This week has been quite an emotional drain for the family. Gavin started "school" last week. After 15 months of Isabel coming to our house 3 days a week, every week, we decided it was a good idea to put Gavin in "school". Isabel lost her other job and would probably get a full time job very soon. We wanted to have Gavin someplace that we really liked instead of having to scramble when and if she found a job and could no longer keep Gavin.
So, the day arrived. Gary and I decided that it probably would be best if I didn't go to drop him off. The first sign of sadness, I would have snatched him up, gone home and called in...maybe even quit my job!! We decided Gary would go because he's stronger. Turns out, he's not that much stronger. He struggled with leaving Gavin when he was crying and with the feeling that he was letting him down. As a parent, you always want your child to feel safe and that you'll be there for them no matter what. It's hard to leave your child in a place he's never been before with people he doesn't know. I can't imagine he knew what to expect. Was he wondering if mommy and daddy were coming back? I went to pick him up at lunch and he seemed to be doing ok. He was sitting at the table with his back to the door. His feet were dangling because his legs are too short to touch the floor, and he was looking around. I let him finish eating before I went in to get him. I watched him, with assistance, pick up his plate off of the table, put it in the sink and push in his chair. He was given his lunch box to bring to his cubby, which was outside of the room...where I was waiting. He started to whine a little bit..."momma....momma?" And then he saw me!!!! "MOMMA!!! MOMMA!!! HI MOMMMMMMA! MUAH!" So sweet and so said. He kissed me over and over again and kept saying "Hi momma".
The next couple of days proved to be equally upsetting for Gary and I. But, luckily, the teacher said he didn't cry at all during the day, only when Gary dropped him off. He continued to be excited to see me when I picked him up. Hopefully, this week goes well. He'll be there all day this week, which means he has to nap there. I'm cautiously optimistic about that!
Today, was Gavin's 18 month check up. He started to cry to minute we pulled into the parking lot. He remembered this place. Even more amazing to me was the fact that he started making "fishy" sounds before we opened the door to the doctor's office. He remembered there was a fish tank in there!!! He cried for almost 45 minutes between being weighed, examined by the doctor and given his 18 month immunizations. He was able to follow directions even though he was crying. Dr. Nale tried to distract him while doing his examination. He asked, "Where's your ears? Where's your eyes?" Gavin pointed to the appropriate body part while howling all the while. He finally stopped crying when every one left the room. He was so ready to go! He kept saying, "Bye bye?" "Dada?", and he kept pointing to his battle wounds. Every now and then he would point to his bandages and say, "oww" He was more than happy to show the neighbors his four "ouchies". Poor guy wore himself out so much, that he fell asleep in the car on the way to lunch. He had a fever tonight and was a little fussy, but I hope that passes and he will come away with no other side affects. Poor little guy, and big guy, and me...
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