Back in January, a girlfriend texted me and said, “Have you gotten on a waitlist for MDO yet?“

A waitlist?! Already?! For those that aren’t familiar with MDO {I did get a few questions}, Mother’s Day Out is a program for little ones that is typically at a church a few hours a week. It’s a “pre-preschool” {if you will} where toddlers can play for a few hours, socialize, learn, hear Bible stories, etc.

I started MDO at 18 months, and my mom recently gave me my baby book a few weeks ago. It was such a sweet reminder that we don’t do these crafts in vain! My mom handed it to me, and I looked at her labor of love for hours with tears in my eyes. You know how much your mother loves you, but to read her little notes about my first few years and see her detailed memos just gave me a whole new appreciation. It always gives me chills to remember that my mom loved and cared for me the way I love and care for Maxi. In the baby book, there was a whole section on my MDO class and photos in it. It was so special to me because I see a little bit of me in Maxi in th0se photos!

But back to the waitlist situation! I was so surprised that you sign up so early and that there are waitlists- I mean, especially in Fort Worth, Texas. This isn’t NYC, you know. Paul and I toured 2 different church programs, found one we absolutely loved, and thankfully she got in the class. She has now been in it for almost two months and we couldn’t be happier we decided to let her do MDO. I was a little nervous of course, but in the past month her vocabulary and social skills have taken off. The other night at dinner I was talking and Maxi took a finger to her mouth and looked at Paul and said, “Shh!” I died laughing because she definitely would have only picked that up from school… I feel like she is a 2-year-old some days, with all these new changes! But most importantly, she absolutely adores her teachers and runs to them when we walk in school. There is no, “Bye, Mommy!” with a kiss. She hears her teacher’s voice, jumps out of my arms and jumps into her teacher’s arms. It’s always a blessing when other people love your children and to see your children love others.

Today, I thought I’d share what we pack her and an example of what I pack in her bento box for lunch!

Maxi’s Lunchbox

• We use this bento box, which her teachers recommended!
• Maxi still doesn’t *love* meat, so we stick with either a peanut butter or avocado sandwich. {Her program is not nut free.} I also alternate with pasta salad, which she enjoys- she loves tomatoes. She’ll also eat the Kodiak Cake pancakes if she is being pickier. That’s one of my favorite ways to sneak in extra protein.
• Apple slices
• Peas or sugar snap peas
• Simple Mills Farmhouse Cheddar Crackers
• I’ll also throw in a little something I’ve made from the week, so sometimes a few bites of banana bread or energy bites! If I haven’t baked anything, then I’ll do a cheese stick! If all else fails, Veggie Straws! ha.

Maxi’s Backpack

• Raincoat! Her’s is old, but love this one!
• Waterbottle.
• Diaper Rash Cream
• Change of clothes
• 4 Huggies Little Movers Diapers
• Huggies Natural Care Wipes – We LOVE these wipes because they are so good if she has a diaper rash. When your child loves acidic foods and tomatoes, it happens!

Whether you are taking your child to the church nursery or a sitter’s house or daycare or preschool, you get nervous when someone else is watching your baby. Little things like packing her lunch and bringing the right products for her do give me peace of mind because even if she doesn’t eat her lunch {let’s be honest, she just picks at it because she is so busy with her friends!} I at least know she has what she needs. At parents’ night for her MDO her teachers really stressed always have 4 diapers and 4 diapers that work for your child. The last thing you want is to pick your baby up, with a wet diaper or blowout and feel like they were uncomfortable or their skin was irritated. In a month of school and playing outside and all their activities she has had 0 leaks or rashes and I know it’s because Huggies Little Movers keep her dry and have a leak lock system. Huggies Little Movers keep her dry, comfortable, and happy with their leak lock system- so they keep me happy.

I just wanted to share this little {it feels huge to us!} update as I’m so proud of Maxi and how she is doing. I really wasn’t sure how she would handle this with her not having siblings yet and always with me 24/7. But thanks to a wonderful set of teachers that love on her as their own, she is absolutely thriving!