Baby Times ala Almaty

Between Brady and dial-up in the 9-23mbps range I haven't had a chance to post much. This one has been in work for several days. Despite the blogger posting date, it is actually Tuesday here.

Personality Plus

I am the first to admit I know little to nothing about babies. This is called a crash course, trial by fire, sink or swim… you get the picture. One of the many things I didn’t know is just how much personality a 10-month old little boy has, how quickly he can learn, and how Mommy has had to pay the price for a few things she has started herself. Case in point: in Aqtobe there was a light fixture above the bed and he, with his fixation on cords of any type, would pull himself up hanging on to the headboard, then reach for the cord and start tugging. Mommy, in her infinite wisdom, pulled him back and across the bed by his ankles. Giggling and squealing ensued. It only took two times and it became the new game. Every time we would go to bed, he would make a beeline for the cord giggling the entire way in anticipation.

He knows “boll mite” which is the Kazakh phrase for “put that down” or “don’t do that”. Not quite sure, but he knows what it means. Unfortunately, after the 3^rd repeat of the phrase in any instance, he thinks this blue-eyed blonde sternly saying boll mite is extremely funny. The more I say it the more he laughs. Sigh.

So far it has become clear that Mommy’s cell phone, the TV remote, my camera, mouse, and especially the laptop are his favorite playthings. Means trying to use any of them within eyesight of the munchkin can be a challenge. He’ll drop anything and everything, or drag whatever is in his hand along, so he can play with the shiny toy. I was hoping the expensive electronic toys were a few years away yet!

Have I mentioned his favorite play time is after 8pm? It’s like he gets a second wind. While most babies his age are getting ready or are already in bed, this one gets even more animated. The squealing, babbling, playing, crawling, bouncing, cruising, etc. increases tenfold! Need to get this playtime to kick in earlier!

He’s also the proverbial Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I’m still thinking he may have an ear thing going on. This afternoon he started sticking his thumb in his ear and twisting it. He also started crying while I was feeding him – like every bite hurts. I know that an earache can feel worse when swallowing. Tylenol seems to help, but we need to get rid of the infection if there is one, not just treat the symptoms. He isn’t napping well at all and is majorly cranky too, but has been playing like a happy camper for the past 2 hours without a care in the world. Really hard to tell what is transition, lack of naps, teething, cold, or, more likely, a combination of them all.

Any suggestions on how to get him to stop biting me? I know much of it is just his natural tendency to bite everything right now because of the teething, but I’ve got tooth-marks all over my shoulder, collarbone, arms, wherever he can nip. Add that to the bruises and I am pretty sore all over!

Goodbye Aqtobe

Brady did very well on his first plane trip. He was fascinated with what was going on outside the window while we were still on the ground. Once in the air, he fell asleep in my arms for about an hour. He would have stayed asleep, except Mom, having purchased an extra seat in order to alleviate a lack of circulation to her legs with a baby on them for hours at time, tried to move him to the empty seat. Squalling and wide awake within 3 seconds flat. There was lovely and sweet lady named Dana in the aisle seat, who just loved Brady. She is from Aqtobe, works for a petroleum company headquartered in Houston, and travels to the US often. She gave me her email address and asked to keep in touch.

Hello Almaty

The Almaty apartment is comfortable. It has 4 rooms that open off a square hall. Each room is painted a rather intense color: purple, Kaz blue, marine blue, and dark pink. One room, which is likely a second bedroom, has become our “staging” area. That’s where diapers and clothes are changed and laundry is hung to dry. We visit often. ;)

Wednesday, October 15^th is a big day here in Kaz. It’s the day the government throws the switch and heat is to be had! Hard to fathom having the government control whether you have heat in your home. Doesn’t seem to matter the temperature either. Schedule says 10/15 is the date it comes on, so that is the date it comes on.Frankly, I can’t wait. It isn’t exactly cold (I hear there have been snow showers already at home), but the highs are in the low 60s and the apartment is drafty and gets chilly at night. I had to move the crib further from the windows and put a padded mat against it to help block the draft. I know I need to be careful what I wish for though, as there is no way to control the heat and it can go from freezing to sweltering inside within hours.

There is remodeling going on in the apartment directly above us too. It starts by 7:30 in the morning and doesn't stop until 6 or so in the evening. Lots of hammering and sawing. No wonder I can't get him to nap!

Sunday we went to the flea market and bought a stroller and a walker. The stroller is the cheap versions we hear about. It has no storage at all, only a lap belt, and is pretty rickety overall. The coordinators here are pretty set on finding things that are inexpensive, but my willingness to pay more for better quality didn't seem to register. Plus, I wanted to browse, but it seemed we were there for a purpose: get in and get out. I bought things at four stalls and we were there less than 25 minutes -- most of that was waiting for the lady to put the walker together for us. I may ask to go back another day when they can drop us off and pick us up later. I had my first real tug at the heart Mommy moment here. We plopped him in the stroller, the nice ladies at the shop were playing with him while Kate and I looked at walkers next door (next door is only about 8 feet away. He got scared and started crying and looking for me. I walked over and picked him up, he hung on and stopped crying. All was better once Mommy was there. Awww.

Anyway, the stroller took some getting used to via a couple of rounds in the apartment, but once outside, Brady was fine in the stroller. The apartment backs up to a pedestrian mall and there is a nice large grocery store a couple of blocks away. He fell asleep in the store. It is a challenge to cross streets and find sidewalks and dodge potholes and cracks and very uneven surfaces, but we managed.

I was also visited yesterday by the man that all the in-country staff ultimately report to in Kaz. He happened to be in town (lives in Florida) and as chance has it, I had also carried a package from his wife over for him. He was interested in talking to me about my experience and any suggestions I might have. I was happy to provide my input. He was a lively character and seems to run a pretty tight ship.

Today we went to the Ramstore and did more grocery shopping! We’re set for awhile, but I had to change formulas on Brady, so hope it goes well. I brought some, but had no idea how many bottles (3) he would get each day, so quickly ran out. They don’t have Similac here, so settled on Nestle.

Tell me something; is there a diaper out there that doesn’t lose its contents on a regular basis?? I’ve tried Pampers (required by the babyhouse), a brand called Libero at the suggestion of Gulnara’s daughter, and bought Huggies today. Sheesh. I’m REALLY glad I brought a pair of plastic pants! I got them for the plane trip, but they have come in very handy so far!

One more question: Who is the sadistic SOB that came up with the teething biscuit? Great idea, and Brady loved his first one, but OMG the mess! It sticks to everything!

Even with the crabbiness and hard time napping, and whatever else is making him cranky, and having to get up every few hours to heat a bottle and feed a sleepy little guy, things are going much better than I had expected. Yep, I’m tired (the interrupted sleep is the culprit), but am enjoying every minute with my darling boy. Last night was good. He was asleep before 11, fussed at 4 so I gave him a bottle and changed him, then we both slept until 8!! Woo-hoo!! Just put him down for a nap. He fussed for about a minute and now is babbling away. Hopefully he'll drift off soon. Mom needs a shower before our photo shoot for the embassy later today.