This past Friday was D’s last day in day care, She is starting Montessori from tomorrow. ** Wiping the sweat! **

Coming to think about it, its exactly one year since she started day care. Made me take a pleasant stroll down the memory lane

Choosing a day care:
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We took the decision to put D in day care when she turned 21 months. Ideally I wanted to wait till she hit the 2 year marker. But, D being a very social and outgoing person, I found it harder and harder to entertain her the whole day. Add to it my not-so-good temperament to handle it without losing it at the end of day. To top it, Hs venture required more resources and I had to pitch in. It was tough, but we had to take the decision to let her be with other kids of her age for about 3 hours a day. The painstaking hunt began.

I had few basic criterion in mind, one with the least amount of deviation was going to be it.
- Clean, bright and spacious.
- Licensed.
- Child to teacher ratio less than 4.
- Should not have more than 10 kids.
- Mostly Indian food OR atleast vegetarian food.
- Outdoor play area.
- Experienced.
Nice to have:
- Kids of approximately same age.
- Recommendation from moms I knew.
- Hindi speaking.
- Close to home.

Our first preference was an Indian home based day care, as for the food, number of kids and language condition. Nothing against a non-Indian place, we thought this would make her transition smooth. Looked around for almost a month. Some were disgustingly unhygienic, some were run solely for business with no passion whatsoever. Some which I liked did not have vacancy, some were not willing to take part time kids. After a very lengthy exhausting search, we decided on one which two of our friends recommended and was closest to our needs. This was the one which I had liked at first sight. Mostly, because the care giver and the helpers(2 of them) sounded very sweet and very caring, they had 10 kids in all, all the three care givers were 40+, she has been doing this for 12 years.
On the day of tour, me and H went into another room to get a copy of the paper work and talk more details. When we came out, D was there playing with the kids as though she had known them for ages. Everything about this place just sounded right. And we enrolled her right there.

First week in day care:
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The decision was made and D was going to start in a week. The day comes. We reached the place round 9:30 AM. I had planned to stay there for about half hour and sneak out quitely. The mother in me was expecting to see her cling on to me, not let me leave the place and what not! To the contrary, the minute we reached, she ran inside and started playing with the kids. I handed over the paper work and the check to the lady, came down to deliver my pre-planned lecture to D. She did not even bother to sit for a minute and talk to me. She got busy finding her spot within the circle the kids were sitting getting ready for Circle time. After observing for few minutes and instructing the care giver to call me the minute she would fuss, I left hesitantly. I felt an overwhelming emotion to leave her with someone I hardly knew. This was the very first time ever I was leaving her with anybody other than H and my mom. I couldn’t stop myself from driving by her house couple of more times. Don’t know maybe I was expecting to see smoke in her house the minute D cries. It felt silly and I drove back home. I was constantly checking my home phone, my cell phone making sure they were all working. I wouldn’t remove my shoes in anticipation of the phone call any minute.

After about an hour, I received the much anticipated call. Only to hear that D is happily playing with the kids, not once asked for me, swiped the snack plate and lunch to the last bit. And asked for a second serving. Boy, did that make me happy and proud! But the happiness lasted only a few minutes, as soon I realised she was a grown up toddler and did not need me 24 x 7. My heart broke into zillion pieces. Barely managing to contain myself for another hour, I went to pick her up. She saw me, ran and gave me a hug and a kiss. She told “her friends of one day” that I was her Mummy. It felt so good to see her so happy.

Very soon, she started refusing to take her afternoon nap at home and wanted to go back to V aunty home(day care). And surprisingly she would sleep in V aunty home, whatever magic V aunty did. I think it was the environment and the sight of other kids sleeping. We then extended her 3 hours to 6 hours. She would nap and take her evening milk in V aunty home, followed by snack in mummy home

Last day in day care:
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This Friday was her last day in day care. She is growing up at the speed of light. How I wish I could slow down the clock and extend her babbling toddler years. How I wish I could have blogged from the day she was born to record day to day tidbits. Wishes are wishes, I am happy I am writing now. Coming to the topic, on the last day I took cup cakes for the kids, a bouquet of flowers, a nice box of chocolate and a hand written thank you note for each of the care givers. Asked D to personally thank them, making this year long journey a fun and memorable one. There was a 5 minute hugging and kissing session within V aunty, B aunty, F aunty and D. We left with an open invitation to visit them anytime

What next?
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We had a surprise visit by a friend this morning and D tells them ‘Mommy says I am going to PINK school(thats the name D has given to her school) tomorrow . She knows somethings cooking, but does not have a clue what “school” is. I have been reading Bernstein bears back to school books and showing her Elmo ready for school videos, she seems to enjoy it.
As for me, the mother, its Monday evening and I am nervous. Nervous as in the day before exam! The questions all over again, this time the issues are different, but the emotions are the same.
Will she fit into the new environment?
Will she adjust to non-indian kids?
Will she be able eat by herself?
Will she pee and poop where she is supposed to!!

Tips?
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Experienced moms reading this post: Any tips on the type of food/snack to pack for lunch? Food that would taste good after being inside a packed box for 3 hours. Tips on helping her ease into the new environment.

For tomorrow, the grand plan is make aalo paratha early in the morning for her lunch and pick her up right after lunch. More updates as it happens…

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