Logan's First Day Of Preschool

It went better than I had expected! What a relief!The day before Logan had taken a 4.5 hr nap so my plan went out the window of putting him to bed early on Tuesday night, for his first day on Wednesday, March 16th. But at least he was only going for 3.5 hrs, so I woke him up at 7:45 am on Wednesday morning. I hate waking him up, I can count on one hand how many times I've done it in his three years of life -- I guess my feeling is that if he's sleeping then his body needs it so if I disrupt him then he will get run down and sick. But thankfully he woke up smiling at me and was in a good mood as he got ready, so he wasn't still tired like the other times I've had to wake him up in his life.

Joe left with Logan at 8 am and called me when he got to work (I had already left a message on his voicemail to ask how the drop-off went)! He said that when they first got there they went to the office to give the director his vaccination records and proof of where Joe works, and since that had been our usual routine when going there, Logan was comfortable and hopping around, etc. Then they went to his classroom and he was still fine. . .until Joe told him goodbye. As expected, Logan started crying and asked for "one more hug and kiss" five times before Joe finally left.

That was the only time I cried on Wednesday -- when Joe told me that part, so it was a good plan to have Joe take him and not me because that kind of stuff doesn't bother him. :p Otherwise, I probably would have been sobbing all morning!

But the teacher (Liz) called me at 9:30 to let me know that he was doing fantastic! At first I was like, oh no, what's wrong, why is she calling me? haha. But she wanted to tell me that he stopped crying after 5 minutes and from then on had joined in happily with everything. He had eaten all of his breakfast (cheerios and milk), had sat next to the other kids during story time, and had actively played with all the toys (especially the legos and magnet blocks) -- even making friends with one of the boys named Cale, as they stayed side by side for the rest of the time! I thought it was funny, Liz later told me that Logan avoided all of the trouble makers and gravitated toward the quiet, calmer kids, haha!

I came to pick Logan up at 11:30 and as soon as I walked in, the assistant director who sits at the front desk said, "He has been amazing!" so that put me at ease as I walked to his classroom. He was still finishing lunch, so Liz came to greet me and we watched him through the hall window (he didn't know I was there yet) and that was when I REALLY relaxed because it was soooo obvious with my very own eyes that he was completely comfortable and happy! He was sitting there eating, looking around and smiling at everyone, and just appeared so at-home there. I've seen him with many different emotions and moods and vibes over these three years, and the one I saw with my own eyes was ideal!Liz said that a lot of kids cry all day, or they just stand around and watch but don't want to participate, so she had expected that, but instead he was a natural -- he followed every single direction from her and the two other teachers (coincidentally, Liz's co-teacher just started this week, too -- her name is Michelle and was super nice, too, while the former co-teacher [Satie] was finishing her last week there before going back to school).

Liz said that they went outside to play twice and he really enjoyed riding the bikes that they have there. He also went down the slide and got his pants dirty, haha, so they had to change his pants. He sat on the toilet twice for them but didn't go (I told them how he doesn't like to go for other people, hopefully that will change now -- starting now I'm going to work HARD at getting him to go in public or when we are around other people so that he is potty trained everywhere, like he is with just me at home. Joe and I really haven't pushed it).

For lunch he was eating his third mini hamburger, as well as his third helping of applesauce and green beans! Needless to say, it was a successful first day!

The other kids were already laying down for their nap, so I went in the classroom at that point and Logan gave a big grin when he saw me. I talked more to Liz and Michelle as Logan finished his food. They had taken two pictures for me to have so that was fun, and his report card said, "He is a joy to have in class!"As we said goodbye, Liz asked if he'd had fun and he nodded and walked over and gave her a hug, then walked over to Michelle who was way across the room and gave her a hug, and then over to Satie and gave her a hug! I was so impressed by how quickly and easily he warmed up to all of them!

As soon as we walked out the door he said, "Wow, that was fun! Can me go again?" Yeay!!!

Yesterday I reminded him that he was going again on Friday (today) and he said, "Mommy and Daddy can't come, just Logan by myself. You already went to school when you were little." Haha!!! He seems so proud of himself, which makes me proud, too!

He was in a FANTASTIC mood the rest of Wednesday as well as all day Thursday (yesterday).

Even though yesterday he took another 4.5 hr nap, he woke up on his own at 7:30 this morning so I got him ready and Joe took him -- and then Joe called me and said that Logan didn't even cry today!!!!! Michelle told Logan that they were coloring hearts and so Logan happily went over the art center and got started on his before breakfast! I'm so glad that this was the right thing to do.

It was also confirmation (sadly) on Wednesday after I picked up Logan, we went over to Gail's to get his two outfits and she handed me a sack with ALL of his things. I was a bit caught off guard as I said, "Are you not returning?"

She said, "I don't think so."

She was talking about how much she was dreading her surgery (that is today) and I said "I'm sure things will be better once it's over" and she said, "No, probably not." So I'm still worried that whatever is going on is life-threatening! :(

But when I asked what the doctors said she could expect as far as recovery, she really didn't answer. My hope is that in a few months whatever is going on will be in the past and maybe she can do a part-time or on-call type of basis after that. I mean, the other families have found new places for their children to go (three kids were still there that day) and it doesn't sound like she's going to search out new families and maybe not even renew her license -- but I know childcare is her passion. Her husband is owner of his own company, she lives in a nice house, she's 50 yrs old and has been doing this for 28 years -- she's not doing it for the money, she's doing it because she loves kids and raised 7 herself (who are now all in college or have lives of their own). So maybe after my baby is born, she will be able to watch her for an hour or two here and there, or watch Logan when there is something going on on a day that he's not at preschool -- but just not do it on a regular basis.

Because there's no way I would feel comfortable dropping off my baby at a NEW at-home daycare so that's not an option. I would have only done that at Gail's because she's become like family over the past two years. So if she doesn't ever return then I will have to suck it up again and not have a break for my daughter's first year like I did with Logan. By the time she's a year old then I can see her going to La Petite with Logan. . .but not before that.

Gail said that she had seen on facebook that morning that Logan had started preschool. He was acting really shy with her for the first time ever, probably because he didn't understand why we were there even though I had tried to explain it to him in the car. She said "I'm sorry."

So I felt bad. . .I didn't really know what to say. I gave her another hug and she told me to stay in touch. Like I said, she's on facebook and we also email so I hope it wasn't goodbye forever, but I could tell she was treating it like it was so I took pictures. She hugged Logan and started crying. Logan didn't know it, but it was probably goodbye forever with his friend Zay who I was glad was there that day so that I could get a picture of him, too, although Logan was still being shy and wouldn't pose for any pics. When I got out to the car I started dry heaving! :( I hadn't felt nauseous since those two random throw-ups (a month after my all-day sickness ended) the weekend Gail first told me about all of this. So it must trigger something in me. Thankfully, I was able to control myself since I didn't have a bag or anything to throw up in! I also was in major need of lunch. I called Joe and we met at Taco Bell so that I could tell him about our day.

When Logan and I returned home, we played outside for awhile since it was nice weather and even went to the park before his nap. Thursday was great weather, too, so we met Brooke & Kaelyn at the zoo.

I'll be picking up Logan at 11:30 again today, and then next week he'll start his first full days! I'm so glad the adjustment has gone smoothly!!!!!The only other thing to report is that on Wednesday I had major dizziness. I never had it with Logan and never had during this pregnancy, either. It started when I woke up after sleeping -- I got up to go to Logan's room and couldn't walk straight! The room was spinning and I kept bouncing around the walls. I assumed I had stood up too fast, but it didn't go away for 3-4 hrs! I was starting to get concerned, like maybe I should go to the doctor that day, so I was relieved that it went away.

I read that it could be my uterus was pressing on a blood vessel, or anemia, or low blood sugar or even low blood pressure. Normally my blood pressure is 120/80 whether I'm pregnant or not -- but the time before last at the doctor's office it was 110 over 60 or 40. They said it was still fine but I was surprised because I thought pregnancy makes it go up, not down. Just as there are risks of high blood pressure, there are risks of low blood pressure so hopefully it's not that. I've never been anemic either so my guess is that it was either the blood vessel thing or the blood sugar (even though it continued after I ate breakfast, it had stopped by lunchtime).

This week I noticed a major increase in my appetite. Until now I've eaten the same amount as I did prior to being pregnant which was a relief because with Logan I remember I had scary-hunger (meaning, I was starving all of the time and could never get full) but this week I noticed my desire for sweets FULLY came back (I actually drove to the store just so that I could buy some brownie mix!) and I had two suppers one night! Darn, now I'm going to have to start paying attention so that I don't sky rocket :( I'm now in my 21st week and up 18 lbs.

This week went really fast. . .happy weekend everyone!

UPDATE: Just like there were no tears when Joe dropped him off this morning, there were no tears the rest of today, either! They said they are blown away by how secure he is. He talked to everyone and was happy the whole time again! I think going to Gail's one or two days for the past two years really helped so that the concept of being away from Joe and me, with other kids and authority figures, is familiar! He's been acting so mature since arriving home :-)