Fracture

And the boy got a hairline fracture on his left wrist. He was tackled in the football practice and while falling down landed on his left hand. Icing did not help and he still complained of pain. X-Ray confirmed it. Cast for 3 weeks along with a sling. Boy is afraid that the children in school will make fun of him, the wife told him it would be the opposite - all will fuss about him.

Dr S visit and Vaccination

To be on the safer side we decided to get the boy checked by Dr S for his ear pain in the night. 

Dr S examined his ears and found it clean. He thinks it could be because of some imbalance and suggested steaming once or twice a week and asked the boy to practice pranayam daily.

I had some questions on the above Immunization Timetable that the Dr had and that is when he suggested the Meningococcal Vaccination to prevent Meningitidis. The boy got a shot effective against some or all of the following types of meningococcus - A, C, W-135, and Y. He was anyway due for a shot next year. Initially he was hesitant but the Dr gently coaxed him and the boy was surprised when it got done quickly.

After that we visited my mother for lunch and the boy had his share of  TV (Grizzy & the Lemmings serial), laughing loudly as usual. It did not bother him that it was in Tamil :-)

Gluten

Looks like this is causing stomach irritation for the boy. Keeping him off milk did not help. He still complained of stomach pain. Then we stopped wheat based products (poori, chapathi) and that helped. The boy stopped complaining.

Now to figure out Gluten free food.

PTM and Dr visit

We had our first PTM and the boy was excited about it. The teachers were happy with his progress. The boy volunteered in a Show and Tell event about importance of water(we did not prepare him for it). A big step considering his history in the previous school.
The boy loves coloring, music, activities and story time. He is not a big fan of reading which explains his reluctance to go to school in the last 2 weeks. His latest concern is that there will not be water and diesel by year 2020

The boy still complained of stomach pain and we took him to Dr S, who did not find anything wrong. He asked us to continue keeping him off processed foods and milk.

First day at school!

The boy was excited! More so when he found that he will be eventually going to school in the school van. I guess he felt that it puts him in the league of big children - Aa and Ah.

He proudly showed his new uniform to whoever he met in the apartment complex before we boarded the car.

The initial days (6-7) were warm up days of one duration each for the boy to get used to the school, the teachers and the children. Everything was new for him.

On the first day, he played, painted but wanted the wife around. There was some sobbing. After the school, I dropped them back at the wife's office and went to work.

The children have to hang the school bags on this wall.

The next day the parents could only stay for 10 minutes and had to pick up the boy at 1030. This time there was some crying but he quietened down later. After school, the boy went with the wife to her office.

The 3rd day the crying started before entering the school but he settled down later.

On Friday, he was normal. The boy sprained his right leg at a birthday party and it did look serious. There was no swelling or redness but he was in pain, especially in the night. We took him to Dr S who advised to rest it and if necessary put on a crepe bandage.

Fever

The boy had a fever starting last Thursday. We asked him to drink a a lot of water.

His eyes were droopy and he was upset that we didn't let him to go Ah house. In the night his fever went up and in the morning came down. We pressed cold towel to his forehead and that helped to an extent. He also started talking a lot in  his sleep. I got kicked twice.

On Saturday I took him to see my mother and he ate some solid food. He was thrilled briefly as he got a new toy car. Back home and his fever was up.

We took him to Dr S the next day. He prescribed Crocin in case the fever came up again.

Today morning he was back to normal and reluctantly went to the summer camp.

The boy has taken an active interest in the Ramayana.

School interview at The Earth Montessori

The Uno game is his new found love. Apart from the Uno cards he has also learnt it to play with the regular cards.

We also had a parent interview at The Earth Montessori school on Friday. We were asked questions about us, the boy, his routine, what is our expectation from the school and their expectation of us. They will call us again for a child observation session.

The boy had an ear infection and the wife took him to Dr S. It was bad and he had no other option but to recommend antibiotics for 5 days. The boy was better after the first dose. Made him very sleepy though.

Birthday party over the weekend in our apartment. The boy was angling for the birthday cake which he got it at dinner time. He still has a fascination for the balloons.

And he falls sick

"First of all do you know how to cut nails?" asked the boy to the wife when the question of cutting nails came up. 

There were more...This was when he was in a good mood...
"Acha, Ah and I, we are buying blue Bentley's"
"How will you identify whose is which?", I asked.
"I will park somewhere Ah will park somewhere"

And when he was in a whiny mood...

"Somebody sleep with me"
"Nobody go out of the house"
"I can't stop crying"
"Somebody help me drink milk"
"I don't want to have a bath ever"

Earlier this month, the boy had a prize distribution in school. He also got his class photo.

We went for a lunch at Chinita after that. The boy had quesadillas thinking it was a pizza. He finished them  off.

The following week he fell sick. (In the end it turned out to be a stomach infections that was doing the rounds. Highly likely that he got it from his time at the day care.)

It was a Thursday.

The boy threw up, the wife had to rush to school and he complained of ear pain. We didn't hear from Dr S, so went to the doc nearby. The canal connecting ear and nose had phlegm. The doc suggested steam inhalation, Sinarest and other medicines. 4 of them to be precise!

On Saturday we went to see Dr S. There was a long line and we managed to see him at the last moment. He controlled the stomach infection first.

He had his school annual day that day and wanted to make it any cost. But by afternoon he felt so weak after the trip back from Dr S that he went to sleep. I went and returned his costume. The headmistress was disheartened as the boy loved dancing and he was the central figure. He complained of ear pain and Dr S suggested Crocin. In the night he threw up on the quilt. Whatever he ate or drank he threw up. It was mostly phlegm. He was scared to eat or drink. 

The Mucolite course was for 5 days. For 2 days the wife took him to work. His appetite was not back. In fact he refused chocolate cake at a birthday party.
On Wednesday we sent him to school but the boy slept. When be got up he complained of stomach pain. He didn't eat. For dinner after a lot of coaxing he ate an idli. The wife took Thursday and Friday off to be with him. Thanks to her it helped and the boy started getting back to normal. In the night he wanted to go for a walk so I carried him around the apartment. The number of idli's increased, he started eating rice. The bones were still visible though. But the appetite was back.

Throwing up

We got a call from school last Friday that the boy was throwing up  and had loose motion. The wife went to pick him up and he came running out "Look ma, I vomited!" And looked very normal. He came home, slept in  the afternoon and did not eat much.
On Saturday he had curd rice for lunch and he threw that up in  the evening. After that went to meet R&I. The boy played with I and had only a toast for dinner. In the morning while drinking milk, he threw up again. We took him to Dr S. He was extremely patient, heard the entire set of events and prescribed 5 medicines with the strict instruction that they be given only if conditions get worse. The 4 stages were loose motion/vomiting, gastritis, colic and if nothing worked an antibiotic. The boy started on  Emeset (loose motion/vomiting) and thankfully recovered. He looked very dull and his size seemed to have shrunk.
We didn't send him to school on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. He went with the wife to her office.
Today he reluctantly went to school.

Hand Foot and Mouth again?

Yesterday, the head mistress called today asking us to pick him up from school. There were small boils on his hand and the teacher suspected Hand Foot and Mouth disease. We checked with Dr S and he confirmed that it was only an allergy and asked us to apply coconut oil. That worked.

Today, the boy fell asleep while eating lunch. He had a long bath and by the time it was lunch, he was sleepy.

School hunt

We had the PTM on Saturday. The boy was shy to sit in front of his teacher. The feedback was that he has good socio-economic skills. 80% of the class want to be the friend of the boy. He needs to improve on recognition. He was quiet and well behaved at school came as a surprised because that is not the case at home!

It is time for school hunt. While we prefer the CBSE syllabus, we want a teaching system that would make it fun for the boy to learn. That rules out the regular schools. We checked out Foundation School once we were done with the PTM. Nice concept, lovely campus, lot of open space. They have only till Grade 7 now. I remember during my school days, I could feel the mud under my feet. Sadly, the schools nowadays pave the open spaces with artificial materials. Cement floor and concrete blocks are hard and cannot be the replacement for the softness of the natural ground. 

The boy has been having a cough for a couple of days. He refuses to drink warm water. Checked with Dr S and he suggested Dolo Dx - 4ml - twice a day. He is better after that.

The boy held an imaginary phone in his hand and started "Hello, I want to order pizza. I want garlic bread, this pizza and that pizza. Ok bye!"

Last night he insisted on sleeping at my side of bed (at the edge) and promptly slid off it during the night. We swapped places, his diaper leaked and he ended up wetting the bed.

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease

"How dare you!?” Something new that the boy has picked up. We pick up his toys or move his books and he asks immediately. It is a new fad for him.

The boy is down with hand-foot-and-mouth disease. It started with a fever, which subsided. Talked to Dr S and he said it will take a week to be free of it. He suggested not sending him to school and not allowing him to play with other children. The appetite will be affected for some days and will be back to normal after that. The boy has got sores around his mouth, elbow and on his legs.

The boy started scratching and Dr S suggested rubbing Fucidin H twice a day.

We checked with the school and no other children has got it. 

Words from the boy

“I am so bored at home”. “Don’t go to office…Don’t come back to my home if you go to office!”. 

The boy twisted his feet while playing in Ah’s house. We took him to the general physician (as he refused to go to Dr S for the fear of injection) who suspected tissue damage. She gave a tonic. He walks with a slight limp.

February

The whole of last month was a topsy-turvy month – atleast most of it. The boy was sick with cough and cold. On one of the days, he ate only ice cream and he threw up that. For a week he didn’t go to school. We gave him Crocin, Sinarest and it finally wore off. He has become cranky, very cranky when he is upset. First he asks for me and if I am not around, he wants to go to Ah’s house and he knows it is not possible to go there so early in the morning or late in the night. Basically he wants things which he knows he cannot get / be done. 

On the bright side the boy had his annual day on 6th and was excited to travel in an auto rickshaw (his first trip) . Dressed in a veshti and bright blue shirt, he danced to the Pongal O Pongal song. It was a nice and cute sight of the tiny tots on the stage. He got a book “The Painted Crow” as a prize. A very nice speech by Dr Ali Khwaja from the Banjara Academy that covered some of the below points on parenting :-
1. Communication – means listening.
2. Once you give the child something, don’t take it back.
3. Don’t lie in front of them.
4. Parenting is not a popularity contest!
5. Pick the school that is comfortable for your child.
6. Punishment must be immediate and with a reason. Tell the child “I love you” after that.
7. Broken Gramophone record – the way to politely say no to the child. Be polite and nice and don’t scream.

After reminder from the teacher, he had his haircut on 14th without any fuss. He has been sitting and drinking milk in the morning as opposed to lying down. And he willingly closes his eyes when his face has to be washed with soap :-) The brushing teeth activity is a hit or miss. On some days he is willing and on other days throws a tantrum. On 24th he had his Vidyarambham done at Mookambika temple, Kollur. In fact he seems to love going to the temple and spending time there. Back home, he went to the post office as a part of his school trip the next day. He also posted an Inland Letter for us :) He has learnt to wear and remove shorts on his own.

He also started with his Flintobox (Educational Activity Boxes For Children) sets. Nicely thought out activity sets they are.

“Yuk!” That is his way of describing anything that he does not like. “I don’t like milk. Yuk… yuk….YUK!”.
“Aye, I say stop it” is something that he says when he wants us to stop doing what he does not like.

Dr love

The boy complained of stomach pain and started crying. It was not severe as he stopped crying when we distracted him. In the evening he went to Ah’s house to play and he completed forgot about it.

Ah had fever and was taking medicines. Touching Ah’s cheek the boy asked him, “You have headache?”. Today morning he told me “Ah ate marunnu”. Since Aa and Ah went to see the doc, he also insists that he is not well and want to see the doc (He does not like Dr S).

The boy has his school annual day coming up and he is practicing for the "Lungi Dance" song at school. His reactions are mixed. Sometime he shows us the dance steps and at other times his chanting starts - "I don’t want to dance. I don’t want to go to the school."

Bite and fizzy drink

We were called to the school urgently because the boy was bitten by a classmate on his cheek. The  teachers gave him first aid - washed with Savlon and applied Soframycin Cream. After that we took him to the general physician who prescribed Mupi cream.  She suggested Rabies(!) shots but we declined. His tetanus shots were holding good. He is fine. Once in a while he does point to it ruefully. The next day we checked with Dr S and he said the Mupi is good.

The boy had his first taste of fizzy drink thanks to Ah.

Vaccination shots

A the Nanny has been off for the past 4 days. On one day she called to inform. Rest of the days, nothing from her.

It was time for the boy’s vaccination shots. We reached Dr S’s place, he recognized it and the crying started right there. I stood outside with him. And when his turn came, he desperately wanted to leave. He didn’t even let Dr S examine him. 2 shots on his thigh - Meningococcal Meningitis Vaccine and Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV13) and we were done. Once in the car he was back to normal. We got home, gave him a Caterpillar book and he was thrilled. He can pronounce Butterfly, not very clearly though.

In the evening, took him to the play area and  he has learnt to hang from the backside of the slide ladder.

Hepatitis B injection

At Dr S clinic, a mother and her daughter were in line behind us. I had stepped outside as the boy stared getting uncomfortable when he heard a baby crying. He wanted to walk far away. When the family inside came out, this mother shamelessly walked inside along with her daughter without even asking us.

What is her daughter going to learn? That it is OK to cut lines, not follow rules?

When it was our turn, the boy started crying when he saw Dr S. He calmed down when he felt the stethoscope on him. We then got up, and the boy realized we had not walked out. He turned to look at Dr S, who was preparing the injection and started crying hysterically. He knew what was coming. Stopped crying when we walked out after the injection. 

Visit to doc

Yesterday morning, the boy woke up with no fever. That was short lived as the fever was back after lunch.

Took him to Dr S today. He started crying at the sight of him but then sat for Dr S to examine him. He asked us to continue with Crocin and if the fever goes up suggested Meftal-P syrup. 

For now the boy is ok. His eyes are drooping and enthusiasm levels are down.

Fever

The boy has fever - 100.3F. I bought a Vicks (Vicks V875IN Rigid Tip, I would rate it 5/5) thermometer. We could take his temperature only after he slept. Talked to Dr S and he suggested 6 ml Crocin every 4 hours and if the fever does not subside in 2 days, bring him in.

He has been mostly on biscuits, soup, banana, cheese and some milk.