When Charles & Keith first made its debut in Singapore years ago, I remember just feeling lukewarm about it, but thought that they do sell decent pairs of shoes at affordable prices. It was one of the shops I would go to if I need to get a pair of shoes for work, without putting a big hole in my pocket.
Years passed since, and eventually the brand made its way to Bangkok several years back. With a premium pricing to boot!
A pricing which I find hard to justify in my head as to why I would be paying so much for a pair of Charles & Keith shoes when I could be paying for much less if I were to get it back home in Singapore. I have since stopped walking into any Charles & Keith shop in Bangkok.
But. (There’s always a but!)
Window displays do wonders, and had I not seen a pair of gorgeous (snake-skin) wedges being displayed right in front of the shop, I would have walked right past it while I was running my errand one day. Within 5 minutes, I contemplated on getting 2 of the same design but different colours – and settled for 1 instead, because I did not want to part with more than 3000 THB for 2 pair of wedges at one go.
Maybe I’ll get the black snake-skin wedges later (assuming they still have it then), but I love the grey snake-skin I got just the same.
While I still do think it was a little over-priced for a pair of Charles & Keith, it was a lovely pair and one that is very comfortable to walk in too. I have had this for a while now (at least 4 months) and so, this is a long overdue post – but my pair of wedges is still as good as new.
Sometime at the end of September this year, Spud, at 3 years 2 months old went completely diaper-free at night.
It wasn’t something we have been pushing for, or even trained her for as, being the lazy parents that we are, we were kind of prepared to let her use her night diaper till she was six years old. Or even up to 10 years old for all I care.
At least, we didn’t really think that she would be ready anytime soon and not before she is at least 4 years old.
But, apparently, cool things like this do happen! And it happened when we both were least stressed about it. So, how did we know that Spud was ready to go diaper-less at night? Here were some of the cues she exhibited over a period of time
Her diaper was completely bone dry for several mornings in a row.
She peed only when she was about to get into the shower (she still does this)
On several occasions, she would wake us up early in the morning doing her pee-dance and telling us she needed to pee. (there were times that because we were lazy, we told her to pee in her diaper. She would not protest if we tell her to go back to bed and wait or the light to go off)
She got upset when we told her to pee in her diaper
When we asked her if she wanted her diaper on for the night one evening, she said a very firm No.
So after several week of contemplating if we should stop diapering her at night and waste the diapers, we both bit the bullet and went ahead with it. The first night was a success, and within days, we pretty much said goodbye to Spud wearing a diaper. Of course there have been the occasional accidents and she woke up at night in a screaming fit because she was smelly, cold and wet. However, that had not happen too often and we all were very encouraged by it.
We usually wake her up to pee before we turn in for the night (about 10 pm or so) and she still mostly wakes up dry in the morning. To ensure that the mattress (which belonged to the apartment) is protected, we scouted for a waterproof mattress protector –a definite life saver!
We haven’t looked back since. Another life’s ladder has been trodden.
From an interactive Facebook Page Community to an official website, BKKKids.com is really the only online resource I know for English-speaking parents living in Bangkok that not only cover a thorough, very updated listing of happenings in and around the city, but one that connects young parents to share their knowledge, personal experiences and gather advice LIVE through its Facebook Page daily updates and discussions.
In my not-so-many-years of being a parent in Bangkok, unless one is really connected to several parent’s community, I find that there really hasn’t been a comprehensive one-stop-shop of such valuable resource. Hence, when I first came across BKKKids.com on Facebook, I joined the community accordingly to satiate my hunger for information that are related to parents and kids. I felt that the birth of BKKKids.com from someone who first started it out of hobby and probably realising that there has been such a big gap of valuable information on activities, parenting and the challenges surrounding it while living in Bangkok, has indeed been a welcome break. I especially love the “Questions from Community” where anyone can anonymously ask any questions and BKKKids would post it out for anyone in the community to answer.
Last weekend, I am honoured that BKKKids.com published an article I had (re-)written based on my personal experience on Reflux when Squirt was barely 2 weeks old. It was my first article to be published on an official website ever (articles on newsletters and mailers done for corporate life not included), and I’m hoping I am able to do more of such contributions – time permitting. If you care for a read, please hop on over to this link: Crying over spilt milk: A Reflux Story.
And, if you are a parent living in Bangkok, or a soon-to-be-parent in Bangkok, BKK Kids would really be a great resource for you.
