It's only a stage he's going through...

Our maid said that Oscar would 'change' once recovered from his tummy trouble. Smarter, more words, more physical abilities... and she's right. Instead of saying 'bah' for banana, he now says 'bah naa'. Instead of just reaching up to grab something off a table, he now stands on tip toes and really stretches to get the desired item.

But one unfortunate development is the onset of tantrums. It began when I refused to give him his third bottle in a row of electrolyte solution. This orange-tasting drink (note 'orange-tasting' - who knows what colourings and flavourings are added?) was vital to keep Oscar's fluids and essential minerals up while he was sick. But on the road to recovery, not so essential in the quantities that Oscar wanted to consume.

Oscar took great umbrage at this: screaming, screeching, crying, collapsing to the floor, rolling around, then getting up to scream and cry louder and louder. Distractions didn't seem to work, but simply ignoring the hoo-ha thankfully did.

I thought the electrolyte solution was the key to Oscar's tantrums, but no. We went cold turkey on the electrolyte solution and he's still had a few tantrums. Thankfully, he hasn't tried anything like head-banging the floor, but he did throw a wobbly in a taxi yesterday - much harder to handle in public.

I'm now clinging to the hope that this behaviour is sugar-related - I'm cutting down his sweet popcorn and biscuits. If not, the mantra is: it's only a stage, it's only a stage.

Stomach bug

Poor Oscar has gastroenteritis.

It started with fever and an incredible vomiting episode on Wednesday morning (I now know what 'projectile vomiting' is), and has now progressed to the watery brown diarrhea stage.

We've had two trips to the doctors - the first doc just thought Oscar needed some paracetamol and a sponge bath - which Oscar absolutely hated. He screamed whenever the doctors or nurses touched him. On Wednesday he weighed 12.3 kg and today he weighs 11.99 kg. They tried to take his blood pressure. It was so cute their little velcro arm band. But Oscar struggled and screamed so much, no reading could be taken.

Anyhow, Oscar no longer has a tummy like this anymore. He's on a diet of biscuits, toast and rice cakes.



On the other hand, he's still quite himself, playing and exploring. Just not as active as usual, which - dare I say it? - actually makes a nice change.

A brighter note is that Oscar has suddenly become very keen on toothbrushing. I don't need to chase after him to get his gnashers brushed. He has a number of molars all coming through at the same time and the taste of the toothpaste and the feel of the bristles must come as some relief.

Cat-Bear

Babies can become attached to certain security items - just think of Linus and his blanket in the Snoopy cartoons.

Oscar is very much attached to Cat-Bear. When he has his sleeps, she must be there to cuddle him. When he wakes up, he is still clasping her in his hands. If she's not there, he gets most distressed!

I manage to convince Oscar that Cat-Bear sometimes needs a wash, and we take her to the washing machine where she is carefully deposited by Oscar, only to be snatched out again at the last minute. Eventually we manage to get her in and yesterday, Oscar accepted a toothbrush as a poor temporary substitute.

Cat-Bear was a gift from Oscar's Aunty Cat - hence the name. Who knows what would happen if we should lose Cat-Bear? She was bought in a big Tescos in Borehamwood under the children's Cherokee range. So if you happen to find one floating around in a Tescos, think of Oscar and... well, I'm sure he would be most grateful for a spare Cat-Bear...

Oscar bathes!

All calm & quiet at bathtime:



or is it?

Oscar vacuums!

Oscar loves helping with the vacuuming and sweeping. He's going to be so useful around the home!

Beach Boy

Last weekend, Oscar got his second taste of the seaside when we all went to Ban Chang to visit Uncle Foz and Nai nai.
The thought of a 5 hour round trip in the back of a taxi with Oscar didn't exactly thrill, but amazingly, he nodded off both ways. At one point, his heavy sleepy head caused his whole upper body to bend double over Matt's arm.
It was fab scoffing seafood and walking on the sand. Oscar was at first sceptical of the sand and waves, but was soon dragging us into the water. He also had a great time building sand castles with his Nai nai.
Many thanks to Foz & Simone for taking us round to all the nice restaurants and helping look after the little ragamuffin.

Nai nai in town

Happy New Year and Happy New Chinese Year!

We are finally back online! I almost cried at the thought of losing all of Oscar's photos when our laptop went loopy. Thankfully they have been recovered.

The biggest news here is that Oscar's nai nai (grandma on the dad's side) arrived over 3 weeks ago. Simone has been busy studying Thai and entertaining Oscar, who has discovered a love of books through Simone's daily readings to him.
He's learning how to listen carefully...
We had a bit of a cold spell recently and Oscar got ill and then I got ill. We're just about recovered now. But the 2o degree Celsius weather (cold!) plus teething plus illness worsened Oscar's eczema and he also broke out in pimples on his chin. Other mothers hurriedly shooed their kids away whenever we approached.......We had the pleasure of a few visits from Uncle Forrest.
And I managed to take this brilliant photo of the Waudbys together.
I've got some wicked Oscar videos to post too, so watch this space!