MUM IN HOLLAND

First Daycare Activity Report

2008-11-04T07:57:00.024+01:00

This is a translation of Lucas' First Activity Report, that he brought back with him yesterday from Daycare. It's a simple description what his day at Daycare looks like.

Lucas' Day at Daycare

Morning:

There comes Lucas! He arrives with his Dad. He smiles cheerfully when he comes in and then settles on the floor with the other little children to play.

Soon it's time for his fruit. Miss E. seats Lucas at the large table. He jumps excitedly in his chair as Miss E. arrives with his fruit! The older children (1 or 2 year olds) will now get their breakfast at the table. Lucas would like an extra cookie!

When the 1 and 2 year olds are done with breakfast they go out into the indoor Winter Garden to play. Lucas and the other babies go to bed for their nap. Once he's in bed L. holds his Dog tight and pops his pacifier into in his mouth.

Lucas wakes up after a peaceful hour of napping. Miss M. changes his diaper and off he goes to play again. He is not in the least intimidated by the older kids - he crawls right up to them on his own and picks up whatever toy he feels like playing with (they tactfully did not say "grabs"!)!

If the door connecting Lucas' room and the adjacent room is open, he often crawls off by himself into the neighbouring classroom. Miss E. goes to check what he is up to there. Lucas is often found contentedly emptying the neighbours' toy chest, having a marvellous time!

Noon:

After having played to his heart's delight, it's time for lunch! Lucas and the others get slices of bread spread with cheese. Miss E. seats him at the table and leaves tiny bits of bread on the table for him to pick up and put into his mouth himself. He's enjoying his meal! The kid sitting next to him gets his bottle of milk. Lucas can't help making a grab for that bottle: it looks so good!

Once he's done with his sandwiches, Lucas goes into the playpen. After half an hour of fun he gets his bottle of yummy milk to drink.

Afternoon

All the bigger kids (note: 1-2 years of age!) go to bed for their nap. Lucas now has the place to himself and all of his teachers' attention: how he does enjoy that! In the doll house Lucas looks through the window. He tries to make eye-contact with Miss E. and then hides - and then comes out again! He loves their little game and laughs!

The older children soon finish their naps and come out again. It's time for a cookie and something to drink. A broad smile appears on Lucas' face as he sees Miss M. coming towards him with his cookie. What a yummy cookie, he thinks!

Once he's done with his cookie, M. takes him to the couch to give him something to drink. Then the TV is put on for all the kids to watch the Teletubbies. Lucas claps with excitement as soon as he realises it's time for TV!

Soon it's time for him to go to bed again. He doesn't fall asleep at once. He first plays contentedly in bed and then drops off to sleep. After an hour Miss E. picks him out of bed and changes his diaper. A delicious yoghurt awaits him! Lucas can't wait to eat his yoghurt.

After some quality hugging time with Miss M. (he loves this!), Lucas goes back to playing with the other kids. He sees a toy chest on the floor. He props himself up and looks into the chest - then tries to remove every toy he finds within!

Late Afternoon

There is Papa, come to pick him up! With a whoop of joy Lucas crawls hurriedly towards his dad and is picked up and smothered with hugs and kisses! And home he goes, contentedly.

Pancake House

2008-08-31T15:15:00.011+02:00

Baby-friendly restaurants are rare in Holland. Restaurants here are often quiet with dimmed lighting and are typically meant for adults to go out and enjoy a meal together - children are simply expected to be left behind at home with a babysitter. A striking contrast to Portugal, where eating out oftens involves the whole family.

A welcome exception, however, is the Dutch Pannenkoekenhuis (literal translation: Pancake house). These restaurants are often located near the woods, are meant for the whole family and are - as the name implies- specialized in making Pancakes. Of all sorts. Apple, Bacon, Cheese, Ham, Pinapple and combinations of some of the above are the most common. A pancake is not meant to be eaten as dessert but as a meal in itself. And it's always topped with powdered sugar and syrup.

Yesterday we went out to lunch at this place that makes the most delicious pancakes in Holland. Oma (grandmother) had come over for the weekend, so we all went out for a treat. Lucas was delighted! He always loves going out - and restaurants are his favourite places to be! He (almost) always sits still and contentedly - as long as he too gets something yummy to munch on!

Big Chair for Big Baby

2008-08-24T20:29:00.010+02:00

L. loves to eat. A lot. I've mentioned that before. And until now he's been taking his meals in his bouncer chair. However, we realized that a bouncer isn't appropriate for an 11 kilo 8 month old baby. So got him a Big Baby chair. It's a huge improvement as :

L. can sit up straight during mealtimes which is better for his posture;

We don't need strain our backs bending down to feed him;

This chair is lower than a standard baby high chair. It's the perfect height for L. to have his meals directly at the dining table as well as to play (i.e. to bang on!) the piano;

The seat and footrest can be adjusted as he grows.

Morning call

2008-08-18T13:22:00.006+02:00

This morning I was awoken at 06:45 by baby noises coming out of Lucas’ room. There's nothing unusual about that. L. is always awake from about 06:45 onwards, but he stays in his bed and plays with his Dog until I come in with his bottle at 7am. When I’m still in bed I often hear a soft tatata or dadada coming out of his room in the morning.
But this morning was different.
I heard a distinct call. “Mama!” he called out!!!
I couldn’t believe my ears. He was actually calling me to his room!
This is the first time he has ever done that. I used to think he said Mama just like he says Dada and Tata and Baba. Just a sound. No meaning.
But here he was, calling out to me!
I rushed into his room in pure joy and covered his face with good-morning kisses!

Dutch sleep routine

2008-08-17T17:45:00.017+02:00

A couple of months after L. was born I discovered the marvellous world of Teaching a Child to Sleep on its Own. Thanks to a kind neighbour who lent me a book that changed my life. I only wish it were available in English and Portuguese! What a difference it would make in so many lives. I know it did in ours!

The book is based on the following principles, among many others (and it shows you how, giving concrete examples):

A child needs a predictable routine in order to sleep well - which in turn will make him a happy and peaceful child (very true indeed!)

A baby needs to learn to fall asleep by himself and needs to take 2 or even 3 naps a day until he's about a year old. Naturally, the number of naps diminish as the baby grows older.

The daily routine includes: eats/drinks as soon as he awakes - plays 2 hours - naps 2 hours - eats/drinks as soon as he awakes - plays 2 hours - naps 2 hours - and so on until bedtime.

The book goes on to explain how important it is for a baby to always sleep in the same bed (even during the day), to be put into bed while he's still awake and to tuck the baby in very tightly so that he's snug and comfortable.

Once baby's in bed at night, he should not be taken out (unless there's some emergency of course!).

The first time you try this method the baby will probably cry when left in bed, especially if he was previously used to be being rocked to sleep in your arms. But no matter how hard it is for the parents, the baby should be left to cry for at least 15 minutes. The next night he'll probably cry for only 5 minutes. And the night after that he won't cry at all!

If the baby cries in the middle of the night, do not take him out of the bed. Comforting him by stroking his head gently and whispering a few loving words is enough. Then walk firmly out of the room.

We put this theory into practice with L. when he was about 2 months old. The result was a more peaceful and happy baby - and more peaceful and happy parents! Of course I have to admit that this transformation may also well have to do with other factors, such as his feeding, which we also changed around the same time.

At 8 months L. still takes 3 naps a day for 2 hours at a stretch and then sleeps 11 hours at a stretch at night. It's a blessing.

This is what L.'s sleep routine at night looks like:

At 19:45 L. takes a warm, relaxing shower with his dad

At 20:00 we put L. into bed and (1) put him in the sleeping bag, (2) making sure his feet touch the bottom of the bed and then (3) tightly tuck him up to his stomach under a blanket (in winter) or a cotton sheet (in summer). All three are essential for him to feel snug and secure and not to move around the bed at night.

Hand him his comforter dog and pop his pacifier in his mouth

We read to him from the same book every night for a minute or two.

Kiss him, say “Boa noite” (Good Night) and then firmly walk out of his room, closing the door behind us.

He goes to sleep on his own - with real pleasure!

Lucas at 8 months

2008-08-16T13:03:00.019+02:00

I said "Cão" (Dog) and "Água" (Water) during my holidays in Switzerland. And now I say Mama (for the first time yesterday!) and "Dez" (Ten) . My first word was "Papa" - I've being saying that since I was 6 and a half months old!
I can already crawl backwards using my arms and dragging my legs. I can move 360◦ within a radius of 2 metres, so beware everyone!
A happy and sociable baby? Yes, that's me! I smile at everyone, especially people I've never seen before in my life!
I now have a set of 4 beautiful teeth!
I'm a keen observer - and nothing escapes my notice!
My favourite game is this thing my mum made up, where she counts slowly up to ten lifting one finger each time. When she gets to the number 9 I can hardly control my excitement and shout out "De!", which is 10 in Portuguese.
I sometimes sing along with my parents with a loud "Aaaaaaaaa" and I clap my hands in glee!
Eating is my thing. I love to eat - everything! And I put everything in my mouth, including remote controls, the telephone, paper and Papa’s belt.
The holidays in Switzerland were great. I got so much full-time attention from my Mama and Papa and we went to marvellous places! I'm an easy baby and I slept peacefully in rooms so different from my own room at home. And during the day I would sleep wherever I was - in the car or buggy.
I loved the bubble bath at the hotel. I couldn't help but thrash the water with my hands in pure delight!
The first day back at day-care was hard. I cried a little when my Papa handed me over to Marloes.
I still need a nap every two hours during the day. If I don't do that I get very tired and start to fuss.
Sit up by myself? Na, I can't do that yet!

Cão (Dog)

2008-07-23T22:09:00.015+02:00

Lucas' faithful campanion at all times is Cão. He can't sleep without it and Cão is even taken along to daycare. Cão used to have soothing music come out of it when you pulled out it's tail, but not anymore. That doesn't matter to Lucas. He just loves his Cão.

First real haircut

2008-07-15T08:21:00.013+02:00

Lucas came home from daycare yesterday with a haircut. They gave him a new hairstyle which to me looks like a baby mohawk!
I was taken aback. Shouldn't they have consulted us first? Wasn't his hair perfectly fine? To me it was!
Lucas looks like a real little boy now. With a hip hairdo.
Ah well. Will just have to live with it for a few weeks.