Preparing for "school"

Since Jason hasn't posted about this yet, I guess it is up to me. On Wednesday, we all went to visit Penelope's day care center. Finding day care for her was pretty stressful for us. We have been on lots of waitlists since early in my pregnancy. So, we were relieved to be offered a spot at a new center that is very close to where Jason works. Jason had gotten a quick tour when he dropped off our deposit, but Penelope and I hadn't seen it yet.

It's a new center so things were pretty quiet. They are slowly introducing kids and opening classrooms. The space is really big with an giant front lobby. Once she starts, we will get the code to open the front door and then each have another code to use to check her in on a pair of computers in the lobby. There are three infant rooms that will eventually have eight babies each. Currently, there is only one room up and running with just 5 babies. After getting the lay of the land, we took Penelope to hang out in the infant room. The infant rooms are large with one area for cribs and nap time, another area with a diaper changing station, a little kitchen type area for preparing bottles and food, and an open space for playing. There was a really cool baby-level ballet bar (with a mirror) for when the babies start pulling up. There were lots of different toys like rattles and balls and some squishy books that seemed to be a hit with the current babies. When we were there four babies were awake and playing, three of them were older than Penelope and could sit up. One of those babies looked exactly like Rod Blagojevich, so I hope he is not trying to get milk bribes from Penelope :) The teachers were playing with the babies and giving them toys to look at. At one point, one the babies started crying, which seemed to be contagious and led to three crying babies. Penelope was just looking around taking it all in and she seemed pretty happy. I also have to mention that each baby is assigned a color and their crib and stuff is all taped in that color!

It was a pretty successful trip and we will go back to meet Penelope's actual teacher when he/she is hired. It definitely made me start to think about the big transition that is coming up. I will be home with Penelope for only three more weeks and then I will be back to work on October 18. Penelope will be at home with her Oma and Abuelito for two weeks and then in DC with me for a week before she starts day care on November 8. In some ways, I am really ready to go back to work, since I miss it and the people I work with. But, I will also be sad to not spend as much time with Penelope. She is changing so much now that I don't want to miss anything. I think that it will be a transition for her as well. She is so used to having all of my attention and sleeping in my lap (where she is currently), and she will have to adjust to sharing her caregivers with other babies. She will have to learn how to nap in a crib. I am happy that we are able to put off day care until she is basically four months old. I feel lucky that I could take so much time off from work, since so many mothers don't get that opportunity. It is crazy how fast she is growing up!