The girls started their new nursery on Monday. They did a couple of sessions of settling-in last week and have done two full days this week - Monday and Tuesday - and will be there again tomorrow.
I'm pleased to say that they haven't even batted an eyelid at the change. We went in for a preliminary meet and greet last Wednesday and within five minutes, the girls had disappeared off, leaving dh and I to fill in the seemingly endless forms, twice over of course.
G discovered the easel and paints and proceeded to daub pieces of paper, her hands, arms, face and t-shirt with her handiwork. R climbed on some large wooden blocks, played with a jigsaw and got into an argument with an older boy over posession of a buggy and a dolly. The boy was perfectly within his rights to play with it - he had it first and R simply tried to wrestle it off him. He was bigger, R lost and proceeded to sulk. Every time he wheeled the buggy past R she gave him a Paddington Bear stare. His card was definitely marked!
Their new carers are incredibly impressed at how well and how quickly the girls have got used to their new environment. They are in the toddler room and most of the children are a lot bigger than them, which I think will do them good, R in particular. They are also given the opportunity at various points in the day to go and mix with the pre-school children. R absolutely loves this as she thinks she is actually four years old! G loves having the freedom to potter around between different activities, which enables her to be creative.
Dh and I are finding life much easier as well. It is lovely to get up half an hour later, take my time getting dressed and get properly sorted out before getting the girls ready at a far more leisurely pace than any of us are used to. I just pop the girls in the buggy at 7.55am and wheel them round the corner, arriving at nursery at 8am on the dot. The girls toddle off to breakfast and I stroll down to the railway station to catch my train to work. Dh is usually around either in the afternoon or evening to drop the girls off or pick them up so I can work even more flexibly than I did before.
I guess children are very adaptable at this age. The girls have been going to nursery since they were five months old so they are used to being looked after by other people. This is also one of the (many) occasions when I'm glad there are two of them. Everyone says that changes like this are easier for twins because they have each other - a familiar face in a new environment. They don't really hang around together whilst at nursery - they like going off and doing their own thing - but they do look out for each other. This is incredibly reassuring for dh and I.
Hello! I haven't commented for ages but I still read your blog with great pleasure and have been going through the archives a lot in the dark hours of the first weeks with newborn twins. It really helped reading your old posts and realising I wasn't the only one finding it incredibly hard being a new mum and sometimes feeling like I was the worst mum in the world. It all gets easier with time doesn't it?!
My boys have started nursery at the beginning of the week at 6 months old and like you I find it extremely comforting to know that they are together.