King for a day

The galette des rois was a bit early this year and Wolfram was the lucky one.

King for a day!

A day in the park

Traditionally we pay a visit to Disneyland Paris every year around Christmas time. Even last year we had managed to squeeze into our busy schedule an evening there. This year, thanks to fantastic grandparents, we could go for a whole day as they agreed to babysit Oskar.

After another night of little sleep we left Chantilly before sunrise in direction of the park.

We were all very excited with our tickets in hand and ready to get started.

We started slow with the tour of the studios. In comparison to the tour at theUniversal  Studios in LA, this one was a bit disappointing. A couple of extra special effects scenes would have been great. This said, we enjoyed the heat of the fire to warm us up.

As preparation for the Twillight tower, we did the parachute drop from Toy Story. While this attraction is all under control and the drop very gentle (after all it's for kids), having the feet hanging in the void was a bit scary still.

While queueing for the parachute, Joy noticed another attraction nearby shaped as a U. The principle is very simple. You embark a car that rides the U. Pretty quickly you find yourself vertical vs. the ground and bouncing from one side of the U to the other one. Very steep, very very steep. To warm up my voice I screamed everything I could get out. In a world where you have to control your emotions, it's great to have a place where you can let everything out. I must have been loud because Wolfram wondered whether I took a break to breath. I do remember hearing Yann laughing.

By the time we reached the big tower, I was ready for more dropping and more screaming. Apparently I fully delivered on that one. There is even a picture to prove it.

The rest of the day was filled with more attractions. The boys riding roller coasters, several times and the girls enjoying live music and cartoons in the meantime.

We didn't miss It's a small world all dressed up for Christmas.

Nor the Christmas tree which was illuminated later at night.

We worked hard on improving our scores at Buzz Lightyear... And even discovered Oskar's planet:

Needless to say that Yann scored the highest although he didn't break his record (999 999... The display doesn't go higher).

We brainstormed on how to make the phantom house scarier. There were discussion around the floor opening under your feet and a fall into a pound full of crocodiles.

The only disappointment was that we couldn't do the Pirates of the Caribbean. The first time we tried it was closed for a technical problem. The second time we got as close as seeing the boats but after 30min waiting whatever problem that had stopped the attraction again to be solved, we were evacuated. Yep, second attraction in two years in a row that we don't complete. It starts to be a bad habit from Disney.

Again a big thank you to my parents who took care of Oskar so that we could be children again... At least for one day. We are already back into diaper duties.

I like my blanket

Especially since I can grab it and put it in my mouth :)

1.2 kg

That's how much foie gras we ordered to take back to Singapore with us. We're making sure that we have enough to treat ourselves all year long until the next trip to Europe or the next visitors.

Souvenirs

This year the agreement was no gift except for the kids.

We understood that kids meant Nora and Oskar. My parents had a different understanding. They had gifts for their children, their partners and grandchildren. Basically for everyone.

In an attempt to defend themselves they argued that those were not gifts but souvenirs. In other words that each time they travelled somewhere and saw something their "children" would like they bought it.

There were paintings from Brittany, earrings from Italy, Chinese names from Singapore, nanoblock Lego from Paris and many more.

Funny enough some of us did something similar as Joy bought deer nanoblock Lego in Helsinki, we had a photo of my parents with Oskar printed on a canvas, and many more.

Nora and Oskar were totally spoiled simply because it's hard to resist. And the grown-ups were not forgotten :)

Thank you everyone for all the souvenirs and especially coming all the way to Chantilly to create memories. 

The times when we are altogether are now too rare given we are spread over three continents. As you can imagine we made the most of every second. 

Merry Christmas everybody!

Note: this year the gift is to be altogether. There were supposed to be gifts only for children. It seems Santa didn't get the memo.

Merry Christmas to all of you!

 

2 hands

I have two hands and I can play with them for hours :)

Yummy marzipan from Belgium

Thanks Anna for bringing them !

Not sure we will have enough to drink in the coming three days

Oops we forgot

Today is our one year anniversary.

Last year was all about the wedding.

This year it has been all around Oskar. With all the trips, him being sick followed by Wolfram, we both simply forgot about it.

Yes, I know, we picked a date so it's easy to remember and we were the first ones to forget it. Shame on us :)

So, Wolfram, happy first anniversary! Looking forward to many many many more years together.

5 star welcome on chantilly

Not only did they pick us up from the airport, but on top we all had flowers in our bedrooms as we arrived in Chantilly.

This is what I call a 5 star welcome. Thanks Joy and Yann!

No plastic bag

When you travel with a stroller, a car seat or any other bulky / oversize item, airlines provide you with a big plastic bag to put them in at check in. Not sure about low cost airlines, but that's a service from regular airlines all around the world.

Except in Stuttgart airport...

Let me explain. 

We had packed everything to travel back to Paris from Stuttgart. Once we arrived at the counter we found at that the flight was full so no way to get a free seat to have more space and when I asked for plastic bags to put the stroller and the car seat the answer was: I don't have any. Quid? She didn't have any. The girl at the counter next to her didn't have any either. She call the ticketing counter, no bag either. She claimed that in 18 years working here she had never seen plastic bags from Air France.

Really? 

So how come they could give me some in Singapore, in Paris, in Brest? How come we still had the stroller in the bag we came from Paris which we kept to avoid making the car dirty with the wheels?

After some negotiation she was able to provide tape so we could reclose the bag around the stroller. But what about the car seat? She basically told us to find our own solution. 

Grrr.

Tatjana came up with the smart idea to ask shops from bags. She run all over the terminal to find several of them. Wolfram asked a janitor for a garbage bag. Better this than nothing. 

While we were starting to assemble all the bags to wrap the car seat, the lady from the counter came back with a huge plastic bag from Delta airlines. She did do the effort of asking around, luckily.

We quickly put the car seat in the bag and dropped everything at the oversize counter. 

While everything worked out well, I still cannot believe that in an airport like Stuttgart they seem to struggle with something as basic as providing a plastic bag for oversize luggage.

Three month old

Oskar is now three month old. Time is flying and it's crazy how much he has changed in such a short time. 

He grew more than 10 cm since birth.

He doubled his weight thanks to our home made diet. Chocolate milk is in production as a special treat for the holidays.

He eats only five meals a day instead of six or more. A big thank you to Daad who helped me during the transition.

He started to sleep full nights which we hope he will continue, especially for the rest of the family during our big reunion starting tomorrow.

He "talks". Technically he makes sounds more than words but the way he looks at you when he does them makes you feel he wants to say something.

He's looking for his lost thumb or any finger that could go into his mouth.

He can cry as in he now has tears coming. Which breaks our hearts even more when he cries.

He survived his first cold forcing us to learn the tricky art of cleaning nose.

In comparison, in the same time, I might have lost a few kilos (Christmas time in Europe might cancel any loss), I discover that I can live with very little sleep, I certainly didn't grow taller despite wishing for it, and I've never been happier.

Fresh from the oven

One of the things I like in Germany are bretzels. Luckily for me Wolfram comes from the right region for that. He kindly educated me that a decent bretzel can only be bought in the region he comes from.

All week long Christian got up early to get fresh buns and bretzels. Mostly for Tatjana but we could enjoy her leftovers after she left for school.

All week long we found the bretzels a bit dry. Wolfram argued something changed in the bakery.

This morning the bretzels came from a different bakery and tasted softer and moist. We were delighted. Tatjana however found them drier than the ones during the week.

Weird... But there is an explanation. 

During the week Tatjana was eating them right after they were bought and we ate a few hours later. Today it was the other way around. We ate first and she later.

Bretzels have to be eaten fresh, as in fresh from the oven. Once exposed to the air, they dry quickly. Sadly.

So next time you buy bretzels, make sure to eat them right away otherwise they will not be as good as they could be. 

Alternatively you can warm them up in the microwave. I hear 30s do miracle.

The day we traded Christmas market for the ER

I mentioned that Oskar is going through his first cold. Yesterday he looked better so I hoped he had defeated the beast. 

I was wrong.

Last night he woke up two times before his normal eating time. Both because he couldn't breathe. After a session of nose cleaning he went back to sleep. 

When he woke up again at 5:30am, he was quieter than usual and didn't finish his bottle. We got worried.

Four hours later, same story. He ate only 2/3 of it. We got even more worried.

Temperature at 9:30am was 37.8C. Pediatrician in Singapore had told us to get to a doctor whenever temperature is above 37.5C. True we were just slightly above but I didn't care. I wanted to see a doctor. I prefer to go there and being told that I was stupid to worry vs. risking it getting worse. 

Wolfram located the ER for children and his father was kind enough to drive us there so we wouldn't have to worry about parking. We were prepared to spend hours there queueing as one traditionally does in the ER. But we were lucky. When we arrived the waiting room was surprisingly empty. Only two families there. Wolfram quickly completed the paperwork and 10min later we were seeing a doctor.

Believe it or not, the doctor could speak better French than English. Yet it didn't help because had he spoken French Wolfram would not have understood. So we ended up mixing the three languages to explain the symptoms and address his questions. 

Good news it's only a cold. Ear, throat and bronchi are fine. Fever should go away quickly and we left with a prescription for nasal spray and other droplets for the bronchi. 

We were really lucky as on the way out we saw that the waiting room was now packed with people. Had we come at that time, we would have had to wait at least an hour. 

Reassured about Oskar's health and equipped with spray and droplets we went back home.

Today we were supposed to go to a Christmas market with Alex, Silke and Fabian. Wolfram has been talking about Christmas market for weeks in Singapore and was really looking forward to going there while we are in Germany. Sadly we had to change our plans. With Oskar sick we had to stay inside and invited everyone over. At least they got to see our little guy awake and smiling because on Thursday when we visited them he slept the whole time. 

We will have to come back next winter to go to the Christmas market. By then Oskar might walk already...

Where is the world?

Since yesterday the weather is very foggy. When you look outside from the terrace, the whole town and the hills behind have disappeared.

It's actually hard to believe that there are houses and roads hidden in the fog.

First cold

First winter for Oskar and inevitably he got sick. Luckily for us it's a simple cold. 

As new parents we are of course worried and it breaks our hearts to hear him cough.

We are monitoring his temperature. So far none and we hope it will stay like that.

We are keeping him warm.

We are ready with an army of tissues to catch whatever comes out when he sneezes.

We are thoroughly cleaning his nose. Wolfram even went to the pharmacy to buy a suction pump and physiological serum to clean his nose even more seriously.

We are keeping our fingers crossed that the cold will go away quickly, before we have to fly again next week.

Fun with Opa

When Oma is taking a nap and Papa has disappeared in the bathroom, Opa is entertaining Oskar.

Oskar had a great time (based on all his smiles).

Grocery shopping

Since Oskar was born, Wolfram has been in charge of the grocery shopping. We got an app for our shopping list which we can both input on. He knows more or less the products we usually buy and in case of doubt, we use whatsapp and pictures to make our selection.

Today, same as in Singapore, Wolfram joined his dad for a bit of grocery shopping. I needed a few things like conditioner, Nivea cream and Alldays. Since we left Europe, Alldays have been  renamed Allways. Still the same product, the same box, just different name.

Once in front of the shelf, Wolfram contacted me as he had trouble identifying the right one.

Looking at the picture he sent me of the shelf I can understand why. They all look the same.

Good that the shop had wifi so I could guide him.

It is nice to shop from the sofa :)

Free hugs

Oskar is giving hugs for free!!!

Don't miss this great opportunity, only today!

First Saint-Nicolas

Oskar doesn't even wear shoes yet but we made sure that the donkey of Saint-Nicolas will find a carrot from our little boy.

Let's see what Saint-Nicolas brings during the night.

December 6th

Saint-Nicolas found us and brought us some Belgian chocolate for hot chocolate and speculoos. I will diligently eat and drink them so Oskar can enjoy chocolate speculoos milk :)

Merci Saint-Nicolas!

Growing... so fast

I still remember when we brought Oskar home. He was so lost in the car seat. We had to add blankets on the sides to secure his head and under to raise him a bit.
Only a couple of months have passed and now when he sits in the car seat, he's filling up the space.
People keep on telling me to enjoy this time as it passes too quickly. I start to understand what they mean.

Soon, he will drive his own car (unless he takes his Papa's).

A bit of fresh air

This afternoon my Dad took us to the harbor for a little walk. Objective was to get some fresh air and show the sea to Oskar. No way he would come to Brittany and not go to the sea.
Not sure he saw much of the sea - it might have been too far away from what he can see now - but he got plenty of fresh air.
So much he got hungry and we stopped in a cafe for milk and tea.
Once stomach was full, Oskar had a little chat with his grand-father. As usual, this triggered funny faces from our little boy.

Have you heard about the story of the horse which fell in the lake? Do you know what happened to the knight? and to his sword? ... we have to wait for Oskar to speak to find out.

We are ready

For a whole month of Xmas music.

And maybe more :)

He slept through the night

We stuffed the goose with extra milk.

We packed it in a bigger pampers.

We lulled it into sleep.

And baby slept 8 hours in a row!!!

He did move a bit around 3 and 4 am but I ignored him hiding under the blankets hoping he would get back to sleep. And he did :)

Now let's see if we can repeat this tonight. 

Chatting with Oskar on Monday afternoon

I keep wondering what he would say if he could speak. Crazy stories for sure. Until he finds the words, we have to rely on his faces and "ah---oooh". 

Christmas before Christmas

Oskar is being spoiled by his great aunts Daad and Houda.

Daad got him a book with songs for kids. I suspect that she expects me to listen to the CD and then sing to Oskar. Not sure I will be as good as her when it comes to singing to Oskar.

Houda got him a little golden cross. Something that will stay with him for his whole life. I forgot to take a picture of the two of them together. Shame on me, I know. Luckily Wolfram is arriving soon in Europe and will make sure to take plenty of pictures.

Mokka is making a move

Since Oskar has been in the house, the kitty cats have kept their distance. They've been hiding upstairs when Oskar was up only showing up when they were hungry (really hungry).

But today, something changed. Mokka came while Oskar was in his bouncer. She sat nearby and quietly watch him sleeping. 

So sweet. Only missing the Muffin to complete the picture. 

There is one good thing about the cold

I've been complaining about the cold weather since we are in France, even more as I caught a cold within 24hours. Yet, there is one good thing about it. My fingers are finally not swollen anymore. This means I can wear my wedding ring again. It's good to feel it on my finger after too many months.

Winter style

With the cold weather in Europe, Oskar has to wear more layers of clothes than a body. While it's a full workout to get his moving arms in the sleeves, not to mention the moving legs in the trousers, he does look very cute in winter outfits. 

Here is one of them.

More to come as we dig into all the outfits offered by my parents and Daad. They have been incredibly generous.

L'union fait la force

When facing the invasion of their territory by a creature that captures the attention of everyone, Mokka and Muffin reunited. 

They are hiding together upstairs on the treadmill. Ready to run maybe?

I had nearly forgotten how cute the kitty cats can be :)

I had forgotten

How cold it can be in winter. 

It seems I prefer to sweat over being frozen to the bones.

And yes, after a year of keeping my hair wet after the shower to help cooling down, I will dry then here so they don't freeze on my head. 

Bigger plane is always better

The connection in Paris was quite easy. Most likely because the luggage were taken care of and Joy and Yann sacrificed their sleep for an early breakfast at the airport with us. Obviously time is flying in good company and made me forgot about the big poop from Oskar which spread everywhere on his back as he was in the baby carrier. Isn't it fun to completely change a baby in the airport toilet? Especially at 6am when it's cold?

After they dropped us in the terminal, I went to the lounge to wait. Terminal 2G is at the far end of the airport and feels more like a warehouse. Anyhow they had a small lounge where I was welcome by two very attentive ladies from Air France. Once again, they helped me find a seat in the crowded lounge, they brought me a drink, they watched over my bags as I went to change Oskar and they even helped carrying my bags to the gate. I really have to say the way the Air France team took care of us made the whole trip better. I know why I like to fly with them, not only because they are French :)

The flight to Brest was short, only one hour, but tough on both of us. We were tired and in a smaller aircraft, the pressure on the ears at take off and landing was felt stronger. Oskar cried a lot and wouldn't drink the water to help with the ears. I was quite happy to land and be greeted by my parents. 

They came with two cars so we could easily bring home all the luggage, car seat, stroller and baby.

Now it's time to settle down and get ready for Oskar's next meal.

Forget the car, let's buy an aircraft

Today Oskar and I left Singapore for Brest. We embarked into a 25 hour journey door to door. I know it because I had to estimate how much milk and how many diapers we would need for the trip.

Luckily for us, Oskar was due for food just before we left to the airport. Smoothly, his Papa gave him a bath, fed him and we rushed out to the taxi. The three if us, and two suitcases, one trolley, one car seat, one stroller and one diaper bag. I think last time I was so loaded when traveling was when I went to China.

At the airport we checked in everything all the way to Brest so I don't need to worry about it in Paris. I was happy that I could keep the stroller all the way to the plane. This clearly made my life easier as I had quits some things to carry still. For example what must be the biggest diaper bag loaded with everything I could think of to face any situation with Oskar.

We waited into the lounge until it was time. It turned out quite stressful as Oskar was wide awake and very cranky. I could see the people looking at us hoping the baby was not on their flight. We had missed his bed time and consequently was asking for an extra meal. I obliged 10min before they called us for boarding. In 30min, he was fed, diaper was changed, and we cleared security. I was given priority, not only because of my frequent flyer status but also because I had a baby in a stroller. And that's a separate security check.

Although I called yesterday and confirmed the bassinet and an aisle seat, at check in my seat had changed to a window. Traveling alone I would not take a window seat as I need to get up frequently. With Oskar that's an absolute no go. They said they would ask the passenger next to me to swap. Of course when I arrived at the gate, no one knew about it. As it was getting quite late already, someone walked with me to the plane to get this sorted out. He also carried some if my bags once I dropped the stroller. That was really nice and a life savior. I would have needed another pair if hands.

Once on board there was some confusion as to where I should sit. Eventually they moved us. Not to business class (I wish) but to an aisle seat with the bassinet. The crew moved all my bags and even took the bottles to the kitchen to ensure they stat vertical during take off.

After take off, they installed the bassinet, brought down everything I needed and I could peacefully install Oskar for the night.

To note, the bassinet is not that big. It felt like Oskar was filling it almost and by looking at the other bassinets I could see some kids had their feet out. Not complaining. Having a bed for Oskar is fantastic.

I don't know if it's because it was his night time, or if it was the vibrations, or because the cabine was dark most of the time, or the fact that I put him bigger diapers that can contain more, or if the gods heard our prayers but Oskar slept nearly the whole flight. Unbelievable. I had prepared myself for crying and angry look of other people, but nothing. He slept after take off. I fed him right when he woke up not leaving him the time to realize what was happening. Twice he went back to sleep after feeding. Yes, I was happy and relieved.

It did help as well that the flight was one hour shorter. Thanks to good winds we were early. Who knows what might have happened during that hour. 

From my side, this was a very unusual trip. Normally I would watch 3-4 movies to kill the time as I can't sleep. This time, not one movie. I watched my son sleeping to ensure I would be ready any time he cries and limit the disturbance for the other passenger. I also got some sleep. Not much but as I've been sleeping in 2-3 hour blocks in the past two months, doing the same on a plane worked quite well. This should have killed me but instead I found myself quite rested. Let's see tomorrow once the jet lag kicks in. 

I already mentioned that the Air France crew was very helpful. During the whole flight they checked on me and whether I needed anything. I have to say that it was great to have such an attentive crew.

I'm curious to see how it goes on the short flight to Brest. 

Has it always been that noisy?

Now that I am home with Oskar the whole day, I started to notice that the neighborhood is very noisy.  Even more when I can compare with the silence around 3-4am.

There is a background noise of the water fountains in the condo from 7am to 10pm. 

There is the construction site across the street from 9am until 9pm.

There is the traffic roughly from 6am until 10pm.

There are the birds singing from sunrise to sunset. The Asian koel can be very noisy.

There is the fumigation of the condo against bugs every other Tuesday afternoon.

There are the dogs of the newly arrived residents that bark regularly at each other... For all of us to enjoy.

And more...

I cannot help wondering. Was the area always that noisy? Or has it changed?

Or is it me who's now super sensitive to any big noise that could wake up Oskar, especial if he's finally asleep?

Forced to shop for winter clothes

I haven't been shopping since forever. At least for me. All I've been buying in the past 6 months was baby related.

Friday Oskar and I are flying to France. And with the trip to Europe and the cold weather approaching it was time for me to face an unpleasant reality.

I don't fit in my winter clothes. I gained weight during the pregnancy and as my doctor nicely said: it took 9 months to gain it, it will take another 9 months to lose it.

So 2 months after birth? what do I wear when I'm in Europe where the weather is significantly colder than in Singapore?

I managed to find a few sweaters and tshirts that are large enough in my closet.

I will borrow a few things from my mother and sister.

Inevitably I will have to go shopping for some winter clothes. It's a pity because I will wear those clothes for only 6 weeks. But I cannot go around in my summer maternity clothes.

I'm curious to see the winter 2013 collections :)

Foot reflexology

With Alice visuting, the two of us decided to go for our favourite activity when in vacation in Asia: massage.

Normally we would do one a day or every other day. But this year with Oskar ruling the agenda, we could only do one together. We decided for foot reflexology for 40min and shoulders for 20min. The hope was that Alice would be completely relaxed for her flight later and that for me, I would give a treat to the few muscles I have left. Yep, pregnancy got rid of many of them.

Within a few minutes of massage I was in pain. The masseur was kindly mentioning which area of my body was aching. I felt pain on the feet for the areas connected to: lung, eyes, shoulders, neck, stomach, liver, lower back, kidney, and many more.

You could argue that basically he meant that I have to get a full body scan to find what's wrong or give my body proper rest. Alive decided however it was simpler than that. I just had pain in the feet from all the walking with Oskar.

Whatever the cause, after 40min my lungs may not have been cured, but I felt I had lighter feet and legs. That's already a lot.

The shoulders, on the other hand, were very "stiff" as per the masseur. Consequently it was 20 min of torture. I should feel the benefit of it tomorrow. That one, no doubt on what's causing the sore muscles: the little guy I have to carry around every so often is responsible. 

Un pas en avant, deux pas en arrière

Oskar is ruling the agenda of each day. His schedule is basically deciding for us when we are busy (with him) and when we are (could be) free.

Each time he seems to have a steady rhythm, it changes all of a sudden.

He had one, then 10 days ago he went nuts for two days and changed rhythm. We thought it was most likely the 6-week growth spurt. 

For a week, he was pretty consistent with his new rhythm. We liked that one very much as Oskar was sleeping 7-9 hours at night. Meaning we were getting 5-6 hours of sleep in one go. That's super precious for new parents.

Until two days ago. Suddenly he woke up at 11pm starving. We fed him.

He woke up again at 3am starving. We fed him.

He woke up again at 6am starving. We fed him again. 

Somehow, Oskar seems to be hungry every 3-4 hours including at night. Obviously this means we have to get up in the middle of the night, sometimes twice. In other words, we are back to sleeping by shift of 2-4 hours. And that sucks :(

Why is Oskar changing rhythm? It's a mystery.

It could be another growth spurt. Let's see how long this hungry period last.

It could be that he now needs more food. He is certainly getting bigger. 

It could be that the Pampers bought in Asia are not as good as the ones from Europe causing him to wake up for a diaper change instead of sleeping through.

It could be the phase of the moon or bad karma.

Whatever it is, I hope it won't last too long so we can resume with longer sleep periods. We are both exhausted and it feels we are stepping backwards compare to the beginning of the week.

Keep your fingers crossed. We need all the positive thinking possible.

Well, until we fly to France and he will be jetlagged... 

People with no kids don't know

We were laughing already when we were hearing those stories about parents with kids, but now that we have one on our own, we laugh even more.
Have a good laugh on this Sunday!

Oskar, 7 weeks already

Time is flying for both baby and parents. 

Exploring new possibilities

For a few days now, Oskar has been trying to turn to his side from lying on his back. Everyday he is making progress. It's impressive to watch all the energy he puts into lifting and turning his body. It's funny to see how quickly he returns to his starting position as soon as he lets go.

Something tells me, we will soon be running behind him.

Nail art of the month

It's never too early to express creativity...

Delivery from Belgium

Alice and Ante arrived yesterday. They stayed one night with us before leaving for Vietnam this morning. It was a short night, partially because they had to leave at 6am to catch their flight, partially because our cute buddle of joy decided to stay awake until past midnight. (Yes our patience has been put to test)

They brought with them one extra bag. Its content is highly valuable to us: a whole bunch of products from the company shop (which we miss very much here in Singapore), gifts for Oskar - our superbaby - and chocolate !!!!! 

Thanks Auntie Alice!

Facial expressions

Oskar is growing every day. I am pretty sure his head got bigger since last night. To celebrate this, here is a collection of his facial expressions... the positive ones :)

A little bit of rain

When it rains in Singapore, it rains seriously.

Better be prepared otherwise you are in line for a wet tshirt contest. 

There is always something missing

Today I took Oskar for a walk in the stroller in the neighborhood.

Of course 2km away from home it started to rain. 

I had diapers, milk, blanket, wipes, change of clothes and plenty more things in the diaper bag. 

What I didn't have was the rain cover for the stroller nor an umbrella for me.

We found refuge under a bus shelter as quickly as possible and waited for the rain to stop.

Despite all my efforts, Oskar got a bit wet and was not super happy. Yet he didn't cry, probably there was enough water on his face already.

Upgrade of the bed

With Oskar traveling in his bed at night, having protection on the size of only half of the bed was not enough anymore.

I ordered extra last week from La Redoute. Once again, I was amazed that something I ordered on Wednesday was delivered to my doorstep on Saturday. Somehow they deliver faster in Singapore than in Belgium.

This morning I installed the new protection around the whole bed. While I was busy Oskar kindly offered to hold the mattress for me. Just in case someone would steal his mattress. 

Oskar's improved bed

Finally

For 9 months, the cans have been tempting me each time I opened the fridge. Finally, tonight, we opened the foie gras and to go with it a bottle of Montbazillac.
It was a moment of gastronomy bliss.

I cannot wait to go back to France and get some more.

Oops, he did it again

Today, taking advantage that Wolfram had a day off, we took Oskar for a little shopping trip to Orchard. Main purpose was to buy a baby carrier. I wanted to try it out with baby inside, as well as checking that it can adjust to the two of us. After all we have very different bodies.

We left shortly after feeding the little guy. The MRT ride was easy and quickly enough we were on Orchard. We started by the post office which took forever. Consequently we bought enough stamps so we can send things directly, hopefully for the next 12 months.

We had a late lunch at Paul. By dessert time, Oskar was hungry and he made sure the whole place would know. Wolfram tried to entertain him while I was warming up the bottle in my hands. I was doing so for 30s when one of the waiters came and offered to bring hot water to warm up the bottle. That was a good surprise and something I would have never thought to ask. This said now that I think of it, I have seen parents doing so... It just didn't occur to me. Funny enough the hot water was there in no time, faster than Wolfram's latte. I guess the waiter wanted to make sure we would get the crying baby quiet as quickly as possible.

Once everybody was well fed, we went to Paragon mall for the baby carrier. Oskar was wide awake and looking at everything. It was nice to see him watching things and being intrigued by the noises.

The model selected was the BabyBjorn Miracle, not because of the name but because if the lumbar support it offers. If I have to carry Oskar for hours I want to make sure my back can handle it. Wolfram tried it first and seemed to enjoy it. It does look like that you are preparing to go to war while putting on the harness but I guess that's what it takes to ensure baby is safe.

I was next to try it and I have to say it felt comfortable to carry around Oskar while having the hands free. I was not the only one comfortable. Oskar felt so good in the carrier that he pooped. Yep, right here, right there, in the brand new carrier which we had not paid for yet.

Of course, he saved this for me. Isn't it fun to poop on Maman? Why not on his Papa?

Of course the liquid yellow mustardy poop escaped from the diaper and got on the carrier and on my T-shirt. It's time we move to bigger diaper size.

Consequently we had to buy the carrier and wash it right away. It's great that those things are washable.

Consequently I rushed to the toilet to change Oskar completely. Diaper, clothe, there was poop everywhere but this time we had everything we needed to handle it. Except another T-shirt for me. I finished the trip hiding behind the stroller hoping people would not see the stains.

PS: this trip to Orchard exhausted Oskar. Once we were back, we gave him his bath and food. Quickly he was asleep and for good. We struggled to wake him up to feed him at 10pm. We did insist as this was our insurance for several hours of sleep. And we were rewarded: he slept 7 hours straight and we did almost the same :)

Numbers

Oskar's life can be summarized in numbers:

1 month - his age

53 cm - his height

3.96 kg - his weight

36 cm - his head circumference 

750 mL or so - his food intake (after a slow start, now that the production lines are in place, milk is flowing)

8 to 10 - his number of diapers per day

1 to 10 - numbers of emails per day from me to my mom for advice 

Hundreds - number of pictures taken of him so far and something tells me it's not going to stop

7 hours - longest time he's been sleeping at night, making his parents very happy

Flying baby

This morning I found Oskar in a different place than I left him a few hours before. He was still in his bed but at the opposite end of it. Somehow, this little guy made his way down the bed while we was sleeping. How? That's the question.
Only one month since he was born and he's already telling us that he will decide the best spot in the bed to sleep.

Oskar is dreaming

No idea what he is dreaming about but it's taking him to wild places :)

When he sleeps, he really goes for it :)

He eats, he poops, he sleeps

He eats often, every 3 hours or so.
He poops not that often, maybe 2-3 times a day. But don't worry he compensates by peeing a lot and demanding frequent diaper changes. Pampers' business is secured with Oskar.
He sleeps, not as much as we would want him to. When we are lucky he sleeps 3 hours in a row. But most of the times, it's more 30 minutes at a time. Why? because diaper gets wet and/or there is a burp that has not come out. If there is something we've learned over the past two weeks, it is that there is always a burp hidden somewhere in the little belly. Sometimes even two :(
He cries a lot: because he's hungry, his diaper is dirty, he has to burp, he is tired, he is very tired because he has not slept in 6 hours, he is lonely, and many other mysterious reasons. It's incredible how loud such a small baby can be.
Bottom line, it's very stressful for the new parents. We are both tired (exhausted) and sometimes desperate as we don't know what to do. There are moments I forget what time of the day (or what day) it is. It's always the same routine over and over (and over) again.

Yet, sooner or later, Oskar looks at us with his cute face and our hearts melt. Nature has done a great job at wiring us to quickly forget the massive poop and crying and only remember the cute faces and big eyes staring at you.

Happy father and son

Oskar always makes a special face after burping. Maybe it's relief?

Obviously it makes Wolfram happy because an Oskar who has burped is an Oskar who sleeps. And when Oskar sleeps... so can the parents.

See you again in a couple of hours!

Doubling the number of people living in the house

One of the good things about Singapore is that you can get a live-in maid also known as helper for little money. I'm not saying it's cheap but it is cheaper than in other countries and when it comes to childcare, it is cheaper than the other alternatives.

After many discussions on whether or not we want to take a helper we decided for it as it is cheaper and also more flexible. With no family living nearby we will need someone who can jump in whenever is needed, e.g. a business trip or simply if we want to go out just the two of us.

We initially thought to hire someone as of January as we will be gone in December. However given this helper will take care of Oskar, we have been advised to get someone already now to train her as well as making sure she is fit for the job. To be fair there is also an element of trust. We want to make sure we can trust her with our son. So the more overlap there is with my maternity leave the better. It will just cost us two months of salary. But what are two months of salary vs. the peace of mind to know that our son is in good hands.

We interviewed a few candidates. All ladies from the Philippines. Apparently they are the best. 

We made our selection and completed the paperwork this week. Now we are waiting for the results of her medical check-up to close the deal.

In parallel we need to convert our storage room to what it was supposed to be: the helper's room. This means we need to find space for all the things we have inside as well as buying furniture. Yep, another trip to Ikea.

If everything works out well, our helper will start end if next week. Even if I welcome the idea of getting some help, it still feels weird to think we will have someone at home, living with us. 

Let's see how it goes.

A trip to the German embassy

I've always been told that Germany and anything German stands for efficacy (or efficiency and maybe order as well). Today I was shown the exception to that rule: the German consulate in Singapore.

Wolfram already mentioned that we had to wait until today to get an appointment to register the birth of Oskar (only 3 weeks after birth... what's the hurry?).

After a last minute diaper change, we were in the taxi on our way there. Wolfram has warned me the German embassy was nothing compare to the French one. And he was right. 

We arrived into a place packed with people queuing for visa and other consulate matter. After passing security and announcing ourselves to the lady at the counter we were told to take a seat and wait.

Good one: what seat? the place was packed and the few chairs available were long gone.

Yet we started to wait standing in the hallway.

That is not what I had in mind for a German embassy. It felt more like a third world country embassy than Germany. This said the Chinese embassy was much better organized...

Anyhow, after 15min of wait it was our turn. I will not elaborate on the angry German who told us that he was next in line and didn't appreciate that we would cut the line, even with an appointment, especially given he had been waiting for two hours.

We entered a tiny booth where a consulate representative was waiting for us, behind a glass window. My first impression was that I was at the customs and not an embassy. Luckily for me, Oskar started to cry so the lady had me sign all the documents needed and offered that I took the baby out. 

I spent the next 30min in the hallway walking back and forth. 30min (or maybe longer as it felt like eternity) that's how long it took Wolfram to complete the paperwork for the birth certificate and ask for a passport. 30min!!! not really talking highly of the German efficiency here... but to be fair she had to go through the millions of documents and their copies that we had to provide. I'm still surprised that they haven't asked for my DNA.

Birth certificate will be ready in 3 months up to 2 years as it has to be done in Berlin. Yes it can take up to two years to make a birth certificate. 

Children passport will be available later this week. That's pretty fast but also limited as it is not a bio metric passport. This means until Oskar has a proper German birth certificate and a bio metric passport, he won't be able to enter certain countries that require a bio metric passport, e.g. the US.... unless he travels with his French passport :)

To summarize, Oskar now has a French passport and will get a German one later this week. Next step, the dependant pass for Singapore. Given how efficient immigration in Singapore is, I suspect it will be easy and fast. Let's see.

 

Oskar - 3-week old already

Time is flying. Oskar is already 3-week old.
He has changed so much in three weeks. It's almost incredible. Not only is he bigger (read larger thanks to a lot of milk) but he is also becoming more alert. It feels like he can now see things vs. the unfocused look from the first days. Since a couple of days, he starts to grab things (maybe not intentionally but he grabs).