THE Search for a Nursery School

Ok, i have to admit, since i found out about Lucas` arrival, i have been panicking a little. Mostly it`s whether i can deal with 2 boys at home...especially in the early stages of newborn. Yes babies sleep alot and jus feed...but NOT ALL babies. Besides, i will be so tired from all that interrupted sleep. So i thought, it`s time to send Gabe to a fullday nursery, not everyday, but maybe 2-3 times a week so i have at least some time to Lucas & myself. It breaks my heart, trust me, but i do not want to become one of those stay-at-home moms who suffer from depression, wears ratty clothes for the whole week coz they can`t find the time to do the laundry, whose hair looks like it could do with a good wash and whose contact with the outside world is stepping on the balcony to retrieve clothes or maybe to consider jumping off the balcony.

So, Gabe dearest, sorry, Mummy has to win this round. But also, not just to make myself feel better, i do feel Gabe is ready to mix around more with friends his own age. Sometimes, you just know when your child reaches a certain stage and Mummy`s company is just not quite enough, especially when Lucas comes along. So, some of the signs Gabe showed to prove he is ready for the next step:

1) He grabs the chance to take whatever pen/pencil there is and proceeds to draw on walls and especially the floor.

2) When you have to dig through kitchen cabinets to find something for him to play with and even then, he gets bored of it like in 1 minute. Obviously, interesting stuffs like knives and scissors are No Nos.

3) Everytime he sees you sitting down, he takes his story books and brings it for you to read to him. And loves to see you point to this n that.

4) He is walking everywhere...and can start to open doors on his own, especially when at every minute he starts calling me `bah`...and if i do not answer, it gets louder until you do answer. And he can sense your presence walking out of the area even though you`re as quiet as a mouse. And closing the door doesn`t help...he can tip toe and pull the handle now...going down the hallway to find you..sighhhh....

5) When he can no longer play for long periods with his toys when last time he was so engrossed with them.

6) When he starts to think that Mickey Mouse & Friends are real...and that all other cartoons with children in it are scary...yes, he hates cartoons with children figures in it...I will not have my son think that all `Friends` should look like Mickey Mouse....

So i guess there`s more too his needs for socialising now, and the attention i can provide to him is no longer enough. So perhaps we`re making the right decision here.

Then comes to our search for a nursery school we feel would benefit him well. Not easy...so far we have tried calling 4:

Poppins Nursery
Sounds fancy huh?...well it does look the part too....and it`s perfect in a sense that it`s just like 15 mins walk from our apartment, so i can fetch and pick him up everyday. Plus, the teachers there are able too speak some level of English, and the nursery area looks spacious for kids to run around....Unfortunately, it is FULL..as in VERY FULL..the fulltime daycare has a waiting list of 100 students....the 50 hour a month package has a waiting list of 30 students...so in the end i registered Gabe for the 50 hour package. I think we`ll have to wait till like March next year for any space...Bummer..

Kids Duo
This one, in terms of location is also good, just behind our apartment, and they have a bus to send Gabe back...the downside is that this is either from 9.30am-1.30pm OR 2.30pm-6.30pm...for me, it`s pointless as it doesn`t give me much time at all. Plus, the building area is small, not much space for the kids to run around.

Global Kids
Also good, just behind our place, and fairly newish...we called and they told us waiting list is 60 students..and they only take in 16 students at a time for 2-3 yr old....yah, prob wait till end next year!!

My Melody
This one i have to take a train 4 stops away, not far. And walk 8 mins. But compared to the other 3, it`s the farthest..still no biggie if it`s twice a week..besides, it gives me a chance to exercise abit. And, the timing is from 7am-8pm...And they even have weekend daycare at JPY1,000 per hour on Saturdays if needed. Saw the building it`s a 3 storey building and there are many kids...

So out of those 4, we probably will go for #4 coz there isn`t much of an option at the moment. And hopefully by March next year Poppins will have space and we`ll transfer Gabe. So, tentatively Gabe will start on October 16th, twice a week, about 6 hours per time, on Wednesdays & Thursdays. Then maybe when next year if we`re still there, I`ll up the frequency to 3 times. But the thought of so many students there is scary...germs will be going around...time to feed him more vitamins.

And so...Gabe`s schedule will be pretty hectic:
Mon, Tues & Fri: 10am-2pm daycare half day at Wanpaku
Wed & Thurs: 9am-4pm daycare at Melody

I hope he adjusts well and not think that I`m pushing him away....
Think I myself am gonna take awhile adjusting to not having him at home for half the day everyday...

Mummy still loves you very much Gabe, hopefully this new arrangment suits us both ....you`re growing up..have fun!!

Mother Farm Visit

Over the weekend, we decided to bring Gabe to this animal farm since he knew quite a handful of animals. And we brought along his bicycle so he could roam freely. It was a beautiful day with loads of sunshine yet not too hot. We reached the farm at about 3pm and Gabe had a blast, though he hated sitting on the grass at first. But he loved the animals and kept smiling.

Father n Son bonding over IPAD after a nice day...i suggest they do it every weekend

So....Yeah Baby #2 is OTW

Yes, we`re expecting rascal #2 in early January 2014...nothing planned about this one...pure accidental due to a one night stand..with the Hubby of course. Caught me by surprise and i think whe i told Hubs, he was shocked...ahah but very happy since he has been mentioning about having a sibling for Gabe.

Anyway, we recently confirmed the gender...and, tah-dah, lucky me, it`s a baby brother for Gabe to share his toys with and torture Mummy....3 against 1...sad...i will have practically no voting power unless i can bribe my sons. I`m happy, thrilled actually, but i have to say it was super scary during the first few months. I was bleeding slightly and alot of emotions ran through my head. Most of all, would i be able to cope. I mean sure, Gabe has turned 2, but he`s in many many ways still like a baby. Thankfully he is starting to walk alot and i hope by the time lil bro is here he can walk steadily. But again, i know that Gabe will always be a kid somehow, even when he`s an adult. And so it makes it quite a challenge to have to 2 boys even with a 2.5 year gap.

But somehow i know i will manage. I just hope that Gabe can adjust happily and not feel rejected. I hope they can be there for each other and be each other`s best friend. Obviously when the baby is born I`ll have my hands full, so we`re planning to send Gabe to a full day daycare twice a week and the remaining 3 days to his current special kids daycare. At least then i will have some time (hopefully) to bond with baby.

And if it goes really well..ahah....perhaps just perhaps, we can consider baby #3 and it`s a girl? If it`s another boy, well, we will live, but i am sure we`re gonna get pitiful stares. Then again, when you have 3, you`re probably numb by then, so the decision to have #4 won`t be that hard...maybe the Hubby will need some convincing...

So....i guess that`s that.....and now may i introduce baby #2 aka Lucas On....

We can`t wait to see you Lucas...

All About Gabe

Just to share some pics that i love.

P/S: Note, i have not grown FAT...I`m pregnant...more on this in next post

Ok, this is not a freshly inked tattoo...it`s a bite from Gabe. I can only guess that since he did call RPatz DadDad once before, he was quite ready to test the possibility if it were true and he was a baby vampire...yup it hurt like mad and even stung...we are still trying to get him to stop, but so far he`s still at it which makes it scary when he comes for hugs and kisses..

Long Overdue Update

Okayyy, so it`s been ages since any updates....good news is that Gabe recovered very quickly and was out of the hospital in 1.5 weeks. Even better news was that we went back to Singapore on August 4th for 5 weeks and we`re just back in Tokyo.

We got to see the whole family and boy was it fun. I think Gabe will miss Singapore alot...so will I...unfortunately, i do not think the idea of having him around much longer was what Grandma would consider absolut joy:)...you see, Gabe was mostly quite the horror, often whining at nights and being a fuss pot outside. What more, Grandma`s home became like a tornado-hit area...we tried to play around the idea of having him there for say 2 months alone with Grandma & Grandpa, but it wasn`t welcomed..oh well....then we`ll just have to plan our next visit..

We`ve unpacked and Gabe has settled back here comfortably, with all his toys and daily torturing of Mummy....yup, just me and my boy...swell...

Oh yah, I`m planning to start Gabe back at daycare twice a week starting October 1st.....i need some ME time till the next rascal....

Post Op Days 2 and 3

Everyone...Gabe is awake!! Fully awake...when we visited him yesterday evening, they had removed his oxy tube and the lil rascal was watching anpaman dvd...when he saw us he started crying...but soon he was ok and we kept him occupied with songs and talking to him. According to the doc he is doing really well. Wow...this boy is amazing, super amazing...

And today, we saw him again in the evening. He smiled and made funny faces..but after awhile I think he got really hungry and kept telling me `nana` which means food or water....pooor boy...the doc said too much liquid isn`t good for him now, he is better taking abit of solids like banana or yogurt...so Daddy went downstairs to get him the banana, but Gabe was already screaming and whining and it took awhile to calm him down.

So to start off the nurse fed him his banana, but only a little bit and of course it wasn`t enough for him andhe wasn`t too happy.

But the good news is that he can be transferred to the normal ward tomorrow morning and start eating his meals!! yippe....this is way way fast to be transferred,but it means that Gabe is really recovering well and I`m so happy my baby will get to go home soon.

So here are some photos of the lil boy

P?s* note his feet..the toenail color..it is pinky pink...it used to be blue...and ssee his lips??? Huge huge difference...

I`m so proud of this lil boy..my son...

Post Op

Gabe`s operation went smoothly, and he is now in PICU recovering. Everything looks good for now, but we will have to wait for the next week or so to see if there are any infections. Already we went to see him and he does look good, the surgeon pointed out to us that his lips are now a healthy looking color...yay!!!

So we`ve crossed the big hurdle, and now we`ll have to wait and see on his recovery. If all is well, he will stay at the hospital for the next 2-3 weeks and then go home. I can`t wait..

Thank you to all for your loving prayers and kind words...I`m just glad we have a lil mighty warrior...