The Nursery

Since Liam was born, only family has babysat him, and one very close friend of ours.  He has never been under the care of a daycare, or even in the church nursery.  All that changed today.

Now that Liam is crawling around, and more then two handfuls, we decided it was no longer an option to bring him into our Sunday school class.  I've been dreading this day, and put it off for quite some time.  However, today I bit the bullet and dropped him off at the nursery with Brent's support.  There were forms to fill out, name tags administered, and a pager provided- then given back because it wasn't working.  Therefore, we provided my cell number instead.

I felt some reassurance when I saw familiar faces, and that all the staff wear booties in the nursery.  I didn't want Liam crawling around on a dirty floor.  The hard part came when I had to actually hand Liam over.  It was to a kind grandmotherly lady, but still someone I had never met before.  Also, I couldn't go in the nursery with Liam.  This is understandable, because they want to keep only staff with background checks in the nursery, but I felt like I should bring him in myself and get him situated.

I gave the staff brief instructions, "Liam's a crawler.  You can put him on the floor."  And, "His next feeding time is 10:30am, but he'll let you know when he's hungry."  Then the door closed, and I filled out some more paperwork at the front desk.  After dotting all my 'I's' and crossing my' T's.'  Brent and I looked through a small window to see how Liam was acclimating.  Liam was already happily playing on the floor with another little boy just a couple months older then him, while the grandmotherly staff member sat nearby rocking an infant.  To be honest, I was half hoping Liam would be upset being away from his mommy, and would give me an excuse to put off the nursery experience even longer.

The little boy near Liam gave him a pat on the face and head, as if saying, "Let's be friends."  I looked at Brent and my eyes began to tear up.  I know it was time to leave, and head to our class.  Brent assured me that everything would be "okay," and we walked to our class as I wiped away tears.

I didn't pay much attention during class.  I knew we were talking about David and Jonathan, and some battle, but all I kept thinking about was Liam.  I had to continually fight the urge to check on him.

After class, I forced myself to socialize with friends for a short while before going to pick up Liam- We don't stay for "big church" because it is during Liam's nap time.

When we got to the nursery, I looked through the same little window.  Liam was happily playing with a toy, while the same little boy from earlier and two staff members say next to him.  Liam caught a glance of me, and started whining and crawling in my direction.  I was so happy to see he wanted me and I was missed.  I happily retrieved Liam from the nursery worker, and we headed to the car.

I know the nursery drop off will get easier and easier, but I will always be excited to pick him up and hold him in my arms again.  I love being Liam's mommy.

-Anna