Today was the first day of daycare...need I say more?

First of all let me start by explaining that I put my little munchkin down last night to sleep at 8:30 and this morning when my radio (which has found a country music station somehow) went off this morning at 5:45, I proceeded to take a shower (she's still sleeping), get dressed (yup still sleeping), gather my stuff and go downstairs (still sleeping), let the dog out...and in (still sleeping), put all our stuff in the car (still fast asleep)...now I'm at the point where I have to wake her...WHAT? WAKE HER??? you say...yes, wake her!!! I think from now on she'll sleep in the clothes she'll wear the next day so if this happens again I can transplant her from crib to car seat (oh wait that won't work because she'll go to daycare with a dirty diaper and then they'll freak out or something). **sigh** So anyhoo...I got her up, changed her diaper, got her dressed in her little pink outfit, so there was no mistake she was a girl on the first day (although one change of the diaper by the staff and it would've been a dead give away that she was in fact a girl...duh!!!!). And then we were off to her first day. She scootched (that's technical term for fussed...look it up) pretty much the whole way there because sitting in a car seat was not, in her book, what she had in mind...she had something more along the lines of eating/milk/full belly in mind. Well you should've thought of that little missy...before you slept through our morning routine on the very first day! Perhaps tomorrow she'll get it and wake up sooner, but I have to say it was nice to be able to get things done without worrying if she was sitting in her bouncy seat or swing crying.

So we get to daycare and ring the bell (it's a locked door and they can see you in the little camera when you ring the bell) and decide whether they want to let you in or not. Luckily they let me in!!! The infant room teacher was waring...get this...POOH SLIPPERS!!!! I need them!!! I've needed new slipper since a couple weeks into my maternity leave when my Eeyore slippers lost there tail (in other words died). So of course after seeing the Pooh slippers, I whipped out my Winnie the Pooh tattoo...I'll have to show Ms. C my license plate tomorrow!!! Forgot all about that!!! So while Ms. C got Li'l Foot's stuff settled (sheet on the crib mattress, blanket in the crib, diapers, wipes and ointment in the little box above the changing table labeled "insert her name here", extra changes of clothes and binky/paci in the cubby marked "insert her name here"), I fed her. And while I fed Li'l Foot, Ms. C's little 10 month old crawled around on the floor...soooo cute!!! Someday Li'l Foot...someday that will be you crawling around...no rush!!! I also briefed Ms. C on what to expect as specified in the list below:

1. She LOVES to be swaddled...TIGHT!!!!!
2. Pacifier, only if nothing else works!
3. I'm not gonna tell ya what she's really good at because she'll prove me wrong and make a liar out of me, so I'll just et her show you herself what she's good at.
4. A & D ointment on her tushy at diaper changes until her Yeast infection goes away...don't worry about the Nystatin cream the doctor gave us it goes on only 3 times per day so I'll apply it in the morning and at night and hubbie will apply it when he gets her home in the middle of the day.
5. Don't worry about not telling me the milestones that she hit while she's here so you can spare my feelings that she didn't do it for me first...I'm not one of those mom's that will get upset if her child does something for someone else first...the fact that she did it is what's important...so bottom line tell me if she rolls over for you or crawls or scoots from one end of the room to the other...I wanna know! I'm a big girl, I can handle my daughter doing it for someone else first.
6. On the subject of diapers...change them often...if you feel it's full don't wait...do not pass go...do not collect $200...change it, cause you never know when the next wave of pee or poop will come and let me tell you from first hand experience, it's not pretty!!!
7. Hubbie will be here at 2.
8. Her paperwork (in triplicate) is in her bag and yes I know I'm a first time mom and yes I even went so far as (wanted to use the word neurotic but didn't so as to avoid a permanent "crazy freak 1st time mommy" label) to include pictures of the people who are allowed to pick her up...and that would be me...hubbie...grandma and sliebel!!! my daughter doesn't leave unless you've made a positive identification of the person standing before you with the pictures I've enclosed in the envelope. I know you didn't ask for the pictures but you got them anyway. I won't object to asking for a drivers license too! Any deviation from those allowed to pick her up...will be given in expressed written consent and no doubt I'll give you a picture of that person too. (So a-pop if you want lunch with Li'l Foot let me know...we'll work something out and God knows I have enough pics of you!!! :-)
9. I think that about covers it. I am entrusting you to care for my child...and i know this is a good place and I have faith.

And then it was time! I am sure everyone wore their galoshes out today...and if you didn't well then you were just plain stupid cause you knew I was dropping Li'l Foot off at daycare the first day and that was sure to lead to a break in the flood gates. And believe me, I've been known to wash out small villages. Well, I couldn't prolong it any longer. I just had to leave. I kissed Cassie on the forehead what seemed like a million times and grabbed my keys and made my exit. As I walked out the door, Ms. C said "you can call anytime" (in that sad sort of "poor 1st time mom" leaving her child at daycare voice)...to which I replied, "I'm gonna try not to!" (I said between tears with an extremely shaky voice!) as I continued to walk down the hall. I cried in the hall, I cried exiting the building, I cried in the car, I cried at the stop light, I cried walking from my car to the train, I cried standing on the platform, I cried in my seat on the train, I especially cried when I heard the "my battery is dying you better recharge me" chirp that came from my cell phone in the depths of my bag. Eventually the crying subsided but if I can offer one word of advice to 1st time mommies...don't wear contacts the 1st day you bring your child to daycare...they'll only get washed out to sea or rubbed off your eyeball!!! I managed to hang on to mine but it was no easy task!!!

Guess what...I didn't call the daycare ONCE all morning...NOT ONE TIME!!!! I restrained myself. I kept myself relatively busy...plus I pumped and then had Physical Therapy and then had lunch and by then it was almost time for hubbie to pick Li'l Foot up anyway so why bother calling. Hubbie was instructed to call AS SOON as he got home to tell me what happened. Well he didn't call right away and when it got to be 2:10...I called the house and was briefed on how it went.

7:34 a.m.: I left
7:45 a.m.: she had a bottle because I didn't really feed her enough which I knew but I had to go or we would've all drowned
8:40 a.m.: she napped
10:10 a.m.: she woke up
10:45 a.m.: she had another bottle
11:30 a.m.: she went to sleep again
2:00 p.m.: daddy arrived and was woken up so she could go home

Somewhere in there she had her diaper changed 2 times and they were only wet!!! Oh no!!! She didn't poop yesterday either...the elusive poop monster is going to rear its ugly head at any time. Good grief...she's gonna explode, but according to the doctor its normal for breastfed babies to go days without pooping...ick!!!

So that was her day in a nut shell. She is now at home, keeping daddy comfortable and watching some of the only television she's allowed to watch...YANKEES BASEBALL...she's allowed to watch Guiding Light too!!! :-) It's Yankees opening day and at the moment, it's the bottom of the 7th inning and the Yankees are winning 6 - 5 against the Rays. Posada homered and Damon left the game with a calf cramp. (Hmmmm can you picture hubbie and Li'l Foot during the 7th inning stretch!!!)

Stay tuned for coming tales of Li'l Foot's adventures at daycare!