First Week of Daycare (sniff)

Since Brian went back to work this week, we started Ethan with his new wonderful daycare provider. He is going to Vilma's Bilingual Daycare in Urbana, a home daycare (which I really wanted) about two blocks away from our house! Very very very convenient (which we both really wanted!). Vilma seems just wonderful with Ethan - holds him a lot, plays music and sings to him, and keeps the two little girls she has there away from him when they look a little too interested. :) I was very unhappy leaving him the first day, but she was understanding and assured me that I could call whenever I wanted to to see how he was doing! Ethan's mother, the crazy lady, has been picking him up pretty early this week, but I think we'll be on an actual schedule next week so all of us can get into some kind of routine.

Brian was cute enough to document the boy's first day of "school" with lots of pictures - his shoes (so the socks don't constantly come off!), the second outfit he had to get changed into before we got him there, etc.

And once again, the folks I work with have been fantastic. Some email me when they hear I'm back to welcome me and to ask, "So what new tricks is he doing now?" When I show them pictures and little videos, they are nice enough to make the requisite, "Awww!" even when I'm sure they're thinking, "This chick is nuts!" And it's funny, but Ethan is up to new things - every day, it seems! Monday night, after his first day of daycare, he slept through the night - amazing! Brian and I didn't sleep nearly as well - we were both up between 2 and 4 in the morning because the boy had turned onto his side and we were worried he'd flip onto his stomach and suffocate. Of course, he didn't - and he's napping on his side as I write this, which I'm sure is a way more comfortable sleeping position than on his back. We still put him in the crib on his back, but he doesn't stay there. :) He's also eating a ton - apparently he cries mournfully whenever his bottle is done, so I'm going to have to work hard to make sure that the supply keeps up with the demand! His four month Well Baby visit is coming up in a few weeks, and we'll see if he has managed to maintain his weight percentile of 95%. (Brian refers to him as "gifted".)

One thing that he hasn't done yet, but Brian and I are both eagerly anticipating, is to notice the cats. They still avoid him like the plague, and he doesn't seem to register that there are furry moving things near him. I'm guessing that he'll figure this out right about when he starts to grab at things in front of him, which will be an interesting development for all concerned!