3rd to 9th November 2014 – Speech

Monday, 3rd November 2014
Feeding Gio is often such a battle. He whines, turns his head away, refuses to open his mouth, pushes away the hand trying to feed him, then he usually eventually opens his mouth. The nanny repeatedly claims that this happens more (only?) when my wife is around. She says that during the day, he feeds so well that Huwezi jua iko mtoto kwa hii nyumba (You wouldn’t know there is a child in this house).

My wife prepared the ground for Gio to feed himself, hoping for better results, but she ended up mostly feeding him.

Tuesday, 4th November
Gio has started counting. He counts Two, without bothering to count One.

A number of times it is me who dresses him up for bed.
Here he is with his much loved teddy bear. He normally reaches out for it and makes a sound for assistance if he is unable to reach it, and many times his face lights up when he gets it. My wife bought it for 30/- (about US$ 0.33). She says if she had known how much Gio would like it, she would have picked a better-looking one.

Friday, 7th November

Saturday, 8th November
We went for breakfast. We gave Gio some egg, he pushed it out of his mouth. We gave him some potatoes, he pushed it out of his mouth, We gave him some bacon, that he ate. We gave him some bread, and that he ate too.

Sunday, 9th November
When we reached Church, Gio was asleep. So I stayed with im in the car as my wife went in for the service. He woke up after sleeping for about 45 minutes. I changed his clothes (he had been sweating) and we went in to the church building as well. I took him to the nursery and put him down, but he turned to me whining, so I picked him up. Whenever I put him down, he complained again, so I carried him. Naturally I found this unusual. I even felt his head to see if his temperature was high, but he was fine.

After the service, my wife was standing talking to a friend of ours, while Gio, another friend and I stood in the shade a few metres away from them.
“Kay,” I called my wife.
“Kay,” Gio repeated.
Gio followed me into our bedroom. Usually when he gets into our bedroom, he looks around for something to pick, or he goes to my computer keyboard and starts pressing keys. Or both. This time he picked a Bluetooth adapter that looks like a flash disk, and took off with it (as he usually does), like someone who has found major loot and wants to get away before it is taken away from him.

I followed him and he went to the TV and was trying to put the adapter behind the TV, on the left side where the USB port is, and where we usually put a flash disk.

There is this video that Gio likes. He imitates a few of the actions and watches me imitating them.
When it reaches the part where it says “Hug,” he makes a sound and moves forward for a hug.

15th To 21st September 2014 – Nanny Concerns 2

Tuesday, 16th September 2014
My wife bought Gio a toy phone, hoping to draw his attention from her own phone.

Thursday, 18th September

Gio can slouch with the best of them.

The nanny normally sleeps in a room separate from our house. My wife and I were to leave early Friday morning, so my wife asked the nanny to sleep in Gio’s room, so as to be there when he wakes up.

Friday, 19th September – Nanny Neglect
The car we had borrowed for our early morning trip would not start, so we went back to the house to wait for the owner to help us out.
At about 8:30 a.m., (the nanny is supposed to start work at 7:00 a.m) my wife got out of our room. She found the nanny seated watching TV, having left Gio awake in his room. She had not even prepared his morning porridge and was not attending to him. She was watching TV, believing that we had left early in the morning. So what happens while we are both away? Is this how she neglects Gio? No wonder people buy nanny cams. No wonder also why some people decide not to buy nanny cams (to avoid actually knowing the unsettling things their nannies do). This is coming after the incidents of the bathroom fall and the burn mark.

Saturday, 20th September

Gio seems to find drainage fascinating

Sunday, 21st September

16th to 22nd June 2014 – Crib, Climbing and Cold Sharing

Tuesday, 17th June 2014
My aunt came for a conference in Nairobi and is to stay at our place. Gio seemed to like her. He kept giving her his toys, one by one.

Wednesday, 18th June
Gio pooped at some point in the morning, which was not unusual of course. He seems to have a cold as well. A little after, he had pooped again, which was not very usual. Around lunch time, he had pooped yet again, which was definitely unusual.

My wife got him some antihistamines. She was advised by the pharmacist to monitor if his poop continues to have mucus, in which case a sample may need to be taken to a lab for examination. Gio’s behaviour otherwise seems normal.

At night, he was not sleeping well, so my wife brought him to our bed.

Thursday, 19th June – Sharing A Cold
I woke up and heard one of Gio’s cartoon videos playing. I drifted back to sleep. I woke up again to the sound of Gio’s continuous whining. I could now hear one of the TV morning talk shows, and not Gio’s video. I got up and found the nanny watching TV with Gio in his feeding chair. She took him out of his chair and left, while I put Gio’s video back. Naturally, the whining stopped. My wife had taken my aunt to the bus stop. When she came back, I told my wife about the TV incident. She told the nanny to be watching TV only when Gio is asleep.

Gio joined me in doing squats. (Video available here).

He placed a teddy bear near my mouth for me to kiss, then passed it to my wife to kiss. My wife was reluctant.
“Gio is passing his cold to us,” my wife said as she gave in to the kiss.

Friday, 20th June
I have a cold.

Sunday, 22nd June – Climbing out of Crib
After changing Gio’s diaper, I put him in his crib while I went to wash my hands. I heard my wife yell and a thud thereafter. Gio had tried to climb out of his crib and had fallen headfirst.

He cried a bit and my wife soothed him. Now my wife is even more concerned about how to deal with this situation.
Later, she lowered the side of his crib that can be raised and lowered and tied it in place. She then put away some potentially dangerous things that are in Gio’s room, and she put a folded sleeping bag right next to Gio’s crib in case he falls again.

9th to 15th June 2014 – Crib Dangers

Monday, 9th June 2014
Went to see my wife’s niece who was attending some training relatively nearby. (Niece’s picture not shown because I generally avoid putting pictures of people here without their consent. Apart from Gio.)

Tuesday, 10th June

Saturday, 14th June
Birthday bash.

Gio’s invite arrived days in advance. It was a friend’s birthday, a boy who lives in the estate, he used to give Gio rides in his tricycle.

At first Gio was scared of the bouncy castle, then he warmed up to it.

 

Sunday, 15th June – Crib Dangers
Gio was climbing out of his cot. When his mum turned, he sat back down and started smiling.
I suggested that we tie some cloth across the top of the cot to prevent him from climbing out. My wife thought it was a ridiculous idea.

Apparently what I was suggesting is something called a crib tent. Crib tents seems to have fallen out of favour due to safety concerns.

12th to 18th May 2014

Monday, 12th May 2014

There’s a new toy, from daddy dearest and we can officially say it’s the rage this week. Needless to say, it’s multipurpose.

It stores Telo’s toys,

toys get poured vigorously from it, it’s used as a hat and at times it’s just the perfect spot when Telo is watching some TV.

Telo loves his TV up close. He knows he’s not allowed to touch the amplifier

. . . but . . . the go getter in him won’t rest . . .

Then daddy appears with the spanking stick and quickly the amplifier

is abandoned.

Telo can spot the stick from miles away.

Tuesday, 13th May 2014

My toy, my daddy and I.

Thursday, 15th May 2014

Telo is out for his morning after-porridge walk and alas who does he meet?

The neighborhood cat.

Gio’s nanny obliges him.

What a good morning!

Sunday, 18th May 2014

When I grow up, I just want to be like daddy! Plus the pullup bar tastes nice!

5th to 11th May 2014

Tuesday, 6th May
I bought Gio a new toy, having seen him playing with a mopping bucket yesterday. (Don’t panic – the bucket was empty).

My wife is not overly enthusiastic about the toy in its current state. She wants to remove the handle, something about Gio putting it over his head and getting caught or unable to remove it.

Gio, on the other hand, likes putting things in the basket and pouring them out again.

Gio has a new dancing style – sort of running on the spot.

Wednesday, 7th May

Ever since he daily photos stopped (Link Change in policy) Gio’s photos have become sporadic.
All these are days without photos, I said, showing about eight folders within the April folder on my computer.
“We can take shifts, each person takes a week,” said my wife. “And I will be choosing my photos.”
“Please choose. I find it so tedious. In fact that is one of the reasons we went to weekly.”

Our friend M visited and brought Gio a new ball.

17th to 23rd March 2014 – Pyjamas and Toothbrush

Monday, 17th March 2014

Tuesday, 18th March

Tooth brush by itself 200/-
Toothpaste by itself 110/-
Value pack 200/-

Wednesday, 19th

Friday, 21st March
Gio was rolling on the floor

Saturday, 22nd March
Gio was dressed in pyjamas for the first time
Drinking from a straw

Sunday, 23rd March
The rash on Gio’s face is rather noticeable.
My wife attempted to brush Gio’s teeth. Gio attempted to hold the brush himself.

3rd to 9th March 2013 – Own Room

Monday, 3rd March 2014
Again, I sat with Gio as my wife caught up on some sleep. The fever is largely gone and Gio is livelier. But now he has a cough and a largely blocked nose. This is a challenge for him when taking porridge, because he now has to breathe through his mouth. But he finished his porridge. (Did I tell you Gio loves food? Especially the food on other people’s plates).

Tuesday, 4th March
We told a pharmacist friend about Gio’s cough and nasal congestion. he recommended some cough medicine and saline drops, which we bought.

A neighbour is moving out. She has a young child. My wife asked if they were selling any items and they offered a stair gate, a feeding chair and a seat for a child who is learning to sit.
It seems they also left Gio a tricycle and a small ride-on car.

My wife took Gio to his cot and he was asleep in minutes.

Friday, 7th March

Saturday, 8th March

Sunday, 9th March – Own Room
Moved to a house upstairs. Gio seemed excited at the increased space now available in the living room.

The seat that prevented Gio from touching the TV has been placed elsewhere, so Gio can now reach the TV.

We put Gio to sleep in his own room and set up the baby monitor.

24th Feb to 2nd March – Unwell

Monday, 24th February 2014
The rash does not seem to be going away. Maybe it’s the Weetabix that he is reacting to.

At bed time, Gio cried and kept standing up. This went on for longer than usual. I finally made him lie down and he slept maybe 50 minutes after we started.
My wife says maybe it is because last night it is her who put him to sleep.

Tuesday, 25th February
Gio woke up at about 6:30 a.m.
I went to get him from his cot and he retreated and lay down crying. It was as if he thought I wanted to make him sleep.
I took him and brought him to our bed. My wife changed his diaper as I prepared some mango to feed him.
He played about on our bed, the nanny took him and after a while he slept and was brought to our bed.

Playing with some of his birthday gifts

Wednesday, 26th February
Alfred and I went to look at various schools. The original one we set out to see is an ACE school. The ACE system is quite interesting. We went to two other schools, one is ACE and one is a kindergarten only. The fees!

My wife bathed Gio after he had had supper. I put him to bed and he was asleep within 15 minutes or so, without a single sound of protest. My wife said maybe we should be bathing him every night.

Thursday, 27th February

Friday, 28th February – Unwell
Gio feels hot to the touch and does not seem quite himself.

The rash on his face seems to be going away. If the rash was caused by Weetabix, which we stopped giving him, then maybe we can go back to giving him cow milk.
It just occurred to me that maybe I react to Weetabix as well. I don’t take Weetabix consistently. There are times when a rash appears on my forehead. I have never bothered to find out what causes it. I think the rash appeared recently, maybe after we bought the current box of Weetabix.

Gave fever reliever about 1:40 He took it quite willingly while on his feet.

2:40 p.m. My temperature 35.6 degrees C
Gio’s temperature 38.8 degrees C

Gio retains food in his mouth for rather long while eating.

Saturday, 1st March
My wife was up a lot of the night cooling Gio down.

I hanged out with Gio as she caught up on some sleep.

Sunday, 2nd March
I hanged out with Gio again.

Gio refused to have supper. My  wife says he has not pooped since morning.

17th to 23rd February 2014 – Milk Alternatives?

Monday, 17th February 2014
We stopped giving Gio cow milk. Today, the rash seems to have already started going away.
My wife is interested in getting soy milk to replace the cow milk. I am a bit hesitant, preferring to get the nutrients Gio needs from other foods such as beans, spinach and other leafy green vegetables.

My wife and I went outside to skip and took Gio with us.

He enjoyed walking about.
The neighbours cat showed up and Gio was delighted to see it.

My wife put Gio to sleep.

Tuesday, 18th February
I researched on the Web about soy milk. It seems to be good, but the calcium content is significantly lower than that in cow milk, unless the soy milk is fortified. Some sites mention some dangers.

My wife and I went to the supermarket to see what alternatives were available.
For comparison purposes, please note that the Gold Crown milk we had been giving Gio costs 45/- (about US$ 0.50) for a 500ml (about 17 oz.) pouch.
We found the following at Nakumatt:
Whole camel milk 150/- for 500ml (that is more than 3 times the price of cow milk)
Low fat camel milk 80/- for 500ml
Yoghurt 80/- (the one we buy is 90/-)
Goat milk was 150/- for 500ml
Soy 260/- per litre

I put Gio to bed and stayed with him in the room. He was asleep in about 15 minutes, with only a little whining.

Friday, 21st February
My wife and the nanny left early in the morning for some tasks.
The day went more or less as follows:
7:30 or so Gio woke up
8:10 to 8:30 Fed him porridge that had been left for him in the warmer.
Left him in his seat after that.
He started complaining after a while.
8:53 Changed diaper. Went to wash my hands.
9:03 Finished changing him
Started making breakfast for myself.
9:20 Gio toddled round the corner towards the kitchen. He had squeezed past the barrier in the living room.
I had my breakfast.
10:13 I put Gio in his carrier
10:28 He seemed to be asleep
I put him in his crib
11:25 Up
Fed him some mango
Left him on his high chair again
12:28 Diaper change
Put his lunch in the warmer
Went outside

1:35 came back into the house
1:40 My wife arrived
1:47 My wife left for work
I fed Gio his lunch
2:59 I put him to bed
3:40 He awoke
4:10 to 4:30 More mango

Later, I think when about to put Gio to bed, my wife asked if I had given him water. I hadn’t!
We gave him some.
8:30 to bed

Saturday, 22nd
Gio woke up about 7:30 a.m after sleeping early last night.

Sunday, 23rd February
Went to Church in good time. My wife sat with Gio in the nursery for children aged 0.5 to 1.5 years.

Went for our monthly Marriage Enrichment Group meeting. The members were delighted to see Gio walking. It was the first time they were seeing this.