Documenting Delight: day two hundred and seventy nine {coping with change}

There is something that I haven’t mentioned on this blog before, something that has been a big deal for my family. A few months ago my baby, my Harper May, started daycare one day a week. It might sound quite ridiculous that I have been afraid to talk about it in this forum. Plus, it’s only one day right? Why? Well, I have been in denial that it is actually happening, that it signals that this precious time of having my kids at home with me full time is coming to an end, that I am edging closer to returning to work, but mainly that it has been such a difficult transition for my little one to make and thinking about it, let alone writing about it has been hard for me.

So here we are a few months in and Harper is doing ok. Entirely settled in? No. Completely happy with the arrangement? Again, no. The fact is that I’m not completely happy about it either but I know deep down that gently transitioning her now, before I return to work next year, is a much better option for her and me. So, each week we keep plugging away. Daddy drops her off in the mornings and after rest time Finn and I pick her up. She is in good hands. She has made strong bonds with a few of her carers and talks positively about her time at school. I still get a lump in my throat when I pick her up and she begins sobbing at the sight of me, as if the relief of knowing yes I did come back is so huge. Boy that part isn’t fun. But I do come back and after lots of kisses and cuddles and me telling her I missed her and her replying But I missed YOU! we go back to the way things were.

Yes it hasn’t been easy but if I look for the positives ( I like to do that!) it has carved out a regular time for Finn to get some one on one time with me. Which he needs. Most of the time he just likes to have a home day when Harper is at daycare, soaking up the quiet and relishing time in the playroom where he can play with his toys alone (no sharing, yep he likes that) but then there are days where he is happy to go on a little mummy + finn adventure. Today we took a bus ride into the city to see what took our fancy. I let Finn decide what he wanted to do once we arrived (by bus of coarse. My boy loves a bit of public transport!). So it went like this; a date scone at 'Baker’s Delight', a play in the toy store, a sculpture hunt and a merry-go-round ride.

Just before our home bus was due to arrive I quickly ducked into 'Cotton On' to pick up Spring pjs for the kids. While I was finding their sizes I glaced over at Finn who was having a conversation with himself in the full length mirror:

(Nodding at his reflection, with a big smile on his face)
"I am having a Finn and Mummy day today. Yes I am."

Love that boy.

 

{finn loves this sculpture. he calls it the "men with no necks sculpture"}

 

{bus ride home. finn will just about read anywhere!}

 

{after daycare pick up}

 

{each week harper comes home with a new hairstyle. her carers do her hair as a way of calming her tears}