Nursery Update

Over the past several weeks, Jack has been getting considerably better whilst at nursery.  Ok, he cries a tiny bit now when we drop him off, but once we’re gone, they say he settles down really well now and actually enjoys playing with the toys, running around etc.

When I went to get Jack from nursery the other day, Tracey said that she was really pleased with how he’s been behaving as the weeks go on.  Obviously, they knew this would happen, as I’m sure that they’ve seen it lots before, but it’s probably more on our part, as when we used to leave Jack at nursery and he was crying, we seem to imagine that’s how he’ll be all day, crying and missing us, etc.  But he doesn’t and it’s more a case of Claire and I getting used to that more than Jack.

A week or so ago, I got there to pick him up after I got home from work, and had to chase him to get him to come home!  That made a bit of a turn-up for the books!

Nursery time!

We have started taking Jack to nursery just a few miles away from our home, and it’s fair to say that he doesn’t like, nor does he want, to be there.

Because of the usual working week that both Claire and I have, we have not needed to take him to nursery before, as Claire, her mum and I share looking after him during the weekdays over a fortnight.  But as we’ve been having him in environments that he’s been comfortable in, we thought he might need to learn to play with other children and get out a bit more, to learn somewhere else than our homes.  Get him out of his comfort zone a little and meet new boys and girls his own age. Plus, it gives us a bit of time to do stuff when he’s not around, so there’s benefits to us too.

The nursery he’s been going to have been really good with him so far.  They’ve changed their shift patterns a bit so that the same people are with him when he’s there, or as they know he’s not too happy, they try to get out the toy that they know he likes, like trains and cars, etc. But he still doesn’t like it, nor does he appreciate their efforts for him.

The first couple of weeks, he had to go for an hour-long ‘taster’ session, and then to keep doing that regularly such that he became familiar with the surroundings, but where one of us would stay during that hour. Then it would be himself for an hour, then four hours, and so on. Unfortunately, they don’t don’t do boarding, otherwise he’d be booked in as mummy and daddy could *really* do with the sleep!!

He’s getting better at going as time goes on and gets older and used to all of it, as in, he doesn’t cry all day now. Just most of it, but that’s progress eh?

He might look small and fuzzy-haired, but little Jack ain’t daft.  Last time I took him, he seemed to know where he was going before we even pulled into the driveway and instantly, the bottom lip came out, tear drops and everything. I thought this was just coincidence, but Claire’s mum said the same thing too, he seemed to recognise the road of where the nursery is even before seeing the nursery and burst into tears.  And before you think, again, coincidence, he doesn’t cry in the car normally; he’ll sit there in the car of the car and look out the window, pointing out things like buses, tractors and the like, so it can’t be that.

I’ve taken him this morning and dropped him off, but clever daddy had a little plan, in that we’d go the other way and come into the road from the top end, rather than from the bypass. Clever eh?  No.  He didn’t get it straight away, but he knew where he was.

Normally, I park out on the road, but this time we pulled into the car-park behind the nursery and he walked in; that is progress in itself, as last time I took him, I had to carry him as he was in his head-back-screaming-tantrum mode, which helps of course. But no, today, he held my hand and walked in, sobbing to himself admittedly but, nonetheless, he walked all the way into the tweenies room (i.e. less than 2 years old but older than a screaming baby). 

I thought I’d stay a little bit, just to help get him started and quickly retrieved the police car, fire engine and the helicopter from the toy box that they set out in expectation of Jack’s arrival, where one of the ladies that work there was happy to try and get his mind off things for him. 

I don’t think he’ll be too bad today, as although he did cry when I said bye-bye, he was pushing the cars back and forth and putting the little driver in his seat in the police car.  Little signs, but hopefully a big message!

I swiftly made my exit and until I shut the car door, I’m sure I could hear him crying.  But he’ll be fine, I’m sure.  If not, it’s them that had to bear his noise all day!! (Evil laugh!!)  Me? I’m off back to bed for the sleep I didn’t get last night because of his crying at midnight thru to 2:30am.

Rugby Tackles Galore

This weekend, we went down to Bath for a 1 year old birthday party, for Claire’s friend’s daughter, Lara.

The whole day was great and Jack was being very well behaved for most of it, until the man with the bouncy-castle appeared…!  When they were first allowed onto it, all the children went into shy-mode, not wanting to be the first.  Except Jack.

Not bothered by things like shyness, Jack (with me shortly behind him) went bounding towards this inflatable land.  I didn’t know what he would make of it and so I climbed onto the bouncy castle too, just to help, of course.  We started to bounce around and then one tumble after another and suddenly, it was filled with children that arrived from nowhere.

To put things into a little context, Jack was certainly one of the smaller children there that day, and was easily knocked around by the bounces that the other kids were putting out. He spent most of the time on the floor, struggling to regain his footing, and this is where he decided that he needed a little help.

So, the most logical thing for a 19 month old child to do, is to hold something that might appear stable and secure. Namely, another child by the scruff of their neck! Needless to say that the other child, an older girl in the first instance, didn’t appreciate this and began crying by the time I made it over to them.

Jack didn’t see the problem in this, and although it did seem quite funny in a naughty sort of way, I knew the girl’s parents would be on-looking and so I had to do the ‘say sorry, Jack’ bit.  The girl looked at Jack as if to say that Justice had been done and that he really saw sorry for his actions, especially as Claire’s standing at the foot of the castle telling me to tell Jack to say ‘sorry’.

In reality, Jack is 19 months old and has no concept of ‘sorry’ or other people’s pain, as kids of that age don’t.  All the while that I am ‘telling him off’, he’s got a big cheesy grin plastered across his face, as throughout this little chat, he’s being bounced all over the place and is quite enjoying it.

Sadly, this wasn’t a one-off, and it soon evolved into Jack taking a dive into a little boy as a result of a bounce from another older boy, taking them both to the ground.  Once on the deck, Jack remained clinging to his new buddy, holding firm for whatever reason.  Again, I had to step in, but by this point, I had already retired to the sidelines because of the amount of kiddies throwing themselves around like loons on there. 

Again, I had to go through the motions of ‘telling Jack off’ for his actions, but he didn’t really get it, and wasn’t ‘sorry’.

I’d like to think that the other children got motion sickness, or simply bored, of the bouncy castle and retired one by one, but I think Jack’s assaults on them may have had an impact. But he was like a little hit-man, taking a different child down each time, so it wasn’t like he was bullying any one child in particular…