Hard day today. I was determined to make the most of it regardless of the torrential rain and fever inducing baby teeth, on balance I think it was worth the effort but its been exhausting.
I realised that his lunch had become a little restrictive. Eating on the road was never as successful as at home and I had started to let that dictate our days. So not to be beaten, fully prepared for a full and healthy lunch on the road, we left the house in the morning and planned not to return until the early evening.
I wanted to do a little shopping. We need some more wintery clothes for him and we're going to a Halloween fancy dress party and both need a costume. I managed to go into the three shops I'd planned to, but each time I started to look around, he'd awake in a rage and we'd move on quickly.
Eventually I gave up and headed to a cafe. He had an early-ish bottle and I had a coffee. We stayed inside quite a while as the rain was now coming down pretty hard. He ate a decent amount of the hummus, vegetables, toast and fruit I'd brought him. I ate a tiny disgusting pancake (by 18:00 I was wondering why I felt so weak, it only then dawned on me I'd forgotten my own lunch).
With no sign the rain would ease off we pushed on regardless to Museum Island. The Neues Museum is a great place to take a baby. The scale of the building is impressive, the exhibits are on a grand scale (a lot of them gold and shiny) and most importantly the whole museum is pushchair accessible. I actually decided to carry him on my arm because he's sick and needy right now but I saw a lot of kids being pushed around.
Leo loved that he was being carried and so did a lot of grannies in the museum. At one point we were cornered by 6 or 7 old Spanish ladies in a lift all vying for his attention. Flirting is maybe not quite the right word, but this is basically what it feels like. He seems to know how to get a reaction from people, basically a lot of smiling and eye contact.
Anyway, the hour and a half we spent in the museum made all the effort worth while. Regardless of the fact that the exhibits mean nothing to him, the space and the people are stimulating for him.
We got home and 16:00 (I was happy to find no new flooding in the apartment). Johanna the baby sitter came over to spend two hours with him. I wanted them to get know each other and Johanna to learn the routines. I would still be around this time, but in the future she will be able to stop in when I need to go to the dentist or simply need a break.
That all worked well. Leo seemed very comfortable with her and she commented "he's so quiet and happy". And this is one of his off days.
Bed time routine was really fun today and he was fast asleep on the dot of 19:00. The trouble was, only a couple of hours later he was wide awake and clearly in pain. We brought him out of bed and he sat with us having dinner. Eventually we realised he would not go back to sleep normally. For the first time in his life (one previous failed attempt) we gave him a pain killer. In the UK that would be done orally, in Germany its a suppository. My girlfriend can't remember (or more likely chooses not to remember) the word suppository, so they are now know in our house as baby butt plugs. Fine in the house, not great when you ask for them in the pharmacy (I only nearly did this).
We are all now together in our bed. I don't think anyone is getting much sleep tonight. Hopefully the worst for this tooth is over, but as my Mum usefully pointed out... there will be another 19 to follow.