K.I.S.S....or not

Happy Belated New Year.  Wish I had more time to write, but who does these days!?  So my new years resolution for 2012 was to K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid!)  Ever since I have met my husband we have been going non-stop!  This March will make it 5 years since our first date.  Let me give you a brief run down on our past five years.  After doing long distance for 6 months I decided to sell my house in Harford county and move to the beach to be with Dave.  My parents also moved, and we also moved our mortgage company here.  I bought a home here in Ocean Pines that Dave and I and our three dogs moved in to...Then after dating for a year Dave propose to me in Costa Rica.  That was May 08.  We got married June 2009, had Noah November 2010, and adjusted to our new lives as parents in 2011.  It's been a world wind for us!  We just wanted to take a year to kinda live our lives...breathe a little, and go from there.  Just "Keep things simple" for a while...

Soooooo....as I was typing out this new years resolution on my FB page I was about 4 weeks pregnant...just didn't know it yet!  It's funny when you think you have everything planned out God laughs and says "that's not my plan for you!!!"  And then he reveals his plan!  But we couldn't be happier!  We are 11 weeks pregnant now, and expecting baby # 2 early September.  My due date is September 15th, but they will take me a week early and do a C-section since Noah was a c-section.  So our kiddo's will be 22 months apart!  OY!  That is gonna be ALOT of work!!!!  But we can't wait!! 

I love how God works!  I love that how he reminds you/me that it's his plan not ours!  I needed a reminder of this, and what better reminder then this!  Now I get to have another baby!  Dave keeps asking "How are we going to afford day care for two?  How are we going to do this or that?"  And i keep telling him, "I don't know!  We'll figure it out!!!!"  And I know we will! 

So, this pregnancy has been completely different then the last!  I had the best pregnancy with Noah, so I probably deserve a little taste of the morning sickness!  This time I have been pretty sick.  It seems to be subsiding now that I am almost into my second trimester!  Thanking God! 

Everyone keeps saying they hope we have a little girl so we have the "perfect" family...but I think our family will be perfect boy or girl!  I am leaning towards this one being a girl just because how different the pregnancy has been...but either way, I will be tickled pink or blue!)

How I told Dave is pretty funny!  I had a pretty good suspicion that I was pregnant, but didn't want to tell Dave until I knew for sure.  So I had a positive pregnancy test and went to my doc and also got a positive blood test, there certainly was no denying it.  So I went to Carter's and picked up a shirt for Noah that said "Big Brother".  Put it on Noah when I picked him up from day care.  Dave didn't even notice the shirt until I pointed it out to him.  LOL, he was certainly shocked!  But happy Schocked!!!  HAHA!  So we decided to tell our parents, and even they didn't notice the shirt!  We were going to wait to tell everyone else but we were so excited, and Dave kept telling more and more people so we finally just decided to tell the world.  Here's Noah in his "Big Brother" shirt.



I can't figure out how to rotate the pic...but you get the point!



Day Care...

When your "baby" turns into a toddler things certainly do change.  I have to say, so far we are having a blast at this stage of Noah's life.  He is so much fun right now!  He is speaking so well, playing so hard, and just such a happy little man!  I look forward to every evening we get to spend together as a family and every weekend.
Becoming a toddler also meant a new daycare room for Noah...no more nursery for him!  This was a good transition for Noah and a much needed one!  He had been spending time in the toddler room as the day care slowly transitioned him to the toddler room full time.  He had a little difficulty adjusting at first to only one  nap a day, but seems to have adjusted to that now.  Although, when he's home he still takes two!  The kids in the toddler room with Noah were all familiar to him, as most of them were in the nursery with him at one time or another.  There were a few new faces for him to get to know and he seemed to do so with ease....until recently.

I picked Noah up from day care about a month ago and there was an injury report on his chart.  It's not uncommon to find out he has fallen and ended up with a bump somewhere, but this was a bite.  A bite by another toddler.  Hmm...I really wasn't sure what to think of this.  Noah certainly had teeth marks left on his arm, and this bite eventually left a small bruise.  But, this had never happened before and I wasn't quite sure what to think.  I was sad that Noah had been hurt.  No one wants that for their baby.  But what is the protocol for biting?  I really had no clue.  I let this go assuming kids will be kids, and really didn't think too much about it...until he got bit again the next week by the same kid.  After the second time I did some research online to see if this was a common problem at day cares and what to do about it.  I certainly don't want Noah getting bit or hit for that matter on a regular basis at day care or anywhere!  Day care should be a safe environment for the kids, and this is starting to make me feel uncomfortable.

What I read online said that biting can be an issue with some toddlers as it becomes their way to communicate since some don't use words well yet.  Article after article online stated that typically the biting can be stopped by either removing the biter from the classroom and putting them either one-on-one until it is under control or in the next classroom ahead of them as they tend not to bite older kids or in the classroom below them as they don't feel as threatened by the younger kids.  Articles online also said that typically after about a week of removing the child they are able to go back to their normal class and have no problems as the habit has been broken.  In some cases articles said that if the biting persisted then unfortunately that child had to be removed from day care all together.  I say unfortunately as that would suck for the parents to have to figure out what to do...but what is best for the other children and the teachers?  This child monopolizes the time of the teachers as they are having to watch him so closely to make sure he doesn't bite, hit, or pull hair.  (yes, the kid pulls hair too!)  And the other kids are subject to this violence, and it will only be a matter of time before the other kids start biting and hitting, and then what do you do?  Then you have a full room of kids abusing each other!

So, I met with director of the day care after the second time, and she really wasn't that concerned about this.  She admitted that she had dealt with her own child being a biter in past years and that it was a horrible situation.  She eventually had to hire a teacher to take care of her child one-on-one until the biting was under control.  She told me she was going to check with the teachers in the toddler room and find out just how bad this biting problem was and come up with a game plan.  That was it, she never followed up with me to tell me what they had decided to do.  So, when Noah got bit for the third time in two weeks, it was not good. 

I was working late so Dave picked Noah up that day, and Dave was already pretty annoyed that the situation had gotten as bad as it had without anything being done.  Now, for those of you who don't know my Dave, he tends to be a little hot-headed from time to time.  When he picked Noah up and got the accident report that Noah had been bit again, it was not good.  He said some things he shouldn't have said to the teachers and to the assistant to the director (the director had gone for the day).  He was very angry as nothing had been done.  The biter was still in the class, biting, hitting, pushing, pulling hair...you name it, this kid was doing it!

Dave came home furious and we called a meeting with the director for the next afternoon.  When we met with her she went over their game plan of how they were handling this child and what they were going to do to get this under control.  She said they were adding a teacher to the room to shadow that child solely and that when they weren't able to add a teacher they would put this child in a different room.  I felt the efforts would probably do the trick...but the teacher assigned to this child would really have to stay on top of him. 

Sooooooo...the story continues.  Noah hasn't been bit since the third time, but he has been hit, pushed, and had his hair pulled...and I have witnessed all three...and all three by the same kid.  I'm not sure if he is singling Noah out but every single day when I drop Noah off that kid comes running over to Noah and tries to hit him, push him, or pull his hair.  I have stopped him several times, and so have teachers.  My sweet boy is screaming every day I drop him off.  This absolutely breaks my heart.  As soon as he sees the boy he starts to cry, it's like he knows what's in store for him all day long.  I have felt like such a horrible mother leaving him there.  I pick him up as early as I can, which unfortunately isn't that early.  I have held back tears all week every morning leaving him there.  I truly feel that he is being abused at day care.  They seem to have the biting under control but what are they doing about this child hitting?  Not a thing.  Yes, kids hit and push, but when it is happening this often something needs to be done!

Why would day care be letting this happen?  When do you say enough?  When do you say, this child obviously needs one-on-one care and isn't suitable to be at a day care?  He is a danger to other kids, and teachers for that matter!  (My husband watched him hit a teacher one day too.)  I have been completely appalled by how day care has handled this situation, or lack there of!  Why would they let this continue? 

They may let it continue, but Dave and I won't.  Noah's last day is this Friday and he will no long have to be subject to this abuse.  I can't wait to get him out of there.

To the teachers at this day care who may come across this blog, I want you to know that I think you all are great, and truly love you all for taking such good care of my boy. Please do not feel this is any reflection on you.  There is only so much you are allowed to do, and can do.  This situation has been out of your hands, and I know that.  Thank you for taking such good care of Noah since he was 7 weeks old. 

So the point of this blog is just for me to be able to vent my frustrations and if another parent who has a kid at this day care comes across this and they want to know more, I'd be glad to share.  I won't list the name of this day care because I don't feel it's necessary.  Any parent who loves and wants to protect their child I feel would do the same if not more then Dave and I are doing. 

                                   What can I say?  We love this little man!