Monday, August 10, now that we were back from Pittsburgh, it was time to get down to business - daycare, house and work matters, other tasks etc. :) As much as I did not want to think about daycare for my princess when I return to work on December 1, this week, I started looking into this matter so that I could find the best provider for her.
Today, Zaid worked from home too because after the 7 hour drive yesterday from Pittsburgh, he was exhausted. In my last post, I mentioned that we bought our little jujubee some toys. Well, one of those toys is an activity center that Ayla can stand in the middle of and spin around to play with a variety of toys. Today, Zaid and I assembled the activity center and we put Ayla in it right away. She's a little younger than the starting age of 4 months so we put a little blanket around her waist so that she does not tilt one way or the other although she still manages to! Also, her feet did not touch the bottom of the activity center and often, she leans one way or another depending on how she is sitting. She is very amused by the bright colored toys but can't reach most of them. There is also a toy on the center which makes different sounds depending on how many times you press them. It's meant to teach her about animals. I press it for her multiple times and she smiles. She has the most beautiful smile and this week, she starts developing a cute, little laugh :)
This week, her drooling has also increased. And, so has her need to put things in her mouth
because of her teething. From now on, both of these actions keep increasing.
Before I went on maternity leave, Zaid and I looked into various daycare options before we tentatively settled on one which provides in-home child care services. Today, I called the day care center and obtained a list of providers who live in our area. I began calling those individual in-home providers and started setting up appointments.
On Tuesday, August 11, Ayla and I continued to enjoy life at home. She loved playing in her activity center again today. Another big step Ayla and I took today is....reading!! I starte
d taking her to the nursery beginning today and reading a book or two to her every day. She is sooo cute because sometimes, she is calm and attentive while reading the book and sometimes, she tries to grab the book and put her in her mouth. She's also attracted to bright colors. Ayla's book collection includes many cute books with Dadoo and Poppy being big contributors. Dadoo and Poppy's books are so freakin' cute - every topic from farm animals (touch and feel textures!) to books about mommy and daddy kisses. Zaid and I read that early reading not only makes the baby familiar with the cadence of the parents' voices but assists with brain development. I also started organizing our googleberry's nursery today for that one day (tear running down my face :) ) when she has to move to the nursery. Right now, she's good to stay in the bassinet in our room because the it holds a baby up to 15 lbs. I don't know her exact weight right now but I think she's around 11 or 11.5 lbs. She goes to the doctor next week. In case I haven't mentioned it yet, her bassinet is actually a Graco Jungle Safari Pack N' Play. It contains a bassinet on the top and also becomes a play pen. So, a very useful baby registry item!
On Wednesday, August 12, we made the first of our highly-anticipated day care specialists visits. We visited with this wonderful Afghani woman. She was great and seemed to have the magic touch with Ayla. The only problem is distance so, the search continues for the ideal caretaker...As any mom, I'm very meticulous about this process and I prepared a list of
questions to ask each provider. I'm still not sure what type of child care is ideal - nanny, in-home provider, day care center etc - but Zaid and I are discussing all the options.
Thursday, August 13, sees us visit another provider, a nice Filipino woman who lives very close-by. Although she is very nice and lives close by, Zaid and I remain more interested in getting a provider who is Muslim so that Ayla can also learn about her culture and maybe, her language. One thing I noticed though after this visit...these providers love Ayla!! They rush to hold her and, Ayla also seems to be at ease. However, these visits make me think of the sad time when I have to return to work and leave my baby in some else's care :( And, the thought that Ayla would become used to being taken care of by someone else also makes me sad. When she sees me, she lights up and that brightens my day - I don't know if I want to let go of this mutual feeling and excitement!!
On another note, I am starting to get very relieved with Ayla's activity center. I mean, what a stress-reliever!! I come downstairs every morning and put her in the center. She seems so amused by it and, I get so much done. Of course, I have to help little bubble machine reach
most of the toys on the activity center, including the music tunes.
Friday, August 14 is Ayla's first Pakistan Independence Day! This morning I checked my Facebook page, noted all the Independence Day-related statuses, wrote my own, and came up with a cute idea based on one of Zaid's suggestions...I took pictures of Ayla with the little Pakistan flag that Zaid and I have. These pictures were so cute because Ayla actually held the flag. The only time I held the flag was when I was afraid that Ayla may poke herself or put the flag in her mouth. She was sooo cute because she did keep putting the flag in her mouth!! I don't think Pakistan's founders considered that in the future, babies may put the flag in their mouths :) What also struck me about this moment was that here was Ayla, a second-generation Pakistani princess paying homage to her heritage even though this little cutie hasn't even been to Pakistan yet. Inshallah, she will! I posted the pictures of Ayla holding the flag to Facebook and shared the pictures with our family - it was an instant hit!!
Later, we visited yet another daycare provider - a nice, Pakistani woman. She was very nice and loving but we still had more interviews to go. Selecting Ayla's daycare provider will be such a hard but important decision! After we visited with the potential provider, we stayed in the rest of the night. With our precious little angel, Friday nights are different now but much better because I wouldn't trade this for anything else in the world :)
Saturday, August 15 was a low-key, run-of-the-mill stay-at-home and get things done day. We did a few errands. Next weekend is the start of Ramadan so we needed to do a few tasks.
Sunday, August 16, Zaid and I visited another daycare provider. Another Pakistani lady - but we have a good feeling about this one! After we visited with her, we went to Ashburn to visit Auntie Rahila. Auntie had very important guests - Imran mamoo and family were visiting from Kuwait. It was so nice to see the family!! We last saw Zareen mumani and Maha and Zara in
Winter 2006 when we were all in Pakistan at the same time. Maha and Zara looked so cute and had grown taller mashallah since we last saw them. They were sooo excited to see Ayla. They held her and cuddled her and they, along with Nadia Puppo, took a lot of cute pictures! It was very nice to catch up with all of them. Zara is beginning undergrad at NYU this fall so the family came to help her get settled in. Ayla was having a great time -excited to meet more of her large and loving family!!
More later! Saadia
No comments:
Post a Comment