Becoming A Dad

Well our little darling has had a fever for a few days now, and yesterday we noted two things: her pee was very dark yellow and extremely smelly. And she started crying “il pique, change la couche” while holding her groin, which roughly translated to “it stings when I pee, change my diaper.”

So being responsible parents, Becoming-A-Mom and Becoming-A-Dad took her to an extremely efficient and extremely expensive walk-in clinic. Within 30 seconds of registering at the desk we were called in to an examination cubicle where a very nice nurse took down the symptoms and did a quick check of Juliette before sending in a doctor. It turned out that Juliette had a fever of 40.2C – much higher than we got by doing an under-the-armpit check an hour earlier. We both were shocked and guilt-ridden.

Our suspicion of a bladder infection was sort of confirmed by the doctor (she said “kidney infection” but we think she may be exaggerating as Juliette wasn’t showing any back pain or other severe symptoms that would indicate a kidney vs. bladder infection). So the nurse  attached a little baby pee collector bag to her and sent us out to the waiting area so Juliette could play with some toys while we waited for some micturate.

After over an hour of waiting and checking every 15 minutes, it became clear that Juliette was not going to produce any pee, so the doctor gave us a prescription for an antibiotic suspension and we were on our way.

We went to a pharmacy next to the clinic and picked up the prescription along with an ear thermometer, to ease the guilt we were feeling for leaving Juliette with such a high fever.

Back at home Juliette really didn’t want anything to do with the ear thermometer. She let us check her once, then decided that was enough and fought us off when we tried to do it again. Becoming-A-Dad had a brilliant moment and started doing the test on all of her stuffed animals, making exclamations after each test. Within 2 minutes Juliette had taken over the thermometer and was taking their temperatures (which all strangely read “Lo” on the read-out!) like a professional.

After some wrestling we managed to get her to do her own ear with assistance from us. And from that point on she must have tested everyone and everything’s temperature for the rest of the day. I think that thermometer made a couple hundred measurements in its first day in our home!

Now that Juliette has had a couple of doses of the antibiotic (which she really REALLY didn’t want), plus some baby Tylenol, she’s doing much better. She still has a fever and she’s still having smelly pee, but the fever is lower and she’s got a bit more energy.

And she still loves the ear thermometer.

Turns out Hamish wasn’t a boy guinea pig after all! And Gigantic Stop appears to be the daddy.

Our friends are now the proud owners of 3 baby guinea pigs, along with their pair that they formerly thought to be male.

If all else fails, I’m told they taste great barbecued.

[Update July 4, 2011]:  Seems I got that backwards. Hamish is indeed a boy guinea pig, but Gigantic Stop is not.

We went to visit some friends about a month ago. They have two boys, who are around 5 and 7. They are very active!

Anyhow the highlight of the trip was seeing their new pets – a pair of guinea pigs. One is golden brown with red eyes, to which the older boy apparently exclaimed in the shop, “oh boy, an EVIL one!”. The other is mottled black and brown.

Juliette was absolutely thrilled to hold the little animals – she looked a bit unsure of what to do exactly but had the most amazing expression on her face. It was a mix of wonder, pride and happiness all together, and she looked at the older boy who’d put the guinea pig in her lap as though she was thinking, “you’re AWSEOME!”

The funniest part? The boys named the guinea pics Hamish (the red-eyed one) and Gigantic Stop. We burst out laughing when we heard the name of the second because we didn’t think we’d heard right. It was named by the younger boy.

I still shake my head with a smile. There’s just no guessing what goes on in those young minds!

I write this as I sit at the computer in my underwear, in an empty and silent apartment. Both Becoming-A-Mom and Juliette have been away for a week, visiting the grandparents in France. It’s been very quiet. Too quiet.

So for Becoming-A-Dad’s second Father’s Day I get to enjoy the peace and quiet with no schedule, demands or little girl dragging me about to play with her stuffed animals or chase cars or scoop beans into bowls.

I even got to lie in bed until 9:00 am! But I was awake at 7:00 anyhow as the sun rises early and shines directly into one of our windows.

Sound like heaven? Maybe. But to tell you the truth, I’d much rather be woken up and asked for breakfast, to be pulled here and there do be directed in what games she wants to play, to fight with her about getting dressed, and to go out to the park or where ever for a walk.

In fact it’s been too quiet and really not much fun at all.

This Father’s Day I am realizing how much I’m enjoying being a father. And how integral a part of my life both Juliette and Becoming-A-Mom are. I really am looking forward to them coming back soon!

A couple of weeks ago I went to get my hair cut and came back with a nice cleaned-up shorter hairdo.

We have only had Juliette’s hair cut twice – once when she was about 6 months old by Becoming-A-Mom’s uncle in France, and another time just before we moved to Ireland 12 months ago. We wanted her hair to grow out, and indeed it had. She had a very long and curly mess of hair, and the ends were split and dry. It was unruly and hanging down into her eyes all the time. I wasn’t surprised she was irritated by it.

But what surprised both Becoming-A-Mom and I was this: Juliette sat herself down in Mom’s lap and clearly stated, “coupe cheveux Maman!” – “cut my hair Mom!” There was no mistake, she repeated “coupe cheveux” several times and then repeated “cut hair” in English a couple times after I asked “do you want to cut your hair?”

So, off to the hair salon she went. There’s a nice kid-oriented shop here where the seats are shaped like cars and colourful aprons to wear. I was working and didn’t get to go (sniff sniff) but I was told she was very well-behaved and sat quietly while the lady carefully cleaned up her hair and sculpted it nicely.

She now still has a bit of a big hairdo, natural curls and all, but with a bit of shape and neatness to it. She was very proud to show me her new haircut when I got home that evening!

Big Hair makes a comeback

After the haircut

Over the past couple of months we’ve taken Juliette to a couple of different farms where she’s seen sheep, cows, pigs, rabbits, chickens and roosters. By far the animal that’s made the biggest impression upon her seems to be the roosters.

The first time she saw the roosters and heard them crowing she had a look of delight on her face, and she followed the rooster hoping it would crow again. This first one was a bit reluctant to crow, but she managed to have it crow at her a couple of times. She loved it.

Fast forward a month or so… we went to a different farm where there were many roosters and chickens. This time one rooster in particular was quite vocal, crowing away every 30 seconds or so. Again Juliette was delighted, laughing and smiling at it. Then she started making her own crowing noises in reply, “Cooo-Cooo-COOOooo!”, over and over. This lasted at least 10 minutes until she grew a bit tired of it (or perhaps her throat was getting sore), and then she only crowed once or twice every 4 or 5 time the rooster did.

She’s a funny little girl and this made me laugh – and remember a time when I too probably did the same thing.

It’s been a while, and this is being completed and published about a month after it was first conceived. I’m amazed I’ve even gotten it this far. Part of the joys and trials of having a child is that they’re rather time-consuming… a joy in that you get to spend time with someone who either thinks your a complete god or the world’s complaint department. Either way it’s a major ego-boooster.

The side effect however is not having much time or energy left at the end of the day to do much other than flop down. I used to think poorly of those people who’d veg out in front of the TV, but I find myself either doing the same or mindlessly surfing the web for inconsequential drivel.

On with the story.

The other grandparents (my parents) came from Canada to visit us here in Ireland for a couple of weeks at the beginning of April. During this Juliette’s vocabulary started to take off, and one of the charming phrases she picked up was yelling out “WALKING!”.

It took a bit of thinking, but finally we understood. “WALKING!” meant everything from “put me down, I want to walk” to “LEAVE ME ALONE!”. When we didn’t get the meaning of it, there would be a litany of “WALKING! WALKING! WALKING!” repeated over and over in anguished tone at high volume until we did.

The funniest situation was after a long day of travelling in the car and sight-seeing. We were finishing up dinner and Juliette had had enough. So Becoming-A-Mom took her in the stroller and headed back to the hotel. For pretty much the full distance back to the hotel (a 15 minute walk, probably 1.5 km) she shouted “WALKING! WALKING! WALKING! WALKING!” to the amusement of passers-by and the embarrassment of Becoming-A-Mom.

Ah, the joys…

Last weekend Juliette’s grandparents on Becoming-A-Mom’s side came to visit from France. She was spoiled rotten – they brought over gifts with them as part of her belated 2nd birthday.

Juliette understood immediately what presents were, and had great fun pulling open the wrapping. She had a bit of a tough time as it was that foiled mylar gift wrap, and she wasn’t able to tear it or the tape easily. So we had to open the tape for her but after that she would reach inside and happily pull out the gifts.

She got a Hello Kitty sticker book and a load of stickers to go with it, and a packet of plastic animals (some mommy and baby animal pairs). As part of our trip to Ikea Mamie and Papy bought her a kid’s easel that has a blackboard on one side and whiteboard on the other, with a holder for a roll of drawing paper that can be pulled down for drawing on.

She loved everything. She is especially taken by the little plastic animals (a-moe! an-moe!) which she loves to carry around and leave in particularly inconvenient spots. Her favorite from the packet seems to be the big Mommy elephant and the baby elephant “ef-fan! ef-fan!” She calls the easel “cadeaux” (French for “present”)

Aside from the presents she had a wonderful time playing and spending time with them. She loves being the center of attention, which of course she was.

So on Wednesday after the grandparents left (they had to leave for the airport before Juliette woke up) Becoming-A-Mom was talking to Juliette about Mamie and Papy. Immediately Juliette said “cadeaux!” and “a-moe!” and “ef-fan!” and pointed in the general direction of the items.

Both Becoming-A-Mom and I are once again amazed at the connections she makes in her head. I’m not too sure if Mamie and Papy want to be remembered only for the gifts they bring, but that’s the connection that’s in Juliette’s head for now.

Juliette continues her development… speaking and comprehending more and more every day.

This past weekend she both amused and surprised me. She woke up Saturday morning bright and early and was talking to her toys for a while before calling out “mama!” and “dad-ee” after 10 or 15 minutes.

But the surprising part was what she was saying to her toys… “One, Two, Three, Four… Five, Six… Sith. Sith.” It was clear as day and I’m 100% sure that I wasn’t dreaming it! So our little sweetie can count to six, all on her own. Seven seems to be the hurdle (reminds me of the joke, “one, two, three… and another, and another, and another…”).

A little later in the day we were at Ikea and she grabbed a stuffed cloth soccer ball. She was happy as a clam, then she grabbed a second one and walked up to me with a proud look on her face. As she handed me the balls in her outstretched hands, she declared, “TWO balls!”

Not sure if it’s just my Becoming-A-Dad glasses making Juliette seem extra impressive, but I was impressed.

One day after Juliette’s birthday, there were massive street parades and some 600,000 people out in streets of Dublin to celebrate her greatness.

Well, I think that’s what it was all about.

Unfortunately Juliette is still getting over a nasty cold, and was not in any mood to go out and see the festivities. We went out in the morning with her on her new Peppa tricycle for a bit, then had a nice brunch at a local restaurant. Then back for a long nap (Juliette, not me). She woke up too late to go out to see any parades.

You can watch a replay of the Dublin parade on the national broadcaster, RTE, here -> Dublin Parade on RTE

She also woke up completely cranky and spent the first hour screaming and crying. For about 30 minutes she kept running away, crying and hiding whenever I tried to put her shoes and jacket on. Finally I showed her the Peppa trike (it was outside the main door) and she finally understood that we were trying to get her ready to go out and ride it again. She was out the door in seconds.

Another ride down to the park, a bit of a stroll around and then back home for more grumpy activities before dinner and bed.

Have the terrible twos started already?