Life without Oliver

It's been a week since Oliver was placed at my mum's place.

Life without Oliver is really quite stress-free. We have ample time to clean the house after Aunty Yong left yesterday, and take good care of Heidi and give in to her every whimper. Heidi is really a noisy baby, grunting and cooing even when she's asleep.

We shudder to think how it would be like when Oliver is finally back this week. All of us is going to lose a lot of sleep.

Kate's got it too

Another HFMD infection yesterday. This time it is another of Oliver's buddy, Kate.

That brings the total in the toddler/playgroup section alone to 5 since the first outbreak of this cluster: Janelle, Benjamin, Oliver, Jiajun and Kate.

Is Oliver going to be a tidy freak?

Dino Tattoo

We found Oliver with a Dino tattoo. It was really cute and I can't help taking a picture of it. I remember months ago when the teachers from Del-care painted his hands and he was upset over it. It was amazing how times fly and already Oliver is 22 months old and 4 months in the toddler class.

Only the first day at his grandma's place and I am already missing Oliver, his hugs and smiles. Hope that he can quickly recover from HFMD

Byebye for now

Oliver has got the dreaded HFMD. It started with a couple of nights of fever over the weekend, but he was ok and was back to his active self during the day. We didn't think his slight loss of appetite and sometimes cranky mood was too unusual, because he's always like that.

When he went to school on Monday, his teacher spotted a little red dot in his mouth, but she can't ascertain if it is anything malicious. Then we got the news that Benjamin and Janelle have got HFMD. This, as far as we can recall, was the first time that the toddler and playgroup section was afflicted. Even a baby in the infant section got it this time.

Then today, Tuesday, Oliver went to school as usual. But at noon, I got a call from the school that Oliver was likely to be infected, and that Eri was also diagnosed with it today. I was told to quickly pick him up lest it spreads to other kids.

I met Jiajun's mum at the Delcare life lobby and learnt that Jiajun was turned away from Delcare this morning as he too has an ulcer in his mouth. Apparently he was also running a fever, although the doctor at Everton Clinic, which we often bring Oliver to for want of a more convenient and cheaper PD, said that it isn't HFMD for Jiajun. We find that a bit dodgy and decided to send Oliver to this clinic near our place instead.


And so it was confirmed that he's got HFMD, with some blisters and red dots more visible now on his hands, legs and body. He was given 10 days MC and we have to send him to my mum's place lest it spreads to Heidi. We also have to cancel Heidi's 1st month celebration this Sunday as even my niece and nephew have got HFMD, albeit quite mild version.

So it is goodbye Oliver for now. When you come back about a week later, you will realised that Hurricane Heidi has subsided. The house will be as clean and tidy as before.

Oliver was 22 month old yesterday

So busy was us that we almost nearly forget it was 22 months ago.

My mum reminded me.

Shows of Affection and Jealousy

The last two weeks have been a period of adjustment for Oliver. He has to get used to having another new member in the family and the presence of our confinement lady at home. Oliver throws tantrums easily and wakes up crying at nights. Being a "routine" baby, it must have been very difficult for him to adjust to this new change.

I am quite lucky that although Oliver has been resistant to change, he does in fact dote Heidi a lot and will show his affection for her by touching her head and legs. He would also kiss Heidi on her face, which will made my heart stopped for a while. Oliver could be quite tough as he still doesn't know how to really control himself for pressing too hard on Heidi's face. He would imitate every woo and coo of Heidi's, which can really comical to hear. He can actually say "Heidi" very well (and yes, he still doesn't want to call me "mommy" yet). It is really heartwarming to see Oliver showing his affection for his sister, and I am really proud of him.

Being an affectionate boy, it is only natural that he is jealous of me having spent more time with Heidi. When he saw me carrying Heidi, he would rush to me and want me to carry him as well. Most of the time, I tried to carry him with another arm. Sometimes, I just have to pass Heidi to Boon Heng and carry Oliver to assure him that he is still important to me.

Boon Heng now tries to bring him out for walks more often, resulting in a very tiring papa. And the tireness has made him very forgetful, and he would sigh more often than usual. For two days, he forgot to bring the stuff to office which I had packed nicely for him, and he also forgot to bring stuff which I reminded him to bring home. Weekend is approaching and Boon Heng has to crack his head where to bring Oliver. For me, it will be a schedule of feeding, resting and eating, and gosh, I hate the drilling noise next door. A new neighbour is having his house renovated.

KoKo Oliver and Mei Mei Heidi

Oliver at East Coast

Our threesome outing before the arrival of Heidi baby