Kristina Rihanoff faced the same torment as other parents when her daughter started nursery last month. The former Strictly Come Dancing star has opened up about the bittersweet milestone in her household, revealing that she felt like her heart was "squeezing" when she had to say goodbye to Mila, one.
"The first week was hard," Kristina wrote in her HELLO! Online blog. "She wasn't happy, she was crying and when I would leave her, I felt terrible and felt like my heart was squeezing. I thought, 'I can't leave her there!' But then she settled and now she's really happy and really likes it. She goes straight to the garden to play with other babies. She's still settling into her feeding time at the nursery, but overall she's really loving it."
© Photo: HELLO!Mila turned one in June
Recording a video for her blog, Kristina added: "Now, two weeks in, she loves it. Today, I picked her up and nursery staff said she had a fantastic day, she had so much fun and played with everybody. She loves peek-a-boo games now, it's her favourite game. She's enjoying it and she's a very sociable baby."
Kristina, who shares her daughter with partner Ben Cohen, also admitted she wasn't planning to put Mila in nursery before the age of two. "But she's just so active and sociable, running around all over the house, that Ben and I felt she needed a bit more stimulation and interaction with other babies," she wrote. "She needs to know how to interact with other children – share her toys, play with other babies. We spent a while looking for a good nursery but we found one in the end."
Kristina's daughter is already dancing!
The 40-year-old Russian dancer also revealed that her daughter has started speaking – a lot! "She's very verbal, constantly talking, she's very loud but we don't know what language that is!" said Kristina. "I think it's some sort of breed between Russian and English. She definitely tries to communicate. She talks and puts her little hands up, but there's not very much clarity there. She says baba, dada, mama, but that's it."
