Jackson and I went to our first playgroups on Monday and Tuesday this week. If you've ever seen the Diane Keaton classic Baby Boom, then you'll know the scene where she takes her little Elizabeth to the over-achieving "Mommy and Me" group in New York City. We weren't asked to hang our babies from a trapeze swing to show their upper-body strength like the film, however, there were times that I felt out of the loop.
Upon entering the children's centre, I had to fill-out a registration form for not only myself, but also for Jackson. I figured having a baby in my arms would be my pass into the playgroup. Apparently, each children's centre in the UK gets funding depending on the number of people who regularly participate, hence the need for a formal registration.
After this, we were pressure-sold into buying tickets to the Christmas party coming up on December 14th since "there are a limited number of tickets and they're going fast." The tickets are only required for the adults attending and cost £2 each. This cost helps pay for "tea, a mincemeat pie, and a present for the children from Father Christmas." I don't drink tea, and no offence, England, but I don't get the appeal of the mincemeat pies, so we'll just meet Santa and collect Jackson's gift, thank you. Also, I figured £2 was a steal to meet Santa since my friend said that in her town, the going-rate was £15 to meet Santa and that includes standing in line!
Then, we got to go into the room where there were about 20 other moms--and one dad--participating in Monday's "Little Treasures" group. The floor was covered in quilts and scattered around were baskets full of 'little treasures' for the children to explore different textures. I was pleased to see so many people and managed to meet a couple of really nice moms.
In the last half-hour of the session, we were asked to move around the edge of the room and face the centre of the room to sing songs and listen to a story. By this time, I had sat in a cross-legged position so long that my legs had fallen asleep (I had 'pins and needles' for my UK readers). So I had to scoot to the edge, holding Jackson, and dragging my legs limply behind me without trying to pull all of the quilts along for the ride.
The only time I felt a bit out of the loop was during the songs because in my overzealous singing, I clapped at the wrong times and sang some of the wrong lyrics a little too loudly. Also, every song has actions and when all of the other babies were zooming to outer space or riding on a wagon, we were noticeably a few beats behind. Anyway, I didn't want to bounce Jackson too vigorously incase he couldn't hold down the two feedings he had during the playgroup. All in all, Jackson did very well and behaved wonderfully, charming the group with his smiles and alertness.
Tuesday, I tried going to "Rhyme Time" with Jackson which was a shorter playgroup, only supposed to last a half-hour. We began the group very well since Jackson does love to hear singing, but after the first song, he was hungry again. And in usual Jackson fashion, he started screaming like he had never eaten before. This group only had six other moms and babies, so I decided to remove myself to feed Jackson. At this playgroup, which was held in a church, the nearest hideout was a restroom in which I couldn't locate the light switch so we sat on a broken toilet seat in the dark for 25 minutes.
As the group was finishing "Jingle Bells," we re-entered Rhyme Time, but apparently that was the last song. The leader kindly added two extra songs for us, but I could tell the group was dwindling as only one person joined me in the actions for the songs. We'll try again next week and see if we can make it through the whole half-hour.
Updates on Jackson's developments: He seems to interact with his toys independently now in his play gym--he doesn't need any prompting. Jackson smiles and laughs at the changing coloured lights in his gym, as well. He can hold his head up now so he is making use of the Fisher Price jumperoo and manages to bounce up and down even though his feet don't touch the ground, yet; he uses the momentum of his arms and head to make the toy bounce up and down. Jackson started purposefully kicking dangling toys and closing his hands around objects, hanging on for short periods of time. He likes to watch Lee and I doing jobs around the house and to feel like he is a part of the activity. Lastly, he has started interrupting while we are talking and he's making many new sounds, trying to develop his speech. And of course, he gets cuter each day.
If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.
