2 years, 1 month
Ok, as soon as I think I'm on track to keep updating this thing, another month goes by and I realize I'm way behind!!
Now that we are finally getting settled into the house, the stress level is starting to go down while the business is starting to go up!
Brock started his new 'school' officially on June 3rd. It's a daycare center but they focus more on lessons and teaching and letting them try all kinds of things. They have guests come in (a firefighter) and they do arts and crafts and play outside and run in the sprinklers. It's a great place! We think he's finally starting to like it!
Yep, the first week was AW-FUL! Mostly just the first 2 days. He cried so hard the first day, that I left there a complete sobbing mess unsure if we made the right choice to move him. I was a ball of tears on and off all day. To all you moms out there that have to leave their babies with strangers right outta the gate - my hats off to you! I don't know how you do it!! The first week was full of tears, but each day got better and better. We changed up the routine so Daddy does drop offs now. They were a little too much for this mama to take!
They have cameras all over the center where we can watch him during the day. The first day this was a miracle. We had never left him alone with people we didn't know and he didn't know. So I mostly just wanted to make sure he was ok. Was he adjusting? Was he sad? Was he lonely? Was he scared? I was GLUED to the computer screen for the first 2 days. Luckily, by the end of day 1, he was already making friends. Each day, he got more and more involved. We were so proud watching him on the screen fully engaged in all the activities they asked of him!
Last week was still a little rough at drop off time - no tears, but a big fat pouty lip. When Nick dropped him off today - no tears, no fat lip!! He has started talking about his friends at school by name. Every night we say our prayers and we make sure to talk about his new teachers and new friends. I think it helps him associate them and remember they are a part of his life right now.
We tried out our neighborhood pool for the first time this weekend. I was a little nervous since we didn't do swim lessons this year. I wasn't sure how Brock would react. He LOVED the pool last summer. But that was the PV pool which had an amazing baby pool area he could walk around in on his own. And he's a totally different kid this year. Luckily...after just a few minutes, he was a little fish again! He was jumping off the side into our arms, kicking his legs and going after his toys. We are so excited for a fun, free summer activity we can all enjoy!
I would like to also officially call out our Pediatrician. Don't worry - we still love Dr. White. But boy was she wrong! When she told us the 2 stage might not be as bad since he's so highly verbal, she really got our hopes up. But WOW...the terrible 2's are in full swing at our house. We thought they were bad before...but man...the tantrums, the fussing, the yelling oh my! He whines now which he's never really done before. It's almost like because he's been so verbal for so long, now he wants to be a baby and not use his words. He just wants to cry and whine. We have taken the approach of trying not to give any attention for these little fits, as that seems to be what he's wanting. We'll see how it works out!
We also have started something we always swore we would never do...letting him sleep in our bed! I always said I wouldn't be that mom. That kids need to have and love their own space and mommies and daddies need their time and space too. Note to all you non-parents out there: whatever you say you won't do when you have kids, prepare to do ten times over. Anyway...with the move and the new school, he's started having what we think are night terrors. He'll wake up just crying but not really being fully awake. Sometimes we can rock him and get him back to sleep in his own bed. But probably 4-5 nights out of the week, he'll wake back up and end up in our bed.
Here's the thing: we both work full time. Sleep is precious. If putting him in our bed gets him back to sleep in 5 minutes as opposed to 50 - then I'll take it. Also, it doesn't really bother us. I fought it for a little while just because I 'didn't want to start a habit' and 'they say you shouldn't do this....'. Well, screw that! LOL! We really don't mind having him in our bed - with a couple of exceptions: We both have to be able to get sleep and he can't be taking advantage and crying JUST to come in our bed. Our bed is so big it usually doesn't affect our sleep to have him there. Also we don't feel right now like he's crying just to cry and come in our bed. If and when that starts to happen, we will work on getting him to stay in his own bed. We really feel like all the changes have thrown off his sleep for a bit and if sleeping with Mommy and Daddy makes him feel a little more secure while we transition, we're more than happy to allow it. It's just not a battle we feel is necessary to fight right now.
Also, we still feel like we have our own time together in the hours after we put him to bed. He still goes down to bed in his own bed every night. Therefore Nick and I can maintain our routine of having a couple hours just the two of us to catch up on trashy tv and get in bed in time for the news. Yes, we're an old married couple, but watching the news in bed together is our happy place. It's something we've done for years and it's almost our own little 'tradition'. It's such a steady part of our routine we both feel a little slighted if we miss it too often.
The summer is in full swing with 4 birthday parties coming up in the next 2 weeks so it's fun and sun ahead for the Barbosas!
