{"id":4950,"date":"2018-08-30T21:01:52","date_gmt":"2018-08-31T01:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.daniellebinns.com\/stagingsite\/?p=4950"},"modified":"2019-09-11T15:49:55","modified_gmt":"2019-09-11T19:49:55","slug":"how-to-survive-back-to-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.daniellebinns.com\/stagingsite\/2018\/08\/how-to-survive-back-to-school\/","title":{"rendered":"How I survive back-to-school (8 things you must do!)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last year was my first back-to-school experience and it was bitter sweet.<\/p>\n

My first born, Sienna, was going into Junior Kindergarten and I had no clue what to expect.\u00a0 So in the days leading up to her first day of school I was a mix (and a mess) of emotions…<\/p>\n

…Excited<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(this was a new chapter for all of us)<\/p>\n

…Sad<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(she was growing up too fast)<\/p>\n

…Worried<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(I didn’t know if my former ‘picky eater’ would starve)<\/p>\n

…Overwhelmed<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(the thought of packing lunches for the school year was just too much)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When I dropped her off that first day I was a sobbing mess.\u00a0 You see, this little girl had one hell of a ride in her short life of 4 years.<\/p>\n

…Growth issues<\/em><\/p>\n

…Heart surgeries<\/em><\/p>\n

…Countless doctor’s appointments<\/em><\/p>\n

…Developmental delays<\/em><\/p>\n

…Speech therapy<\/em><\/p>\n

…And she was one of the worst eaters on the planet.<\/em><\/p>\n

I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving my vulnerable child and picky eater for the first time.<\/p>\n

While we had a few rough mornings with Sienna clinging to my legs at drop off.\u00a0 Yet\u00a0overall, we survived the school year.\u00a0 And she was always smiling when the bell rang at the end of the day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So there were a few reasons things went WAY smoother than I expected for our first back-to-school experience.<\/p>\n

We did a couple things that saved our sanity.\u00a0 And we will 100% continue to do them this year.<\/p>\n

Here they are…<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TIP #1:\u00a0<\/strong> Wear sunglasses\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Dropping this little girl off at school (and knowing she would be alone in a new place) was terrifying.\u00a0 The tears, oh the tears!\u00a0 Despite being a cloudy morning, I opted to wear sunglasses walking Sienna to school last year for the first week.<\/p>\n

Handing her over to complete strangers felt so unnatural!<\/p>\n

And Naomi made it worse when she cried saying “Mommy, why are we leaving Sienna all alone? I want her to come home with us<\/em>“.<\/p>\n

Cue more tears!!<\/p>\n

So my first tip for newbies like me is to WEAR SUNGLASSES on that first week of school.\u00a0 It’s not for the faint of heart!<\/p>\n

Stay positive though.\u00a0 Things get better after a few weeks and eventually sunglasses are no longer needed.<\/p>\n

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