Nursery

Here's G enjoying her daily nap on Thursday. She's taken to sleeping with her head down and her bum in the air, for reasons which aren't entirely clear. But she's still able to get in a good couple of hours every afternoon, so as long as that's the case, she can sleep while doing a handstand as far as I'm concerned.

She was blissfully unaware in this picture that, the following day, she'd be left at a nursery for the first time. I was going to Leeds to give a lecture at my old university, and had booked her in for a few hours in the creche.

On the way to drop her off, I was more worried about how I was going to entertain 40 students for two hours, rather than how G was going to deal with this new experience. Sure enough, there weren't any tears from her as I handed her over to the nursery staff. She didn't even bother looking round to wave at me as I walked out of the door. I didn't expect her to show any separation anxiety, but a little bit would have been quite gratifying for my ego as a dad. I imagine I'll have to get used to G doing the opposite of what I want.

Later on as I walked back, I spotted G toddling around happily in the nursery garden. I thought about going round the block and letting her play for a bit longer, especially as I'd already paid for another hour or so, but I managed to convince myself that I'd better pick her up straight away, if only so we could beat the traffic on the way home. I'll leave her for longer next time though.