Daycare drama continues

So let me say first that I am not going to complain about BBZ's current daycare. They are absolutely fantastic and I couldn't be more happy. What I am going to complain about is the daycare center that BBZ almost went to. I am counting every lucky star around that he did not end up there. Let me back up a little. N and I signed up for U City Child Center in February of 2008, when I was 2 months pregnant. We knew the waiting list was long and we wanted to get him in really badly. So in July I called and the woman at UCCC suggested I get a back-up plan because things didn't look good for him to have a spot in January. So I found Developmental Child Center in Dogtown. This place was extremely expensive and from what I could tell very nice. I toured and signed BBZ up and was honest from the very beginning that this was my back-up plan. UCCC is down the block and diverse in race and economics, and DCC is private, so only families who could afford the outrageous tuition could send their kids there. So they were always extremely friendly and let us know that they would hold the spot for BBZ. So in October I called and asked when they needed the 2 week deposit we had to put down to hold his spot. I again was very honest and said while I wanted to do right by them, I didn't want to pay the 2 week deposit before I absolutely had to in case the opening came at UCCC. The woman was again very nice and said all they need is 30 days. So on December 4th, I brought BBZ with me to pay the money. I walked in and the usual friendly woman said in an unfriendly way that the director wanted to talk to me. The director came out and said she wanted us to give them a 14 month commitment. What??? She said that it wasn't fair that I would take a spot and only stay a short time when there are families who would be willing to stay 4+ years. I am so taken back by this that I don't know what to do. I asked if not giving the commitment loses BBZ his spot and she said no because legally she cannot ask me for the commitment. So I reluctantly pay the money, she gives me a packet of papers and sends us on our way. I didn't get to see the room again or meet the teachers or anything. They just took the money and expected me to show up on January 5th. So, N and I talk over the weekend and decide that we don't want him to go there. I feel uneasy about the place and decide she is right, we don't want to get in the way of another family who wants to go. We will take our chances with UCCC (which we know worked out great). I called her back on December 8th and told her this and asked for our money back. Keep in mind it has only been 2 working days. She said payroll went out on Friday and she cannot give me the money now, but she will refund it. She asked me to give her a few weeks and call her back. I called back on January 5th and she said the same thing. I actually expected her to say she would not pay us back, but again she said to give her a few weeks and call back. So I called again today and got the same response. I told her this could go on forever! She either has the money or doesn't. She said she is paying us back out of the kindness of her heart because they do not usually refund the deposit. I stated that we decided not to send BBZ there because of their insistence (however illegal) of us to make a commitment. She asked again for me to keep calling to remind her. N says I should call her every day...just to annoy them. I'm not sure what to do. We're talking about $740! That's a lot of money! I'm thinking of writing a letter if for no other reason than to put what is going on in writing. I might even ask that she give us the next deposit that is given to them since our money didn't lose anything for them. I don't know. Thank God BBZ didn't end up there. All along I thought this was such a great place, could you imagine having to work with them as your child's care provider? How frustrating that would be. It makes me love UCCC even more each day...

Baby Boy Z is 4 Months Old!!!

I can't believe it has been 4 Months! We went to the doctor today and BBZ weighs 15 pounds and is 25 inches long! He's in the 75th percentile in height and weight and the doctor couldn't be more pleased with his development. We talked about solid foods, but since he is sleeping so well and hasn't seemed to be hungry after feedings we are probably going to wait a little while. He continues to get all of his nourishment from my breastmilk, which is very satisfying for me! We will probably start solids within the next couple of months. The doctor wasn't too thrilled about his new thumbsucking, but at his age it's way too early to worry about it as a habit. Plus, isn't it just so cute??

Getting his very first savings account. He really loves the bank book. Smiling at Daddy on his 4 Month birthday. Such a big handsome boy! Some tummy time with Rick Flair

Naptime for Mommy and BBZ

On to week 2...

Well, the first week of daycare was pretty good. BBZ seemed to enjoy himself and I only had to call on the first day. On Friday, the only thought from the teachers is that they wish he would sleep longer during naps. He has been taking little cat naps since he was born. They write it down all week, and it was pretty normal for him to take 3, 30-45 minute naps each day. That seems pretty good, but I got a taste of it this weekend, and I think it could be better.

I guess maybe he is adjusting to the newness, but he seemed a little off this weekend. Friday he was fine, we even went bowling with friends and he slept in his car seat some, woke up for a while and went back to sleep when I held him. Saturday I didn't want to leave the house because he was so cranky in the morning, but in the evening we took him to our friend's house so we could go to N's work Christmas party, and he was a perfect angel. I think he was bored at home all day and craved the excitement he had at daycare all week! Yesterday we went to another friend's house and he did pretty good there, too. Today was the toughest day. The biggest issue are his naps. He wanted to nurse to sleep at every nap. This isn't a problem for me, but when he is with N, or tomorrow when he is back at school, this could become an issue. We also didn't go anywhere today. Maybe he just loves to be on the go and his attention span is getting shorter so he needs more stimualtion. He seemed to eat a lot today too. Maybe he's going through a growth spurt. I won't be surprised if he grows out of his 6 month clothes already...he'll be just 4 months on Friday!

One thing I have learned, is what works/doesn't work one day could totally change the next day. I started to worry about starting a bad habit of nursing him to sleep, but tomorrow is another day and could present new challenges altogether.

My First Blogger Award!

My friend Gina gave me an award! How nice is that? So apparently this award entitles me to blogging some really random things about myself, then giving the award to seven other honest bloggers. I only know one other blogger besides the one who passed this on, so I will hold onto it until I make some other blogger friends. 1. I love breakfast. It is definitely my favorite meal of the day. There are times (like this morning) when I eat oatmeal, a whole wheat english muffin, a banana, a granola bar, and an entire sleeve of chocolate donuts with milk to dunk them in, all before 9:30am.

2. I pay for satellite radio, which has over 100 channels, and truly only listen to the 8 on my letter A list. I hate surfing channels and I often listen to the same channel for weeks on end, and I'm perfectly okay with that. I have also been known to watch Law & Order SVU hour after hour, just because I really don't want to look for something else to watch.

3. I saw Widespread Panic live at least 50 times in at least 20 different cities from 2001-2008. I met my husband and some of my very best friends while on the tour over the years. I have never seen the same show twice and pride myself on being able to identify the upcoming song with those first few notes. I have some of the best memories of my life during those years. (as an added note, my blog is named for one my favorite WSP songs!)

4. I kept and framed all of the ticket stubs of the concerts I went to when I was pregnant with BBZ. So while he may not know it, he has heard Panic live, too.

5. If it weren't for my husband I would probably cook the same 7 meals every week. I am extremely predictable and non-spontaneous and I am also perfectly okay with that.

6. I am so addicted to Diet Pepsi, I have to make myself drink at least 1 nalgene of water before I can have the 1 Diet Pepsi I allow myself each day. I'm a little obsessive about this because otherwise I would literally drink it all day long.

7. I have some non-negotiables in my life. I must take a shower in the morning, I must sleep on my side of the bed, I must watch channel 2 news in the morning and at 5pm and complain about how they always report bad news, I always (and I mean always) go to Quiktrip for gas, and whole wheat bread and honey crisp apples are always on my grocery list.

I'm passing this award to:

Yes I'm on My Way

Baby Boy Z's First Day of School

Well, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I woke up Sunday morning and told N that I was really nervous about having to leave BBZ Monday. I knew I would be fine walking into the place, I'd be fine talking to the teachers, I'd be fine getting him all settled, but what I worried about was the minute I had to actually turn around and walk out of the door. I didn't know if I would be able to do it. N asked if I wanted him to come with me. What a great idea! N's schedule is so crazy I know I will usually pick BBZ up and drop him off, so it didn't occur to me that I don't have to do this by myself. He went with me and when we both walked out together it felt less like I was abandoning him and more like we finally got to this point that we had been planning for almost a full year. I did cry when I got to the car. Not because I was worried about his care, but because I know that this is how our life will be now and pretty much forever. Every work day from now on I will have to take him somewhere and be away from him, and that will most likely never change. For those first 10 minutes, I was really sad about that fact. It's the cost of being a working mom, I guess. But this is what is best for our family, and it will just continue to get better.

As far as his day at school, it was really great. He ate well and took the bottle with no trouble. His teachers said that he loved sitting back and watching the other kids, and he loved to lay on the floor and laugh and giggle. He was cracking up about something when I got there to pick him up! He had some trouble with naps, but he has never been a good daytime napper (just like his mommy). Hopefully he will get into a decent schedule while there. Overall it was a very successful first day! I'm looking forward to how he will do tomorrow!

Meme has been busy taking pictures!

It's so nice having Meme here! She's busy with the camera and has taken some great pictures.

Back to work - once again

Well here I am again. It's Sunday and I officially go back to work tomorrow after having 12 weeks off for maternity leave, returning to work for 2 weeks, then having 2 weeks off for the holidays. BBZ will be 15 weeks on Tuesday. I should, and do, feel very lucky to have been able to keep him home and out of daycare this long. My mom is in town and will watch the little man all week since he couldn't start at his daycare until the 12th. So he will be one week shy of 4 months when he starts. Look how lucky we are! There are some moms who have to put their 6 week old baby into daycare. I can't imagine how hard that would be. We are really lucky. I visited our daycare last Wednesday to drop off papers and met his primary teacher. This is the person who will write in his notebook, have conferences with us, etc. She was awesome. She breastfed her baby, she is going to school to be an early education teacher, and she has 2 years left of school, which hopefully means she will be there for 2 years with BBZ. As we were walking in, a mom was leaving holding a carseat. We spoke for just a minute but discovered that her little boy and BBZ are 6 days apart and will be in the same room. They will be buddies! He starts tomorrow, which leads me to believe that they didn't want to start 2 new infants on the same week. That's pretty cool. So all panic aside, I really think we will all be happy with his daycare situation. It's hard going back tomorrow knowing it's for good. But I know he will be ok, and so will I.