Making a first impression, but not the kind I'd hoped

Today is Scott's first day at his new "school."

It did not start off with a bang. Rather, it began with a giant sneeze and an embarrassing glob of snot. More on that later.

Jim and I decided to switch Scott to the new daycare two weeks ago, after repeated problems getting him to nap at his old facility.

His teachers were very nice, but the school didn't have a dedicated quiet time, and we were tired of having a uber-fussy baby at dinner and bedtime every night.

We also were starting to suspect that Scott was spending a lot of time playing by himself because he's a pretty mellow and happy kid, and the caregivers always seemed to have their hands full with three or four little -- always fussy, always crying -- infants. Most of the time when I picked him up he was quietly sitting on the floor by himself.

We didn't make the decision lightly. The new place is nowhere near downtown - its northeast of our house, which means either Jim or I have to leave work at 5:15 in order to pick him up before closing time.

But we think (hope) the positives about Scottsdale Learning Center  will outweigh the negatives (mainly the commute). First, all the kids in Scott's room are between eight months and 12 months, so they are all at the same approximate place developmentally. Second, they have a very structured schedule, including two dedicated nap times. Morning nap time runs from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., the afternoon is from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m..
They dim the lights, put on soothing music, and all the babies play quietly or sleep in their cribs or the swings.

And finally, each day they work with the babies on a specific targeted skill. Learning activities include 'practicing bye-bye waves', walking, ABCs, 123s, colors, and so on.

So it was with great anticipation this morning that I greeted Scott. "Are you ready to go to your neeeww school?" I cooed, expecting a big happy smile in return.

What looked up at me instead was a snotty, rosy cheeked, warm, and unhappy looking baby.

Uh oh. 

I had hoped Scott would make a great first impression on his teachers and fellow students by wowing them with his newfound walking skills, his bang, bang, bang antics, and happy grin.

Instead, they got a fussy, teething, sick kid who looked like his world was coming to an end when I dropped him off.

Scott with Miss Kat. Rarely have I seen my son look so abjectly miserable. Welcome to your new school, buddy.

I kissed Scott's cheek and snuck guiltily away as other parents dropped off their children. I could almost hear them saying: "Nice. So you are THOSE parents who enroll at a new school and automatically shower all of our kids with snot and germs."

Trying to determine the over-under odds on Scott getting sent home from his new school on his very first day.

(Day 1 addendum: Scott did NOT get sent home, and he took a two hour afternoon nap! Yay!)