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May 4, 2013

Settling in

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After Baby E completed the three-day inskolning process at preschool, he had a week and a half of shorter hours to ease him in. However, it didn’t really turn out like that. Monday went fine – he spent the day at preschool from 9am to 2.30pm. Tuesday he woke with a fever, so we kept him home, and it continued on Wednesday and that night. On Thursday he woke without a fever but still not quite happy, so we kept him home again. He went back on Friday and had a great day.

This week, he was in on Monday and all was well. Tuesday was a half day of work for Husband and I ahead of Wednesday’s public holiday (1 May). I got home, got changed and got the call. Yep, fever again, please could I come and collect him early. The next day, Husband had the day off but I had to work, so he was home with the boys and all was fine. On Thursday both boys started early at preschool – the new schedule to fit in with our working hours: dropped off early, collected early. Little O was in his element as this meant being outside for an extra hour and a half. Baby E was not quite so sure – he really does not like to get his hands dirty and a few grains of sand leads to screams of terror and disgust – and he started to be upset when he saw other children being dropped off by parents. The staff were not worried though and he had a great day overall.

Yesterday it was the same apparently, with Baby E becoming upset when he saw other parents leaving their children. But again it was a great day overall. And we knew that he would find it a little harder than Little O ever did – he’s a more sensitive soul than his brother and he has had a much more disjointed settling-in period.

But once he has settled in fully, I might have to come to collect the boys 15 minutes after I have been doing. It took me 25 minutes yesterday to get Little O to stop making sand pancakes and it was only with the help of one of the staff that he would relinquish control of the spade and agree to come home…

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Apr 29, 2013

Brothers in arms

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An English Mamma in Stockholm: brothers siblings playing in a boxThe boys have reached amazing ages: Little O is chatting, chatting, chatting all the time and asking questions about everything; and Baby E is now walking and has started at preschool and loves being around the other children.

And they are getting to be good playmates. Of course, there are still fights and arguments and pushing and pulling of hair, but that won’t really go away, I think. What there is also now is hugging and kissing and holding hands and actually the start of them playing together. It is wonderful to watch.

I’ve written before about my concerns about how the boys would get on together, but now we’re at a stage when I can really only see the advantages of having two children. I think that I worried more because I am an only child; I have no real experience of what it is like to have a brother or sister (much as I used to tell people that the dog was my brother, I don’t think he really performed as a little brother should…). Husband is an older brother and he and his younger brother are close, which did give me confidence, but their stories of fights throughout their childhood did give me some cause for concern, I have to say.

I know that this phase with Little O and Baby E won’t last forever, so I am determined to enjoy it while I can.

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Apr 28, 2013

The Gallery: Expressions

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Baby E has a couple of different facial expressions that just make me smile so much: tongue out in concentration and scepticism, mostly when presented with some new food.

These two are perfect examples of these expressions and fit so well into the Gallery theme for this week.

An English Mamma in Stockholm: baby tongue concentrationAn English Mamma in Stockholm: sceptical baby

I think that in about 80% of the photos I have taken of Baby E he has his tongue out. But I am pleased that I finally managed to capture his sceptical look at last.

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Why not head over to The Gallery and see what photos others have chosen.

TheGallery

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Apr 21, 2013

Silent Sunday

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An English Mamma in Stockholm: Silent Sunday brothers

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Apr 20, 2013

A week of change

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An English Mamma in Stockholm: First day at dagis / förskola / preschool

First day nerves?

Hectic would be the word for this week. Or perhaps draining, or maybe even exhausting.

Monday was a normal day: up early, off to work for 6am, finish work at 2pm, home, change for the gym, an hour’s training, home, dinner, play with the boys, get the boys into bed, and then fall into bed myself. The only difference was that my mum was looking after Baby E, as Husband started back at work after two months of paternity leave.

Tuesday, however, was where things started to get chaotic. Up at 5.30, log on to work from home, computer gets slower and slower and slower, until it takes 5 minutes to switch between Word and Excel. Stress levels rising, 6.45 is the deadline and it is drawing near, call a colleague to help me. Log off at 9am, corral the boys, bundle their octopus-like limbs into snowsuits (yes, spring still hasn’t really sprung here and we’re still in winter gear) and rush out the door. Arrive at förskola at 9.30am for inskolning (a three-day introduction process) for Baby E. Spend the next five hours at preschool with him, bundle him back into his snowsuit, walk across to Little O’s group, get him into his winter outfit, rush back home, in the door, boys to my mum and then log on for another five hours of work, interspersed with the boys’ dinner and their bedtimes. Crash in bed around 10pm.

Repeat process on Wednesday and Thursday – not forgetting to head to the BVC on Wednesday after preschool for Little O to have a three-year check-up and Baby E to have his MMR shot.

I’m exhausted after just typing all that.

And then Friday: wake at 4.45am (no idea why…), up, log on, work three hours, get the boys into winter gear, off to dagis – it’s all sounding quite familiar now, isn’t it? – and then “Bye bye!” and hand Baby E over to a member of staff, a kiss on the cheek, a wave goodbye and he settled in for a day at förskola on his own. And when I went to pick him up at 2.30pm, they said he had had a great day, had ate and slept well and had not been upset when I left. Perfect.

Now we have a couple of weeks with shorter hours, to ensure that he settles fully in. And then we’ll have two preschoolers. How time flies.

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Apr 7, 2013

Silent Sunday

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An English Mamma in Stockholm: baby watching snow at window

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Apr 6, 2013

The Gallery: Together

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An English Mamma in Stockholm: boys on pulka sledge snow

Now that Baby E is 14 months old and Little O is almost three, the boys have really started to interact with one another and can even “play” together for short periods. There are hugs and kisses, punctuated with the occasional shove, and Little O is becoming increasingly protective of his little brother. Yes, sometime his cuddles are a little too hard and knock Baby E to the floor, but on the whole they get on well these days.

It is amazing to watch, especially for me having grown up as an only child. I don’t know how long this phase will last, until they reach ages that aren’t so compatible, so I am just going to enjoy this togetherness while it lasts.

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TheGallery

Why not head over to The Gallery at Tara’s place and see what everyone else has posted this week.

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Mar 10, 2013

Silent Sunday

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An English Mamma in Stockholm: baby kissing self in mirror

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Silent Sunday

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