A little trip to the Botanic Gardens

Stretching ourselves always further, this morning Oskar, my parents and I got ready for a little trip to the Botanic Gardens. The gardens are only two subway stations from ours and it would be a nice place for a walk with Oskar in the stroller.

It took quite some time but eventually we were out of the house with Oskar in his stroller (not yelling). We quickly reached the subway and I have to say it is amazingly done. Not once did we struggle with the stroller. There are ramps and elevators everywhere so one can just roll in and out the station. Of course it takes a bit longer than someone walking but overall it was a pleasant and easy experience to take the subway with Oskar (nicely wrapped in a blanket to protect him from the air conditioning). This said, I don't see myself with a stroller during peak hours. Something tells me they would not even let you in.

Oskar does look a bit lost but he was happy to reach the Botanic Gardens station.

From that point of time, there was a lot of "fun".

As a starter, only a few minutes after we reached the surface, Oskar started to get agitated. Guess what? Poop. Yep, it did not take long. We walked to the nearest shadow area with a bench (so called a "cool house") and changed the little guy. I learnt a few things on the spot. #1: Huggies wipes are crap. I took the sample pack we received and instead of cleaning the bud they actually spread the poop further. Ahhhhh!!!! #2: have a plastic bag with me in case there is no garbage bin nearby. #3: in Singapore it's very hot and under stressed conditions (like changing a diaper outside for the first time ever), it can become very sweaty. In other words, I should plan for a towel to wipe off the sweat from my face.

Once all the poop was cleaned, we could get back to our stroll in the park.

Oskar was wide awake and we tried to interest him in the garden. Obviously given he cannot see further than 15-30cm, but can hear very well, this little stroll in the park must have sound like a trip to hell. So he started to cry. I ended up carrying him the rest of the walk until the Orchid Garden where my parents wanted to go (again... they went once already but some pictures got lost so they decided to visit again. Those orchids are really nice after all).

By 11:30, Oskar started to get agitated again. Diaper was clean, a bit of water was not enough... it had to be food. After all it had been almost 3 hours since he last ate. I was prepared with a bottle so I could feed him anywhere, anytime. I started to feed him and told my parents to go ahead with their visit. It would take me easily 20-30 minutes to feed the little guy so they might as well get started.

From there it went downhill.

First I was bugged by many people. I am sitting on a bench in the shade feeding a baby that is clearly a new born and people stop to ask how old he is, whether it's a boy or a girl, tell me how cute he is.... bla bla bla.... Honestly I know they mean well but I didn't need that extra stress of having to make friendly conversation. Maybe in a few weeks or months, but not today.

One woman, from India, stayed quite long. It felt like she would never leave. She asked how old the baby is, boy or girl, where we are from, whether we are travelling to Singapore (did she really believe I was travelling from Europe with a 2.5 week-old baby????), and many more. At some point I heard a now familiar noise. Oskar had pooped. I was holding him with the bottle in the mouth and I knew I was up for a diaper change. Yet the woman was still not moving and I was getting nervous especially when the poop sound was repeated. At that point I rather abruptly ended the conversation and lifted Oskar to change him. What did I discover?

Poop all over my pants!!!!!!

Yellow liquid baby poop can overload a diaper and spreads to the next available surface. I was under huge stress, covered in poop with my son yelling to death as he needed to be changed. I had limited supply with me, i.e. only one diaper left and shitty wipes. I was all alone i.e. with only two hands to hold Oskar and get all the things needed. Somehow I managed to survive this.

Of course some woman passed by and offered some clever piece of advise: he must be hungry, she said. I answer in a very non diplomatic way "not helping!!!!!" and I still wonder by which miracle the dirty diaper did not end up on her face.

Eventually, Oskar was changed and I was stressed that should he pee or poop again, I would not have another diaper to offer. He finished eating and fell asleep in my arms.

That's when my parents came back and had a good laugh at my misery. This was bound to happen at some point, so better now than later.

The way back home was adventure-less. Still a comparison of Oskar when we left home and when we arrived back home does show that something happened in the meantime: hat was gone, swaddling clothe dirty with poop, had to improvise with a scarf to protect him from the sun...

Conclusion #1 of this trip: 

While it was very stressful I am glad I did it, especially with my parents. Not only did they get to join the very first trip outdoor of Oskar, but on top I had my safety net with me - experienced people who could jump in any time.

Conclusion #2 of this trip:

I will pack a proper diaper bag as of NOW with half of the house in it, and maybe more. There is a reason why people with babies have such big bags.