Two weeks ago I decided to go with Emma into the nursery at church. She simply won't sit through a service anymore, and instead of one of us sitting in the lobby trying to keep her amused it makes sense to sit in the nursery with her, where she can play with other kids and toys.
The first time went well. She was happy to be there and since I stayed we didn't have to deal with separation. Unfortunately though we did encounter one problem - snack time! With 10 kids between 0-3yrs, there is bound to be a snack time. The older kids sit with a juice box and some goldfish crackers. Emma prowled like a hungry hyena, waiting to grab any crackers that dropped to the floor!
As I was watching her, and Jeremy and Christina were taking care of the other kids we were able to avoid a choking incident! It did however raise the question of times when our friends are not in there!
Last week they were taking care of the kids again, and only had about 5 so I left Emma in the nursery for the entire message. She didn't even flinch when I left her, seeing a TV close to floor level and Uncle Jeremy right there. "Mum who?"
The original concerns about putting her in any childcare situation were focused on the germ factor - it's called the common cold for a reason!! During the summer this is less of a concern, plus she now has nursing care to handle the additional care overnight if she did get sick. The other factor is her g-tube. We are on a schedule now that means she eats before church and rarely needs venting during a service. However, we still can't leave her with someone who doesn't know how to handle it, and your average nursery volunteer might not be comfortable with a tube in a childs stomach!
In addition, I am not convinced that people really understand that Emma can not put any solid food in her mouth without constant supervision. A couple of times she has choked on food that has broken off in her mouth and she doesn't make a sound. She can't cough effectively to get it up and doesn't know how to chew. Most people are not familiar with child CPR either!
So, even though she is getting older, the opportunities for leaving her in the care of others are still very slim. The odd church service will have to do, and the rest of the time we'll have to stay with her.
When the new baby comes things will get interesting!
The first time went well. She was happy to be there and since I stayed we didn't have to deal with separation. Unfortunately though we did encounter one problem - snack time! With 10 kids between 0-3yrs, there is bound to be a snack time. The older kids sit with a juice box and some goldfish crackers. Emma prowled like a hungry hyena, waiting to grab any crackers that dropped to the floor!
As I was watching her, and Jeremy and Christina were taking care of the other kids we were able to avoid a choking incident! It did however raise the question of times when our friends are not in there!
Last week they were taking care of the kids again, and only had about 5 so I left Emma in the nursery for the entire message. She didn't even flinch when I left her, seeing a TV close to floor level and Uncle Jeremy right there. "Mum who?"
The original concerns about putting her in any childcare situation were focused on the germ factor - it's called the common cold for a reason!! During the summer this is less of a concern, plus she now has nursing care to handle the additional care overnight if she did get sick. The other factor is her g-tube. We are on a schedule now that means she eats before church and rarely needs venting during a service. However, we still can't leave her with someone who doesn't know how to handle it, and your average nursery volunteer might not be comfortable with a tube in a childs stomach!
In addition, I am not convinced that people really understand that Emma can not put any solid food in her mouth without constant supervision. A couple of times she has choked on food that has broken off in her mouth and she doesn't make a sound. She can't cough effectively to get it up and doesn't know how to chew. Most people are not familiar with child CPR either!
So, even though she is getting older, the opportunities for leaving her in the care of others are still very slim. The odd church service will have to do, and the rest of the time we'll have to stay with her.
When the new baby comes things will get interesting!
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