Today we went to visit the Navy's Child Development center. Let me explain, after Mrs J told me that she was closing down at the end of the summer, DH and I discussed when we should start looking for alternate care. We agreed to move Miss C in July when Mrs J is going home on vacation. I spoke with Mrs J about this and she was fine with it. Well, when we signed up for in home care, we also got on the wait list for the child Development center. Apparently this place is harder to get into than Harvard! We are "Priority 1" because we are dual military and we just got a chance to take a spot after 6 months!
We decided to take the spot (it opens on May 5th) because Miss C does need the socialization with her peers and because Mrs J is closing down. So, today Miss C and I had an adventure and went to meet her classmates and her teachers. She had a great time. I swear little miss thing was introducing herself to everyone, it was so cute! She apparently remembers the group setting from SoCal and is fine with it.
So, I thought that because DH was still here that we would just shift over in May in spite of my being on shift. Oh, I was so wrong!
When DH got home from work today he told me that he will be leaving soon, not quite sure when soon, but sometime in the next few days. He will be back around Miss C's birthday but he has another, albeit shorter trip then. AH, OK, so now what?
I called Mrs J and talked to her. We had discussed this possibility earlier and she is being gracious enough to be willing to help out still. Thank gosh for great people. So, for those interested, here's our plan to make sure that we are using all of our resources.
Once DH leaves, Mrs J will let me bring Miss C over for the eves and mids (on the eves I get her at midnight, poor baby, and on mids I bring her at 10pm, poor baby, and wait until noon the next day to get her so I can get some sleep). Once our spot opens at the Child Development Center (CDC), I will use them for weekday days, but I am paying for all of the services.
Mrs J is nice enough to let me use my 50 hours then charge me the additional even though I will use most of them in the evenings and overnight (oh yea, and weekends). i am really lucky and blessed that she is willing to help me out with this. The reason I will still take Miss C to the CDC is for the school aspect with other kids. I am going to pay regardless.
So, other than that, I learned that in order to advance to the next "class", Miss C will have to be able to walk comfortably, show independent eating (apparently they work on this in her class first) and sit at a little table to eat. Are they trying to make her grow up too fast?
i worry that i am not doing enough then I worry that they want too much!
Alas, on the plus side, I am still home. DH won't be gone the 6 months that most folks are. Mrs J and family are seriously helping save my bacon.
And, one big plus, Miss C is a happy, healthy, well adjusted little girl. Guess that should be the most important, right?
5 comments:
So when does the next "class" start? Surely they don't expect her to be walking, eating independently, and sitting at a chair by the time she's one year old?? I mean, sure some kids would be fine with that, but that's way more than the average one year-old can achieve. (And ok, maybe I'm defensive because my almost-15 month-old just figured out the walking and I'm pretty sure she still couldn't do the table and chair.)
It sucks that Greg has to leave and that you're going to be pulling single-parent duty, but wow, you are so lucky to have Mrs. J to help you out!! I can't think of very many child care providers who'd be ok with having a baby dropped off at their house at 10 p.m. Yeesh. Mrs. J rocks.
First of all, congratulations on getting into the Navy daycare! That's wonderful!
Those are almost the same as the requirements at our daycare for moving up. I think they're standard for Montessori, and similar to most other types of daycare as well. At ours, they have to be walking/cruising well, although a lot of them start out shaky and improve under the peer pressure; they have to sit at the toddler table and feed themselves--teeny little chairs, not big kid chairs; they have to take only one nap a day, in the afternoon (something they begin preparing for at 10 months); and they have to be able to communicate their needs, through grunting, pointing, whatever. Most kids at our daycare actually move up around 13 months old, but since every baby has his/her own time schedule, plenty of them move up at 14 or 15 months. A girl in e's infant class moved up at 15 months old and she's doing fabulously. Cindy- c-baby would fit into a one-year old class just fine.
Rather than making them grow up too fast, it's preventing them from being thrown into a totally inappropriate environment with kids who will eat them for lunch.
Liz, keep in mind that it's only April now, and by Miss C's birthday you will be amazed how much has happened (you think things moved fast up to now, just wait). And once she gets in with kids her age and a little older, those changes will accelerate at a pace you can't believe. In six months from now-- mark this post-- you will have a toddler. And it is SO much fun.
We had an interesting dinner. After yesterday's experiences I realized that I might not be giving Miss C enough credit. Tonight she ate about 1/2 of her "baby" food and demanded a "regular" dinner. We had roast chicken, long grain and wild rice and broccoli with cheese. We cut up her stuff and put it on her tray and she ate like a big girl. Granted she didn't use her fork but that is something that will happen in time. I didn't even realize that she liked her chicken until she started eating it. Funny what little one's will show you!
Exactly! Independent self-feeding doesn't have to mean using a fork and spoon. Finger-feeding is good manners for a one-year-old. :-)
And if she reverts to wanting you to put food in her mouth, that's alright. You know that she can do it herself if need be.
Miss C just slays me. I should know better than to underestimate her ability to meet whatever challenges are placed before her. I do think that she will be fine, I just didn't expect to be told to that she had to sit in her own little chair and give herself a meal! Did I mention that she is walking assisted with a push toy? Yep, she loves to show me how "big" she is!
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