare this morning.  He wiggled out of my arms in his eagerness to get started with playtime with the boys so this is a good sign. 

Aaaaand I just got a call from my husband who picked him up a few minutes ago, and Tiffany has given us a two week notice to find another daycare.  She feels that he is simply too young to be in her care.  It seems that I have been correct in thinking that his needs are more than her hands can provide.  I am not sure that I will take him back tomorrow, although I do need to take him somewhere.  Crap.

A-Picnicking We Will Go

Yesterday was my company’s summer picnic so I went home a little early to change and pick up my boys.  I dressed Ruckus in a blue overall shorts outfit and some matching sandals and off we went to the park to visit with my coworkers and their families.  This is usually the type of event I like to avoid because socializing with coworkers and bosses is not always the best idea for career advancement but now that I have my son it is more fun to do these sorts of things, as he soaks up the attention lavished on him and gives me something to do with my hands. 

We arrived a little earlier than most people and he was able to finish the nap he had started on the drive to the park.  Everyone cooed over him and marveled at how big he has grown since they saw him a month or so ago.  I’m so glad that other people think my baby is adorable as I do! 

After he woke up we played a little and I took him to sit in the grass for a bit so he could fully wake up before eating dinner.  We ate chicken and ribs and potato salad and baked beans.  Ruckus is still a very good eater and if I can get the pieces cut up small enough he has no trouble with the foods I offer him.  There are of course some things I do not give him, for instance, coleslaw, because they are just too hard to chew using only the front teeth and wouldn’t digest properly if swallowed whole.

Everyone we sat around was surprised at how well behaved Ruckus is and that he eats people food and is such a big boy and a handsome baby.  This served as a good reminder of how very lucky we are to have such a healthy baby who has no food issues, which is easy to take for granted.  He also seems to take after his daddy who is tall and with a heavy build so he is a big boy for his age.

After dinner we went over to a couple who have a 12 month old boy who is all smiles.  I asked if he (Logan) could play with Ruckus for a while and we went and sat the two boys in the grass so they could get acquainted.  Babies seem to not really play so much as stare at each other, smile, and try to steal each other’s toys.  Ruckus patted Logan’s clothes a little before taking the crushed water bottle he was playing with, and then Logan took it back and Ruckus cried for about five minutes.  He clearly is not used to anything being not his and we will need to work on sharing, haha!

We left soon after as Ruckus was showing signs of being zombie tired and this is never a good state to be in while in a crowd.  We had a nice time and it was good for us all to see other babies and small children running around, and to be outside of our element for a little while.  It also was interesting to see Ruckus next to children of approximately the same age to gain some perspective of how much larger he is than his peers.  It is one thing to see the label on his clothes which now is usually size 18 Months but to physically see him next to a two year old of about the same size was a bit of an eye opener.

Early Morning

Hmm, where was I?  Oh yes, raising Ruckus!  Back to it then...

We have been happily going about our daily routines lately.  We get up with the sun and the birds while the house is still quiet.  I change his diaper and he helps me make coffee, and then we play.  Toys sound very loud at this hour.  Why do they make children's toys so loud?  I have to turn the TV up to 12 to drown them out.  Ruckus likes to watch the news with me in the morning, as he tries to bat the coffee cup out of my hand so he can stick his own hand inside of it, and smear it on his clothes.

If it is hot in the house I open up the door and Ruckus will stand there, against the screen door and bang his hands on it, as though he were a prisoner trying to get the guard's attention, and maybe be let out.  I think he would like it very much if I would please open the screen so he could explore the front yard, and the road that leads Away, to parts unknown to him except from the back of a car, facing the wrong way round.

After the news I sit him in his booster seat, and he watches me prepare his breakfast, which is usually fruit and yogurt.  He cheers all the while, hooting and hollering and most of the time waking everyone in the house with his enthusiasm.  Sometimes we listen to music while we eat and if I am cheery I dance for him, which he finds amusing.  He likes to take the yogurt coated fruit out of his mouth and play with it for a minute or so before putting it back in and eating it.  This tends to be a little messy.  Luckily breakfast is served while he is still in his pajamas.

If it is a weekend we do not have to rush so after breakfast I'll clean him up and get him dressed for the day.  He likes to chew on the hairbrush after I'm done combing his hair, so I let him as this is a good distraction for him and helps me dress him with less struggle.  Clean clothes, clean face and hands, combed hair.  He looks like such a gentleman!  Now it is time to play.  He will start at one end of the room and make a circle around it, visiting with each toy he can reach for a moment or two, making his rounds.  When he has run out of toys to say hello to he has to make a choice.

Shall I go back to the kitchen?  The dog's food and water is there, and the trash can.  Maybe I can have a bite, or tip them over?

Shall I smack the window and try to scare a cat out from under the bushes?

Shall I tug on the trunk of the tree in the corner, and snack on the potting soil beneath?

Perhaps the bathroom door has been carelessly left ajar?

Sometimes he is very good and ignores all of these distractions, and heads for his toy box instead, where he carefully selects a toy to drop on the floor.  He doesn't really want to play with that one.  He reaches in again for another, and repeats the process, pulling out each toy one by one.  It is scary when one of them has been left on and makes noise in there all by itself.  If he can get enough of the toys out, he can tear at the paper which lines the box, that makes the most fun noise of all!

After play time with Mommy it is time to play with Daddy, while Mom heads for the shower.  Lord knows what goes on in this time.  When I am done I open the bedroom door and I can hear little thump, thump, thump noises as Ruckus crawls toward my room.  He's coming to see me!  He comes around the corner and watches me putting on my makeup.  Soon, he is bored with this, and begins to browse the contents of the bathroom. 

There isn't much interesting going on from my point of view, but he finds joy through slapping and banging on the toilet lid, and trying to eat my magazines.  Poor Better Homes & Gardens has seen better days!  Soon enough, he is tugging quietly on the toilet paper roll.  He's quick!  30 seconds is all it takes for the roll to be unwound onto the floor.  It takes much longer to reel it back up.  I hurry up and finish, and scoop him up so I can carry him somewhere more child friendly. 

Back to the living room, where his toys wait quietly for him to make his rounds again.  He ignores them and heads for the plant.  He seems to just be looking at the dirt but don't be fooled!  His mouth is already full of it and so is his tiny fist. 

It seems as though he is getting into the most trouble when he is tired.  Suddenly the toys have all lost their shine and only tugging the dog's ears will do, or splashing in the dog water.  He will actually cry if you take the TV remote away from him, or your cellphone.  Surely, it is time for a nap now.  After a little convincing, an hour of peace is had so that you can 'reset' the house and get ready for round two, which starts at around 10 a.m.

Running Out of Firsts

Yesterday was Independence Day, and I spent it with my husband and son.  Nobody else.  It was awesome!  We weren't really trying to avoid anyone, it just worked out that we had no definite plans and decided to stay at home and take it easy, and this ended up being a very enjoyable way to spend the day.

Ruckus is a handful so it was nice that I was able to stay at home and help my husband with the things that he normally has to handle by himself.  I took a bunch of pictures of the baby to commemorate the holiday and many of them turned out great.

We set up the baby's first splash pool on the patio out back and filled it with water to warm in the sun while I fed Ruckus his lunch.  He likes squash!  A little while after lunch I dressed him in his swim trunks and we trundled out back to get the playtime started.  Although he was confused at first he got the hang of the whole outside-bath pretty quickly and enjoyed himself.



After about an hour we decided to wrap it up and go inside, as I seemed to have missed a bit of the babies back with the sunscreen application so he was getting red in patches and I wanted to avoid a sunburn.

After that Ruckus had a glass of milk the hard way which mostly ended up in his lap.  We'll need to practice this a little more, or I should say that I need to practice this more, as I'm the one holding the cup as it pours down his face.