She'd gone back to sleep after the 5 am feeding and I finally had to wake her up so we could go to daycare, but she hadn't eaten since the first feeding at 5 am.
I got there about 8:45 am, and while I had all the paperwork they'd sent home filled out, I still needed a code to log her in and get thru the door and to pay. Got that all squared away, then went in and met with her teachers and went through a few things. I had a little book that J brought LP every morning with the diaper bag that told of our morning's events and then LP input what she did with Reese all day (i.e. How much she ate, when/how long she slept, diaper changing info, etc.). The new daycare, Childtime, has a form that the caretakers fill out all day and then give you a copy of this info. I knew that, but still wrote in the book what we'd done so they knew what to expect next. I'd brought a lot of breastmilk so we talked about that and that I needed to bring more bottles the next time or the ones with the plastic liners (which we have and hardly ever use because we don't usually feed her formula during the day unless we're in a crunch. I'd searched for a blanket she could be swaddled in that morning, only to be told that they weren't allowed by the state to swaddle (but at least I found us "new"swaddlers). Finally, it was time to go. One of the caregivers got her out of the carseat and Reese seemed pretty content. I felt that she was happy and safe, but that didn't stop the waterworks. They assured me she'd be great and I could call anytime for an update. Reese was looking at me like "what's the matter Mom?! I'm good!" I told them she'd be hungry so they were starting to warm up a bottle as my tears and I went to the car.
By the time I got to work, I was pretty put back together and ready to get through my 4 hours of work. I texted J to tell him how drop off went and he assured me she'd be fine, especially with no big dog around. I was also "bursting at the seams" with milk so I got to pumping right away and got 6 oz. They had told me at daycare that because of her age they wouldn't offer her more than 4 oz at a time, so pumping 6 oz was at least 1.5 feedings!! Heard about the car accident MBM's parents had been in; then got down to work. Went to lunch with rhe girls, pumped one more time and then it was time to go. Found a different route back so I was backtracking less and got to daycare in 10 minutes flat.
Figured out my key code for the door and was shown how to log into the computer to check her out. Then it was time to go retrieve her. I put the booties over my shoes (required so if you have something on your shoes, it doesn't fall off and baby puts it in their mouth) and walked in. There she was, safe and happy. They were just getting ready to feed her so handed me the bottle of breastmilk and we sat in the glider. I got to talk to the caregivers that were there, including Ms. Liz, that a friend had told me she adored and she was right. Of course Reese hadn't spit up all day, but she got me! Payback for leaving her? < br/> < br/> We left and the nice thing is that they keep everything (diapers, wipes, diaper bag, etc.) so I don't have to lug it all the time. However, as I learned Monday, I always need backup. After I left daycare, I opted to go see MBM's parents who had been in a rather severe car accident over the weekend and who still hadn't met Reese yet. Got there and they both loved her and said she was gorgeous. As I pulled her out of the carseat, MBM's mom said, "what's on her back?" I looked and sure enough, her diaper was overflowing!! More payback?! Thankfully, I had just put a big ziplock bag of diapers and wipes in the car for emergencies, but no extra clothes. Got her cleaned up and out of dirty clothes and back to MBM's mom for visit. Finally headed home and got her in clothes before she fell asleep. Also put backup clothes in the car, just in case for next time.
All in all, a good day. Am happy we switched, even though its pricier, it feels better. Hopefully when I drop her off the next time there will be no tears.
UPDATE: There were no tears from either of us when I dropped her off this morning (6/27) and she again did very well. Went through all the frozen milk I had given them, so we'll have to figure out how to keep up my supply...but that's a whole other post!