Seriously sick

At 12 pm this afternoon, Iden's principal at the child care centre called to inform me that Iden was running a fever at 38 degree Celsius. Immediately, ipapa and I went down to the centre to bring him home.

Visited his pediatrician and was told that he has some wheezing sound. Dr Ong told us that Iden is suffering from bronchitis and needs to be on nebulizer. This is the first time Iden is on nebulizer and I certainly hope will be the last time as well.

After a dose of nebulizer at the clinic, Iden was allowed to go home. His illness seems more severe this time round as he has to take five types of different medicines!

Despite having to take so many types of medication, Iden is still as active (though with streaks of mucus running down his nose). We can't do much but just wish that he will recover soon.

Beginning of life in childcare centre

Just a blink of an eye and Iden had spent one week in the childcare centre. During that one week, I am sure he had learnt a lot. Here’s a summary of what I had observed of Iden in a short span of one week. (1) He is slowly adapting himself to the childcare environment. Yes, he did cry and refuse to go in for the first few days. Subsequently, he managed to settle down and keep himself occupied with the toys in the centre. We heeded the advice of the principal and increased his hours at the centre gradually. By Friday, he spent a full day there without much hiccups. (2) He is getting to accept other people like the centre’s assistants – Miss Ng and Auntie Boon, and the principal, Mrs Tan. I guess it will take him a while to know that there are also other teachers and classmates in the centre. (3) He is trying to follow the school schedule. Iden had been doing well so far, except the afternoon nap time and more physical activities. Before life in childcare, he had the luxury to have long naps in the morning and afternoon. However, there is only one afternoon nap in the childcare centre and it is only two hours. Prior to childcare, Iden had not much physical activities. However, the life in childcare now requires him to go outdoor for some activities (two times a day) and do some simple games or work in the class. These had made him so tired and slept early every night! (4) He is observing other kids and learning from them. Iden is learning to jump like the other kids and blabbering a lot of new words. Before childcare, he could not call out auntie. However, after hearing his classmate, Bryan, kept calling auntie, he began to call out auntie by himself. He had also acquired a lot of new terms in which we were unable to decipher what they are.

(5) He is being exposed to more people and new things now and his body is trying to build up the immunity against minor illness. Iden is still nursing his flu. I sure hope the exposure to childcare centre will make him a stronger boy. (6) Lastly, he is learning to be more sociable and mingle with other kids. This is what ipapa and I would like to see in him. All said, it had been a fruitful one week. We are sure things will turn better for Iden, and he will enjoy his life in childcare centre soon…. keep our fingers crossed.

First day at childcare centre

The wait is finally over. Today is Iden's first day at the Bishan-Toa Payoh North CCC Child Care and Development Centre. Though today is a Saturday, the childcare centre is still opened for half a day from 7 am to 2 pm. We decided to bring him there to have a feel of the new environment. As expected, Iden was clingy to ipapa and imama. Half way through his play, he would run to either ipapa or me and sat with us. We had to constantly encourage him to mingle with the other kids. At about 9.30 am, the class went outdoor to have some activities. Iden joined in and had some fun playing with the hula hoop. Iden 'attracted' the attention of some older kids, especially girls. We saw two older girls in kindergarten class always playing with him and trying to engage him. They acted so much like his sisters! Perhaps it was the morning sun and the eruption of his molars (a few at one go), Iden developed a slight fever in the afternoon. He became cranky and wanted us to bring him home. In the end, he didn't finish his lunch at the centre, but was brought home immediately. Well, first day at the childcare centre, a mixture of feelings for both Iden and us. Next week will be a crucial week to determine if Iden can really adapt to the environment. Keep our fingers crossed.