ds1 starting school next week.........im a nervous wreck!!

[Titania]

My ds1 is starting reception on tuesday......I am more nervous than him!!!

He has been going to nursery every afternoon since Jan 03. I cant even begin to imagine how I am even going to get 3 kids under 5 out the door by 8.25 every morning!!! I find it impossible to get out the house early. I have got to make his sandwhiches as well and baby has breakfast between 8 and 8.30....this is really going to clash with getting out on time. I have tried changing the time i give it to him but if its earlier he wont take it and if its later then he screams the place down.....dont know what to do about it.

dd will miss him loads....she pines for him when he goes to nursery for 2 and a half hours let alone all day!! ds2 is too small for her to play with atm too.

Its going to be even worse when dd starts nursery in January....I got to have them both there for 8.45, go home, pick up dd at 11.20, take her home, pick up ds1 at 3.15. Ok I know it sounds trivial, and lots of people do it, but i am really dreading it. The thought of having to leave the house and make so many trips knowing that nobody will even talk to me just makes me fill up

I am a nervous wreck and I really don't know how I am going to manage it all.....

you cana nd you will!
think of al the idiots who manage it - you will sail past and everyone will stop it their tracks and wow at your organisation

Make a week's worth of sarnies on Sunday afternoon and freeze them. If you take them out in the morning, they'll be nicely chilled at lunchtime.

can you freeze peanut butter frogs?!?!

coddy......i wish i was organised but i am not!!! nowhere near!!!

I freeze all the sarnies actually I force the kids to make their own, subject to my stalinist nutritional guidelines. Pnut butter, cream cheese, salami etc. no problem. Cheese goes a bit crumbly, but still perfectly ok. Don't freeze sarnies with cucumber/lettuce/tomato in, though add that when you take them out of the freezer, or put it in as a side order.

Also I make the 5yo spoon weetabix into the baby, while the 9yo empties the dishwasher, or vice versa, thus enabling me to sneak upstairs with a cup of coffee in peace.

mine are too young to do things like that though!!!!

You will manage - and will get into some sort of routine.

I had 3 under 5 - things that helped were:

get clothes out ready night before inc. socks/pants - don't know about you but we're always hunting for socks in this house.

Don't know how old your baby is, but I used to give her some milk before going out the door, then came back to give her proper breakfast (I know my neighbour does this with hers now). I know you said you've tried giving later, but I wonder if the milk will sort of "pacify" him until you get back.

All the new Reception mummies will be in the same boat as you re: not knowing anyone.

Just a word about peanut butter sandwiches - our school has a ban on peanut butter/peanuts in lunch boxes as we do have a severely allergic child in our school.

My ds1 starts Reception next week too. I will have to get him and ds2 (19mths) ready and out of the house by 8.30am. Arrrggghhh!

My plan is to get both sets of clothes ready and laid out the night before. When ds1 starts to go to school full-time and has a packed lunch I will be doing sandwiches the night before and putting them in the fridge overnight.

Ds1 is very routine-based so any changes have to be gradual. It may be a good idea to change the baby's breakfast time very gradually too. Start by giving breakfast literally one or two minutes earlier. Stick at this time for a few days/weeks (whichever suits you best) and then move breakfast back by another couple of minutes. By the time January comes around the baby will hopefully be eating at a time that suits your new routine. This is the kind of approach that works best with ds1.

Good luck!

routine for 4 and 2 yr old from last Sept:

7.00 - get up, have cup of tea in front of TV with boys - boys drink juice. put breakfast in front of boys (fruit, cereal, toast whatever)
7.30 - have shower, dress.
8.00 - put alternative breakfast in front of boys (fruit, cereal, toast whatever) Make sandwiches for ds1.
8.15 - Nag boys to eat.
8.20 - Strip both boys in front of TV and dress them
8.25 - nag boys to finish eating and do teeth
8.29 - grab book bag, coats, water bottle lunch box, scream at boys to do teeth and put shoes on
8.30 - Load everything and everyone into car.

I guess life with a 5 and 3 yr old will be pretty similar - school starts tomorrow....

Titania, the organisational side of things always seems hard before you actually have to do it, I think.
I have just dropped ds (5) at school for his first full day - I am quite nervous about him handling his lunch on his own, and being in the playground with the 'big' children. I'm sure he will be fine though - and so will your ds1.

Titania,I am feeling much the same,I am totally freaked out by the commitment thing of having to get ds to school every morning,on time in uniform and with lunch.And dd to playschool,which starts at the same time at the other end of the village.We have managed this week-I find setting the clothes out the night before essential. I have also started getting up before the kids for the first time since ds was born-he has always been an early riser,but wouldn't you know he has been sleeping later for the past few months.It doesn't help that he has been grumbling and saying he hates school.Also,I'm due no3 in December,so god knows how we'll manage then! Still,I suppose it is all worth it for the few hours break - best of luck .

ditto to all the fears.ds starts school tomorrow and I am basically crapping myself.I am incredibly disorganised, and ds2 who is 12 months doesn't usually wake until approx 8.30am.My mum says to not bother sorting him out and just plonk him in his pram in his pjs and deal with him when I get home.Which makes sense.I am aiming to get everything ready the night before, but whether that will happen or not is another matter, as he starts tomorrow and I still haven't finished sewing on his name tapes! Ds2 is going to miss him a lot and its going to be hard work entertaining him without him having big bruv to play with.And I am going to miss him soooo much!!!
Oh well, glad it's not just me stressing.