OK, I can blame no one else but myself for allowing this fiasco to take place.

You see, you dads out there, how many of you have actually brought your 2-year old son to the toilet and made him wait for you to pee?

Mums would know what to do --- just bring them to the toilet cubicle! It's a no brainer for the ladies.

For the men, ermm, you have options.

 

Option 1: Bring them into the cubicle and make them wait as you complete what you have to do, whether it is big or small.

I have been adopting this option consistently without any trouble. I remember the first time I brought him into the cubicle for me to do execute my 'small business', I found him leaning from behind my legs and peering at the curious site of daddy projecting a fountain into the toilet bowl. I was half expecting him to actually play with the stream (he usually likes playing with water) and so I quickly did the deed and closed shop. 

 

Option 2: Do your deed in the urinal, praying that your son behaves

With that, I mean that every dad hopes that their son does not stick their hand into the urinals and explore the bacteria count in the toilet.

It was on this particular day, when I had just picked up Marc from childcare, that i needed to use the loo for 'small business'. And so I parked the car and walked into the nearby toilet. 

I decided to take a chance. There was no one in the toilet. I felt confident about doing a neat and quick job. So I headed to a urinal.

Now, the toilet has a row of about 10 urinals. 

Yikes!

But I shall forge on.

"Son, you wait here. Daddy will be right with you. Wait wait."

Marc looked curiously around the toilet as Daddy did the pee.

I kept my eye on my boy, as if my stare could direct his every movement.

But of course that did not work. For my boy is a smart and inquisitive chap who decided that it was time for him to learn new things and experience new sensations. 

I was helpless as I saw him walk up to urinal number 6 (I was at number 8) and reach into the urinal.

You know this scene --- child reaches out to touch the forbidden fruit and dad yells out a 'NOooooo' in slow motion...but to no avail.

What you see next is Marc holding up the cake of deodorant found in urinals, and he smiles at Daddy, showing his new found prize.

The subsequent scene is really not much to mention, but basically, close shop fast fast and then grab my son, dunk him into the sink and was, wash, wash, scrub, scrub, scrub.

And of course, I have an alcohol based sanitizer in the car to top off the decontamination process.

As I buckled him into the child seat, I looked at him with a mixture of disgust and a tinge of admiration. Digust is self explanatory. But the admiration part, yeah, it was like my son had gone where no sane person would have gone (no, my son is NOT insane, thank you). And yet, I was tempted to ask my son how it felt like being so brave to hold up a cake of urinal deodorant. 

I am pretty sure that if he could string his sentences right, he would say something like, "Oh, it was nothing really, dad. This one was dry, not wet and dripping like the others at Vivocity."

Can you just see me beaming with pride? 

 

And why not? Perhaps sometime down the road, when the time is right and the perfect opportunity comes along, we might do just that!

But for now, let's just float gently back from cloud 9 and arrive on terra firma...good ol' solid ground.

When I was approached to be interviewed and photoshot (if there is such a word), I gave it some thought. Was this the right time to 'go public'? Some of you might think --- 'Are you nuts? Newspaper want to feature you, say yes lah!'

Timing is everything. With H1N1 going around, the Asian Youth Games, Michael Jackson's passing (hey, it matters!) would it be appropriate and timely for us to be featured in an article? Well, the decision was made, and so the paper sent along a photographer to do the shoot at my place.

To any of you who might think that doing a photoshoot is easy, think again (I actually now do pity those who participate in 'America's Next Top Model'). I mean, in the past, I used to do work supervising photoshoots. Now, being 'shot' at, it was whole new experience. Along with me in this experience was my dear son, who is actually the focus of the photo, honestly.

So we sat down and arranged some props, trying to put Marc in position --- that was the easy part. The tough part was getting him to smile.

"Your son very serious leh," quipped the photographer. I really admire her patience as she tried coaxing Marc to smile and 'look joyful'.

(Note: The photo shoot was taken just before dinner time and Marc was really hungry. Bad time huh?)

There must have been more than 50 shots taken from all angles to try and capture a 'smiling Marc'. Yeah, he was cranky, fussing and hungry. Who could blame him? (Strong reaction to hunger and lack of food is genetically traced from The Wife)

Just before the shoot, I had completed a lecturing assignment and was rather pooped. So Daddy has to look energetic, Marc has to look happy. It was not going well.

As the shoot was taking place, Ah Gong was snapping away with his panasonic lumix camera, beaming with pride that his grandson was going to receive so much publicity (he used to be in advertising). The repeated pleas of 'Uncle, uncle, try not to blcok my camera flash' was not really heeded. But eventually, Ah Gong was disciplined enough to restrain himself from compromising the photo quality.

Ah Ma was singing and clapping her hands in tandem with the musical rhythm from an episode of Barney & Friends, urging Marc to react joyfully. We sort of stumbled upon the idea that if we put on a Barney DVD with the 'If you're happy and you know it' song, he would react animatedly, as he usually does. It worked...for a while. And then Marc sort of quizzically looked at us when we kept playing back the entire song over and over and over again.

He's a smart boy.

But that was good enough. Photographer called it a day and it was a wrap.

It took her 1 hr and 15 mins to get just this one perfect shot.

Daddy fell exhausted onto the sofa. Marc ran to his booster seat and was promptly fed his dinner (we usually let him feed himself. You can understand why we fed him this time around). Ah Gong and Ah Ma browsed their recently taken shots of Marc and were gushing praises about how Marc looked so handsome.

Now that I have to agree.

This fact can be genetically traced to The Daddy.

(I see my wife's eyes roll in disgust)

  

Hi all!

Well, let me kindly introduce myself.

I am known as Daddy-O at the Babywishes team. No, not Sugar Daddy; nor am I the Big Daddy. Just Daddy-O.

Now, the question that begs an answer is this --- why is a human being of the male species blogging on a website that has to deal with babies and mums? I mean, hands up to all the ladies who complain about how your husbands/male partners just stand aside and watch instead of giving you a hand with the baby.

And that is precisely one of the reasons why I did NOT want to write for this blog in the first place. I fear for my life once your husbands/male partners get incensed with jealousy after hearing you extol about the experiences of Daddy-O with handling babies and being such a ‘hands-on’ Dad. You can never underestimate such things you know. And while this is not quite the same as an illicit affair, imagine how your partners would take it if you kept going on and on about how wonderful advice you got from Daddy-O; or how much of a man Daddy-O is because he changes his son’s diaper.

OK, so my wife thinks that I am overreacting here.

But really, lest you think I am the ‘perfect father’, I hereby declare, I am not! I know of many Singaporean fathers who are great with their kids. It just so happens that I have had the opportunity to receive some insights into parenting and actually had to be a little more hands-on than usual. As they say, if you cannot beat ‘em, join ‘em!

In defense of the male species, ladies, let me just say that men in general are not naturally predisposed towards looking after babies and kids. Seriously, a lot of men are terrible at the usual diaper changing, kid feeding and child rearing. Of course, it does not mean that this is an excuse for men not to help out in bringing up your kid.

So guys, help me out here --- do give a hand in raising your kids.

But ah! I hear some naysayers already.

“Do baby stuff? Bah! I bring the bread to the table man! Why should I fuss with such basic stuff that women should handle?”

It does not take a scientist to tell you that kids who grow up in the presence of both a fatherly and motherly figure are generally more able to handle life better than those from a single parent family. Yes, I know, there are definitely exceptions, but it is my strong belief that there is a reason why the basic family unit should consist of a father and a mother.

(To gay union couples, sorry folks, this blog is not targeted at you)

So fathers, do what you can to help out the ladies in bringing up your kids. It’ll help in your relationship with your child and more importantly, with your lady.

I’ll write more in time to come. I welcome your feedback and would love to hear from you.

Feel free to drop me a note at enquiries@babywishes.com.sg
Happy Parenting!



Daddy-O

There's no denying it, Marc loves to go out.  The more open space the better.  If there are puddles, he'll go berserk!  He LOVES puddles.  Just give him a rainy day and some potholes and he'll be occupied for at least an hour.  Every puddle we walk past, he'll run and stamp his feet in it.  Even if its a wet patch on the floor, he'll stamp it for posterity's sake.

We discovered early on that boys are TOTALLY DIFFERENT from girls.  Marc's idea of fun is running down slopes at full speed, climbing up and down stairs two at a time and touching every new plant along the way.  We try to bring him out during the weekends for some fresh air and he relishes every minute.  Just today, we went to Labrador Park for a walk and he insisted on walking the opposite direction from me.  Our exchange was something like this:

Me: Marc, come along, this way.
Marc: *continues walking the opposite direction*
Me: Marc, come on, follow Mummy, this way.
Marc: * stops and looks at me*
Me:  Yes Marc, come, let's go see the ships!  This way *waving arms forcefully by now*
Marc: *waves bye bye, gives me a flying kiss, and walks in the opposite direction*

He's 1.5 years old and he wants to leave his mother.  Sigh.  And that's not all - I actually LOSE when it comes to fighting with him.  I pick him up and try to carry him in the opposite direction and I can't even hold him without dropping him!  I almost dropped him today.  And he has found a way to resist being put back in his stroller - he just straightens his entire body like a rod and there's no way I can make him sit.  Petite 1.54 metre me, fighting with my 1.5 year-old son and losing - tis quite a sight!

My only complaint - Singapore is just too hot!  15 minutes in the park is enough to make us both drenched in sweat!  We need to move to a colder country!

A friend of a friend has started a new French playgroup, read on for more details!

Who is it targeted at?

• French families who have recently moved to Singapore and are looking for an easy transition
• Children born of multicultural families whose parents would like them to hear French from someone other than themselves especially if the children are not going to attend the French Lycee
• Children thinking of attending the French Lycee
• Any other children who would like an exposure to French through play!

What is it about?

Petits Singes will be a “total immersion” environment in French where children can play together, sing and do arts & crafts in the safe and nurturing comfort of a black and white house. It will be like an extension of home and all play will be conducted by a native French speaker in an outdoor non- air-conditioned environment and not in a text book indoor like environment – at this age they need play and a multi sensory experience to learn (games, arts and crafts, water play etc…according to the themes being taught).  Children have the natural ability to start speaking a foreign language and early exposure to languages is the greatest gift you can give them.  There is a critical “window of opportunity” when a child is young where the ability to learn languages happens effortlessly.  And this exposure teaches children that there is more than one way of looking at things and expressing oneself.

Do contact Vanessa at 9843 2275 or by email at billness@singnet.com.sg for more details!

Today is my godson - Ethan's 1st Birthday Bash! Lucky Ethan has 4 godmas who totally dote on him and who have been running around the past week getting ready for this day : ) Will post some pics of his party shortly.

We godmas decided to get him gifts from BW which will accompany him through his playing, reading & feeding time. The basket hamper contains cute toys (Sassy On-the-Go Vehicle Blocks and Pull & Go Elephant Pal) and books & flashcards from Baby Einstein, Sesame Street, etc which are bound to keep Ethan very entertained! The 2nd hamper which is cleverly wrapped using the Baby Bjorn Safety Seat as a base, contains the Baby Bjorn Plate & Spoon Set and Baby Bjorn Soft Bib which has a deep pocket to catch food spills! I thought this bib is a really ingenious invention! Now Ethan can eat in style and fully-color coordinated : )) 

 

 

So excited to package and sell our first hamper today!  A friend of mine, C, wanted to buy some gifts for a friend who just gave birth and left it up to me to suggest some appropriate items.  I suggested the Tiny Love Grip & Grasp Stroller Bar, the Baby Einstein Octoplush, the Little Quack's Bath Book and the Baby Einstein Animal Discovery Cards.   To me, its the perfect combination of toys and education.  What I like about the Stroller Bar is that it allows you to place a cup on it.  The bath book is great for keeping baby occupied during bath time and the Octoplush and Flashcards are stimulating and fun at the same time.

I also recently bought the Sassy Take and Talk Phone.  Marc is always intrigued when we talk on the phone and literally trails us around the house when we chat on the phone.  So I decided to get him one of his own.  Didn't take him long to figure out how to use it.  I say "Marc, Mummy is calling you" and I pretend to use my mobile to call him.  He will pick up his toy phone and place it to his ear.  Adorable!

A friend from Church bought Marc a superman outfit - here are some shots of him in his outfit at Church...I quite like the cape...

And we welcome all who are willing to work for free at Baby Wishes - no staff member is too young...even Marc can help with inventory lists and invoice creation. :)

I have to admit I'm a self confessed giftwrapping addict.  One of our good friends and ardent Baby Wishes supporter has been buying things from us.  I'm the kind of person who wouldn't mind working at the Takashimaya gift wrap counter.  Problem is that wouldn't earn enough to feed my family.  So I have Baby Wishes instead!  I was more than happy to wrap up some gifts for V, who bought some toys as a gift.  She was so sweet that she gave us a lovely card from New York along with the cheque!

 Our soft launch is in the works, including our gift wrap function, which we love to provide as a service to our customers.  So stay tuned!

The Soft Launch of Baby Wishes is scheduled for next month, but guess what, we already made our FIRST SALE today!!!!!!!!!! 

We're proud to announce that the honour of being Baby Wishes' FIRST CUSTOMER goes to.............. ********drumrow***********..... V CHEAH!!!! Within minutes of visiting our WIP website, she fell in love with  Baby Einstein's "Baby Neptune Activity Gym", "Octoplush" and "Caterpillar Ring Rattle"! 

OH, and sweetie V even gave us a card when we delivered the items to her!! Congratulations to V for earning this top honour... now your name appears top on the page on every sales/customer-related listings we have!