Here we go again...
We had found a day care for a little man in Milton and signed a contract in early January. Our provider stated that she would only have 3 outside children plus her own - this was great for us because I wanted Will to get the care and attention he deserved with Joe and I both at work. In goes the deposit and no more worries until we start integrating him into day care in August (or so I thought).
Numbers changed....
I get an email from our provider and learn that she has decided to take in 5 outside children plus her own (all of which are under 4). Now this leaves me a little confused because this was not discussed at the time of signing. After finding out more information I learn that most days she will have 4 kids (plus her own) and that there will only be more about 5 or 6 days a month...alright so we are back on track...nope - more changes to come!
Receive another email...
3 children will no longer be needing her services. 2 children are moving and another is pulled due to the high ratio. Now we get a comment saying 'if you know anyone interested in day care I have one spot left". So being the helpful person I am I offer to advertise her opening on my work information board, facebook and casual discussion with other maternity moms. Also, I send an email clarifying that she is indeed going to have 3 outside children plus her own.
Receive a phone call...
"Hello Jennifer, I just wanted to ease any concerns you have about my numbers. I will only be taking on 3 children other than my own. If you have any more concerns please don't hesitate to call me" GREAT NEWS!! I email her and say "No concerns looking forward to play dates in August"
The final email...
I received an email 4 days later stating that my day care contract was being cancelled. "Due to increased interest in my services I can no longer guarantee you the ratio discussed earlier. I will be sending your deposit in the mail tomorrow."
ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? I signed this contract in January and now you are cancelling it because of an increase in demand for your services (I might add I did advertise on your behalf)!!! And you didn't even have the courtesy to call me and discuss the situation first! I am completely outraged and left in a very difficult position - we are now scrabbling to find suitable day care for Will 4 months before school in a town that has the highest birth rate in Ontario!
I wanted so badly to call and give this lady a piece of my mind but what would that do??? It's not like we would ever send Will there after all of this. What's worse is that Joe was having second thoughts and I was constantly reassuring him that we had a great place for Will and that I didn't think a home day care could get any better. GRRRR...I don't know if I am more mad at her or myself for being sucked in.
The bright side...
There is always a bright side to every dark day...Joe and I have been talking more about what we both want for Will in September and we interviewed with a fabulous woman last night! We have a few more places to see before we make our decision and I think since we were burned in the past we are going to be going into this with a lot more knowledge and hopefully a better spot for Will.
Thanks for reading my rantings...
JENN
Friday, April 30, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Pesky little teeth!
Will has finally cut his first tooth!!! Should I be excited or scared??? As a breast feeding mom I am voting for scared. So far I haven't run into too much trouble but the tooth has just barely broke through the surface of the gums and I am anticipating a rough time ahead. Right now the goal is to breast feed until I go back to work and then introduce milk during the day and breast milk at night. But this plan did not take into consideration that my cute, sweet, angelic little Will would soon have a mouth full of razor sharp chompers just dying to get a hold of something to chew on with little thought of the pain they are inflicting.
So what's the solution...I don't want to stop breast feeding but I also don't want to be in constant pain. Friends have mentioned a plethora of techniques via the fabulous facebook...most of which i am willing to try (if things get unbearable). My first step however, is to introduce some juice to the water in Will's sippy cup. He has never had juice before so I am hoping he loves it. The ultimate goal is to slowly wean Will off of day time feeds with sippy cups filled with either breast milk, water, or watered down juice. I am not a huge fan of all the sugars in juice...even the pour stuff is packed with natural sugars so juice once a day might be all he is getting for now.
I was chatting with my dear friend Sheri today about introducing snacks during the day to replace breast feeds and yet another concern popped into my head. What is an appropriate snack for my one toothed wonder? Right now Will has Baby Mum Mums (which I might enjoy even more than he does) and they are great...but what is the next step?? The thought of giving Will finger foods scares me to death. What if he chokes? Can't I leave him on pureed food forever? What if he doesn't chew? How do I teach him to chew? The list goes on and on. My biggest concern is that eating mum mums all day can't be the healthiest for Will but he isn't ready to mow down on an apple either...looks like I am going to have to get researching again!
Guess that is all for now.
PS - Today Will stood by himself...well he was holding on the his jumperoo but we weren't holding him!!! What a big boy!
Jenn
So what's the solution...I don't want to stop breast feeding but I also don't want to be in constant pain. Friends have mentioned a plethora of techniques via the fabulous facebook...most of which i am willing to try (if things get unbearable). My first step however, is to introduce some juice to the water in Will's sippy cup. He has never had juice before so I am hoping he loves it. The ultimate goal is to slowly wean Will off of day time feeds with sippy cups filled with either breast milk, water, or watered down juice. I am not a huge fan of all the sugars in juice...even the pour stuff is packed with natural sugars so juice once a day might be all he is getting for now.
I was chatting with my dear friend Sheri today about introducing snacks during the day to replace breast feeds and yet another concern popped into my head. What is an appropriate snack for my one toothed wonder? Right now Will has Baby Mum Mums (which I might enjoy even more than he does) and they are great...but what is the next step?? The thought of giving Will finger foods scares me to death. What if he chokes? Can't I leave him on pureed food forever? What if he doesn't chew? How do I teach him to chew? The list goes on and on. My biggest concern is that eating mum mums all day can't be the healthiest for Will but he isn't ready to mow down on an apple either...looks like I am going to have to get researching again!
Guess that is all for now.
PS - Today Will stood by himself...well he was holding on the his jumperoo but we weren't holding him!!! What a big boy!
Jenn
Saturday, April 17, 2010
The goings on...
We finally got a car seat for Will. The new challenge was trying to figure out how we would put it in the car...which car etc. It started in my car in the middle...and it was just too hard to tighten and loosen the straps...so behind the driver is the obvious solution...but there just isn't enough leg room in the Cobalt. So into the Alero it goes. behind the driver is where we started but driving would have been a challenge as my head was touching the ceiling. So to the middle (by now Joe's getting a little tired and a little annoyed;) So we put it in a left it there for a day. After heading out Sheri and pulling Will in and out of the middle seat all day I decided (after knocking my little mans head on the ceiling) that the middle was just too difficult! Back to the Cobalt we go...behind the passenger was the the solution we were looking for. Much better!!!
Sleeping in the new car seat has proved to be an interesting experience for Will...I have learned that moving the head of a sleeping baby is not allowed...it is better to let them kink their neck then try to adjust their heads....oh how he screamed. In addition, he doesn't not take kindly to being removed from his car seat when he is half asleep...to prove it to us...he decided to scream himself to sleep for 40 minutes. Oh the joys of parenthood :p
Now with the lack of a bucket seat have to drag the giant stroller with me where ever I go but the Cobalt trunk is rather small in comparison to the Alero so the search for a light weight stroller began. We found a great fit on Kijiji and picked it up for $25 last night. The size is great and it looks brand new!!! Everything seems to be falling into place...now we just have to go somewhere as a family and test out the new stroller. The basket at the bottom of the stroller is much smaller so I will have to start being more selective with what I pack in the diaper bag (i.e. no more full size wipes container).
I guess that is all for now
JENN
Sleeping in the new car seat has proved to be an interesting experience for Will...I have learned that moving the head of a sleeping baby is not allowed...it is better to let them kink their neck then try to adjust their heads....oh how he screamed. In addition, he doesn't not take kindly to being removed from his car seat when he is half asleep...to prove it to us...he decided to scream himself to sleep for 40 minutes. Oh the joys of parenthood :p
Now with the lack of a bucket seat have to drag the giant stroller with me where ever I go but the Cobalt trunk is rather small in comparison to the Alero so the search for a light weight stroller began. We found a great fit on Kijiji and picked it up for $25 last night. The size is great and it looks brand new!!! Everything seems to be falling into place...now we just have to go somewhere as a family and test out the new stroller. The basket at the bottom of the stroller is much smaller so I will have to start being more selective with what I pack in the diaper bag (i.e. no more full size wipes container).
I guess that is all for now
JENN
Friday, April 9, 2010
Car seats...oh the stress
Okay my 20.5lbs little monkey is getting a little big for his bucket seat...the time for a convertible car seat is near. Now we have heard a variety of different things for a ton of different sources...
- Rear facing until a minimum of 20lbs (ministry of transportation website)
Okay perfect...Will weighs more than 20lbs sooo...forward facing car seat - Right??? NOPE!!! According to the buyer for BabiesRus he must also be a year old or able to walk without assistance to be forward facing which brings us back to a convertible car seat. But what does this lady really know anyway?? I guess some information is better than no information.
It also matters where you put the car seat...middle is the safest (obviously - as it is away from side impact points), then behind the driver ( instinct to save oneself) and finally behind the passenger. This all makes perfect sense to me...but why then are cars not made to fit all the car seats that are available??? Now I have to run around with a measuring tape in hand to see which car seat will fit in my Cobalt. Don't forget...arms on the seat are great if your child has the ability to get into the seat themselves. Save your back people!!! If you have to get your one-year-old to the centre of your back seat you are not going want arm rests in your way...besides if you have never had an arm rest do you really know what you are missing???
Price is another issue all together - how is it possible that a car seat cost 70 - 90 dollars less in the states??? Our dollar is at par people!! Now I know what you are think...Jenn do some cross-boarder shopping!! Well in an ideal world that would be the solution but I am a stickler for the rules especially when it comes to my little man...you cant buy a car seat in the states with a sticker that clears it for use in Canada.
At least everything will be easier with the next one :)
Jenn
- Rear facing until a minimum of 20lbs (ministry of transportation website)
Okay perfect...Will weighs more than 20lbs sooo...forward facing car seat - Right??? NOPE!!! According to the buyer for BabiesRus he must also be a year old or able to walk without assistance to be forward facing which brings us back to a convertible car seat. But what does this lady really know anyway?? I guess some information is better than no information.
It also matters where you put the car seat...middle is the safest (obviously - as it is away from side impact points), then behind the driver ( instinct to save oneself) and finally behind the passenger. This all makes perfect sense to me...but why then are cars not made to fit all the car seats that are available??? Now I have to run around with a measuring tape in hand to see which car seat will fit in my Cobalt. Don't forget...arms on the seat are great if your child has the ability to get into the seat themselves. Save your back people!!! If you have to get your one-year-old to the centre of your back seat you are not going want arm rests in your way...besides if you have never had an arm rest do you really know what you are missing???
Price is another issue all together - how is it possible that a car seat cost 70 - 90 dollars less in the states??? Our dollar is at par people!! Now I know what you are think...Jenn do some cross-boarder shopping!! Well in an ideal world that would be the solution but I am a stickler for the rules especially when it comes to my little man...you cant buy a car seat in the states with a sticker that clears it for use in Canada.
At least everything will be easier with the next one :)
Jenn
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Gearing up for work
Great night last night...Will slept like an angel! He was up once for Dad at 1:30 then slept on through till 6 am. Now if only Mom could sleep too.
I started thinking about going back to work as I was staring at the ceiling last night...my work assignment has just been given to me for the September school year and I couldn't be more pleased. Then the guilt wave came crashing over me! How can I be so excited about going back to work when I know going back to work means leaving my little man in someone elses care. I can barely leave him for the length of a feature film let alone an 8 hour day! Now I know we have a fantastic daycare provider and both Grandmothers are a phone call away if there is an issue but it is still the scary thing ever - it's like I am asking someone else to raise my baby!
Now staying home is NOT an option and honestly I don't think I could do give up a job I love. Maybe this would be easier if Will was a terror instead of an angel. Part of me thinks it would have been easier to go back to work after 6 weeks instead of a year...I remember really needing a break at 6 weeks lol. Is it possible that I am the only mom out there that is looking forward to going back to work??
I wonder if my principal would let me teach with a Bjorn and a one-year-old strapped to me??
JENN
I started thinking about going back to work as I was staring at the ceiling last night...my work assignment has just been given to me for the September school year and I couldn't be more pleased. Then the guilt wave came crashing over me! How can I be so excited about going back to work when I know going back to work means leaving my little man in someone elses care. I can barely leave him for the length of a feature film let alone an 8 hour day! Now I know we have a fantastic daycare provider and both Grandmothers are a phone call away if there is an issue but it is still the scary thing ever - it's like I am asking someone else to raise my baby!
Now staying home is NOT an option and honestly I don't think I could do give up a job I love. Maybe this would be easier if Will was a terror instead of an angel. Part of me thinks it would have been easier to go back to work after 6 weeks instead of a year...I remember really needing a break at 6 weeks lol. Is it possible that I am the only mom out there that is looking forward to going back to work??
I wonder if my principal would let me teach with a Bjorn and a one-year-old strapped to me??
JENN
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Happy Easter
Okay...so I am starting this a little late. Will is already 7 months old and is growing like a weed. He is over 20lbs and almost 29" long. I can't believe how fast he is growing and what a little ham he is becoming. Nothing brightens my day more than hearing my little man have a laugh attack.
This past weekend went by so fast we needed Monday to catch our breath!
It was dinner with my parents and brother and sister-in-law on Friday. We hadn't seen Josh and Bons in a while so it was wonderful to catch up! Dinner was fantastic and Will stole the show.
Saturday was time for family...Joe and I took Will to see the animals at Bronte Creek. He LOVED it!!! He was all smiles all day and all the fresh air sure did make him tired. Lots of scrapbooking pictures for Mom.
Sunday we were off to see all the Grandparents for Easter. Turkey was great (next year Will will get to have some of Grandma's yummy turkey) and Will got to try out the bunny ears.
Monday we all recuperated and relaxed before Dad headed back to work. All-in-all a pretty fantasticly perfect weekend!
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