Solid food

Pediatrician said Thomas was ready for solid food last month. We decided to wait a bit longer until this weekend. Funny enough it's more or less the same time as when we started with Oskar.

After the afternoon milk, we sat Thomas in the high chair and gave it a go.

A bit of rice with milk in a spoon. 

He was a bit surprised at the beginning but quickly figured out how to swallow it. Soon enough he was opening is mouth to get more. He ate the whole thing and then went on to play on his mat.

The era of purées is back!

Exhausted father

After playing with Oskar...

And because there was one boy from this house missing a picture on the mat. After Oskar and Thomas, I present... Wolfram!

Unfortunately he is already too big for the red outfit. 

Live from the terrace

Today we can sit on our terrace and watch the houses going down, one piece at a time. 

It is quite fascinating to watch the machines in action.

Musical wake-up

This morning, 5min before the alarm I heard music. It was a soft soothing music  . I realized it was coming from the baby monitor. Now that Thomas can move his legs and turn, he managed to activate the mobile of his bed. Somehow he kicked the button to turn it on.

While his parents were deeply sleeping, our little boy enjoyed a light and music show. 

Note to ourselves: switch off the mobile completely at night if we want to sleep.

This is how the kicking happened. Thanks Aggie for the picture after the nap. 

Valentine's Day surprise

Thank you Wolfram for being my Valentine :)

Unexpected flower delivery from my prince.

Toilet to toilet time

With Oskar potty training, we found ourselves thinking about our itineraries with an additional factor in mind: access to toilet. He seems to hold for about one hour at a time so our toilet to toilet time should be shorter than that. 

This morning I took him to the French class, knowing that there are toilets at the entrance and exit of the MRT and then at the Alliance Francaise. We successfully managed to get there without having to use the toilets. 

I put Oskar on the toilets before the class but he did not need to go. This means it will be happening at some point during the class. When it does, I'll be waiting in the hallway with the change of clothes. 

PS: maybe it's time to get an ipad with network or plan ahead and download a book on it. 

Family addition

Yesterday, on the last day of the sheep/goat year, Constance Herveline Antonia was born. Apparently she did not want to be a little monkey :)

Oskar and Thomas have a new cousin!

Congratulations Joy and Yann!

We are super happy that Constance is with us and can't wait to meet her.

PS: Yann, I know that temptation will be there, but you can't lock her in a tower with a dragon at the door. Someday this little girl will have a boyfriend :) until then enjoy the days of being at the center of her world. 

Potty training - round 3

After two unsuccessful attempts with potty training, we had put it on hold with the birth of Thomas and the big trip to Europe.

Lately Oskar has been showing some interest again to use the toilet. I even witnessed him peeing in the toilet once after the shower - an incredible moment of pride :)

Chinese New Year holiday granting us a long weekend, we decided to try again.

Saturday afternoon, after the swimming pool, I offered underwear to Oskar and he said no. He insisted on wearing his diaper. 

Sunday afternoon, same story.

Monday morning, we started using the potty with the diaper on until I convinced him to try one of the underwears, just to see how it feels. It must have felt good because he kept it on. 

Well, until he peed. 

We changed underwear and pants which did not last long either.

Third underwear we decided to skip the pants so it's easier to pull down when it's time. 

And then a miracle happened.

After asking several times if he needed to go, at some point he went by himself and  peed in the potty! 

Oskar successfully peed the rest of the day in the potty all by himself. There was a small incident in this perfect sequence but overall if feels like he is ready to say goodbye to diapers, at least during the day. 

He even granted us with a poop which looking at it reminded me of Japanese curry which I will most likely never eat again. 

We will continue tomorrow and if successful we will send him to school without diaper on Wednesday. Without diaper but with lots of pants. 

Asthma?

After two blissful healthy weeks, Oskar got sick again. I know it's going to be like that for the rest of the year as he builds his immunity. Later in life this will pay off. But now it's really hard on all of us. 

Saturday night he had a difficult night and so did we. 

Sunday he was grumpy and had a runny nose. Thanks to a paracetamol suppository (or just luck), he slept that night and so did we. 

Monday we sent him to school because beside the (very) bad mood and the runny nose, everything was fine. 

Monday evening just before his dinner I noticed that Oskar was wheezing again. Not as bad as last time but I could hear it. We pondered for a little while whether we should go to the ER or not (our pediatrician had already closed for the day). I called my dad who confirmed what my guts was telling me. Better safe than sorry so I left with Oskar.

In the taxi I remembered that there was another set of pediatrician as at Thomson Medical Center. I called and found out one pediatrician was working that night. No ER :) 

We were lucky enough that there were only a few people waiting. Most likely because he normally takes with an appointment but given I showed up with a wheezing child they took us as such.

Pediatrician said its most likely a cold that triggered asthma (sounds familiar?). He wondered whether he should admit Oskar to the hospital or not. I asked if this was really necessary. We made a deal, one nebulization in his office. If Oskar responds well we can go home and continue nebulizations at home. Luckily Oskar reacted well. I could say because he was super excited and full of energy. Was my son high?

Here we are at home with the nebulizer and a bunch of asthma medications. It's going to be a long night with nebulization every four hours but at least we are home. I prefer a painful night at home over a painful night in the hospital.

Let's hope Oskar gets better soon and that the asthma goes away.