daycare

Realizing my inconsistent dedication to working out on my own, I decided to try out the local gym. I like taking classes and will be more dedicated if I have a regular schedule. So the past two days, I took the girls to the gym's daycare while I tried out a class. Little Butterfly launched in, bounded around making friends and at the end of the class, I had to drag her off of the kid-sized climbing wall. Little Ladybug wandered in willingly on the first day but apparently was sad, shy and nervous for most of the hour she was there. By the time I picked her up, she came running and clung to me, fussing when I put her down long enough to put my coat on. Today she was reluctant to go in the door but was easily distracted with toys. Still, by the end of class, she was crying and looking for me. Hopefully this will get better soon.

Butterfly has been in daycare before. She was about five months old when I went back to teaching and she did fantastic. The daycare was attached to the high school so it was easier knowing she was just down the very long hall. It was a phenomenal program with both a professional staff and a student staff that rotated every hour and a half according to their class schedule. This meant she had a one-on-one playmate assigned to her throughout the day. For the students, this was a child development class and their assignments were designing activities and lesson plans to target things as specific as fine motor skills for a six month old, or focusing on colors for a two year old. She was a favorite in the daycare center, with her beautiful curls and charming personality, she is irresistible. Sometimes they would take the kids on walks through the hallways and I loved it when she would come visit me.

But when baby #2 was scheduled to come along, we decided it was best for me to stay home with my girls. There's a small part of me that thinks putting them in daycare so I can go to the gym is selfish and while it probably is, I hope that this can be good social/play time for them (and a get in shape plus anxiety reliever for me). I think daycare is a major reason that Butterfly is so friendly and outgoing. I hope Ladybug will warm up to the idea and enjoy it, and can hopefully shed some of her shyness as well.

ps, it's been awhile since I was part of a gym. are you supposed to be able to move afterward?