502 days.

November 3, 2012 cl/cp, Nicole 3 Comments

That’s the number of days it took Sunshine to feel comfortable enough to stay in the church nursery without me. After staying with her in the nursery off and on for months, I tried a few times unsuccessfully to leave her there by herself. I never pushed, just left for a few minutes until her screams became too desperate for me to bear. It was only a handful of times and in fact, I don’t really remember when the last time was. It just seemed like she wasn’t ready and I was ok with that, so I stopped trying for awhile. There are many things I’ve had to push since she’s been home, but forcing her to stay somewhere without me when she’s not comfortable? That isn’t one I’ve been willing to do.

I am certain some people would disagree with the decision not to push her, but this is simply something that is not negotiable for me. If she is not emotionally ready to be left on her own, I am not going to force her. Sunshine didn’t have the well-attached, safe, comfortable, predictable beginning that a newborn needs. Her beginning didn’t pave the way for happy church nursery separations. And that’s on top of the fact that she cannot communicate verbally with other people because of her cleft. So although I may be willing to push her in other areas, I transform into total mush when it comes to leaving her. I don’t want her to be in a situation where she cannot communicate her needs. And I certainly don’t want her to ever worry or think that I might not come back for her. Ever.

I think about all she’s been through, and all she still has yet to battle, and I’m overwhelmed with complete compassion. There are many things in her life I have not been able to help her with. But this one thing … this is something I can help her with. Even if it had taken 1,004 days to feel comfortable staying in the nursery without me, that’s ok. Because she will always know that her mama comes back for her.

So church this past week went on like any other Sunday, except that I snuck into the nursery to change Sunshine’s diaper before the service started. I didn’t have any intention of trying to leave her in the nursery, but she had other plans! After we finished the quick diaper change, she signed “play” and indicated in a mama-just-knows kinda way that she wanted to stay. With me. In the nursery. I wanted to attend the service though, so I nonchalantly asked if she wanted to stay by herself, totally expecting that she’d say no way. When she agreed to stay on her own, it took me a few seconds to realize that I needed to react fast and get out of there before she changed her mind. I left so quickly, in fact, that I didn’t sign her in or grab a pager. So I texted the Children’s Minister (who was in the nursery at the time and knows the situation with my sweet Sunshine) where I was sitting in church, and she graciously brought me a pager and confirmed that Sunshine was playing happily. Phew. I walked out into the hallway several times during the service to listen for the cries I was sure I’d hear, but I never did.

She made it almost the entire service before she got upset and asked for me. So when the pager went off toward the end, I went running. I don’t remember the last time that I ached to hold her so terribly (aside from after surgeries), and I couldn’t get to the nursery fast enough. When her little hands clasped around my neck and she started crying even harder out of relief, I wanted to burst into hysterics along with her, but instead just allowed a few tears to roll down my cheeks. I’m sure the young girls working in the room (who were new and didn’t understand Sunshine’s separation issues) thought I was totally crazy. “Thankful” isn’t a strong enough word for how I felt. I was consumed with praise. I wanted to do cartwheels and cry tears of joy all at the same time. Because although it may be normal for most parents to leave their children in the church nursery, it meant so much more for our sweet Sunshine.





3 responses to “502 days.”

  1. Kam says:

    I’m with you! Beautiful post!

    I was just laying out my Thai Tornado’s {6 year old} clothes for church tomorrow and thought how I will miss again because of Gabe {new 20 month old}. He’s just too little and busy to take into worship with me…I’ve tried repeatedly. And I’m not willing to leave him yet…or go sit in the nursery for an hour when I can have him all to myself at home. We’ve only had him two months and I’m taking it slow…again. 🙂

    Kudos to you for doing what’s best for your daughter. Giving birth and adopting are always spiritually dry times for me because I miss worship so much with our church and generally feel disconnected from God’s people. But I know that the Lord is good and will give us what we need to get through the dry times while forging those important attachments with our children.

  2. jennifer W says:

    I can top that, LOL. My older dd was in our arms 5 days after her first birthday. I was the Sunday School nursery teacher, so that wasn’t an issue. She did move down the hall to the pre-k class at 3, but could run back down the hall to visit. The real test was pre-k 4. I knew I had to separate her for good, as kindergarten would not offer me the luxury of doing it slowly. First day, she cried for 15 minutes before they got me from the mom room. For the next three weeks I worked my way out of the classroom, and down the hall, to around the corner and finally out of the building. Those tiny wooden chairs are not kind to a grown up rear. So something like 1300+ days? Yes worth every minute. She’s now 8 and a confient social leader.

  3. Emily says:

    My son (biological) wasn’t comfortable being left in any childcare or preschool until he was over 4 years old. I never pushed him either, it’s a parent’s job to build trust, not destroy it by abandoning them when they are upset. In my opinion, you are not “total mush” for not leaving her, you had to be strong to defy the people insisting you need to “teach independence” and do what’s right for your daughter. As her mom, YOU know what’s best for her. Good for you!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

© 2024 No Hands But Ours

The content found on the No Hands But Ours website is not approved, endorsed, curated or edited by medical professionals. Consult a doctor with expertise in the special needs of interest to you.