Daycare drama: redux. Plus pictures.
So, Baby School. It's been going very well for Penelope. She hasn't cried when I dropped her off in months and months, and she's always in a happy mood when I come to pick her up. Sometimes she doesn't want to go in the morning, but I think that's more about wanting to lounge in her PJs and watch cartoons. Once we get there, she scampers to her seat to wait for breakfast. She often wakes up from naps on the weekend to tell me she had fun at Baby School, as if she were just dreaming about it. She loves to do art and always enjoys showing it all off to us on Fridays when she brings it home; every day when I ask her what she did at school, she says, "I do ark!" Yesterday, she told me she made raindrops. Today, she told me she used scissors. She's doing phenomenally on the potty and only ever has poop accidents, but I think it just takes her by surprise; she wants to poop on the potty but isn't quite accustomed to reading her body's cues.
So Baby School is going very well--for her. But given that Inside Baby will be enrolling in a few months, I've been peeking in at the baby room recently, and I have been unimpressed.
There's this one lady there, Sheila, who I don't really like. I never see her interacting with the kids; I only ever see her chitchatting with the other teachers. The other teachers, even as they chitchat, at least interact with the kids. Also, P doesn't like her, which speaks to me, since P likes almost everybody. I mean, I'm only basing this on one time several months ago when P's teacher was there yet, so she had to hang out in Sheila's classroom, and she was extremely hesitant to do so and cried. But still. I don't find this woman particularly warm or likeable.
Anyway, she's in the 1-year-old class, and apparently, she's also in the baby room. (There's another lady, Jeannie, who is the "main" teacher there, who I talked to about a year ago, but she's not in yet when I come in to drop Penelope off.) I've noticed the last few days when I go in the the door to the baby room is open, and there's one baby in there, always in a jumperoo. By himself. Sheila, who is supposed to be watching him, is in the 1-year-old room, which is only a few feet away from the baby in the jumperoo, with the door open, but she's not paying any attention to him. Two days, he was asleep in the jumperoo. One of the days, I said something, and she said, "Oh, he falls asleep in there, and then I put him in his crib." I think one day she had put him in the crib and still wasn't in the room with him. Today, I got there early, and he was awake, so I'm like, "WTF, do they just put him in the jumperoo and wait for him to fall asleep?"
So today I said something to one of the co-directors, and she said she would check it out. And since it was bothering me, I went on with, "When the babies cry, do they pick them up?" She said yes, but they can't always get to every baby the second they cry. I get that; that's just day care. But I also asked, do they let the babies cry to sleep? She said they try to do what the parents want, and when her kids were there, she'd want them to change her baby, feed him, "love on him some," and then put him in his crib and leave him, because "studies show" that kids who aren't picked up all the time are "less selfish," and she didn't want to have to pick him up all the time at home.
So I was like, "Well, what if I don't want my kid to be left to cry? How will I know if they are doing it the way I want if I'm not here?" She said I would be welcome to come check things out whenever I wanted and to feel free to mention any issues I had. And she also attempted to reassure me by saying that if the babies are awake, they're not in their cribs. They are in the swing or the jumperoo or the bouncy seat. Which... one thing I really liked at P's first day care was that when I asked if they had swings (because at that time, she was only napping in her swing), they said no, because they don't want to be tempted just to leave the kids in the swings. And obviously that temptation is there at this place, because this one woman sticks this kid in the jumperoo and then LEAVES THE ROOM.
Is it just a long parade of eat, get changed, sleep, get up, sit in the bouncer, watch the other kids go through the same process? I guess in some way, that really is just day care, too. I mean, they have two teachers and eight babies. Even the super-special, expensive day cares have that ratio. At some point, though, can't they, like, sit on the floor with the babies and show them toys or mirrors or sing songs, or do some shit like that? I'm sure it varies depending on whether your kid sits or crawls or whatever.
I like Penelope's teacher and her class, and the class she was in before. I think she's doing really well there, and I don't want to take her out. And I thought I was okay with the baby room when we toured before, but now I don't know! I like the main teacher, Jeannie; she did impress me last year by talking about how she breastfed all her babies until they were, like, three, and I saw her interacting with babies. But this Sheila? She sucks. I dislike her.
Anyway, I feel pissed, but I don't think there's anything I can really do about this. Anywhere better is going to cost a shit ton more, and it's already going to cost me $255 per week for both kids. Besides, is there anywhere better? Honestly? I think I'm going to ask more questions. And maybe try to peek in there more often. But, seriously, Sheila. The fuck. THE FUCK.
Lee says maybe for the start, we should stick with the evil we know. I see that; day care is day care, and there's nothing to say any place else is actually going to be any better. But we're going to try to be very proactive and make our wishes clear. Plus, we live very close, and Lee works from home, and he will pop in at random times to see how the baby is doing. I will also try to visit and nurse the baby, though it will likely be at the same time every day. But between the two of us, we'll make a big presence and try to be very aware.
And now!
At my shower on March 28, which my sister, who was four or five weeks ahead of me:
She was induced on Monday and had her baby, Oliver, who weighed 10 pounds, 9 ounces! Wow!
My friend Meagan rocks with the camera. I love these pictures she took.
Friends.
My friend Blythe made this amazing cake.
Lee took these for me a few days later.
Penelope's still my little baby--long legs and strong will and all!
Lee and his baby.
So Baby School is going very well--for her. But given that Inside Baby will be enrolling in a few months, I've been peeking in at the baby room recently, and I have been unimpressed.
There's this one lady there, Sheila, who I don't really like. I never see her interacting with the kids; I only ever see her chitchatting with the other teachers. The other teachers, even as they chitchat, at least interact with the kids. Also, P doesn't like her, which speaks to me, since P likes almost everybody. I mean, I'm only basing this on one time several months ago when P's teacher was there yet, so she had to hang out in Sheila's classroom, and she was extremely hesitant to do so and cried. But still. I don't find this woman particularly warm or likeable.
Anyway, she's in the 1-year-old class, and apparently, she's also in the baby room. (There's another lady, Jeannie, who is the "main" teacher there, who I talked to about a year ago, but she's not in yet when I come in to drop Penelope off.) I've noticed the last few days when I go in the the door to the baby room is open, and there's one baby in there, always in a jumperoo. By himself. Sheila, who is supposed to be watching him, is in the 1-year-old room, which is only a few feet away from the baby in the jumperoo, with the door open, but she's not paying any attention to him. Two days, he was asleep in the jumperoo. One of the days, I said something, and she said, "Oh, he falls asleep in there, and then I put him in his crib." I think one day she had put him in the crib and still wasn't in the room with him. Today, I got there early, and he was awake, so I'm like, "WTF, do they just put him in the jumperoo and wait for him to fall asleep?"
So today I said something to one of the co-directors, and she said she would check it out. And since it was bothering me, I went on with, "When the babies cry, do they pick them up?" She said yes, but they can't always get to every baby the second they cry. I get that; that's just day care. But I also asked, do they let the babies cry to sleep? She said they try to do what the parents want, and when her kids were there, she'd want them to change her baby, feed him, "love on him some," and then put him in his crib and leave him, because "studies show" that kids who aren't picked up all the time are "less selfish," and she didn't want to have to pick him up all the time at home.
So I was like, "Well, what if I don't want my kid to be left to cry? How will I know if they are doing it the way I want if I'm not here?" She said I would be welcome to come check things out whenever I wanted and to feel free to mention any issues I had. And she also attempted to reassure me by saying that if the babies are awake, they're not in their cribs. They are in the swing or the jumperoo or the bouncy seat. Which... one thing I really liked at P's first day care was that when I asked if they had swings (because at that time, she was only napping in her swing), they said no, because they don't want to be tempted just to leave the kids in the swings. And obviously that temptation is there at this place, because this one woman sticks this kid in the jumperoo and then LEAVES THE ROOM.
Is it just a long parade of eat, get changed, sleep, get up, sit in the bouncer, watch the other kids go through the same process? I guess in some way, that really is just day care, too. I mean, they have two teachers and eight babies. Even the super-special, expensive day cares have that ratio. At some point, though, can't they, like, sit on the floor with the babies and show them toys or mirrors or sing songs, or do some shit like that? I'm sure it varies depending on whether your kid sits or crawls or whatever.
I like Penelope's teacher and her class, and the class she was in before. I think she's doing really well there, and I don't want to take her out. And I thought I was okay with the baby room when we toured before, but now I don't know! I like the main teacher, Jeannie; she did impress me last year by talking about how she breastfed all her babies until they were, like, three, and I saw her interacting with babies. But this Sheila? She sucks. I dislike her.
Anyway, I feel pissed, but I don't think there's anything I can really do about this. Anywhere better is going to cost a shit ton more, and it's already going to cost me $255 per week for both kids. Besides, is there anywhere better? Honestly? I think I'm going to ask more questions. And maybe try to peek in there more often. But, seriously, Sheila. The fuck. THE FUCK.
Lee says maybe for the start, we should stick with the evil we know. I see that; day care is day care, and there's nothing to say any place else is actually going to be any better. But we're going to try to be very proactive and make our wishes clear. Plus, we live very close, and Lee works from home, and he will pop in at random times to see how the baby is doing. I will also try to visit and nurse the baby, though it will likely be at the same time every day. But between the two of us, we'll make a big presence and try to be very aware.
And now!
At my shower on March 28, which my sister, who was four or five weeks ahead of me:
She was induced on Monday and had her baby, Oliver, who weighed 10 pounds, 9 ounces! Wow!
My friend Meagan rocks with the camera. I love these pictures she took.
Friends.
My friend Blythe made this amazing cake.
Lee took these for me a few days later.
Penelope's still my little baby--long legs and strong will and all!
Lee and his baby.