Tag: Rolo

Booni! We’re Back!

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I loved being in London. But I missed Booni terribly. I knew he was fine – LagosDad took him to playgroup and spent a lot of time with him – as did my MIL.

I just couldn’t wait to get back home. I was willing the plane to fly faster. I was willing for the 6 hours flying time to go by quicker. I was willing our luggage to hurry up. I just wanted to see Booni.

Vins was quite indifferent about it all. Until we got home. Then he got excited! He went running up the stairs. Rolo (the dog, who was more excited than anyone) following and me racing behind them.

Vins went slamming into their bedroom and shouted, ‘BOOOONI!’ and then the dog started barking. And the nanny exclaimed, ‘You’re back!’ And Booni… Booni got the fright of his life with all that noise. He burst into tears and wouldn’t stop crying!

He cried and he cried. He looked at me and he cried. I went near him and he cried.

I also wanted to cry! I wanted a cuddle!

He was soon ok with Vins – he was happy to go to him and give him a cuddle. But he was still wary of me. I was so disappointed. He’d forgotten me! How does that happen? How can my child forget me after two weeks? Or was he angry with me? Did he think he’d been abandoned?

I decided to sit in his room and mind my own business. I ignored him and played on my phone. It took him over an hour before he finally came to me. And now he’s back to his usual self.

Phew.

Insecurity

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I got Rolo (my Lhasa Apso) before LagosDad and I were married. In fact, I got him before we were even engaged. He was, in every way, my baby.

I fed him, I bathed him, I walked him, I cleared up his messes and I comforted him during thunderstorms.

Things, of course, changed slightly once LagosDad moved in. Rolo couldn’t understand why he wasn’t allowed to sleep on the other side of the bed, and LagosDad couldn’t understand why each time he got out of bed and came back, the dog was in his space!

Rolo was still my baby though!

When I went away to have V1, I was gone for over five months. I know Rolo was well taken care of in my absense – but I missed him. I even cried when I said goodbye to him. And (confession time), when I first held V1, I may have (ok, I did) cooed at him and called him a ‘good dog’ (oops).

Of course once I came back, it was all change again. Rolo went so nuts when I walked through the door, that he didn’t even notice the baby in the car seat. And when he did notice, I put the car seat down on the floor and let him have a good sniff and an all over lick of the baby (much to some people’s horror). I saw no reason to not let him continue to share the bed. And I didn’t mind if he rolled over on V1’s playmat. As far as I was concerned, I was boosting the baby’s immune system!

But… even though all that happened/was allowed – things were different for Rolo. Even though he still got a lot of love and attention – he didn’t get as much as before. I was busy. I had a baby. Poor Rolo – he adopted an old Care Bear of mine in the weeks following our return. This Care Bear became his security blanket. Or, as I like to call it, his Hump Buddy. He took the bear with him everywhere he went. Upstairs, downstairs, this room, that room. Everywhere. He humped it, he chewed it, he slept with it, he ripped its nose off and he pulled its stuffing out. And, (I think) when he was wishing ill upon the new baby in the house, he chewed its neck. He did this a lot.

Rolo and his Care Bear

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Sorry for the poor picture quality)

So the state of the bear in the above picture isn’t actually that bad. While I was away this time, having V2, the bear was ripped to shreds (by him) and was thrown away.

When I came back, Rolo, now ten years old, was ecstatic. As was I. I’d missed him. A lot. He was very happy to see V1 as well (quite indifferent to V2) and spent the first three days trying to hump him! Finally I told V1 that we had to go through all his cuddly toys and find which ones he wouldn’t mind Rolo having. He picked out about four (with my approval) and we lined them up, ready for Rolo to choose. He chose the biggest bear of them all (one my mum bought me when I was 15). It’s actually bigger than him! This bear is already being dragged up and down stairs, in and out of rooms and some of its stuffing has been pulled out already!

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Poor Rolo. I think his choice of bear relates directly to how insecure he’s feeling!

Oops

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So it’s been almost a month since we lost V’s pacifier.  As you know the first week was absolutely terrible, but it got better and now he’s doing great.

We did, however, have a little *incident* a couple of days ago.

He was digging through all the cupboards and drawers in the playroom looking for a cup or something.  And he wouldn’t stop until he found it (once he has his mind set on something, there’s no deterring him).  Anyway, so while on the hunt he came across a box.  He opened it.  And inside was a pacifier!

It was an old one, and it was a brand that I thought I’d switch him to, but he never took to it (different shape or something).  So I guess it was just dumped in a box and put away…

His whole face lit up as soon as he set eyes on it.  It was as though all his Christmases had come at once!  But, it was very quickly whipped out of his hands and taken downstairs to be put in the bin.

At first he asked questions such as, ‘Mama, what was that?’  He knew exactly what it was.

It soon turned into, ‘BUT I WANT IT!’  Tears and foot-stamping followed.

I don’t know what I was thinking, but I told him it was one of Rolo’s (the dog) toys.  V looked at me dubiously, and pretty much told me to explain myself!  I really don’t know what I told him – but after five more minutes of crying, he calmed down and asked for milk.  As he was lying in his cot, I heard him say to the nanny, ‘Yaya – that wasn’t a chupa.  It was Rolo’s toy.’

And it was forgotten.

Thank you, Lord!

 

Cough, Cough

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When V was about fourteen months old, he had a bad chest infection.  It was so bad, the doctor said he was about one day away from pneumonia.

Ever since then, each cough has sent me into a panic.  Because it’s not just a cough.  Each cough is accompanied by high temperatures and a runny nose.

This year he has had more bottles of cough syrup than I care to mention; and he was on antibiotics three times between February and April.

When the doctor listened to his chest each of those three times, he said he could hear him wheezing and all the phlegm building up in his lungs.  

This obviously concerns me – but the doctor said not to panic and that he was fine, it was normal for children his age to get coughs, etc. 

LagosDad once mentioned that he thought perhaps V was getting so ill all the time because  he wasn’t breastfed (#*%!).

Anyway, so after his last dose of antibiotics, he got better.  His temperature went back to normal, he chucked-up most of the phlegm and he went back to nursery.

The strange thing was that V wasn’t coughing any more, but he was still really phlegmy and his nose was still runny.  His breathing wasn’t clear when he slept and he always sounded like he needed to clear his throat.

When it hadn’t stopped after another week, I took him back to the doctor.  The doctor asked me why I had come back when there was clearly nothing wrong with my child.  He said his lungs were clear and that it might just be an allergy or something.  He told me to give him Clarityne for five nights.

It didn’t work.  

So I continued with cough syrup.  

It didn’t work.

Many people offered me lots of different advice – Vicks, air purifiers, home remedies, all sorts. 

Before I got the chance to test any of them, he was fine.

Just like that.  Practically over night.  Maybe in even less time.

And I realised…

It cleared up after the dog was shaved.

Poor Rolo.  He looks like a little rat when he’s shaved – and it’s usually done every six months.  

Now he’s destined to look like a rat all the time!

Eating Baby Food is Fattening. Who Knew?

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When I decided to move to Lagos (in 2004), I knew that a big part of my decision rested on the fact that I could get a dog.  

I arrived in August and started searching high and low for the perfect puppy.  Towards the end of September, a friend told me that a litter of Lhasa Apsos had been born and was I interested in getting one…  Yes!  Yes!  I was interested!

He took me to go and see the puppies – they were only about a week old – and I chose the one I wanted.  A male one.  All 6 puppies had different coloured coats, and I wanted the one with the golden brown coat.  

I brought him home at the beginning of November and spent a lot of time thinking about what to name him.  I settled on Rolo.

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This was the day I brought him home.

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Getting comfortable in his new bed.

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Waiting for me to get off the computer and play with him.

I had a dog before, when I was a child, but never really took care of him myself…  So I wasn’t sure about how to look after Rolo – as in, what to feed him, was he allowed into the garden before his shots, etc.

My vet advised me to feed him Cerelac three times a day (until he was ready for solids).  Cerelac is a brand of (baby) cereal made by Nestle.  You make it the same way you make creamy porridge.  With the powder and the water, etc.

Nestle_cerelac_

Oh, how it brought back memories.  We used to eat Cerelac as babies.  And when my brother started eating it (I was about 7), I started eating it again.  It is delicious!  It is widely available – but I haven’t seen the ‘original’ one for a while.  I’m not sure why, but I always look for it!

Cerelac

Anyway – so back to the puppy… I used to wake up for school at 5.30.  But I started getting up at 5.15am, getting myself ready and then I would make Rolo’s breakfast before leaving at 6.20am.  I would come home, make him a bowl of Cerelac for his lunch and then give him one in the evenings.  He LOVED it.  He lapped it up!  But I noticed – he wouldn’t eat unless someone was with him.  Or around him.  And he’s still like that today *rolls eyes*.

So…  While waiting for him to eat, I would eat too.  It actually worked out very well.  I had Cerelac for breakfast with him before going to school.  I was always starving when I came home, so I’d have a bowl at lunchtime and then in the evenings…  Well, in the evenings I was just being greedy!

I really can’t describe how delicious it is…

Rolo had grown well and was very healthy by the time he was ready for ‘real’ food.

Rolo_016

And me?  I had put on 6 kilos 😦