Not an official "event" at school, it was reality for Bailey and I this week as our nanny was recovering from gallstone removal surgery. Each day was an adventure (to say the least) and, while I love that little monster dearly, I'm beyond thankful for the fact that I don't have to teach with her in tow on a regular basis.
Monday: Let the adventure begin!
As with most things baby, I started out with grand plans of seamless transitions and a 100% compliant child. I was hopeful that we could "just" move her schedule up an hour to work around having to get to school early and take a nap during two of my three classes. On paper, it all made sense: if you wake her up an hour early (at 6 instead of 7), she'll be ready for a nap an hour early (8:30 instead of 9:30), and she'll (of course) take her usual 2 hour morning nap. And I should mention that I woke up with a sore throat, cough, "sick breath," and an assortment of other pre-cold symptoms. Perfect.
The early morning wake-up went off smoothly enough; a few whimpers as I had to dress her while she sipped on her milk so we'd be ready for our ride, but nothing extraordinary. She even played nicely in my classroom during first period, rummaging through my desk drawers and dumping/cleaning up a box of paper clips, a deck of cards and some bandaids.
But when that bell rang for second period and my Algebra 1 kids started coming in (all eight of them), Bailey started to freak out. She started to pout, whimper and cry . . . and it didn't stop the entire period. My poor students; they were trying to learn about ratios and unit rates and unit conversions, but Miss Grumpy Pants kept that from happening effectively. I took her up to the main office for her to nap in the empty general director's office next to the secretary (thank you, Sindy!) and I was relieved, thinking I'd be able to teach my next two classes baby-free. But I "spoke" too soon.
Ten minutes before the end of third period (about 40 minutes into her nap IF she fell right to sleep, which she rarely does; she usually talks to herself for at least 20 minutes before drifting off) the academic director stopped by my room to let me know that there was going to be a fire-drill within the next 20 minutes and I needed to get Bailey. You've GOT to be kidding me. Teary eyed (literally, tears streaming down my cheeks) I strode up to the office and barely squeaked out the words "I need to get my child."
Glossy eyed and utterly confused, poor little Bailey woke up from her short little nap, paraded onto the field with my 8th graders and then returned to class with us; there was no way she was going back to sleep after that. I cuddled her through the whole class and we made it through fourth period - in part because she was so dazed she didn't know what was going on.
A little lunch revived her and she managed not to be a screaming maniac on the bus ride home, but did fall straight to sleep once we got home. We both did. And God proved once again that He answers prayers: she slept for over three hours, letting me get in a nap of my own, and finish the household chores that needed to be done.
Tuesday: Lessons Learned
Knowing that we'd have to get her up early, we had put Bailey to bed early on Monday night (why didn't we think of that Sunday night?!). The day started much the same: she was fine getting up and drinking her milk as I dressed her, eating her cereal during teacher devotions, and playing in the classroom during my first period prep. And, right on cue, she started fussing up a storm once the bell rang for second period. Hoping it was just teething, I gave her a dose of Tylenol and rubbed some clove oil on her lower gums. It seemed to help a little bit.
In anticipation of her mini-melt down, I decided that we'd have class on the floor in the back of the room. I only have eight students, so with a little help from an easel-style white board laid down on it's side, we had class duck-duck-goose style with Bailey stuck in the mush pit. She did much better behavior wise, which meant there was much more learning (and re-teaching from the day before). She still distracted the class a bit, what with her erasing half-done equations off the board and pretending one of the girls' calculators was a cell phone, but it was much more manageable having laughable distractions rather than the hissy-fit variety.
Nap time went off without a hitch, well, aside from the fact that she talked to herself for nearly a half-hour and worried Sindy a bit. It was shorter than usual - only about an hour and a half - but I'll take it. She woke up happy, contentedly ate her lunch in the teacher's lounge, and played solo on the elementary playground.
Laughing all the while, she scaled a ramp to the slide, sailed down, and braved the swinging bridge (grasping Mommy's hand, of course). We even snuck into the kindergarten room and raided their toys while the kids were out at lunch (thank you, Tia Vero!). The "park" and the "new" toys were a welcome relief from the four walls of our ol' house, and the extra exertion was just what Bailey needed to burn off her energy and take her normal afternoon nap.
Wednesday: Getting the Hang of It
Day three of our new routine started off in a flurry of action. My morning ride called to say she was about 30 second away just as I laid Bailey down to changer her oh-so-full overnight diaper. Thankfully our bag was packed already - and Bailey was cooperative - so we made it out the door in record time. Turns out, we were headed over to pick up another teacher from school (my ride, Demetira's, daughter) who was bringing
her daughter to work, too. Mel (the little girl) is about a year older than Bailey and they gave each other a tired-eyed stare down the entire ride to school, both situated securely in their respective Mommy's laps.
Prep period and Algebra (once again taught on the floor) went off without a hitch (praise God!) and Bailey seemed to be getting the hang of how things were running. Nap-time drop off went well and I chatted with the secretary during the break, keeping a listening ear on Bailey. She was still laughing and talking with herself when I left for third period, but again, that's her norm and I was confident she'd drift of to la-la land soon enough.
Just to be sure she was okay, I sent an 8th grader to check on her at the start of fourth period (supposedly 50 minutes into nap time). She came back with a report that Bailey had
just stopped her self-entertaining shenanigans 10 minutes ago. Oh well; maybe she'll sleep a bit longer, then.
Nope! (Anyone surprised?)
Right as the bell rang to end fourth period, in walked Sindy with Bailey in her arms. She hadn't been crying, Sindy told me (and she's the kind of lady who tells it like it is), Bailey was just talking to herself again and Sindy didn't want it to turn into screaming. One hour morning nap . . . we'll see how the rest of the day goes!
After finishing our lunch in the teacher's lounge, Mel (the little girl from the car ride) came into the lounge with her mom for their lunch, too. Now that both girls were fully awake, the started playing together (well, Bailey started mimicking everything Mel did) and they had loads of fun rummaging through the piles of "resources" (a.k.a. junk) piled in the lounge. You know those piles, teachers, when you clean out your files and don't have the heart to throw it away, just knowing that someone else will treasure the things you haven't used . . .
ever. But I digress . . .
We made a quick stop at the playground, once again braving the swinging bridge and slide. And today, Bailey added "stair master" to her resume. Using the hand rail, she was able to scale up and down three stairs without my help; she's growing up so fast! :( After that, we hailed a bus, bought futbol tickets for the Paraguay vs. Equador game Friday night (for Daddy and Tio Ruben) and returned home just in time for a normal afternoon.
I think I'm going to make it.
Thursday: We Got This!
On this morning, Bailey was actually already awake at 6:10 when I went in to get her. She tried to pretend she wasn't - throwing herself down onto the mattress and plunking her thumb into her mouth as I walked in - but when I first opened the door, she
had been standing upright in the corner of her crib. Crazy kid.
Prep period was spent pouring out paper clips and pulling out all the boxes of tissues from one of the back cabinets in my room. She also discovered a canister of rulers and a feather duster that kept her entertained long into second period (Algebra 1). Bailey was so self-entertained that I risked
not assembling the class in a circle on the floor and opted to let her be. She wound up on the lap of one of my student who was gracious enough to let Bailey color in her notebook and rummage through her bear-shaped pencil pouch.
Bailey nodded off to sleep much more quickly than she had during the previous days, and was still asleep when I went to the office after classes which meant she got (nearly) a full nap. We had lunch, but had to forfeit playing on the playground because of the rain earlier that day which had turned the sand to mud. Bailey wouldn't have minded (I'm sure), but Mommy did, and I also wanted to make sure we got home before/if more rain fell. We stopped by the grocery store for our end-of-the-week milk run and then made it home in time for another lengthy afternoon nap.
Friday: I Love Babywise
Today went as seamlessly as things do for a Babywise baby. (i.e. not perfect, but well within the acceptable range). After four days, Bailey was "re-scheduled". Meals, play time, nap - and her attitude - were all on track and exactly what I've come to expect from her.
After school, there was a "November Fair" held at school which is basically like a huge garage/bake sale. Families (and grade levels) can rent tables, set out their goods, and sell away to whomever walks through the gates. The school's "cancha" was filled with tables sagging underneath the weight of books, dishes, and hand-me-down clothes of all shapes and sizes. Some of the families sold food (I was particularly fond of the vegetable rolls) and others used the event to promote their own businesses, selling new clothes and accessories usually featured in their stores. Quite a hodgepodge.
Rumor had it there was a woman coming with tons of baby things. She had recently miscarried and wanted to get rid of the baby things she had already collected for obvious emotional reasons. I was hopeful that I could snag something for the new baby ("something" being a bassinet, the only thing we really "need" for #2). Trouble was, the sale didn't officially start until 2:30. Bailey's nap usually starts around 2. Now, I could put her down in my classroom for her nap, but that would mean I'd be stuck at school until around 4 when she woke up. And I have a Bible study that meets (at my house) at 4. Decisions, decisions.
Thankfully, people started arriving around 1:00 to set up their tables and were eager to start selling as soon as they saw the cash. I snagged a pair of shoes for Bailey and a few books for myself (plus the above mentioned vegetable roll, YUM!). Bailey and I parked ourselves by the entrance to the cancha so that I could keep an eye out for the lady with the baby loot.
But by 2:00 I gave up hope. There were plenty of people there with baby clothes and toys and such, but nothing that wowed me, and definitely no bassinet. Bailey had hung in there like a champ, but I could tell from her eyes that a melt-down awaited if we hung around much longer. So, we packed up, boarded the bus and, by 3:00, Bailey was securely in her own crib, napping away. She didn't make it quite 2 hours for this nap, but she woke up happy and played clean on through bed time.
Phew! Bailey-Boo . . . WE MADE IT! :)
