The Nursery Sitch

Charlotte was only three-and-a-half months old when she started attending The Baby Room in old town Clapham.  The staff is fantastic and Charlotte always seems to have a great time there.  Perhaps it was because she started there when she was just a tiny baby (most kids seem to start around one year) but she seems to have become a staff favourite.  Of course they may give that impression to every family, but we like to believe it's true!

Charlie moves to her new daycare on Monday (more on that below the pics) and was given this sweet book from the staff and her friends at Baby Room.  It has two pages of notes from the caretakers and then quite a few pages of handprints and "notes" from her friends.  Here is a sampling:

Isn't that the sweetest thing?!

When we decided to move to a new neighbourhood, we were conflicted about taking her out of Baby Room.  She has been so happy there and we were nervous about finding another nursery that we would be as happy with.  I was heartbroken when every nursery I toured around our new flat was less than stellar.  After briefly discussing the idea of a nanny or child-minder, we quickly decided that we wanted her in a nursery setting.  We like the social aspect of daycare and we don't have to worry about a single caretaker getting sick or showing up late, etc.  Eventually, we decided to keep her with Baby Room but move her to a location closer to our new flat.  She'll still have to get used to being in a new facility with new staff and new playmates, but we know we like the company and we know that they provide excellent care for our sweet babe so they're worth a bit of extra effort to get to (one of the nurseries in our new neighbourhood is located one street away!).  

We feel good about our choice and were thrilled when we remembered that Charlotte's original caretaker, Grace, was transferred to her new Baby Room.  Another of her favourite caretakers is moving to her new nursery within a week or so as well.  And as it turns out, a number of her caretakers are up for babysitting and don't live too far away from our new flat, so hopefully she'll still get to see some of them!

Scenes from December, Part 1

Charlotte's friend, Emily, left her doll at nursery, so Charlotte brought it home for her.

Turns out that this wasn't Emily's doll.

Charlotte didn't seem to care.

School Photos

A few weeks ago Charlotte's report card said that she had dressed up in a pig costume while playing dress-up with the other kids.  I asked if anyone had taken photos and was thrilled to hear that they had!  Although, because there are other people's children in the pictures, I'm not allowed to have copies of them.  They put them up around the daycare and then destroy the copies when they take them down.  Boo hoo!  So no, there are no adorable piggy Charlotte pictures in this post. 

There are, however, some cute pictures of her before and after school.  Jason and I often send each other pictures of Charlie when we drop her off or pick her up.  Jason usually takes her in in the mornings and I am always so happy to get my Charlie pic of her arrival.  Then, when I pick her up, I often send Jason a pic of her smiling face to brighten his train trip home.  Here are a few for your viewing pleasure:

Teacher's Pet

Charlotte has been doing really well at her nursery school. All of the caretakers talk about what a pleasant and happy baby she is.


In fact, more than one of them has confided in me that she is everyone's favorite and that the caretakers from other rooms often come over to visit and hold her. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that she's the youngest baby at the nursery, but we like to think it might also be because she is such a wonderful baby.


According to the staff, she eats well, sleeps well and even has a boyfriend named Alfred.


As we've mentioned before, Charlotte gets a little report card for each day that lets us know all about her naps, input/output and activities. Activities for a 4.5-month-old are pretty limited, but we absolutely love reading what she's been up to. Here are some of the highlights:

-Charlotte had fun playing in the garden with her friends.

-Charlotte was swinging and smiling to herself in her new baby swing.

-Charlotte cuddled the teddy bears and kissed them.

-Charlotte was babbling and smiling with Alfred.

-Charlotte played with two duplo blocks.

-Charlotte enjoyed circle time. She bounced and laughed while listening to the songs and stories.

The other day as I was out on a walk with some mummy friends, I saw a group of adults and babies enjoying a lovely day in the park. I quickly recognized a few faces and realized that it was Charlotte's nursery class! We walked over to say hi and the caretakers got up and fussed over Charlotte and even held her "friends" up to her pushchair for her to see. It was so sweet and made me so grateful that we found such a happy environment for her to spend time in.

Charlotte's Great Day!

First of all, I want to thank you all for the love and moral support you all sent our way while we were sick. We all seem to be on the mend now. Not 100% better yet, but well on our way!


When I went to pick Charlotte up from daycare on Tuesday, her caretaker said, "Charlotte had a great day!". Apparently, she was charming all the caretakers with smiles and had a great time playing all day.

As we were leaving, another caretaker from another room stopped me to say what a happy, joyful baby she was today! Her primary caretaker, Grace, said that she thinks Charlotte finally feels at home at the nursery. She was doing fine before, but now she seems to really be enjoying her time there. It warms a mama's heart.

The most amazing part of Charlotte's day, however, came after spending a lovely evening with Jason and me at home: Charlotte slept twelve hours. That's right friends and family (and the random readers in countries such as Germany, Finland and Singapore). Twelve. Hours. It was bliss. A great day, indeed!

(Since I have no pics from Charlotte's great day, here are some pics from her Gymboree class and a fun outing we had with our new friends yesterday.)


About to eat her new found toys:


My cherub and her harp:

Getting sucker punched by her new friend Emily:

Commuter babies:

Happy Four Months, Charlie!

Our Little Loveday is four months old today. Here is a quick list of what she is like these days:

• She has started to enjoy having books read to her. She'll sit quietly and look at all of the pictures for quite a long time.
  
• She has gotten good with using her hands. Just yesterday as she was playing on the ground, she got a stuffed toy laying next to her up onto her chest! Then she (unsuccessfully) tried to eat it.
• She loves being sung to and will often coo along. She is also extremely vocal in church because of all the music!
• We have been bad about giving her enough tummy time, so she hasn't rolled over yet, but she is SO CLOSE!
• She is doing well in daycare and is bonding with her primary caretaker, Grace.
• She currently has her first cold, but is managing to smile through it.
  
• They start infants on solids as early as four months here in the UK, but we will probably wait until she shows some interest. She seems to be getting plenty fat of nutrition from breast milk for the time being.
  
• Speaking of being well-fed, she is still wearing many of her 3-6 month size clothes, but a growing number of them are 6 months! Her cloth diapers add some bulk, but she is also just getting big!
  
• She has no interest in her pacifier but seems to want to put just about anything else (including her thumb!) in her mouth.
  
• She just might be the sweetest baby in the world.
  

Charlotte's Report Card

Charlotte's nursery provides us with a daily summary of her activities, which as you can see below are mostly limited to intake and output of milk, with the occasional nap.

My favorite thing about these cards is that they tell us how the staff (and, in particular, her caretaker, Grace) engaged her through different activities during the day.

"Playing with her friends" may be a somewhat generous description of what actually went on, but I like knowing she is with the other babies. I'm also glad that she got some time outside in the garden: we're having such a tremendous spring that it would be a shame if she were stuck inside all day!

Speaking of our tremendous spring, after work yesterday I walked the opposite direction from our flat toward Clapham Common, where Bethie and Charlotte were waiting for me. We had no plans or agenda (in fact, I met them at the park because Bethie sent me a text when I was on the train suggesting I meet them there), and we passed a lovely part of an hour watching the sun sink below the treetops. We even had out first "run-into" since we've been here: our new friend, Miranda, was on her way to the neighbourhood Easter fair and just happened to pass by our park bench.

The Baby Room

Charlotte and I went on a lovely walk past Clapham Common this morning to visit The Baby Room. After doing a bit of online research it looked to be one of the better nurseries in the area. It is about a twenty minute walk from our flat (and only one tube stop away).

We were greeted by a lovely woman who took us from room to room (each based on age - hence the name). All the caretakers were extremely nice and all the children were happily engaged in activities.

We started in the Blue Room where Charlotte would be until she turns 18 months. There is one other little one around her age, and he was happily engaged in a bouncy seat. The other little ones were playing with blocks on the floor together. (I absolutely love the social aspect of putting her in a nursery as opposed to having someone look after her alone at home.) There was one caretaker for every two babies, and there were probably only around six kids, so it didn't seem too hectic.

In this age group, the majority of the day is spent playing in the room or outside in the courtyard. They also go on little field trips to Clapham Common or to the library (once they are a bit older).

Charlotte would be assigned a specific caretaker with whom she would build a bond. At the end of every day that caretaker writes up a little report card letting us know about every meal, diaper changed and activity she engaged in. It is all very well thought out.

The Baby Room doesn't accept kids for half-days so we will enroll her for two days a week (perhaps Tuesdays and Thursdays) instead. That will give me time to hit the gym (I WILL fit into my old jeans again!) work on music and head to some auditions. Eventually, once I get some gigs lined up, we may have to reassess the schedule, but they seemed very flexible about letting us add/change days in the future. Luckily Jason now arrives home around 6:30 every night (as opposed to 9:00 at his last job!) so he can watch her if I have any evening rehearsals or performances.

Two days of childcare a week will give me some freedom while still giving me enough time at home with my sweet little baby girl. Sometimes I wish I had it in me to be a full-time mom but then I remember that it will be good for Charlotte to see her mom using her abilities and doing what she loves to do! It takes an amazing kind of person to be a stay-at-home parent and I am in awe of those of you who make it work. Truly. I've been staying home with Charlotte since we arrived in London (only a week ago!) and I am already a bit burned out. I know that having some help during the week will make me a better mom when I am with her.

The next step will be to submit our application. There is a space for her age group open but there won't be for long, so I'm going to walk the application back over tomorrow. She could start as soon as next week. This means I will need to start preparing my audition materials . . . ACK!