"Our" first day at daycare

So Deanna is the only one who noticed how I just let slip a few weeks ago that my babies went to daycare :)

My nephew has been going since he was about 8 months old (now 3.5) and my sister mentioned to me while we were on holiday that the school was closing and he'd be going for a half day.

I joked and said, "can K and C go too?" and she said she'd phone the principal and see.

She phoned me back after 10 minutes and said yes.

Of course once it was a done deal, I panicked a little bit but I was brave and told D that I'd booked them in and they were going.

He is far more overprotective than I am (my friend Caren says D is a more nurturing "mother" than I am - ha!) and had many more concerns.

I said, "if it's good enough for K (nephew), it's good enough for our two".

And I was dreaming about actually having a bit of time off after 4 full days with the babies as I now know that the zen-ness only kicks in after 5 days (or at least that's how it was for us).

Time to eat warm food and drink a hot cup of tea/ coffee all the way through.

You know, things I took for granted before.

So we dropped them off shortly after 8 in the pouring rain (this holiday was terrible with all the rain but moving along).

Two teachers met us at the gate and were obviously expecting us as they said, "are these K's cousins, the twins (you guys know how I hate that!)?"

I entertained thoughts of hanging around a bit and letting them get used to the new environment but no, they like the break fast.

So you hand over your precious cargo and leave QUICKLY.

Surprisingly K was absolutely fine - started chatting to the teacher immediately - that girl makes me worry. Will she just go off with any friendly person????

But C screamed and wailed, and didn't want to let go of D. They told us to go and I left a business card with them and said we'd be in the area for breakfast and to please phone if things got out of hand and we'd come collect them.

We went to a lovely coffee shop where I wrote this post.

We had pretty hot chocolates

this is D's meal

and this was mine (ricotta hotcakes with honey and strawberries)

yes, it tasted every bit as good as it sounds. Mmmm.

While we waited for our food, I made some bookmarks and keyrings for some special people.

Some of the patrons looked at me strangely - is it weird to be all organised? I hate wasting time.

Anyway, while I was on holiday, I also decided to get my eyes re-tested and get some new frames. There was a special on at a local optometrist and I'd save about R1000 with all the stuff I usually do with my glasses (high refractive lenses, anti-reflex coating, hard coating).

So I went for my eye test (all in about 3 - 4 blocks) and D collected the kids.

When I finished, they were fast asleep in the car. Stressed out from being with all the other kids, poor things.

D told me when Connor saw him, he started crying again. It broke my heart. See, I'm not as cold as I seem.

K was fine and, as she usually is, happy to see him.

Apparently the teacher said that Connor calmed down after 10 minutes but every 20 minutes or so, he'd cry a little again. Terrible.

Even K (nephew) told my sister that they could hear Connor crying from their class :)

And that was their first (half) day of daycare.

But here's the thing.

The rest of that day and the next couple, Connor would freak out if D so much as disappeared from his line of vision.

"Daddy! Daddy!" in that little boy urgent voice.

And for weeks afterward, he still wants D around all the time but that could just be due to the fact that D's been at home with them for a whole month because of being sick.

So I dread to think what will happen when, one day in the very distant future, the kids go to daycare.

And the schools are clever in these parts. They charge much the same whether they go for a full day or a half day.

E.g. I investigated two local schools (18 months early because I'm a planner) and the one said R1900 for a full day and R1750 for a half day, and again R1600 for a full day and R1400 for a half day.

Those fees are per person per month.

I wonder how I'll know if it's right for them and they need to just suck it up, or if I'm pushing too much (my tendency is to push...).

I read about Cat's twin boys, one who cried so much last week the nanny had to go to the school to spend some time with him. The other one was perfectly fine.

This is not a new problem and it certainly won't be the last.

But oh, it is so difficult when they wail like that and you feel like your heart's breaking.