Bye-bye paci

As I write, we are in the midst of night one of "bye-bye paci". So far, so good. Mia has been sick with one thing or another for over three weeks now. She's had a virus, allergies, sinus infection and now is getting multiple teeth. We have all gotten minimal sleep over the past month due mostly to her congestion and coughing. Through all those trips to get our poor crying girl in the middle of the night (some nights as many as 8 or 9 times an hour), we are also called in frequently simply because she has dropped her paci out of the crib. Even on "good nights", we typically make one or two trips in for that same reason. Today I decided that if we currently aren't sleeping anyway, we might as well take advantage of the opportunity to get rid of the paci, so when things go back to normal maybe we can eliminate those unnecessary midnight paci hunts.

Miss Mia wasn't so happy about this turn of events. We met Mamaw Carol at the walking trail after dinner and Mia was already tired and fussy. She started asking for her paci and I told her paci went bye-bye. Well she didn't like that and a tantrum ensued. She cried off and on for the next hour and a half until I thought she was tired enough to fall asleep. I put her in her crib and sat in the rocking chair next to her for the next 10-15 minutes while she shrieked, hit, kicked, and threw things. I just kept talking to her, telling her I knew she was mad and unhappy. I told her paci had to go but Mommy was here, etc. After she stopped crying, she stood up in her bed for another 15 minutes or so, fighting sleep. Then she laid down and fought it for another 10 minutes or so. Finally the central air came on and the white noise of that knocked her out. She never cried for paci once she was in her bed. She's woken up twice already and didn't cry out for her paci either, and she fell back to sleep before I needed to go in there. Like I said, she's been waking up all night anyway due to her teeth and other illnesses, but if I can prevent unnecessary paci runs, we're ahead of the game!

In other news, Mia (and Mommy and Daddy) is adjusting better in daycare. She seems happy and her vocabulary continues to amaze me! The other day I sneezed and she said, "Bless you Mommy." Just like that. The crazy thing is that Mike is not one to "bless" someone after sneezing, so she got it from somewhere outside our home. Not only did she know that's what you say after a sneeze, she knew to "bless" the person sneezing!

She is making little motor noises when she pushes around her bath toys as though they're boats. She also likes to lay on her tummy in the tub and kick her legs. She says, "kick, kick, kick" for added effect.

Mia seems to be having a little growth spurt. She's thinning out, she seems taller and her feet are getting bigger. She's still mostly in 18 month clothes, but I think that may just be because they are shorts and capri pants. Once we have to get long pants, we may be headed for the 24 month sizes. At her doctor's appointment last week she weighed 25 lbs and 4 oz. She has her 18 month check up this week so we'll see how tall she is too.

Daycare update

Spoke to the director yesterday and she patiently listened to all my concerns. She said she had already spoken to the teachers and their story matched mine. She said the one teacher felt terrible about what she’d said and that she planned to call me. I told the director that I’m not at the point where I want to move Mia because she has a lot of familiar friends in that room and she does not seem unhappy. But I do want to know she’ll be taken care of and nurtured whether she’s happy, sad, mad, or whatever. I mean, that’s the service I pay them for and the only reason I’m able to comfortably leave my daughter with strangers each day! She agreed and asked me to keep her posted as to how things are going, our thoughts on the room, etc., and in the meantime she’ll work with the teachers on improving their communication skills.

Later the teacher called me and apologized. I appreciated the call and her apology, although she didn’t really engage much in “listening”. She wanted to say her apology and go, and I wanted to make sure she understood where I was coming from. Still need some work there, but I do appreciate the gesture. Mike said when he dropped Mia off this morning she came up to them and excitedly said, “Mia!”, like she was so happy to see her. I asked if she’d ever done that before and he said no. Well, fake enthusiasm is much better than no enthusiasm in my book!

On a related note, Mia went to the doctor yesterday and got medicine for an antibiotic. She weighs enough now (25 lbs, 4 oz) to take cough medicine, so we got some of that as well. Yeehaw! So the three of us actually got some sleep last night.

On an unrelated note, Mia was eating dinner the other night and lifts up her spoon as though she has a profound thought and says "uno, dos". Apparently she is learning Spanish at daycare now! It was even more shocking than when she said, "one, two". I am completely fascinated by all the things she is learning and is now capable of.

Daycare

Mia was up 4-5 times an hour last night. She’s probably got a nasty sinus infection. Taking her to the doctor this afternoon. Had some drama with her daycare teachers this morning. We just don’t like them as much as her previous teachers. They aren’t so warm and fuzzy. Carol said she was watching on the webcam one day and a kid pushed Mia down. They punished the kid but didn’t really love on Mia. She was crying, following them around and they ignored her. Then another day when she was up all night, she was fussy the next day. They wrote on her sheet, “Was crying and fussing all day – NONSTOP!!!” (NONSTOP was highlighted and underlined). Does that convey concern for the child, or concern for how bad my child made their day?

This morning I told the one teacher that she wasn’t feeling well and that I was going to make a doctor’s appointment for her today. Mia was clinging to me and had her head on my chest. The teacher didn’t speak to Mia, didn’t make a move toward her, etc. She just said she’d give her some milk. So I finally put Mia in her chair about the time the second teacher walked in. She heard Mia wasn’t feeling well she said, “Oh, well this should be a fun day then.” So I picked Mia back up and said I was taking her to my Dad’s because “I don’t want to leave her with people who don’t want to take care of her.” I slammed the door and walked out. I’m waiting on a call back from the director now.

I don’t know that I want her moved, because she has lots of friends in that room and she doesn’t seem unhappy. I just want these people to understand how their actions (or lack thereof) affect the parents and children. They are in a service profession. They are paid to both educate and nurture my daughter. I don’t pay them to care for her only when she’s happy and in a good mood. I understand how hard it is to take care of a sick baby. But I also know how hard it is to leave your sick baby with someone else, and you want that person to reassure you your baby will be well cared for. Indifferent looks and comments do not reassure me, nor do they make my daughter feel better.

Time for change

We've had a lot of change going on these past few weeks. Mia moved to her new room at daycare. I went away on a four-day conference. And Mike closed the store. It's been a stressful time at our house, but also a time for new possibilities. We're trying to stay focused on all our blessings.

Mia's new teachers don't seem to be the same warm and fuzzy type we're used to. It's caused a bit of anxiety for us, so I spoke with the assistant director about it. She assured me the teacher that seems to be the least nurturing is one of the most structured teachers, and that children really learn a lot from her. Before that conversation I wondered if that would be the case. She seems like she may work well with toddlers trying to push boundaries. Mia had started hitting and even bit me once while she was in the last room. Maybe this new teacher will help minimize those types of behaviors.

• Mia loves to talk and sing! Her favorite song is the ABC song, which she combines with Twinkle, Twinkle to make something like, "A, B, C, B, E, E, B up a buh duh...ha ba wha da".
• She also surprises me daily with new words. As I've been typing this, she came to me with flash cards and said "cards". She also said toys, necklace and bracelet yesterday. So I've realized she hears and understands much more than I give her credit for. We REALLY need to watch those four-letter words!
• She loves "Ehmo, Ehmo, Ehmo!" so we watch him on the computer just about every night before she goes to bed. Our favorite is Andrea Bocelli singing Elmo a lullaby. When we get tired of watching we tell her Elmo went to bed.
• She also loves Mickey and Pooh. Both Mickey and Minnie are "Mickey" and both Tigger and Pooh are "Pooh". Sometimes we aren't sure if she has gone to the bathroom or if she wants her toy.
• The other day she was in the backseat with two pacifiers. She would put one in her mouth and say "one". Then she would pull it out, replace it with the other and say "two".
• Her favorite books continue to be the "my first words" books, although Goodnight Moon is a bedtime standard.
• She now climbs into her highchair herself for meals, and buckles herself in.
• She enjoys coloring, and loves to eat the crayons, then spit the wax out all over herself and our carpet. Anyone have a good remedy for getting crayon out of carpet?
• She likes to put on her own shoes and sometimes even gets them on the right feet.
• She loves playing with other kids her age and gets so excited to see Cara. Last weekend we went to Mom's to celebrate Bruce's birthday. She ran to give Cara a hug. Come to think of it, she runs to her grandparents and Missy for hugs as well.
• She likes to hold onto my legs while I'm working around the house. She peeks through them and says "Ma-ma" in a little singsong voice, laughing at how funny she is.
• She loves to sit on Mike's back when he lays on the floor. He rides her around like a horse while she squeals and giggles.
• Of course she's also taken to saying "No Mommy" and "No Daddy" when she doesn't want to do something, or for no apparent reason whatsoever. We don't like that so much.
• She doesn't mind very well. She pretends not to hear us when we tell her not to do something. We physically have to walk over to her and make her stop. I've had to put her in the corner twice now for hitting me when I've made her stop doing something.
• Fortunately she doesn't do those type things very often. Mostly she wants to do what we're doing, and loves to snuggle up with us on the couch, or pretend to vacuum, or read books, or play on the computer, or put on "makeup".
• Bedtime is still pretty easy for us (knock on wood). She takes a bath, we read a few books and then tell her "nighty night". She lays down with her "pashis" (pacis) and closes her eyes. If she doesn't seem super tired, I put a book in bed with her. She'll usually talk to herself and her toys for awhile, then she's asleep before we know it. Other nights she comes to us before we even give her a bath or anything and tells us "night night" and walks to her room. She stands next to her bed, waiting for us to put her in. So we do, and she's out.
• Four or five times over the past few weeks I've found myself holding her while she falls asleep, and crying at how much I love her. I miss cuddling her, and she's growing up so fast. I've realized I won't be able to hold her and look down at her in my arms forever, so I've decided to take advantage while I can.

Growing

We have learned that August 17 is moving day at daycare. Since all the pre-k kids start kindergarten, all the other kids move up into their spots. Mia didn't move last year because things are different for babies. But Miss Mia is a toddler now, so she does what the big kids do. Since she's not yet 2, she'll go to a transition room instead of the two year-old room. She has moved a lot in her 15 months there, but I think it's because they try to keep the kids on a steady progression of learning and of trying to keep them with children their same age and developmental level. It is a large place so they can do that. I'm sad she'll be leaving her teachers. We have been very happy with them and the care they've given Mia. But we're confident her next group of teachers will be just as wonderful and we look forward to watching her learn and grow even more.

Along the same lines of growing, Mia is "growing" some more teeth and she is very fussy tonight. She has a very low-grade temp, was super-tired when we got home tonight and went to bed about 6:30, only to wake up an hour later, crying and not knowing what she wanted to do. She has screamed and cried "no" to everything for almost two hours. She's back in bed but not really sleeping. She's just going in and out of a fitful sleep. It's been a long time since our girl has had any troubles like this, so it's frustrating. She still can't really tell us what she needs, but she is very vocal about what she doesn't want. She doesn't want to be in bed, read a book, cuddle, sleep, walk around, etc. We fed her and gave her some milk but that was only a temporary fix. So we'll see how tonight goes. There's just nothing worse than when she cries out in a sad little voice, "Mama", and I don't know how to make it all better.

Dinner with Mamaw and Papaw

Last Sunday at the Park