We survived the induction week in creche this week. I didn’t think the kids would do as good as they did. I know kids can adapt well to change and to Chloe all she ever knew, was the minders. She would have been too small to create a friendship with one of the other toddlers. In terms of moving, she would be the easiest person to adapt to change but then there is her constant attachment which is fine. Matthew on the other hand is at an age where he made friends in the other creche. He mentions the boys everyday. I haven’t heard him talking about them the last two days though. So maybe he understands that they are in a different creche. He already made friends in the new one which is great.
On Monday they went in for one hour. The new creche is called Cocoon Childcare. There are a few around in the Dublin area actually. Hubby and I stayed in their rooms the whole time. I stayed with Chloe and he stayed with Matthew. Chloe was shy and was holding onto me at the start. After about thirty minutes she let loose and started playing with some of the toys. They have a shelf of toys. She pulled out every single one of them while the other toddlers were having their tea in the middle of the room. I stayed with her the full hour. She tried out every seat at the end.
Matthew on the other hand got on great. They gave him an apple as a snack and he sat down and got stuck in to the activities.
On Tuesday it was one and a half hours. The parents are supposed to stay with the kids the first fifteen minutes and once settles you can leave the room and come back to collect them. Once I left, Chloe started crying but within five minutes she was fine and started playing. She always does that at the start, even in the creche she attended before. I’d say she like a bit of drama. Daddy stayed with them in the parents area until their time was up while I was unboxing more stuff at home. Again they both done brilliant and Chloe was even outside.
Wednesday I dropped them in myself as this was the day where you’re supposed to leave the child for the full duration of the visit which is two hours. Usual thing, Chloe cried the first five minutes. I dropped her into her room first and then Matthew. By the time I came back to her room to check on her, she was fine and was playing away on the floor. Matthew sat down the chair and done some arts and crafts with his hands with the minder. He loves it.
On Thursday it was more of a longer day. They stayed from 10am to 2pm which is over the lunch hour. This was also a trial to see if Chloe is able to nap her hour that she normally does. As Chloe is only still in the wobbler room, she still gets a report sheet everyday. Matthew doesn’t because not much point really. Her sheet tells me that her nappy was changed twice. She slept 1h and 10minutes. For lunch she had Spagetti Bolognese which she ate half of. She refused the snack which was apple and raisins. Normally she loves raisins but it was given at the time I dropped her in so I think that was the problem. Chloe enjoyed some garden play and puzzles. I find this report brilliant. It’s so detailed. She got a report in the other creche as well but it wasn’t that detailed. I was happy enough to see how long she slept and what she ate but this even better.
Today was a special day. It was Halloween dress up day. Perfect opportunity to integrate Matthew into his group. He dressed up as vampire. He wore this costume last year, too. It was good to get more wear out of it. I didn’t find anything decent in the shop to be honest and I had been looking for weeks. It is way easier to find outfits for girls or toddlers in general. I dressed Chloe up as a ghost. She wasn’t a fan of the whole dress at first but she got used to it pretty quickly. They both attended creche at the same time as to the previous day.
Matthew had some sweets and marshmallows as a treat. Friday is treat day and you are allowed to bring in a toy of your choice. We received a new toy from Mattel yesterday and he hasn’t stopped playing since. He had take it to creche of course. He also made some chocolate apple which looks really tasty by the way.
Chloe has been great, too. Her report looks pretty much the same. Her lunch was ham, potato and veg and guess what…she ate it all. Am I surprised? No, because she never ever eats at home and most of her food lands on the floor!
Monday is a bank holiday in Ireland and also Halloween. Matthew and I have a day planned in Julianstown to visit Kennedy’s pumkin patch. I got tickets last minute for the two of us because the family ticket was sold out unfortunately.
I am more than confident to drop the kids into creche come Tuesday full-time. I haven’t figured out the times yet because Dublin traffic is mad in the morning, compared to Sligo. It looks like the kids will have to be dropped off at 7.45am the latest which means I will start work at 8.30am and finish at 4.30pm. This gives me enough time to have them home for 5pm and give them a snack before they go to bed. Sounds like a plan, doesn’t it?
