MY SWEET BABY BOY - STARTING NURSERY

If someone were to tell me last year that Freddie would be starting Nursery this year, I'd have never believed them. It had never even been in my mind to even consider putting him in a nursery up until a month or so ago. The main reason he is in a nursery is so I can have one full day to myself to do my work. Working from home is pretty tough, especially when you still have to do all the stay-at-home parent things too such as watching the kids, preparing and cooking meals, school runs, housework and the rest. Trying to fit in a schedule with work in between is tough. I tend to do my work in the evenings and when Freddie has his nap. He will nap now for around 2 hours, sometimes 3, whereas before (for roughly 10 months) he would have cat naps for one or two 10 minute naps - 20 minutes, if I was lucky. There was just never a good time for me to pick up my laptop and work. I never bring my laptop out when Freddie is awake as I just can't concentrate and I don't really want to risk the screen breaking or snapping when he pulls it down either (yup, nearly happened before - never again.)

The decision to put him nursery wasn't an easy one. In fact, I took a very long time to come to a decision. Firstly, it was my partner who suggested it. I think he was (still is) fed up of me constantly moaning that I'm tired and never have proper time to do my work. I have a goal I want to reach with my blog - and I am going to reach it, even if it takes me another 4 or more years. I will do it. But the only way I can do it is to have more time. So I thought more and more about a nursery and came to the decision to put him in on once a week.

When I started to jot down some nearby nurseries in our area and on the outside of the area, I did find it quite difficult to choose which one to view. There's only one nursery in our village and one childminder. But a childminder was out the window for us, If he was to go to childcare, I wanted him to be in a nursery, for many reasons. The local nursery didn't really appeal to me at first, but after a few weeks, I decided to try it. They told me they only had a space left on a Tuesday. I wanted a Thursday as that is the day the girls are in after-school club. I thought long and hard about it over the weekend, and on Tuesday I decided to phone and see if I could book the Tuesday with them and the phone call was just very awkward. It made me think twice about putting him in there. However, 10 minutes later, the manager called up and said the girl who I previously spoke to said the wrong thing and they didn't have that space left on a Tuesday. One way I was glad, another I was slightly gutted as putting him in a local nursery in our village would have been a lot easier for me.

However, we found another nursery. The one I was in two minds with along with our local one. I think I was just being really nervous about letting Freddie go into a care of strangers - people I didn't know personally. I actually decided one day that I wasn't going to put him in a nursery at all. I was fed up of feeling guilty and nervous. I was thinking of waiting until next September when he goes to nursery school 2-hours a day. But the following day I knew putting him a nursery one full day a week was the best thing to do - for the both of us. So, I phoned the other nursery up, and we went for a viewing that week.

At the viewing, the manager showed me around the nursery, and I instantly knew it was the right place for him. I knew two members of staff, and that really helped me like the nursery and trust the nursery too. I felt comfortable knowing that I knew two staff members working there. He had his first taster session (that was free) on the following Monday and his first proper day today, Thursday. On the taster session, he had four hours free. I put him in 1pm until 5pm. He seemed over the moon and so happy before going in, but when he realised I was leaving him, he got really uncomfortable and started crying. I did have tears in my eyes when I left - it was hard.

When I picked him up at 5pm, he looked at me all confused, then started crying wanting to come to me. The minute I held him he stopped crying. They had told me he was on and off crying through the afternoon which was expected but otherwise he loved it. He held hands with another baby, as they were sitting in their highchairs - super cute. He'd also painted and coloured his own picture which is now happily sitting on top of the fire place in our living room. Something I will treasure, forever.

One of the things that got me a little excited for him starting nursery was knowing he will come home with little drawings and pictures throughout the year. It also gives me time to do what I want, whether it's having a very hot cuppa, meeting a friend or working. Although I will most probably be working most Thursdays unless I haven't got tons of work to do then I will pop out for a bit. It's just nice to have a little bit of 'me time' now and then, I guess. But as I write this, it's nearly 2pm, and I only have a few hours left to go until I pick him. I haven't stopped thinking about him, and I am quite excited to pick him up from nursery to see how he's got along.

Later on in the day now, it's nearly 7.30pm. My partner came home from work around 5pm and so we went to pick him up straight away. We were both so excited to see him. When we arrived one of the staff took us into another room to watch him in the window, just to reassure me that he is ok there. He was sitting on another member of staff knees and having fun with other kids, which was adorable to watch. When the other staff brought him to us he seemed so confussed. My partner took him and then he came straigh to me. The staff told me he was unsettled, crying on and off during the morning and only slept for 15 minutes, which isn't like him at all. He then had a half an hour nap in the afternoon and was much better after that.

Did you put your little ones in nursery when they were younger than 2 years old?