Monday 16 November 2009

First day at Infant Care

It's my first day at School! I work up slightly later than before today. Grandma joked that I must have did it deliberately knowing it's my first infant care day. Mum couldn't wait, she gently woke me up by changing my diapers. It was a rushed morning, but thank God we had my bag packed the previous night. I had my diapers and clothes changed, drank some milk and headed to school. Even my appetite for milk this morning dropped, maybe I could sense some separation from this familiar home. No mood...

We arrived school, a petite and friendly teacher welcomed us. We went through some feeding schedule and administrative process. Mummy told teacher to call her if I cried badly. Mum and Dad had never intended to introduce me gradually to school until Auntie M advised them to begin from a few hours to a full day care in a week. Well, they must have had great confidence in me!

When it was time to part, guess who cried? It's mummy!!! She walked out the school with tears in her eyes. She couldn't believe her baby was going to spend a full day at a whole new environment. What an immediate change.

Then at 11 plus in the morning, the school called mummy. When the caller said, "Hi, this is calling from Jazz's schoolhouse...." Mummy's heart stopped a beat, she thought it must be time to bring me home because of bad crying. It was however, a call to notify parents of HFMD cases in the school. There was a confirmed case last Friday, but I wasn't around yet. Hopefully, the school is still safe for fun and play. Mummy took the opportunity to asked if I cried and what I was doing. The teacher who called said that I cried a little after bath and was taking my nap during their conversation call.

Mummy was at work, but her heart wasn't. She couldn't wait for the day to end before seeing me again. Every moment at work had images of my face crying in her mind, it was a helpless feel. Then after lunch, she decided that she needed to leave work a little earlier for me. She took some time off, got a cab and headed to school at 3.30pm.

Upon arriving, it was raining, it was impossible for us to walk home, mummy got the cabby to wait for her. She ran to the door, pressed the bell for my teacher and requested to peep at what I was doing. Mummy ran up to the infant's room, searched for my face, and spotted me. I was slightly away from where the rest of the babies were, some were in for story time, but I was focused on a little toy I was playing with. It was a sigh of relief for Mummy, she's comforted and assured that I've enjoyed my new found place.

Teacher packed my bag and went through my schedule with Mummy, before carrying me out to her. As I was carried past the babies, they waved goodbye to me, I spotted myself trying to wave goodbye too. It was another comforting moment for mummy, she saw me trying to wave goodbye to my playmates. I'm sure I'll learn something out of school's everyday play. This had changed mummy's mind totally. Life at infant care isn't as bad as she thought.

Hmm, but getting sick frequently will be an unavoidable problem. This will be another issue they'll have to tackle. For now, I'll just enjoy my play at school. 

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