The Separation During Separation Anxiety

Eivie is almost 8 months old. Time has just disappeared.

Yes, I have yet to send her to a daycare. Not that I'm procrastinating even though yes, I am contemplating. But to get a good, registered, medium cost daycare is quite painful at my parents-in-laws housing area. Most of the time it's either near and registered but mahal nak mamps, or it's near, not registered but affordable, or it's far, registered and affordable. Nothing really suited our requirement of considerably near, registered and affordable (if not much, quite).

I usually looked for the candidates through JKM website as we insisted for a registered daycare. Since May 2012, seriously. But none. We made several calls to JKM and they mentioned that their list as per displayed in website was updated. Left us with hang-in-there-as-long-as-possible situation. So Eivie was still being taken care of by her Opah.

Until we discovered this daycare, not listed in JKM's website but JKM's certified. Made a call to JKM Selangor and they confirmed it. So we paid a visit and they had slots for both Eirsa and Eivie. The fees were doubled from Eirsa'sprevious daycare but inshaAllah we could cut some budget here and there to accommodate this. Sujud syukur.

It has been almost a month since we enrolled Eirsa at the daycare. It looked like she's having a good time with all the singing, dancing, du'a, exercising, drawing that she demonstrated to us at home. So inshaAllah, it's a good place. And as per planned, it's going to be Eivie's turn, very soon. The day after tomorrow; November 1st 2012.

If she's still younger then inshaAllah, it's not going to be hard. But she's now at her phase where she already recognized and comfortable with familiar faces and yes, it's the separation anxiety phase, y'all! Unlike when we were to first send Eirsa, I did quite a bunch of early preparation. But for Eivie, it's still as if she's not going. Of course all her bottles, clothes, bekas for foods, diapers were ready but I had yet to label them, print out for her daily routine to be given to the carer and all other necessities. But duit for her daycare registration and fees of course telah diasingkan.

I don't know what to expect. She's basically an easy baby. Just feed, put her to bed as per routine, give her something to get busy with and she's going to be all fine. But the new faces plus the separation anxiety? I don't know. I'm OK to know that Eivie is going to be taken care well, even by a stranger but I could not stand her tears. I could not stand to see my kids' tears. No mother can.

So my strategy is to stay with her while she gets familiar with the place and faces and perhaps until her morning nap session then I'll leave for work. Then get updates from the carer at each hour, of course. Yes, I could be annoying like that. All is to ensure that Eivie is doing fine.

Bismillah.