Last week was a big one for us! Caroline moved up to her new class at daycare on Monday and Thomas started (in Caroline’s old class) on Friday!
Obligatory first day of school picture. Thomas is such a champ.
All packed and ready to go!
Caroline doesn’t require bringing much to school anymore – just a lovey, a blanket, some backup clothes, sunscreen and diapers when she’s out. Luckily most of these items stay at school so we don’t have to cart them back and forth. However, she insists on wearing her backpack every day regardless of how empty it may be. She cracks me up.
Now Thomas is a whole different story! This little dude practically requires a rolly suitcase daily. For his first day we packed some backup clothes, a HALO sleep sack (which may or may not have his sister’s name monogrammed on the chest), Dr. Browns Bottles with my favorite Orbit bottle labels, Triple Paste, diapers and wipes. Matt and I agreed to be the “room parents” this year for Thomas’ class so I also threw in a short teacher questionnaire (thank you Pinterest) for his teachers to fill out.
Thomas did GREAT on his first day. There are only two babies in his class right now and he has three teachers (who we love!) so he is getting lots of love and attention. We receive lots of pictures throughout the day which make me so happy too. I missed this little man so much on Friday and am sad he’s already in daycare. I return to work next week so I’m going to drop him off for a few hours each day this week so he (and me) can adjust to this new routine. And uh, maybe I can get an overdue hair cut.
Caroline’s first week was R-O-U-G-H! Each morning at drop off she clung to our legs, bawled hysterically and didn’t want us to leave. And as luck would have it, we ran into her favorite old teacher on accident every morning too and Caroline would melt down in the hall. It was the saddest sight ever. And to make matters worse, the “routine” in this new class is for the kids to wave goodbye to their parents from the big window overlooking the drop off circle as the parents wave back before driving away. Heart wrenching. Not sure who cries more – Caroline or me.
But it wasn’t all bad! Twice per day Caroline and her friends enjoyed playing on the big playground (which her old class didn’t do until the last few weeks of school), went on a buggy rides, enjoyed the water table and more. Also, I have no clue how they made this happen but on the first day of school Caroline’s teachers sent me a picture of her napping on a MAT! I didn’t believe that was my child at first. She has been a super napper in her little corner of the room. Crazy.
Now for week two!
Well done momma, you survived!!! i can only imagine how traumatic this transition is but soon it will be a daily routine x
I hope this next week goes much smoother for Caroline and you! Good luck with the transition back to work.
Good luck with the transition! That breaks my heart, too, about waving goodbye! I always, always got choked up leaving Walker and we did it for 15 months. And how awesome are you guys being the room parents?! Go y'all!
Oh boy. You did great! Our kids start back in about 3 1/2 weeks when I return to work. G has been going one day a week all summer but it's hard to believe they will both be going…I love their backpacks 🙂
Oh my goodness, those pictures are adorable!! The one with Caroline and her backpack (and the fact that she carries it even when empty) is too much! Hope the 2nd week for Caroline gets better – looks like she loves it!
Drop off it TOUGH! Neither I nor the babe could handle it, so Super Daddy took over. He never got used to me dropping him off (my husband always did), so we kept it. I can't even imagine with two! You must be exhausted by the time you walk out the door! Hope you enjoy a little alone time before you have to go back to work!
Aww! I sure hope this week is better than last for Caroline & Momma! Thomas looks so happy in his class! But, with 3 teachers, who wouldn't love that!? Good luck this week & I hope you get that hair cut!!
Oh how babies don't keep. I definitely need to check into those Orbit bands for our little man's arrival. It makes it so much easier than having to write their names on bottles daily. Ahhh how I forgot about those days. So glad you guys survived week 1. Here's to week 2!
Yay glad you made it!! You will survive week two! Just remember, you're a champ 🙂
They are both too cute! The picture of Caroline at the door cracked me up.
OMG Daycare is NOT school!!
is that personally offensive to you?
How is daycare not school? Daycare does have a curriculum just like a preschool or pre-k.
They call it "weekday school" where our kiddos attend and they also have "teachers" so I guess we just go with it! 🙂
Oh goodness, I hate hearing that Caroline is sad in the mornings. I know that's an awful way to start your day! If she's anything like Lawter though, I know the tears and fuss mere minutes after we're gone and she's fine for the rest of the day. (and I thought the same when I saw the pic of her napping on the mat- WOW! I'd be floored if Lawtie would do that) Glad Thomas's transition is going well! Your daycare looks so great!
Where are those adorable backpacks from???
Oh no, waving goodbye is actually a really terrible idea! It emphasizes that the parents are leaving, when really you're supposed to go about it like it's no big deal.Sorry, I'm a nanny so I always put my 2 cents in when it comes to children.
Thank you so much for writing about daycare on your blog. My little guy (also born on the same day as Thomas) is starting daycare on Monday and I'm so distraught over it, but when I read your blogs and see how well they're doing at daycare it makes me feel better and little less scared.
Sounds like they are both doing well in daycare! What are "room parents"?
Awww, big week for all! The photos of Thomas and the other baby are so cute! They're just hanging out, lol
Those first two pictures are EVERYTHING!!!! I love them!!! So sorry about all the tears – I'm sure that's so, so, so, so hard!!
I love how Thomas is kind of looking at Caroline like "You've done this before right?"Is it hard putting them in daycare? I feel like we just haven't found one that's good enough for us to put Sophie in one, but we know she should be in one someday.liz jo @ sundays with sophie
Where do you get those adorable bookbags at?! I love them and need one! 🙂
First of all, I congratulate you on surviving this day and coping with everything. Remembering my first days at school, I was not ready for all the tests prepared for me. Although I was not a stupid child, everything was not easy for me. And now, when I grew up, I began to think about whether I should arrange a school at home, at least for the first time. Once I even wrote an essay about it using samples from https://studydriver.com/homeschooling/ as a guide for robots. I know that school is mainly about communication, and only then education, the social role in society is also essential. But knowledge helps more in life. We often continue to communicate with only 1-2 people after school and find good friends already adults, and communication skills can be obtained by walking on the street.