Owie

Gwen got her first real owie today. As in, there was actual blood coming out of her and hours later the marks are still visible on her face. Despite how dreadful that sounds, she is actually quite fine; just banged up enough to look ridiculous in her upcoming photo shoot this Saturday. (We're having professional photos done to commemorate her birthday.)

She and I went out to her daycare today for an acclimatizing visit. Despite the best intentions of myself and (I believe) her daycare provider, April, this is only the second such visit we've had, and clever readers will note that there are only SIX MORE WEEKDAYS until I start work. It's fortunate, then, that Gwen seems to have had a good time there this morning, bloody chin and all.

It's a challenge for me to try and figure out how close to hover over Gwen on these visits. I want her to know that I'm there if she needs me, and yet I don't want her to rely on me, because ultimately she will need to adjust to being in that environment without me, and relying on April to meet her needs. I should have hovered a little closer, I suppose, while Gwen experimented with how to walk a riding toy over gravelly concrete, a surface she's not very familiar with. As she likes to push the riding toy sideways (as seen in my previously posted video), it was only a matter of time before the wheels stuck on the bumpy surface and Gwen went headfirst over the seat. I'm not a very wimpy mom - I know, and accept, and even expect that my kid is going to have a lot of bumps and bruises as she learns the abilities and limitations of her body and her world. But even so, the first time you see your daughter's mouth full of dirt and pine needles and her chin bloodied, it's a chilling moment.

What I view as positive is that after a bit of a cry and getting cleaned up, Gwen went right back to the toy (we quickly moved it to the grass for her - a more forgiving surface) and continued exploring. She didn't let this upset her day; she didn't even get clingy with me. On the whole, like I said, she seems to be adjusting well, which is great because HOLY COW there is not a lot of time left.

April is unavailable tomorrow, but we plan to go out on Monday morning again and try a couple of things: first of all, I'll stay for a little while and then go out for a walk, to see how she does on her own; then I'll come back and we'll hang out together some more, have some lunch, and then try to get Gwen down for a nap. If that all goes well, maybe I'll leave her for a longer period on Wednesday (as Tuesday is, of course, Gramma time).

(Sorry I don't have a picture of Gwen's owie - what kind of blogger am I?! I'll try to remember to get one tomorrow.)