AJ's starting daycare tomorrow (& a shameless plug for my baby)...

Really quick before I discuss the whole daycare thing. :o) I (like 100K+ other parents) entered my little munchkin into the Gerber Generation photo contest on Facebook, so if you have a spare minute, please head over to FB & vote for her: http://apps.facebook.com/gerberphotosearch/entry/4651/amaya.aspx

It only takes a second & you can vote every day!! Thanks friends!


No, back to daycare, she's starting tomorrow...&& I am SO nervous. ::deep breaths::

Here are my top 5 things I'm worried about (in no particular order):

1. Separation Anxiety - she has slowly , but surely started crying anytime she's with someone she doesn't know...even if she's seen them several times. If she doesn't see you consistently, she don't know you. At least in her book, which scares me b/c obviously she's never seen her "teachers" for any sort of extended period of time & hearing her cry just breaks my heart. 
2. An utter disaster of a nap schedule - she's JUST recently started napping a little better - 2 naps, 1 decent nap in the AM & a longer nap in the afternoon. But, she is used to sleeping in her crib, in her room for the most part, which is quiet & dark - neither of which daycare is. She does sleep in the car every once in a while, but she sleeps best in her crib & I'm just so scared that it'll be too bright & loud in her classroom & that she'll be unable to settle down. I'm taking her mini Sleep Sheep to hopefully provide some white noise & help her sleep better there. I also got her a lightweight Halo Sleep Sack b/c they aren't allowed to use receiving blankets in the cribs.
3. Waking her up & getting to work on time in the morning - I already spoke to my boss & updated him on what's going on, so he's expecting that I'll be late over the next few weeks & I'll just make up the time. I'm hoping that I won't have to switch my schedule because I'll have to then stay later if I come in later, which I DON'T want to do since I get such limited time in the evenings with the babe as is. Regarding waking her up....she's used to being able to sleep in as long as she needs to, which obviously can't happen if I need to get to work. She never sleeps in really late, but later sometimes than would work for me getting to work at a reasonable hour. The good news is, the only days I'll have to worry about this is on our non-telework days, which happen only 1-2 times a week (the hubbs & I have opposite telework schedules), so there's that I suppose.
4. Her getting sick constantly - I have lots of friends with little ones in daycare & they tell me all these horror stories about the stuff their kids have caught in daycare. I'm not looking forward to it to say the least. I hate it when she's sick - it's so sad & I feel miserable that she feels miserable. It's a whole lot of miserableness in the Dennifer household.
5. The length of time she'll be in daycare on the days we both go into the office - it'll end up being nearly 10 or more hours on those days & it makes me feel terribly guilty. We both work kinda far from our house (an hour +) & her school is near the house, so I have my mom on standby for any emergencies & my older sister is going to still pick her up once a week early so she can spend time with her, but I still feel bad. :(

That's my top list, but other things I'm also worried about - losing her clothes, bottles, pacis, bibs, etc.; her awesome bedtime schedule being effed up due to not getting good naps in at daycare; the teachers being caring & nurturing to her (I have no reason to think they wouldn't be & have heard good stuff about the teachers from a friend with an older daughter that goes to the same center, but I still worry); the kids being mean to or hurting her (not necessarily at this age, but once she gets a bit older); AJ not getting to spend as much time outside; her not getting to spend as much time with my sister or me as she does now + lots of other stuff.

Not to sound so depressing though, I am slightly excited about this transition for a few reasons too. First, she loves kids & I think she'll love being around the other kids & playing with them. Second, being able to really voice any concerns I have about her care. I feel like with my sister sometimes I sugarcoat stuff or don't say stuff about little things that bother me in the same way I would to someone not related to me. My sister is awesome with her, but of course, she's not me & the hubbs & she does some stuff differently than us & sometimes I just don't say anything to her because I don't want her to think I'm being crazy or too critical. Third, no one being in my house during the day, lol. It'll stay sooo much cleaner, the dog will not be so upset (he doesn't like a lot of loud noises & my nephew, being a 3 year old, is loud & runs around a lot, which stresses out my poor Dizz; Amaya gets on his nerves sometimes too, but he at least comes up from the basement when it's just her in the house). Fourth, my sister not having to wake up her son & get up so early to come to my house. This one is mainly for her, I know it must be tough driving 30+ min so early with a (sometimes) cranky toddler from being woken up. All in all though, I know my sister takes great care of my little munchkin & we'll miss her watching Amaya (yes she has an actual name, haha). We owe her lots & lots of gratitude for taking such great care of our punkin for all these important months in her life!

I know change is necessary, but I am still nervous, so wish us luck tomorrow! I probably won't be able to sleep tonight, hahaha. I'm so lame...guess that's what happens when you become a mama! ::wink:: 'Till next time!