Toothpaste and the Ornery Pregnant Lady

This is the week that our embryo graduates to fetus status. We're thrilled and may throw a party. Okay. Maybe not.

I realize the I'm hormonal and that the rush of hormones may tame my ability to think straight and quell my temper. I would prefer to spend these marvelous few months of the first trimester in solitude. I'd like to just wallow away my misery in private, but no. I have to participate in society.

That means, though, that certain aspects of life will feel my wrath. And it seems like Ben's daycare center is at the top of the bill right now.

Why? Toothpaste.

I'll elaborate. In January when Ben switched from Infants 1 (4 weeks up to walking) to Infants 2 (walking up to potty training), we were told we could provide toothpaste and a toothbrush for our son, and they would help him brush his teeth after lunch. We were thrilled, and we bragged openly about this service to our near and dear.

Last week, his toothpaste and toothbrush came home with us in Ben's diaper bag. Nobody said anything. I just left it in there. Until last night, when I couldn't find Ben's at-home set. I unscrewed the cap, and imagine my surprise when I found the safety seal still intact. I was mad.

And, since I'm a proper WI-bred young lady, I was too embarrassed to say anything this morning when we dropped off our precious bundle of energy and joy. But I festered about it all morning, and I made Chester call CR, the manager, after lunch.

CR expressed surprise that they hadn't been brushing his teeth. It was part of the program. She said it was up to the parents' discretion whether or not the teeth should be brushed, and it was up to us to provide the supplies. Well, we had, and they didn't. She said she'd ask the care providers about it.

I'm left with the overwhelming relief over the fact that I won't have to trust these people to help us potty train our son. Ben is too young to tell us what goes on at daycare, so we have to take their word on it about what happens during the day. If they lied about the toothbrushing, what else are they saying that they are doing but really aren't?

I've been unhappy with them for a couple of months. Pretty much ever since they raised their rates, and I started to notice how little they do to keep up the facilities. The walls haven't had a fresh coat of paint in years, the yard is untidy and sloppy, and there's trash in the parking lot. Where is our money going? It's not going to making the place look presentable, and if it's going towards "excellence in care," why are they being sloppy in the way they run their toddler room?

Ben will only be there for five more months or so. Unless something major happens (and toothpaste is not major), we won't find a new center. He loves his ladies there, and they love him. I just have to lower my expectations.

In other news, the nightmares have stopped for the most part. Some nights my dreams get a little freaky, but they aren't as emotionally disturbing as last week. I think a big part of it was the stress from it being the 8th week (the week in which my best friend miscarried her baby in October).

Cute Ben Thing:
Saturday morning, I was lying on the couch like a log while Ben played around the house. He was dancing in the living room, and started to do his "twirls." I saw him spin a couple of times and then sit down. "Ooooh. Ring Around the Rosie." And, wouldn't you know it, that's what it was. I sang it with him a lot, and he continued to dance. Daddy's version includes holding his wrists and lifting him off the floor and then gently placing him on the floor for the Fall Down part. When my mother and niece stopped by to visit yesterday, he kept going up to them with his arms up to grab their hands and dance in a circle with them. It was adorable. They laughed when I threatened to trip Ben if he didn't Fall Down at the end of the song.