first week at nursery

This week was a big transition week for us. It was my last week on maternity leave before officially returning to work and it was also Nate's first week at nursery. He was there for 3 full days. 

Although I am technically still on maternity leave until next week, I have been working 2 days a week for a while, so Nate has slowly gotten used to being away from me for the day. Despite this, I was still nervous about him starting nursery because until this week, he had only been with his dad or his grandparents so the move to a group setting was a big change!

The whole morning of his first day, I was worried sick about him. I had trouble concentrating at work wondering if he was eating well, napping, and adjusting to his new environment. I was especially nervous about his naps. Nate gets so upset and cranky when he gets tired and he generally only naps in the car, in the stroller or on me after nursing. I just couldn't for the life of me see how he would nap in a bustling room filled with children. I held off as long as I possibly could and then called to check on him on my lunch break. 

I could not believe it when they told me he had slept for 45 minutes earlier that morning and was currently enjoying his lunch of cottage pie and swede!  I was so relieved. From that moment, I knew everything was going to be fine. I am so proud at how well my little man has adapted to his new environment. And after all my worry about Nate's naps, can you believe that this is how my husband found him when he went to pick him up at 4pm? 

Nate's first day went as smoothly as I could have hoped. And the next 2 days went fairly smoothly too despite a new tooth coming though and multiple doses of pain reliever being administered. 

There have been a few negative consequences of starting nursery  Nate has had a runny nose and cough ever since his first day, and it doesn't seem to be clearing. He is also very tired in the evenings so we have had to put him to bed earlier than normal. 

On the positive side, he has been sleeping well at night and I have noticed Nate's gross motor skills have improved. At the start of the week he was pulling himself up to standing slowly, Now he pulls himself up super quick and does squats, lunges, and all sorts of funny contortions. It's amazing to watch him pick up these skills so quickly!

And to top off this week of firsts, Nate made his very first school art project, which I was given to take home. It is now being displayed in prime position on our dining room table and will no doubt end up on the fridge for months and then stored away for posterity's sake. 

nathan - 10 months old

Nathan is now 10 months and this month flew by! We were away in France and Spain for 2 weeks and now I am back at work 2 days a week, so the weeks really have sped along at a rapid pace. 

Nathan's tenth month has been tons of fun. He is now properly pulling himself up to standing and does it with ease. He prefers to be standing above all other positions and can walk along holding onto the edge of the sofa. He hasn't mastered crawling yet but can now get onto his hands and knees. He also somehow manages to maneuver his way around the room by shuffling and wiggling his body. I have to be extra careful not to take my eyes off him for even a second because of how much he gets around. He has fallen down a lot these past weeks as he learns how to balance on his feet, but the falls don't seem to bother him too much.

Nate now raises his hands into the air when we ask him "how big are you!?" and he is starting to point at random things from time to time. He loves to put things inside containers and then dump them out again. He also has started putting objects into people's hands. His middle top tooth on the right has popped through his gum this month and I think the left one is close behind. He has been in some discomfort from the teething but nothing too bad.

I think the most exciting thing (for me) this month is that Nate has started sleeping through the night on the odd occasion. He first slept through the night (from 9pm to 7am) when we were in Spain and my husband and I were shocked; we figured it was just a one time thing. But then he did it again a couple nights later! Since we have been back from our holiday, he has slept through the night at least 5 more times. I have no idea why he started sleeping all night; I did nothing differently and I am still nursing him to sleep. Maybe he was just ready?  In any case, I'm extremely happy that we never had to do any sleep training, despite the pressure to do so from Health Visitors. 

Today Nathan had his first settling in session at nursery. I met his key person and she discussed with me all the details about how nursery will work. I feel much happier about nursery in general now that I have met his key person. She is experienced and friendly and seemed to really bond with Nathan even after just an hour. I take him back on Friday to drop him off with her and the other children for an hour without me there! I'm nervous, but feel confident that he will be in goods hands. 

And now for some obligatory photos of Nathan's tenth month :)