Mom's Morning Out, Take 2

So I was kind of nervous today for a couple of reasons... For one, Abigail refused to say she liked it last week, or had fun, or anything positive. If I asked her a direct question - "Did you play on the playground? Did you like your teacher?" etc - she would answer "yes!" but if I asked her something more general - "Did you have fun? Did you like it? Do you want to come back again?" - nothing. Blank stare. Also, she's been super-tired and sort of cranky this week. She and her parents went to the beach over this weekend, and I think she just tired herself out having fun and maybe had a harder time getting into the swing of things this week. Yesterday she was looking for a particular book in the book bin, and when it didn't come free on the first tug she started crying - not "I'm angry" kind of crying, just big tears and some whimpers. She almost never cries! Especially not at something like a stuck book... normally she would just turn to me and ask me to get it for her. So I knew was a little out of sorts and we did all sorts of extra snuggling and loving yesterday. And took a long (3+ hours) nap. :)

And she cried when I came in this morning! My heart broke a little. :( She never cries when I come in - she's usually really excited to see me, I walk in the door and I can hear her little voice saying "Huh? Huh?!" as she waits for me to come in. But this morning I heard her daddy say "It's Sarah!" and she started crying and indicating she didn't want Daddy to go. Yesterday she found a picture of her daddy mid-day and started crying, too, but she was obviously not herself so I figured it was just the day. Anyway, I sat down on the floor next to her and Chris hung out for awhile, and by the time he left ten minutes later she'd moved on to wanting yogurt and not really caring who stayed so long as someone fed her. In one way, I think this is kind of normal - she's a daddy's girl, lol - but I hope this doesn't become a habit.

Anyway, on to Mom's Morning Out...

I told her we were going to school. No response. We got dressed, I told her she could show her new shoes to her teacher and she seemed to like the idea. We drive to school, and I'm kind of worried because she's almost lethargic - just sitting in her car seat, and I couldn't tell if she was sad or tired (or both). We pull up into the parking lot, and we're a little early, so we sit in the car and sing along to our CD (Veggie Tales "On The Road Again"). Abby doesn't point to the building, respond, anything. Finally I ask her if she's ready to get out, she nods, and we start walking up to the building.

We see the window to her classroom, and her teacher is there, and she waves, and suddenly Abigail smiles and waves back.

We get to the hallway, and Abby sees the playground, and she smiles and points. "What are you going to play on today?" I ask her, and she tells me without a pause, "Slides!"

We stand outside her classroom waiting for them to open, and Abby starts jumping around, doing the Tigger bounce impatiently. The door opens, her teacher says "hi" and Abby is off like a shot. Didn't even turn around to wave goodbye.

So I guess we can declare MMO a success. I'm not sure why Abigail won't admit she likes it, but clearly the playground, if nothing else, makes the rest of the day worth it. For my part, I'm thrilled she likes it, mostly because I don't think I could take it if she didn't. :)

Mom's Morning Out

Today was the big day - Abby's first day of Mom's Morning Out! I figured she'd be okay but knew I'd be a wreck. :) I really, really, really wanted her to like it, because if she didn't - if she cried or clung to me or whatever - I knew I'd fall apart.

So I've been talking to her about it for awhile now, telling her how much fun she'll have, how she'll love playing with the kids and going on the playground and reading stories, etc. Today especially I ramped it up - I'd bring it up every hour or so, until she seemed excited, too.

We stopped by to look at the playground before we went to her classroom. She wanted to go play in it immediately but I told her her teacher would take her with her class (I wanted to create the desire to be with her teacher/class). We went and stood by her classroom door, and she seemed nervous - kept putting her hands in her mouth, asking to be held, etc, but I just kept smiling and asking her, "Oh, aren't you going to have fun?" and she kept nodding yes.

The moment of truth came - time to drop her off! - and I think my plan worked, because when I asked her, "Are you ready to go with your class?" she nodded and let me bounce her like Tigger over the baby gate. Her teacher picked her up to give her a hug, and she looked back at me, very content, and I waved and said "Bye, Abby, have fun on the playground!" and she froze. And I realized that she had no idea that this whole thing included me leaving.

I bailed and I ran.

And then, because I am a wimp, I flattened against the hallway wall, out of sight, and listened for sounds of crying, sobbing, etc.

Nothing!

And her teacher didn't call me back, either, so apparently she was good.

So, I imagine she was kind of unhappy that I'd left, but apparently not enough to let it spoil her playground fun. I'm hoping when I pick her up she'll have had a good day with no tears or sadness!

I feel like a traitor, but I'm really glad of two things: one, I never told her I would stay (as I always do if we're going someplace she's nervous about), and two, I didn't sneak out. I didn't tell her, "You'll be fine, I'm right here," wait for her to turn her back, and run. Hopefully this will ease some of the transition.

Anyway... big milestone.