First day of daycare...

...and it went not so well. As I had posted earlier, Maddie's been sick (and therefore sleeping even less than she usually does) and just not herself lately. But we had to do the 'first day' at daycare at some point - can't wait for the right time, because like most things, if you waited for that, you'd be waiting forever.

So off she went - 8am to noon was all she was going to be going for, and even though she hadn't slept well, and wouldn't eat breakfast, I still had my hopes up that it would be okay. Because Maddie loves other children. So much so, that I was hoping it may help keep her happy, occupied, interested and not-grumpy for the 4 hours she was there.

Ummmm, not so much. I dropped her off - she was in a great mood - wanted down on the floor to chase after the kitties (itttt-thay!), gave the daycare provider a big smile, and seemed not bothered in the slightest when Mommy gave her a big hug and kiss goodbye.

So I headed out, ran some errands, picked up some groceries, feeling good. Feeling like, hey, this isn't so bad after all. (Especially after a nightmare night with a baby that wouldn't sleep)

And then I go to pick her up, right at noon. I'm happy - I missed her, but not terribly - and am very interested to see how her morning went. I walk up to the door. And see my daughter crawling down the hall... crying.

Ummmm - shhiiiiiitt.

So apparently she didn't have a great morning. Apparently she wouldn't let the daycare provider put her down - ever. Apparently she was exhausted, but wouldn't sleep - fought the closing lids so badly (like she does - that didn't really surprise me). Apparently she freaked out about ... toys that made noise, the other kids, the outside, the swing, getting sprayed with water (don't blame her on that one), being inside, not being held constantly, having to sit on the floor. Yeah, just about anything. Superfreakoutattacks.

So the daycare provider asks me - does she need to be held all the time? I'm like - uh, no. She usually doesn't want to be held - she wants to be down on the floor, go-go-going. She asks, does she not like to be rocked to sleep? That one - harder to answer, as she sometimes does, sometimes doesn't - and does like to fight sleep. She asks, does she often not drink her milk? Um - yup.

I couldn't get a read on whether the daycare lady was upset with Maddie. I know she was sad that her first day wasn't better, but I got this feeling like she thinks Maddie will be more effort than she originally thought. Which is a bummer, because I know just how easy Maddie can be. And happy. And fun. And joyful.

All of which she was not, this morning.

Poor little bugger.

I am so not looking forward to Monday - our next 'half-day' in the daycare orientation plan.

xxoo.S

PS - one thing that did make me feel better, was that at least she felt solace in the daycare providers arms. I mean - that's something right? That she felt comfortable enough with her to want her to comfort her?