I worry that time is slipping by too fast.  Kieran is growing and changing so much every day: learning, reaching, exploring, achieving.  I need to be blogging this stuff if for no other reason than to remember when he started doing stuff.  (Cuz yeah, I haven’t touched his baby book since we came home from the hospital.)  So let’s see, what’s the boy been up to recently:

We have TOOTH! Two weeks ago, Kieran finally popped his first tooth – and with nary a tear thanks to his Baltic Amber teething necklace.  Our only indication that he was actually teething was that he started drooling again.  (One of the benefits of the amber necklace is that Kieran isn’t a total drool fountain anymore!)  It’s just the one tooth, but that sucker is SHARP!  We’ve got no indication of other teeth coming in to join the first one – so we’ll just have ourselves a snaggletooth baby for a bit.

Pulling up on things – mainly us.  A month ago, he started pulling up on his crib to get onto his knees.  Now he’s pulling himself up to standing.  Thankfully he hasn’t tried it yet from the inside of his crib, he’s contented to be on his knees in there for now.  But when playing with Paul on the floor in his room, he’ll pull himself up to standing on his crib or the chair or ON Paul.  He does it to me when we’re playing on his playmat in the living room in the evenings.  He’ll just grab a fistfull of my shirt and heave himself up.  I’m convinced that he’s not going to bother crawling – he’s going to be like my brother and I and just get up one day and walk.  I fear that day is coming very quickly.  Kieran will get up on all fours, but he shows no desire to put any forward momentum into play.  He’s lightening fast when he wants to be by rolling around.  There’s no putting him down in the middle of our California King bed anymore, unless one of us is right there with him.  I’ve caught him trying to roll off twice now.  (Talk about scaring the heck outta Mama!)

He’s talking up a storm. Too bad we have no idea what he’s saying!  But he talks and talks now since getting the tubes put in.  He would talk before, but not like this.  I swear he’s making speeches and telling us stories.  His tone of voice changes, and he gets excited. He tells jokes too – or at least he thinks they’re jokes.  He cracks himself up.  But then again, he loves to laugh – so any excuse works for him.  I can look at him and say “Hee Hee Hee” and he’ll crack up.  He’s so much fun to interact with.  He sings along with the radio or TV and with us too!  Oh, and he loves blowing raspberries.  He’ll go back and forth with us blowing raspberries until Paul or I are lightheaded.  He has said things that sound suspiciously like “Mama” and “Dada” but we know he isn’t referring to us yet.

Playing: This kid is a MACHINE!  He’s so good at playing with his toys.  He has mastered closing all the little doors on his 5-in-1 jack-in-the-box thing.  Even better, he’s figured out that if he flops it over, all the doors will close on their own.  Smart boy. He enjoys all the toys on his exersaucer even more now.  The spinning top is a new favorite because Kieran has figured out how fun it is to watch the balls inside spin around.  And if you ask him to show you “Peekaboo” he’ll twist the mirrored face around and push the button to make it say “Peekaboo, I see you!”  He knows which rings go on each of his two ring stackers, and he understands that he can put the shapes in the holes on the front of his shape sorter, but he has to pull them out from the back.  His newest toy is his Ball Popper: he knows how to turn it on and is fascinated by the balls popping out the top, and by Daddy frantically collecting them and shoving them back down the tube.  It’s the best game ever! Kieran’s favorite toy right now though has to be his remote control.  He always reaches for the remote on our bed or in the living room, so we cleaned up the old broken Harmony remote and gave it to Kieran.  He loves that thing.  (And since he’s not getting our phones, the remote is the next best thing.)

Solid foods: I’m still making all of Kieran’s solid foods other than his applesauce.  (I figure store-bought is just fine, as long as the ingredients are just apples and water.) So far he’s tried Greek yogurt, carrots (steamed and roasted), roasted butternut squash, roasted sweet potatoes, steamed green beans, steamed peas, bananas, pears, avocado, pumpkin, mango, oatmeal and rice cereals.  I’ve got edemame, strawberries and blueberries on deck for this next week or so as well.  Kieran doesn’t like anything green, but I’ll keep trying.  He’s also not a fan of bananas or mango.  Weird kid.  He gets sent to school with two 1/2 cup containers of food for lunch, a cereal with yogurt and fruit and a veggie.  He gobbles them both, and has cheerios at snacktime too.  He has a big dinner with me at home every night now too – usually a veggie with cereal and maybe some applesauce for dessert. I’m increasing the texture of Kieran’s foods now, as well as making them much thicker.  I don’t feel comfortable moving him to chunky stuff just yet, but we’re getting there.  Once he gets better with more texture I’ll add in shredded cheese and over-cooked pasta to his menu.  Then we’ll start in on meats.  His formula intake is decreasing accordingly with his solids intake, but we’re not concerned – he’s obviously growing just fine.

Sleeping: It’s hard to tell because until very recently, the poor kid has been sick constantly.  He had been down to one wake-up a night, but towards the end of Kieran’s last ear infection he was back up to 3 or 4 wake-ups a night.  I don’t want to jinx anything, but this week we’ve had two nights where he slept ALL THE WAY THROUGH – I’m talking 11+ hours here.  I’m assuming the big solids dinner before bed has something to do with it, as well as possibly just getting old enough.  He usually naps twice at school, which I can only think has helped things too. Whatever it is, I’m enjoying it.  Now, that doesn’t mean that *I’m* sleeping through the night – but eventually I’ll learn how to sleep more than 4 hours again.  To be honest though, as long as we were only doing one wake-up a night: I was fine with it.  There are worse things than sharing a mid-night cuddle with a snuggly baby.  But I’m sure that sleeping all night long is better for him though, so I completely support it.  (I think the current cold is responsible for breaking the all-night-long streak we had going.  He’s coughed himself awake and upset for the last few nights, but it’s only been once a night at that.  Ah well, we’ll get there eventually.)

Daycare/school is going great. Kieran’s teachers love him, and it’s obvious that he enjoys himself there with his friends.  He gets to finger-paint (with pudding usually) and make art projects.  He plays with toys he doesn’t have at home, and is learning to share with the other babies.  Yes, he still catches every cold that goes through the place, but we expected that.  (He’s currently suffering with a new cold, the first one to include a cough.  And a nasty, wet, productive cough it is.  Poor Kiddo.)  Paul is everyone’s favorite Daddy there at school, because he stays and plays with Kieran (and any other babies in the play area) instead of just swinging by and dumping the kid at the door.  Frequently the teachers have to pry Kieran out of Paul’s arms so they can start him on an art project or something.  We will get a book of all Kieran’s paintings and projects when he moves up into the Toddler Room.  In the meantime, we enjoy seeing new artwork displayed in the Infant Room and finding the ones Kieran made.

I know I sound like a broken record when I say this, but Paul and I just love the dickens out of this kid.  We take joy in telling each other Kieran stories from the morning or evening (since Paul and I have distinctly different daily schedules, Paul still gets up early with Kieran – and I have him to myself in the evening before Paul gets home from work.)  He is absolutely the light of our lives.  He just keeps getting better and better as he grows.  And as much as we want him to stay our tiny baby (ha!) we’re excited for him as he engages with his ever-growing world.  We love sharing our little man with friends and family, but more than anything we are so thrilled at the little family we’ve become.

There’s a bunch of new pictures in the main Photo Gallery – The Story So Far

• Kieran continues to do wonderfully at Daycare.  (We call it School.)  His teachers are really getting to know him, and he has made friends in his class.  Most mornings, he barely notices when Paul kisses him goodbye because he’s already engrossed in playing!  He’s still the biggest diva in the class, but he’s slowly learning to be patient and to entertain himself.  (He just really really likes company – he doesn’t like to feel like he’s alone.)  Watching the other kids is really helping Kieran grow and learn – he wanted to get up in the high chairs at lunch time, which lead to him having his biggest solid meal each day at school.  He’s starting with Cheerios this week after watching the other kids with theirs.  (His teachers are great about helping him try these things in a very safe way.  Paul and I trust them completely.)
• Kieran is rolling over from front to back and back to front.  He can log-roll around if he wants to.  He doesn’t seem to want to do that very much yet though, mostly because it would mean rolling away from whoever is on the floor with him.  When he topples over on his play mat, we don’t rush to help him up anymore.  And he’s all over the place in his crib.  We’ve had to move all his stuffed animals out from the far end because he’s actually moving around in there now!
• Kieran likes to play on his belly now too.  He’ll push himself up on his arms while on his playmat and laugh and laugh.  He does a flippy/spin thing on the changing table that would be amazing if it weren’t quite so annoying during a diaper change.  He’s always trying to roll over during a diaper change, so keeping a hand on him is vital these days.  (No, we don’t think his cloth diapers make it any harder at this point really – he’s be just as squirmy with disposables too.  But we are all the more glad that we don’t have to deal with sharp diaper pins though.)
• SOLID FOOD!  Kieran has gone from 0-60 on solids!  Oatmeal with applesauce is his current favorite.  If presented with plain oatmeal, he just blows raspberries.  He’s also tried avocado, green beans and carrots!  I’m making all his foods from scratch so far, and plan to continue doing so.  It’s easy with my immersion blender – making a half up at a time, and freezing tablespoon portions in the freezer trays Kelly sent me.  Kieran tolerated green beans (I think I needed to puree them a little smoother) and absolutely loved carrots.  I’m loving the bright colors and knowing his food is totally fresh.  Next up this week will be peas and maybe squash.  I want to continue with veggies before introducing fruits.  (I hadn’t wanted to put applesauce in his oatmeal, but he won’t eat it at all unless there’s something else in there.)  Once I try him on another veggie or two, I’ll start adding herbs and spices, one at a time.   This kid is gonna have a well-versed palate if I have anything to do with it!
• Kieran’s vocabulary continues to expand.  He chatters to us on the way to and from school, during bathtime, playtime, anytime!  He sings to us too!  It’s so cute to have conversations with him, or to hear him talking to the cats.  He’s always been a happy little guy, but now he’s becoming a gregarious dude too!  (He’s starting to offer his pacifier to Paul and I – and the cat on occasion.)
• Sleeping is improving a bit too.  Kieran is napping more frequently at school (not necessarily with any regularity, but that will come.)  We’ve managed to push his bedtime back a bit – usually to around 6:00 or 6:30, but some nights he’s still crashing by 5:30.  His wake ups are still terrifyingly early (between 4:30 and 5:00) but last week I was able to get him to sleep until 6:00am or later twice!  We’re going to keep working on it, but in the meantime, about half the time, Kieran is down to just one wake-up during the night.  (The other half is 2-3 times a night though, so he makes up for it!)
• Kieran loves playing with toys now.  He got several new toys for Christmas, and we keep them in rotation in his room and the living room.  He loves his stacking tower of rings, and his new pop-up toy.  It’s nice to see what he likes to play with at daycare so we can mirror those type of toys at home!  (Because honestly, we’re clueless as to what to get him – that toy aisle can be so overwhelming!)  Kieran loves his books too – although it’s board books and Indestructible titles for now because he LOVES to rip up any paper his gets his hands on!  It’s just awesome to watch him play though – he actually *plays* with stuff now as opposed to just looking at it or whacking at it.
• Still no sign of teeth, and while he acts like he could take off at any moment, there’s no real signs of imminent crawling either.  We’re OK with this – the log-rolling is enough mobility for us right now.

We’re still just as besotted as ever.  If anything, Paul and I are loving our time with our little man all the more now that we’re both working.  Weekends are our special time together as a family.  Kieran cracks us up all the time, as much as he cracks himself up.  It’s so amazing to watch him as his world grows around him.  He takes such joy in everything, you can’t help but smile with you’re around him.  (Unless you have long hair or glasses, in which case you might want to keep a step further back… those little grabby hands are quick!)  We live for hugs and kisses (which he gives now: big wet sloppy open-mouth kisses) from our little man.  As trite as it sounds, we’re just a happy little family.

The Monthly Comparison gallery has been updated with Kieran’s 6-month and 7-month pictures!

New random pictures have been added to the main gallery as well!

We didn’t end up putting Kieran in the daycare around the corner from the house.  It ended up being quite A THING to find a daycare that we liked that would accept Kieran’s cloth diapers.  Over the course of 24 hours, I got well-versed in Section 3.4.3 of the Environmental Health Code for Southern Nevada – which pertains to cloth diapers in a daycare setting.  The initial response I got from all but one of the daycares I called was “Oh no, the Health Department doesn’t allow cloth diapers!” which required my educating them that there was not, in fact any regulation of that sort on the books.  That flustered them all, to say the least.  When pressed, they all said they would have to get back to me regarding whether they would accept Kieran’s cloth diapers or not.  (We realized quickly that we might have to put him in disposables during the day because of this, but we wanted to explore all the options available before making that expensive and environmentally-unfriendly choice.)

On Paul’s 2nd day at work (Tuesday the 28th) Kieran and I toured 5 daycares.  Four were pretty good, and one was a “Hell NO”.  All were within 3 miles of our house.  The final one I toured touted itself as an “Early Learning Center” as opposed to a Daycare.  It’s actually a preschool that starts taking kids at three months.  I had forgotten what the tuition was while touring it and rapidly began thinking that we wouldn’t be able to afford somewhere with this kind of program, with individual curriculum for each child, even in the infants room!   I was impressed that after a little conversation about what we expected in the handling of cloth diapers (just toss the whole dirty thing in the waterproof, zippered bag we’d provide – no rinsing or special handling at all) the director agreed that they could accept Kieran and his fluffy butt the next week.

Paul and I discussed all the facilities that evening and made our decision to go with Hand in Hand Preschool.  The tuition ($200 a week) was right in line with the other centers I’d toured, and it was just over a block away from the house.  Paul accompanied Kieran and me on Thursday to see the place for himself and sign the papers to register our little boy.

Kieran’s first day was Monday January 3rd, a rare snowy day here in Las Vegas.  We knew it was going to be tough for us, and Paul put it best in his Twitter: “The boy bravely trudged uphill through the snow to his first day of school while the parents weeped gently.”  I was in tears as we walked out of the infants room.  Paul made it to the freeway before he lost it.  Kieran (his teachers reported later that day) had several bouts of “Hey Wait!  Where’s Mama and Daddy?!?!” followed by tears before he was re-directed to something shiny.  It was hard for all of us, and continues to be hard on Paul in the afternoons – he really misses his boy by around 2:00.

But here we are, at the end of his 2nd week now.  He has himself a little girlfriend named Ryann, and seems equally happy with all three of his teachers.  He’s done fingerpainting already, and seems to have completely gotten over his stranger anxiety.  It’s a crapshoot whether there’s tears when Daddy drops him off in the mornings, but that usually has more to do with Kieran being hungry or ready for a nap.  Kieran’s teachers report that he doesn’t have any more “Where’s Mama & Daddy” episodes, which is bittersweet for us.  (We want him to be happy, but it’s nice to be missed.  I’m pretty sure we’re still tops in his book though, from the OMG, HI MAMA reception I get every evening when I pick him up.)  The teachers are rapidly becoming masters of the cloth diaper, with less than a leak a day this second week.  (The first week was like 3 pairs of pants a day due to leaks!)  Kieran’s naps are getting longer and longer (it’s not uncommon for him to pull a 90 minute nap in the morning and two shorter naps through the afternoon) and his bedtime is getting progressively later.  He’s learning not to be such a diva, which is a hard lesson when you’re used to All-Daddy, all-the-time.

Yes, Kieran has been sick – but this one wasn’t Daycare’s fault.  Kieran was sent home on Wednesday this week with a 102 fever, due to (we later discovered) double ear infections.  But according to the Urgent Care doc, his ear infections are a predictable follow-up to nearly a month of colds/congestion thanks to sharing Mama and Daddy’s colds with them.  His little Eustachian tubes aren’t fully formed yet and can’t clear the gunk out efficiently, so when they’ve been gunky for longer than a week (nearly a month in Kieran’s case thanks to back-to-back colds in the house) it’s just about inevitable that an ear infection will happen.  Doesn’t indicate a proclivity towards ear infections in the future.

Overall, we’re very happy with this new arrangement.  Paul takes Kieran in the mornings and I pick him up after work.  (I’m working until 4:00 and taking a short lunch every day so we can still have time in the evenings for silly things like baths.)  We’ve got both car seats in use now – Kieran looks like a tiny little boy in his big car seat!  We do diaper laundry every night now, and I prep Kieran’s bottles and bag in the morning for Paul.  We’re still refining our process, but it’s getting there.  Kieran seems happy.  Paul is doing great at his new job (they LOVE him there soooo much!!) and I’m just continuing to do my thing for longer hours in the office.  We’re a 2-income family again, and it’s working out pretty well.

So experienced Mamas:  HELP!!  What do I need to know about putting my 6-month-old into Daycare?  I know that every morning we’ll be packing all his pre-made bottles for the day, and dressing him in “outside” clothes (as opposed to the sleep & plays he lives in at home.)  We’ll be packing a whole day’s worth of cloth diapers and extra covers, as well as a large wetbag.  (Eep, I need to purchase a bigger wetbag or two.)  We’ll be packing a spare change of clothes or two as well.  (Once Kieran starts solids, they’ll provide all the baby food – I assume.  The other location did.)

I know we’re not supposed to send personal toys with him.  I wonder about a blanket though.  What about his pacifiers for naptime?  Hrm.  I think I need to make a list to take with us tomorrow on our tour.

Any hints or suggestions would be appreciated.  What can I do to make this transition to this new schedule easier on all of us?  Geez, am I really gonna need two diaper bags of stuff every day?  Eeik.

Turns out it’s a good thing I took the time off this coming week – because Paul won’t be home with us for a good portion of Monday – Wednesday.  You see, Paul will be AT WORK.

That’s right: PAUL GOT A JOB!!  A FULL-TIME JOB!!

The short story is that these folks came to Paul because of a tip from a VERY unexpected vector, based on work Paul had done while at the Venetian.  His photography and video (shooting & post-production) skills, his IT knowledge, and his ease when working with ‘talent’ are all coming back to serve him once again.  The job is full-time, Monday through Friday, at decent pay.  We are THRILLED.  (The “interview” was on Christmas Eve, with one day notice.  Not that it was an interview, really.  More like: “Here’s what we want you to do and here’s what we can pay you for it.  Does that work for you?”)  Paul will be working a couple of half-days this week to get up to speed.

But what this means is that Monday January 3rd marks the end of an era.  Daddy Day Care is closing, and Kieran will be spending his days in a daycare center.  Paul and I are doing our best to get right with this as quickly as possible.  We knew this day would come eventually.  It was supposed to happen much earlier.  But it doesn’t make it any easier.

We know that Kieran will do wonderfully at daycare.  He’ll probably learn to nap.  He’ll be surrounded by teachers who will play with him and hug him and make sure he’s well taken-care of.  He’ll learn sign language, and sharing and playing with others.  He’ll get over his burgeoning stranger anxiety.  All of this is to the good.

But he won’t be home with his Best Friend Daddy.  Knowing Kieran was home with Paul made it MUCH easier for me to spend my days in my office.  Paul and Kieran have such a great time at home.  Paul is exhausted every evening after a day full of playtime that start at 4:45am – but he loves it.  To say Paul is in love with his little boy is an understatement.  Seeing Paul and Kieran together has been one of my greatest joys.

It’s hard to watch Paul coming to terms with his new situation.  On one hand he’s thrilled to have landed a job that will allow us to actually pay our bills and cut the stress that has been mounding on me for months.  (I’ve been quiet about it here, but things are/were/are getting pretty desperate money-wise.)  He’s pleased to have (once again) gotten a job because others were seeking him out.  (Nice little ego boost there…)  But he’s crushed that he won’t be home with Kieran any longer.  Paul’s new schedule (9:30-6:00) will mean that at least at first, Kieran will already be in bed when Paul comes home.  Daddy-Kieran time will have to happen in the mornings and on weekends until a new schedule settles in.  I know how hard it was for me to go back work – I cried myself to work every day for a month.  I can only imagine that it will be much harder for Paul, having had six months at home with Kieran.

We’re looking into the daycare that is literally around the corner from the house.  It’s the same franchise as the one we’d settled on by my work – and from what we can tell, the programs and prices should be the same.  (We tried to go check them out on Christmas Eve but they closed early that day – good for them.)  Our thoughts are that since Paul will be working on our side of town and later than I do; it would be good to let him have time with Kieran in the morning and then drop him at daycare before heading to his office.  I can pick him up when I get home in the afternoons.  (This will mean that I’ll be changing my schedule to stop working from home in the near future, no need to anymore.)  Kieran’s been pushing his bedtime later and later recently, so we’re hoping that the institution of naps will help shift things even further and allow for some family time in the evenings.

So tomorrow morning we’ll go tour the center that is a 2-minute walk from our front door, and see if they have room to take our little boy.  He won’t start until *next* Monday, but we need to get this sorted out as soon as we can.  I have no doubts that there will be plenty of tears that first morning – from all of us.

So for this last week of 2010 especially, we’re savoring each minute our little guy is home with us during the day.  2011 is already shaping up to be an incredible year.  We are SO THANKFUL that Paul has found a job, and we’re ready to whatever it takes to make this a happy two-job family.  It’s just gonna take a little getting used to.

Once I was buzzed in (no one gets through the door w/o someone at the front desk allowing it) I was greeted warmly by the center’s director, Traci. We started the tour in the infant room, after first putting plastic booties on over our shoes. The infant room was light years beyond the first place. It was bright and organized. The cribs were lined up against the walls, with pictures of the babies and their families attached to each at baby-eye height. They were CLEAN. There were three exersauser things in use, a couple of swings that weren’t in use, and two rocking chairs. The large rug on the floor covered like 80% of the room. Two little girls started toddling over to me as soon as I came into view.

The teachers (all three of them for the 9 babies there yesterday) greeted me when I entered and introduced themselves. They all agree I’m having a girl. The babies seemed happy and content. (Truth be told, I had a bit of trouble paying attention to the director while in there… my baby radar was pinging like crazy and I could hardly take my eyes off the little ones!) The diaper changing area was clean, the pad looked new and clean and there were a couple cans of Lysol wipes on the counter – I’m confident that they really are cleaning and sanitizing everything as often as they claim. The refrigerator was organized, with every baby’s little container labeled and full of labeled & dated bottles. When the bottles are used, the staff washes them out and puts them in the baby’s bag in the closet, so Mom & Dad just grab the bag and the baby to go home. Each baby has a drawer for diapers, rash cream and changes of clothes. Everything was well organized and CLEAN!

Parents are encouraged to drop in anytime. They love having breastfeeding moms come by for lunch. There’s two video cameras in each room, so we Mom & Dad can log in to see how the little one is doing. The teachers seemed engaged with the children and genuinely happy to be there.

We progressed through the center, checking out the toddler room, the up-to-2.5 year room where they start potty-training, the up-to-3 year room where the potty-trained move to, the pre-K room that was filled with 15 3.5 & 4 year olds who were eagerly reciting their multiplication tables. (One 4 year old had a 4″ tall bright red mohawk!) The kindergartners (they have a private kindergarten) were waving at us as they lined up to go outside to play. Every room was clean, and decorated to the hilt! It was a tad overwhelming to me, but I imagine that a 3 year old thinks it’s the best thing ever. Lots of stimulation for the kids. They’re encouraged to learn by playing, so lots of art projects and hands-on activities were around. The kids start on computers at 3 years old. They start twice-weekly Spanish classes at 2. Music appreciation starts at infancy. Optional on-site karate or dance lessons are available starting at age three.

We passed the kitchen which had restaurant size & quality appliances. It was closed because lunchtime was over, but it was spotless. The first place had drying dishes piled everywhere and there was hardly an open surface anywhere.

What struck me the most (other than it being clean – I was looking in corners and under tables too) was that the kids and staff all seemed happy to be there. In every room we went into, the teachers at least nodded and smiled to me as they continued their activity, if not introducing themselves. The kids (while not getting up from their assigned spots on the carpet) shyly waved as we passed through their rooms.

Everything I’ve read online about how to choose a daycare says right off to go with your gut. Well, I was darn-near skipping as I left Kids R Kids yesterday. Their prices will turn out to be cheaper than the other place, but honestly I’d be OK with paying more. Their policies seem fair, and everything they do seems to err on the side of the children.

So Paul and I talked last night about all this, and he read through all the literature I brought home. He asked a lot of good questions, and we talked about some stuff. He had suggested that he could request that work never give him a weekend off once the baby comes so he could watch the baby two days a week and we could save on two days’ worth of daycare. I explained that the price difference between 3 and 5 days a week would be a lot less than he thought (like $40 or less) and honestly I feel that it’s worth it to pay for the full week so that he *can* have the occasional weekend day off. I explained that our marriage needs to be a priority for us after the baby comes, and we’ll need to work to find time together because the baby will change everything about our lives. I asked him not to try to lose weekends so that we can hopefully have more time together as a family, and time together as a couple. Paul asked if he had a late starting day at work if he could keep the baby home and take it in late to daycare on his way to work or keep the baby home if he has a mid-week day off. I didn’t cry when he asked if he could spend the day with his child, but I did kiss him and assure him he’s welcome to spend as much time with his baby as he’d like.

Paul wants to tour the facility before we lock anything in, but he’s on board with me. This place is 3 miles from my office – less than 10 minutes and easy for Paul to get to in about 20 minutes. I feel confident about leaving our baby in these people’s care. I’m glad to have one more thing tackled on The List. (Paul realized last night that we’re gonna have to pick out a pediatrician. He is encouraging me to get on that. hehe)

My big challenge this week has been daycare. My reading tells me I have a lot of research to do, and to start sooner than later in case there’s a waiting list at our chosen facility.

There’s a (24 hour) daycare center called Kids ‘r’ Us across the parking lot from my office. I assumed from the time I found out I was pregnant that the baby would spend his/her days there, with me popping over for lunch and occasional cuddle-breaks. So this week I called and spoke with the director, got some preliminary info and made an appointment for a tour.

I toured the facility yesterday and was underwhelmed. My gut reaction was that Kids ‘r’ Us was dirty and disorganized. The staff didn’t recognize me as a touring parent as I wandered their rooms at naptime. They were either doing paperwork or sweeping up what I thought was an inordinate amount of random gunk off the floors. The infant room was less inspiring. I don’t think the cribs or changing area is sanitized often at all, and the linens are washed weekly. The cribs were scattered haphazardly around the room, and there didn’t seem to be much in the way of toys or stimulation for the wee ones.

I was pretty disappointed, especially since I really wanted this facility to work because of it’s location. But I just can’t see leaving our baby there. But I wanted to check out other facilities before I totally crossed them off my list, because maybe my expectations were way too high. (What do I know? I’ve never been in a day care before.)

So this morning I called a ‘corporate’ day care that I pass during the last 10 minutes of my commute to work each day called Kids ‘r’ Kids. (Where do they get these names?) The director answered and gave me a lovely spiel about their facility and their infant program which began with how often their cribs and linens are sanitized (daily) and finished with details of the sign language curriculum they start by 4 months. So many great things about this place, and from the looks of the photos on their website, it’s exactly what I expected a day care to look like. PLUS, the price works out to the same as the place by my work – and once the baby is on solids it’ll actually be cheaper because they supply the Gerber-brand baby food.

I’m touring Kids ‘r’ Kids tomorrow at lunch and I cannot wait. If I like what I see tomorrow, I’ll check out the place with the Bureau of Licensing and whoever else my social worker co-worker says I need to. (I don’t know what I’d do without my co-worker Kate. She is a font of incredible mommy-wisdom combined with no-nonsense social worker smarts.) I’ll take Paul to tour the place, and if we agree on it, we’ll put down a deposit to hold a spot in September for our wee one. (I’m hoping to be able to take 6-7 weeks off work for maternity leave; we can’t afford for me not to work, so I can only take off as much time as I can save up vacation & sick leave for.) Gotta love America’s (lack of) Maternity Policy.

I’m a little surprised at my visceral reaction of “I’m not leaving my baby there” to the first place, but it’s kinda nice to be feeling mom-like.