Remarkable Robbie: Changes

It's been a very big few days for Robbie.

I am now back to work after a year off, so that means Robbie has to go to daycare.

We have been very fortunate in finding a GREAT place for him in a daycare owned by my dad's longtime girlfriend's sister. It's just the owner, Julie and one of her daughters, Katie and the kids.

I can't say enough good things about them. They both have great energy and spirits. You can tell they truly love kids.

The night before I was a bit nervous, but got everything as ready as I could, so that in the morning, we just needed to grab his feeding pump and food and my lunch and could be on our way.

Morning went pretty well. I had to wake Robbie up, but he was in a good mood. Got him dressed (small problem- he is already too big for the first day outfit I'd planned! But we went with a cotton jumper, no big deal.) and we were on our way.

Of course, as soon as I pulled up to the daycare, I realized I'd neglected to bring his bottle for the day. Oops! So I took Robbie inside and sat him down. He went straight to playing. I ran back across town to grab his bottle and then back again. When I got back, he hadn't even noticed I was gone. Turned out to be a nice dry run.

Of course, that also ate into all the time I'd budgeted for having my weepy good-bye, but that might have been for the best. I was able to spend 10 minutes just watching him play. When it was time to go, I hugged him, and you could tell he just wanted back down to continue playing.

I got a little choked up and went to my car. I cried a little on the way to work, but honestly, it went better than I'd expected.

Katie texted me a picture pretty early in the day. He was happy. No tears.

I called to check on him around noon and Julie was giddy with excitement. Robbie had eaten HALF A JAR of baby food! That's a HUGE feat for him. She said she counted 30 spoonfuls. Plus 5 puffs! It was so great to hear. And to know that Julie was as excited as I was meant a lot. It's nice to know he's in caring arms.

Later in the afternoon, Katie texted another picture. This time he had yogurt on his face. He'd only had about 3 spoonfuls, but still. An afternoon snack just like a regular boy.

I was able to get off of work an hour early (things are slow) which meant I could pick him up from daycare instead of David.

When I arrived, he barely glanced up at me. When I sat down next to him, he gave me a half smile as if to say "it's about time, mom" but went right back to playing with a balloon. Finally a minute or two later, he reached for me and wanted to be held. I tried to set him down again and he didn't want that. He still wanted to play, but from the confines of my lap. Maybe he had missed me a little after all.

Today was his second day there and I wish it had gone as well. It didn't go badly, but he definitely knew what was going on this morning. As soon as I got him in the door and sat him down, he started to whine. Katie was great about distracting him, which worked. But when he'd see me, he'd whine again. I think he knew I was leaving him. It broke my heart.

When it was time to go, Katie took him and distracted him so it wasn't too traumatic. They told me later that he never did work up to a full cry, but would occasionally look around and whine a little.

The worst part of the day was around naptime. Julie called and said he was crying and wouldn't stop. They worried that they'd done something to hurt him with the G-tube (unlikely). I suspect he was just over-tired and maybe over-stimulated and probably just wanted his mommy. It killed me not to get up from my desk and just go rescue him. But I know we all have to adjust to our new lifestyle.

Fortunately shortly after we hung up the phone, Katie texted to let me know that as soon as they called, he'd fallen asleep. He still only slept about a half an hour (not nearly enough) but it was enough to restore his good mood.

I was able to get off an hour early again so I could retrieve him. This time he smiled when I showed up. It was nice to see. They said all in all, he still had a good day. He'd only eaten about 5 bites of his food for lunch, but that's what he'd normally eat at home, so that wasn't unexpected.

When we got home he took a long nap. We actually had to wake him so he would be willing to sleep at bedtime.

Hopefully he settles into his new routine pretty soon. I hate seeing him sad. I know the daycare is good for him. And being back to work is good for our checking account, so it has to be.

But if anyone gets a line on winning lotto numbers, let us know.

For now- pictures!