Amelia will start at nursery full time this week and in the lead up to it we have had a few settling in sessions to help her adjust. I think these are a brilliant idea and I can’t imagine why anyone would pass up the chance to take full advantage of the time.
Not only does it give your baby time to get to know the people who will look after them, they can also have a chance to be around the other children and in a new space for a few hours at a time before being thrown in the deep end on their first day. It also gives you a few hours to yourself too, what you choose to do with it is up to you of course. I opted for a dentist appointment (how very rock & roll) and a cut and colour for my hair before going back to work.
It was so lovely to get those things done baby free and without the address stresses and struggles that can come with taking your baby along to such appointments.
Amelia had three settling sessions in total, the first one was pretty short, only about an hour and most of that we were in the office going through all the paperwork and making sure they had everything they needed ready for her to start.
Her second visit lasted about 2 hours and I was told she played beautifully with the other children and didn’t cry once. Her third and final session was much longer, nearly 3.5 hours and in that time she ate lunch, drank some of her bottle, got involved with tea time and ate some broccoli quiche and had a good old babble with the other children. The ladies who look after her have established that she’s very chatty and can get pretty excited about it too, she also likes to pull hair which one lady found out the hard way.
On all three occasions I don’t think she even noticed when I left and she certainly wasn’t overly bothered when I came back either. She sort of acknowledged me from behind the gate and went back to what she was doing.
All of this tells me that despite my doubts and worries and pangs of guilt she is going to be just fine at nursery. She’s going to make friends, learn new skills, develop her appetite and try new foods.
Ultimately though, she’s going to be well looked after and have a blast, every single day. I bet she can’t wait to go back again.
Rachel xx
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