We just came back from our 5D/4N family vacation from Bangkok yesterday! Just Juergen, Dylan & I - which Juergen pointed out is not a frequent occurence at all, the only other time being the rather difficult trip to Germany in mid 2006, when we stayed with Juergen's Dad (almost giving him a nervous breakdown with Dylan's crying out of ear infection pain & tantrums) and mum (where Dylan couldn't stay still & mess around with the delicate furniture & drove her up the wall, which translated to us getting earfuls) & friends (Walter's girlfriend & the Ackermann's). One other time was when we went to Angsana Bintan a day ahead & Hwee Leng & her daughter Melissa joined us later. Mostly we had travelled with our helper or my parents (or his mum), or both.
Anyway, it's a good thing we decided to stay 4 nights in Marriott Resort & Spa (rather than move to stay with our friends for the 3rd and 4th nights as that would involve further adjustment woes & possibly stress them out). It has a wonderful pool for many pool sessions with Dylan, and reasonably spacious grounds for walking. It also provided an oasis of calm after returning from the chaotic & overwhelming streetside/night market shopping experiences!
POOL SESSIONS
Dylan was quite keen to participate in the RDI activities, jumping in towards me, or together with me/ Dad. I was really overjoyed on the second day when totally unprompted, he even reached out to me to help me up when I "wasn't ready" to jump in together! Although subsequently the initiation attempts were somewhat prompted/staged, by my gently touching his hand while I'm still seated on this "island", I'm still really happy he's showing such engagement & initiation.
We're still not so well synchronised in jumping in together but he's definitely looking at my legs, whether I bend my knees, and trying to keep pace with me on the jump. When I introduced a variation, bending my kneees but instead of jumping off, I straighten them again, he didn't jump. Yeah! Once in a while, one of us actually jumps off way ahead of the other, & he squealed in delight. I then quickly grabbed the opportunity to say, "Oh no! We didn't jump in together this time. But it's OK, we'll do it together again".
Trying to invite him to swim towards a particular end of the pool is more difficult as he still prefers his own agenda, suddenly twisting off to another direction but he's at least not angry when I shuffle him towards my direction.
LIMIT-SETTING AT THE POOL (still not successful though!)
He did try & sometimes succeeded to run off to the nearby jacuzzi, and each time, I'll catch up with him, told him "No, no running off on your own" & bring him back to where he ran off, and gently & firmly make him tap my shoulder & point to jacuzzi, then we walk over together. He slipped & fell once on the escape path & bumped his head & cried, and pulled my hand to rub his head. At the jacuzzi, as he was tapping the earthen wall, making a handprint, I tried to engage him by pressing my handprint & helping him make his (intending to work on his turn-taking objective), but he rubbed it all with water. Didn't work, but will try again.
ATTEMPTED REPAIR ACTION
Once in the room, after I gave him his anti-yeast medicine (Nystatin suspension) which he really likes & can't have enough of, as I was off to the bath to wash hands, he managed to open the cap on his own, and when I came out, I found he had spilled alot of it on the floor & I was furious, and I exclaimed very loudly "DYLAN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Mommy's ANGRY!" and when I took the bottle back from him, he immediately tried to make repairs by thrusting his hand out with the bottle cap, trying to close it back. As I was still furious, I said loudly again that I'm really angry, and he tried again to close the cap to the bottle I was holding. I softened and suggested to him let's clean up.
Must say I'm quite happy that he realised he did something unacceptable, and that he had to make repairs! Though Juergen commented that Dylan's repairs are too little, too late, & indeed too many impulsive actions, well, it's still a wonderful start that he is trying!
OTHER EXPERIENCES, SHOPPING AND MEALS
Dylan definitely enjoyed the 15 min boat ride from our riverside resort to the skytrain station (Saphan Taksin stn) at Sathorn Pier. We actually experienced almost the full range of transportation on this trip: plane, boat, skytrain, underground MRT, taxi, even tuk-tuk - very exhilarating! We could tell he really enjoys the boat & tuk-tuk rides! He also enjoyed the dinner at the Thai restaurant (he was really hooked on the pandan chicken and we had to order a second plate) and another night at the beer garden at the Lumphini night market - well, it's got white rice & all the crispy stuff (deep fried morning glory, soft shell crab etc.)!
Shopping was difficult with /for Dylan, probably overwhelming! He was touching everything & everyone he comes across - once he was intent on pulling a lady's skirt from behind (imagine the adults' desperate attempts to stop him before the lady gets shocked!). But thankfully no tantrums, just that it was highly energy-consuming for the adult, good thing our good friend (Can Seng) volunteered often to hold his hand/ carry him while we shopped. He seems to enjoy Can Seng's company but at one point, got too friendly & bit his belly unexpectedly for fun!
It's one of those holidays where you need a break after it, but it's very satisfying! I'm greatly encouraged with Dylan's progress, and Juergen's making the choice to join us fully on the second day to foster family solidarity! Glad he managed to have 2 days of golf too! We did /had a lot more shopping & yummy food than I thought was possible- thanks to Can Seng & Paul, with their local knowledge, and tremendous patience and help!
Last night, upon return home, I finally had a good night's sleep, right through the night!
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