Turning board book pages

I was reading Jeffrey Archers Honour Among Thieves in bed yesterday. Ning kept trying to get the book, which I held high enough to avoid her little grabbing hands. I explained these pages are thin and easily torn, so she cannot have it, and I started reading out loud.

After a while she gave up and crawled over to her own board books placed, as always atop the bedside box, and started playing with it. Or so I thought.

I started noticing she wasn't putting them in her mouth as usual. So I asked if she'd like me to read "Twinkle twinkle" to her and waited for her to give me or dump the book. Instead, she painstakingly turned the book right she up and I quickly read the title. After that, her fingers were trying to "scratch" the second page towards her. Using this method she managed to turn 3 of 4 pages (6 pages if including cover) of the board book!

She repeated this with "This Little Pig" in the living room on a separate occasion. Looks like we can give her more new reading materials!

"Dee ah" is actually "there"

Realize it recently when I opened the windows and I said "there". Then changed her diaper and I said "there". When asking her where was the ceiling fan, "there"!

I said "there" more often than those words I wanted her to learn! It's no wonder she picked it up before all the other words.

Wow.

I must mind what I unconsciously teach her.

Clapping @ 8m

She was getting the idea with the clapping. I saw her trying a couple of times, but not making any sounds, she'd quietly quit after one or two attempts.

While having steamboat in Cameron Highlands, we met an 11-month-old boy who kept clapping away. And that's when she was really into it. She kept clapping, this time with sound!

She tried so hard, and finally she picks it up!
So proud of this little girl!

9 months development assessment today!

The vital statistics of a 9-month-old baby:
Weight: 8.63 kg (75%)
Length: 70.3 cm (>50%)
Head circumference: 46.3 cm (90%)

She definitely feels heavier than 8.63 kg.

She's passed all the tests in the clinic, including a hearing test. She was so excited when we reached the high-pitched left ear, she didn't respond until she calmed down. The nurse also commented, how happy she was just looking atht he hairy plastic ball she threw onto the chair in front to make her look forward instead of the source of the sound before she switched it on.

The nurse placed a knotted rubber band in front of Ning to test her pincer grasp, and Ning just looked at it, swept it away, until I told her, it's okay to play with it but don't eat it. Then Ning was given a small cube to pass to each hand, this one she wasn't interested, picked up and threw away. I should've given her my handphone, that always worked. I'd say cannot eat, then she'll "keh keh" pass from one hand to another, then try to steal a bite. Hahaha.

Then we placed her on a mat on a high counter for crawling. I commented how high it was, and the nurse just confirmed with me if she can do it at home and I assured her yes. Last test, standing with support. We let her stand on floor holding on to a children's table. The nurse said "She has a very steady stand. Just give her more opportunity to pull to standing."

Nurse says to give her lots of opportunities and NOT to use a walker, because it makes babies tip toes, which is unnatural.

Nurse noted: ACTIVE BABY in the remarks section :P

Sigh, so happy.

A fun albeit tiring long weekend @ Cameron Highlands

We went back for an extended weekend to Ah Gong and Ah Mah's place last weekend, which started on Thursday evening, and came back early yesterday morning.

During the trip, we spent most of the time in the car, with Ah Gong at the wheel. He's a really fast and steady driver. I would usually be very concerned if I saw the speedometer go past 90 km/hr, but the Toyota Camry was surprisingly stable and vibrated very little, I actually slept the last 130 (or more) km ride home.

Let's see, Ning has really warmed up to Ah Gong this time round, pulling his chin hairs and the contents of his breast pockets like his glasses, pen, lighter, etc. He had to relocate those items to his pants pockets. Ah Mah made Ning laugh by twirling the strings from the pineapple lantern hanging in front of the apartment.

Ning's also ventured a closer look at Uncle Yuan's newspapers while he was reading it. Uncle Da even managed to 'detect' her need to poo when she started going "aaaaaaah"! I just realized it she pooed shortly after.

We stayed in a 3-room shophouse above Joo Hin shop (RM300 per night). It was a home with basic amenities, very clean. The weather was colder than I expected in Cameron Highlands. We put on the long sleeved pyjamas that Ah Mah bought for Ning for the first time. Ning wasn't used to it, she kept tugging the sleeves and the pants.

She had a worried look when wearing her socks. As if I've made her toes disappear and kept trying to pull it off while nursing. I had to take one off before she'd continue to drink.

Funny girl.

I was sneezing away while she's still sweating while we had steamboat @ O.K. Tuck on Saturday night. She probably sneezed 5 times only the whole time we were up there.

Ate fried abalone and enoki mushrooms from the "pasar malam". Yummy. The strawberries at the "pasar malam" @ Brinchang is the best! RM10 for 2 square pack of large strawberries. The quality and value for money decreases as you drive down/up.

She's so fun! Uncle Da took some really good pictures of our little family but he couldn't download them. We really hope he could recover them.

*fingers-crossed*

Crying angrily @ bedtime

Sigh. I thought the rock first then feed routine worked. Even singing happily to her couldn't distract her from her outburst.

Back to square one.

One thing that's amusing is she is babbling a lot of syllables as if complaining about Mummy. If she wasn't crying so hard, it is almost hilarious.

Took a video earlier, she muttered less once she saw me with the camera. It'll definitely make it into the next DVD.

Stride-2-Ride toy

Little explorer games

Just thought of a new way to keep her occupied.

I placed the basket of toys in one corner far from her and she creeps towards it and is having a blast digging up everything. Pouring out the contents on the floor. Then fiddles with each toy in turn. I also scattered her toys all over the sides of the living room to give her more reasons to move around.

One good thing about this new development is, she's less demanding of my attention, though I still need to keep an eye on her, lest she finds a live wire or something.

That's how I get to come online and surf a bit.

Ning is creeping & crawling @ 8 mths

Forgot to note, she's also creeping i.e. crawling with stomach off the floor, hands and knees on the floor.

And getting more adventurous.

And more impatient when I try to button her jumper after potty. Or when I try to feed her when she wants to go exploring again.

Sigh.

She signed toilet @ 5am

this morning.

The sideway fist shake was very obvious, even in the dark. Only thing I couldn't really see was if there was a thumb stuck in between the index and middle finger.

I potted her and she passed urine instantly.

What a pleasant early morning surprise.

The start of crawler & explorer Ning

Today is like exploring day for Ning.

This afternoon, she backed off the mattress, tried to pull up beside the cot and the night stand, managed up to a half squat before sitting down again. Then she went to bang the sliding doors of the storage area under our window. After that, she went to test the stability of our rattan chair (the legs are in desperate need of dusting/washing).

And in the evening, in the living room, from the center, she crawled towards the TV bench corner to get her rattle, then to the checkerboards to knock them. After that it's off to the wooden triangle to flip some ABC blocks before coming back to center.

Finally, back to Mummy who's busy trying to video her. She climbs onto my legs and grab my breast. Okay, end of exploration, at least for now :) That's the second time she's done this, climb on and try to grab the milk direct. The first time was while she was playing in the living room after my lunch.

Deeeaah, Dah, Duck! Jer, Je, Che..

She's been sputtering a lot of "da", "dee", "deeaah", and suddenly she says "duck", so I quickly gave her the only yellow "duck" soft toy with the loose thread nose and fading eyes. And she has some fun with it, and saying "daaaack" before it ended.

She can also say "che che" (Cantonese for elder sister) though sporadically.

And sometimes, her babbling does sound like she's having a conversation in Cantonese :) Most of the times, I think it sounds more like English. The intonations. Or, maybe I'm just reading too much into it, haha.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

That's Ning's first movie @ the Cathay Cinema at Woodlands Causeway Point. We watched the 3pm show and Mummy paid $6 for it with NETS.

Ning seemed to enjoy the first hour, sitting facing the screen on Mummy's thigh. After that, the movie got a little darker with eerie music.

She fussed. I nursed her but she kept looking back at the screen as if willing it to be silent. I guessed she wanted to nurse to sleep.

Took us out for a toilet break and returned for the movie. Sat away from the center crowds in case she started fussing again.

We finished the show together :)

This wasn't my first choice, they didn't show Despicable Me, the animation and Inception was one and half hour later. There's why.

She tried to take off her own clothes

After i shed mine for bath.

It was time for bath and I usually undress before her. Today is the first time she did that.

Ning's in the Wok

Haha, I did it.

Shh, don't tell the grandparents.

She's really good at balancing in it too.

Wok and spatula play

Introduced the word wok, so I dug up our wok for her to play with. And what fun is a wok without the spatula?

Am so tempted to put her in the Wok for a spin. Will sure get scolding from Popo.

Second night without a single nappy change needed

This week. Or was it a third? I think there was one where we missed the wake up toilet call because both of us were too tired to heed her toilet signs.

The trend seems to steer towards 2 toilet calls per night and a very urgent wake-up pee.

This week she averaged 4 diapers daily i.e. If Mummy isn't out of tune with her needs too much. There were one or two days this week when I changed just to refresh her nappy after bath.

She used 18 daily as a newborn. At 4 months she averaged 8-12 daily. Now at 8 months, 4 daily is such a big relief for Mummy.

It seems like the goal is nearer. That she'd go and use the toilet by herself, hopefully by 15 months.

5th tooth out

It is the 3rd front lower incisor on the right. No wonder she's been salivating a lot lately.

I love peeping at the little teeth whenever she laughs, babbles or just smiles.

Speaking of teeth, she's eaten bigger portions of the baby cracker without gagging. Almost a third.

She calls. Head (dropping to floor from sitting position) getting heavy.

She understands our conversations

Yesterday, I was talking to Popo on the phone (speaker mode) in Cantonese and Popo asked me to 'lock' Ning in the cot if I needed to cook or do other household chores. I said she'd cry, Popo says it's okay, she'd settle down. Ning started to cry inconsolably when she was happily mouthing her rattle away earlier. I had to assure her that I haven't put her in her cot for a very long time and won't be doing that just to do chores. Then she stopped crying.

By the way, when I do cook, she sits on the high chair with me in the kitchen. I'd give her a pot or lid to bang with a spoon. I'd let her sit on the floor if I was going to be quick, otherwise, it's the high chair. I'm also quite a 'messy' cook, tend to flick water all over the place, and pieces of cut vegetables may fall on the floor. So, these are the reasons for the high chair.

Today, she was playing with her telephone rattle before bath. After bath, I dried her on the bed beside her fresh jumper and the rattle. She kept picking up the jumper to gum the collar. To get her off the jumper, I asked her, "Why don't you play with your telephone rattle? It's been waiting for you since before you bathed." And she immediately rolled over to get the rattle and let me dress her :)

The many toilet signs of Ning's

First, there's the ubiquitous "boo" which can mean toilet or milk. Then there's the bringing of both hands together trying to sign "toilet" in ASL (American Sign Language) which either ends with frustrated flapping of both hands or putting the cooperative thumb into her mouth.

The surest sign of all is the stop nursing, pull both legs up and thump down or starts shuffling towards the toilet, this one usually is for poo.

The best one is after bedtime, she'll pull her legs up, rotate to land her legs on either Papa or myself repeatedly, refuse to nurse, until she either wets her nappy and cries, or I bring her to the potty. Like last night. Sometimes its quite a rude awakening when you get thumped in the stomach or other sensitive areas.

The amazing thing is she doesn't cry first, but makes these signs in her sleep, occasionally accompanied by "uh uh" sounds. Right after I put her in position, she'll pee, eyes closed all the while. The moment i put her back in bed, she's fast asleep already. Then I'll fasten her nappy, button up her jumper and shift back to the middle of the bed.

Just now, while playing sitting up beside her cot, she suddenly blurted "tte tee tte" without looking up from her play. So I asked her if she wanted toilet. No response, busy playing. Then after a while, she looks up scans room and stared at potty. Then back to play. I plucked her up to go, she complained a bit, then peed in the potty.

I'm so in awe. I mean, from birth to now, this is really a big achievement.

Ning is a definitely a "clean-wanna-be" baby.

Funny Mummy scratching beach ball

Like a DJ scratching disc with serious intensity. Like real. More like a mad violinist with shaking head.

Made Ning laughed repeatedly with that one.

She's also a funny one, straining her neck to watch TV over her gym.

We had a late swim @ 6pm to make it more conducive for Ning to go to sleep tonight. It worked. Sort of. She only slept 10 minutes to 10 pm. Late but with very little complaint.. Rocked a little, whispered that its late and its time to sleep. We can continue to pray tomorrow. Then she said "boo..." so I potted her. Then told her "milk" and nursed her. She nursed for about 5 minutes, rolled over, rolled back, whimpered a bit and then laid back asleep.

*phew*

Learning seems to work

After the last addition equation today, 2+2=4, I was contemplating which card to let Ning "play" with for a while. She did crawl all the way across the bed to the dot cards.

So I said, "Hmm, which shall I give to you to play, 2, or 4? 2 seems too simple and boring, 4 then," and she picked the right card!

Yeah, it may be a fluke you say, but it made my day.

*beaming-with-pride*

Time to prep for tomorrow's sessions!

Ning's learning program

I started with the English reading program, following the book to the T, and then added Math, following the notes that came with the cards.

However, I had a problem finding 15 happy sessions half an hour apart. So it quickly dwindled down to 2 sets of 5 words i.e. 6 sessions per day, and another 6 sessions with the Math dot cards. You really need to flash very quickly. I'd lose her after the third card, meaning, she'd start looking at other things.

In between the beginning and now, I've also stopped and restarted Math cards, tried 3reading cards per session, 2 sets per day. Then decided to follow the book on 5 cards per set and hone my flashing speed.

Most of the time, if she seems to be in the mood, I'd do as many sets back to back. If she's not in the mood, I'd stop and wait at least 15 minutes for the next session.

And it's sort of evolved to 2 sets of 5 English words, 2 sets of 5 dot cards and 3 sets of 3 equations. She's particularly interested in the dot cards (crawled to them in favor of camera or phone or colourful musical Lamaze flowers) and especially attentive with the addition equations (just started 3 days ago).

I hear her waking, gotta stop!

Preparing for Ning's learning

This is the first time I'm writing on helping Ning learn to read and do math. I started with the physical program when she was 5 months old after reading Glenn Doman's "How Smart is Your Baby".

Took me some time to source for used cards within my budget (original costs SGD2,700). Found some old posts on forum but was usually too late. Finally a set from 6years ago that has all I needed for one-fifth of the retail price and started using them when she was 6 months old.

The set has the following:
1) "How to teach your baby to Read" English Kit (Volume 1 & 2)
2) "How to teach your baby to Read" Chinese Kit (Volume 1 & 2)
3) "How to teach your baby Math" Kit
4) "How to give your baby Encyclopaedic Knowledge" Kit (10 sets)

I was told the latest copies of the reading kits contained over a thousand words and my set from 6 years ago only had about six hundred and a little more. It was enough for me to get started, I thought. Once her sight has developed considerably, will make slideshows or own A4 cards :)

Sitting down from standing is also a skill

Just found out about that from BabyCenter newsletter.

She's developed this pretty quickly after standing. It's suppose develop in the 9th or 10th month. I think we don't give her enough opportunity to pull to standing though, we just put her to the cot bars / gym and she hangs on from there.

Will sit her down at the cotside more often. It's definitely sturdier for pulling up than the IKEA baby gym.

Developmental milestone: Walking

Lip smacking and teeth grinding

Ning's added lip smacking and teeth grinding to her repertoire of new sounds ;)

She woke and started grinding her teeth since 2 nights ago. A little eerie, but very amusing. Its like announcing the arrival of her upper pair of incisors to complete her first bite!

Captured the smacking in this video.

The grossest poo clean-up

Since we had dinner at the restaurant at Kota Kemuning. Then she had poo leaked onto the floor through her string high chair onto a neat round puddle on the floor. I didn't realize there was so much poo and got it all over my sling and clothes when I carried her to the car to change. It was Gong Gong who asked if I'd dropped her "round toy" on the floor. It was then that I noticed the puddle of poo.

Horror.

They'll probably remember us for a very long time.

Today, she was nursing leaning over the foot of the bed. And she pooed while nursing. I smelled it and saw poo trickling down her left leg and on the floor. I thought she'd said "poo" and tried to sign poo, but she fussed so much the last time I potted her I'd thought maybe later, when she REALLY has to go.

Too late.

Bathed her. Wiped floor.

Lessons learned:
No stand-up nursing.
Heed any hint for toilet.

Leaning over the bed

Ning likes to crawl backwards to the foot of the bed. When she reaches the edge, she drops her feet foot by foot on the floor. Then she'd bend or wiggle her buttocks with her upper body leaning over the mattress.

It reminds me of a scene where the lady leans over a bar waiting for her cocktail. Still underaged.

Blogging with Omnia II

Discovered I can lower resolution of video, limit to 15s maximum, and I can email to this blog! So much easier than with the digital camera and desktop computer.

Also, have setup Hotmail & Gmail on the Omnia II. Together with the free Starhub broadband SIM card, I'm definitely going to be updating more often now :)

First slightly easier bedtime since...

... a long time ago, at least it seems like it.

Today, Pa and I had dinner with Ning in the high chair until 8:30pm. Ning started "aaaah"ing and shouting, some of her usual sleepy signs, besides rubbing her eyes, or fingering her ears.

I carried her into the bedroom. This time, instead of putting her down to nurse, I skipped that part and started rocking her. A couple of times after she started to put her head on my chest, I placed her on the bed to nurse. She turned away and cried a little bit, and then a big sigh, and was asleep. In less than 5 minutes!

Today, she slept over 3 hrs in the afternoon. Tonight, she was asleep by 8:30pm. She must be really tired with the crawling.

Hope it works tomorrow!

First "Long" Distance Crawl @ 8 mths

Non-stop!

And she's not crawling for my mobile phone, soft toys or the camera. She was heading for the math dot cards!

Gym workout sitting-up

Recently she's been shouting like in this video a fair bit, mostly when Mummy isn't in tune with her needs and at bedtime.

She's really quite the professional sitter by now.

Only worry is when she's either sleepy or so pre-occupied with gumming things, she may sometimes just fall backwards.

Oh fun! Spotting a 8-month old!

Butt-pulling crawl

She doesn't do this often or for longer distances.

Rolling and pivoting on her stomach is still the preferred mode of transport.

Afternote:
Right after I emailed this out from my Omnia II, she did a long distance non-stop crawl and I happened to capture it! Yay!

Buttocks high in air, on all fours limbs

She reminds me of how her cousin Cerys Zeze "crawled" in Port Dickson with only palms and feet touching the sand.

Shay Ning's just pushing off the ground and sometimes to sitting, not moving forward like that yet. And yes, she's crawling (stomach on surface) and creeping (stomach off surface) intermittently. I'm a little confused, thought she'd crawl first, then move on to the latter after mastering the crawl. She seems impatient to get straight to standing and walking.

Time to remove all possible dangers from her level, where practical. We'll start with anything we don't want in her mouth like plants, soil and other potentially harmful objects or substances while she's still within my speed limit.

Heart-breaking bedtime

She's crying lots at bedtime again. only consolation is cooing and rocking her to sleep. milk alone doesn't work. At least not for the past 5 days.

What else can I do to ease her into sweet slumber?

1st Upper Tooth (Right) Erupting @ 8 mths 1 wk

Yup. She did it again, rubbed her right thumb's skin right off.

It's teething time again.
Been shouting a lot lately when sleepy.

Guess we can now blame it on teething, how convenient :P

I missed the gentle gurgling & babbling Ning Ning, but then again, this is necessary if she's to start talking soon, I guess. At least she's not crying and still trying to communicate, albeit frustrated and sometimes in vain.

Babble & shout on!

She signs for milk @ 8 mths 1 wk !

Whoa!!! And it's so accurate!

She's really good at it, should get it on video! When she signs milk, I'll quickly echo "MILK" and sign the same. Then she looks so amazed, that she'll keep signing milk and looking at her hand as if it's magic, sometimes forgetting I'm still offering her milk :P

On another note, she's not used "meh'lk" for some time now. Maybe it was because I didn't show enough enthusiam and encouragement when she did. Should really pay more attention to how I react to these things.

She's also been trying the ASL toilet sign. She'd bend 3 fingers and have difficulty with the thumb in before the index finger. All this while, she'd be concentrating hard, biting her lips and frowning. Then she'd just bring her thumb to her mouth before shaking both hands violently as if exclaiming, "Aiyah! I need to go to the toilet NOW!!!" Sometimes, not often, because she'd be impatient to pee already, I'd guide her fingers and she'll watch attentively.

Push-sit day

Today, is push-sit day. She did it once during lunch as I was having my packed economy rice. And at least 5 times in the evening on the living room floor. Once on the bed before sleeping.

Papa's been nagging me to video it. So I set up the camera to film her while I folded diapers. After a few deleted videos, I finally caught her in the act.

And Papa's reaction was so disappointing. He said it looked like she pushed against the sofa. Sigh. Asked me for another video. I thought he'd be thrilled to finally see it.

Sigh.

Anyway, YAY! She can push herself up to sitting position now! It's official! Hurray!

Ning Ning knows how to get off from bed and sit up from crawling position. All by herself!

When she reached 8 months. Yes!

She sat up all by herself @ 8m

Today!

The deed was done about half past six in the evening. She was rolling and pushing backwards as she's been doing a lot lately. Initially we thought she was learning to crawl.

Popo was right. She was trying to sit up. Thumbs up for Popo.

As she pushed herself off the alphabet mat, I nearly pulled her back in. Then, with one leg stretched out and the other bent, she finally stretched out both legs , pushed back with both arms. Slowly she pulled back lifting both hands off the floor. At first she wobbled a little as her legs was in perfect split, then she pulled them back a bit.

And she smiled. Finally accomplished.

Pincer grasp captured @ 8 mths (started 7 mths)

I've been observing this new development for a while now. Why no photos? That's because she's been practising while nursing, on the other "milk bar".

Today, I captured it on camera!

Lo and behold, she's got the pincer grasp! Most can do it by 13.5 months. It starts as any part of thumb and index finger at 10 months for most, and graduates to tip of thumb and index finger!


I'm so happy and proud!

*grins*

Crawling, commando style, in sight @ 7.5+m

She demonstrated her crawling twice yesterday, when I was busy with the telephone and another time with putting away the camera.

She was like, whoa, making these exaggerated movements, landing quite roughly each time she rocks her body from side to side to make front movements. Actually, it looks more like a boat rocking sideways twice and one big forward rock. Must give her more motivation to move i.e. more attractive stuff to move towards e.g. my mobile phone (we allow her to hold and fidget with it, but strictly no mouthing) :P

She's got a bruise the size of a pea under her chin, I wonder if it's from the crawling. Or the fall from mattress on Thursday morning. She didn't cry if, and when she fell. Papa found her in the middle of the floor on her tummy by the time she did cry.

Recently, she's been showing off her strength by kicking everything including the heavy pillows off the bed. Mummy's pillow almost landed in the potty or on the "puddle" of spilt pee on the floor at the foot of the bed. At the high chair, she's dropping and watching stuff roll on the floor. Mummy's exhausted from picking things up, so unless it's urgent or needed, it'll stay on the floor for the mean time.

Yesterday, she again lunged backwards until the foot of the bed. I watched. She wasn't alarmed. She placed her feet down, bounced a few times, as if testing if the floor will give way. And then Ning lifted her upper body off the mattress with her hands holding onto the mattress, and stood there for a bit, just bouncing and smiling at me. Then, she plonked her tiny backside down on the floor, a little too quickly, she had a surprised frown, she looked at me as if I'm responsible for it.

Way to go!

Hope she does this whenever she wants to get off the bed.

Baa... baa... (for 2 straight days in a row)

black sheep? No, it's for Papa. In Cantonese, Papa's pronounced more like "Baba".

We were back from more than a week of visiting the grandparents in Malaysia and she was away from Papa for more than 5 days. After which she spent 6 straight days with Papa at home, plus 1 more day in Singapore when I had my fever (3rd engorgement since labor day) and Papa took care of her most of that day.

So when Papa went back to work on Thursday, she was calling for Papa in the day and in the evenings. She would stare at the bathroom door, when I left it opened after bathing her, and the bedroom entrance in the evening. Both places where she most frequently sees her Papa appear.

I had to call Papa on the telephone when she's frustrated that her "Baba"s went unanswered and my explanation does not pacify her. Then when Papa's voice is broadcasted over the speaker phone, her face lights up with the brightest 2-teeth smile.

I keep falling in love with this little girl.

Sigh.

Hanging 3s, standing 5mins

She can hang from my thumbs independently for 3 full seconds 5 times today! Previously, I had to grip her still. This is a pleasant development. Ashamedly, I wasn't really consistent with this exercise, so this is really a pleasant surprise.

Today I placed her standing against the cot, using 2 bars for support. She could stand for a full 5 minutes before whining as she was tired and afraid of falling. I asked her to let go and sit down, with me supporting her underarms, and she let go 1 arm by 1 arm.


Tried playing toss with lion rattle today. I do think she gets it, although her tosses range anywhere between dropping it down in front of her or flicking it towards me.

Hmmm, what other games can I play with her?

Pottying situation update @ 7.5m

Ning's still going to the potty.

Some weeks, I don't even need to scrub a single soiled (poo) diaper. At others, especially after introducing new foods (like watermelon) she'd go in her diaper and more often.

When the weather's really cool and feels like we're in an air-conditioned environment, she wets more diapers at night or while napping than her usual 8 per day.

And it's been really cool recently. Good for long naps, but the laundry piles up pretty quickly and drying takes more than half a day. So by the end of the day, I'd be rushing to fold them before the last diaper is used up.

Hmm, we haven't reached the tipping point for going diaper free yet, which is three or less diapers a day.

Am planning to get her a sturdier Bjorn potty from Mothercare so that she can sit on it by herself now that she's become quite professional at sitting up without support :) Let's hope I'll "bump" into a potty sale at Mothercare's soon!

"Baa baa" and "Meh'lk" or "Meh'k"

That's what she's been saying the last 3 days, rather consistently.

"Baa baa" for Papa :P
"M'ehlk" for Milk.

I'm so happy! This is an early surprise.

Yeah, I realize she's not saying "Mummy" yet.
I'm still very happy at this new development!

Some photos from last week

Love the big doe eyes and long curvy eyelashes!


Spot the difference between Papa and Shay Ning (the stubbles don't count)!


Aiyah, you're blocking the television Mummy!
She's "watching" Cantonese serial with Popo.


A blur but nice photo of Popo and Gong Gong playing with Shay Ning.


A moment with Gong Gong.


"It's so hot and I'm so tired, Gong Gong..."


A snapshot of the action going on in Popo & Gong Gong's living room with 2 granddaughters around :)

New fruits, choking and throwing up

This week, Shay Ning got to try guava, apple and green pear as stick pieces, thanks to Gong Gong. However, when she was trying to eject a bitten off piece of guava, she choked and threw up the most since birth. The offending piece was only 2mm thick, and about 1.2cm long. Her face turned red, a very dark red. I was very alarmed but kept calm because I need to control what I do in order not to worsen the situation.

Today, we tried with scraped papaya and it happened again, she threw up on Papa, who didn't really believed me when I recounted the ordeal. All Papa said was "You should watch her more closely". It's like saying, you're not doing your job well.

I'm saying she's NOT READY for SOLIDS and to do my job well, I AM NOT FEEDING HER ANY MORE SOLIDS TILL I THINK SHE'S READY!

How many times must she choke and throw up before you'll give up on the idea she is? You yourself said every baby is different. Why must you insist that she start her solids 'like other babies'?! Why can't I start her when "I" feel she's ready?!

I'm so hurt. I'm her mother.

Why must I listen to what others have to say thru you, when you yourself don't want to feed her?! Why must I prepare food and force her to finish them when you don't even want to feed her anymore?

Why don't you listen to me instead?

I'm so upset about this.

A most eventful week @ Popo & Gong Gong's

In this week, Shay Ning's...

Been a great party buddy @ Huey Huey Yee Yee's wedding until 11:30pm. She was bouncing on my lap and laughing gleefully to the on stage singer's oldies right to the closure of the dinner. I'm so happy. Her Gong Gong and Popo are also very entertained. Papa's a little apprehensive as he has to leave her that night to go home.




Spontaneously waved "bye bye" whenever we said "bye bye" and "good night" to Popo.


Gave lots of "High 5s" and "5s" to Mummy, Gong Gong and Popo.

She's lunging and plucking her butt up and above the floor more and more now. Her butt is rising higher and higher off the floor, sometimes with one leg stretched out kicking. Am wondering if she's trying to crawl or sit up.

Gotta go now, Shay Ning calls :)

It's past 7pm now and I've just fed Shay Ning to sleep.

This is also a week where she got to see and hear her Papa the least as Papa left his mobile phone at Ah Gong's place. When she met him for the first time after so long, the emotional display was a surprise for all of us.

Papa was walking out of Gong Gong's toilet. She focused, unmoving, at Papa all the while. When Papa finally reached out to carry her, she pouted and cried, pouring out her feelings at finally seeing her Papa. As soon as Papa carried her, she stopped and was smiling again. So emotional. Such a darling.

Independent sitter @ 6m

This was taken at the last week of her 6th month. Have video too :) Too big for blog.

The "Pucca" cushion is her motivation in this picture. Just kept mimicking "Pucca" and kissing sounds to amuse her.

She said "papaya"

After i playfully said the word a few times while pointing at the word card.

And she knows parrot from hornbill. Asked her where is parrot, and she looked at the right picture. Same results with hornbill.

This means she does understand. And i am afraid I'm not feeding her enough knowledge.

Sometimes I just need to relax. At least I'm aware and not taking her for an ignorant baby.

Shaking head means "No", Mummy!

Previously, she'd shake or spin her head for no apparent reason.

Now, if you ask her a question and she really doesn't want it, she'll shake her head. Most frequent questions receiving a shaking head are:

1) Do you want to go to the toilet?
2) Do you want more milk?
3) Are you done?
4) Without asking, when she's done on the potty, she'll shake her head and start grabbing my upper arm to lift her up and off the potty.

Amazing little person.

P.S. This started around late last month i.e. about 6.5 months.

De de, di di, da da... we we, wa wa... te te, ss ss...

Sounds that she's making a lot starting yesterday. And a whole lot of other combinations. It's like an explosion of sounds yesterday, right up to just before she falls asleep. It's like she's discovered she can make these sounds and want to keep going the whole day :)

Again, most obvious and earliest words, unfortunately isn't Mummy yet, is when she wants the potty. She'll start making the "te te" sounds with raising her legs up while lying down. Toilet. :P I'm holding her over the potty with her legs up. That's why I think she's trying to say "toilet".

And when she's done, I'll usually ask "Are you done?". So when she was done, she'd make the sound "de de", as if experimenting with the starting of the word "done" and occasionally, twice yesterday, "dang" or "done" right after she stopped peeing!!

I'm so amused, that I hold her just a little longer over the potty, see if she will repeat. Bad mother. Bad mother.

Okay, must respect her and quickly respond properly from now on.

*grins*

She eats broccoli @ 7m

More than rice cereals and cabbage-carrot soup puree. I was pleasantly surprised when she chewed and swallowed huge spoonfuls.

I'm not saying that she didn't blow heaps off the spoon, gag and act like she's throwing up, or deposited heaps all over her high chair table, hands, legs and floor, I'm saying more of this stuff actually made it into her stomach. And she's got loads of it in the poo to show for it.

So far her diet has been rice cereal made with pulverized rice with expressed breast milk, carrot puree with rice cereal, cabbage-carrot puree, raisins and banana. The last 2 she had very little and either undigested or spitted out. The cabbage-carrot soup puree resulted in only 1 poo a day over 3 days. Suspect its the salty soup, no salt added but the blended fried anchovy might have salt.

Broccoli puree actually tastes quite nice 'au naturel'. Maybe we can use it as a healthier bread spread.

Thank you, Loupo!

For taking care of our dearest Ning and also my dinner!

I love you, Loupo!

Ning's sitting @ 6m

She's able to maintain sitting by using her arms for support, either against the floor or legs for up to 10 minutes. First observed this afternoon on sofa facing her favourite Pucca cushion. She kept trying to kiss and touch the cartoon face. I kept up with kissing sounds while and she's smiling and chuckling all the way.

So adorable.

Sigh.

Lately, she's been whining to sleep until i rock her in my arms or when she falls asleep from exhaustion. I sing and she still rolls left and right restlessly. Will try reading to her and other distractions than rocking her to sleep.

She loves standing

And sitting when she tires, and finally lying down. It's the only time when she'll willingly grasp my thumbs.

She's got scabs on her forehead from her thumbnails. When she's sleepy or frustrated, she'd thrust her thumb, palm opened wide towards her forehead. At first I wondered if all babies did this, then suddenly it hit me, it's the ASL (American Sign Language) sign for father! I might have missed the Mummy sign! No wonder she's so frustrated! And here I am thinking thinking "milk" or "toilet" will be her first signs!

I feel like I've missed so much! Must be more alert!

I felt quite uncertain about the way I'm teaching the math materials. So I went and borrowed it from the library. Found "How to multiply your child's intelligence" and "How to teach your child to be physically superb". A quick thumbing thru proves me right. I should've started with reading, followed by encyclopedic knowledge then math! Always trust your instinct over someone else's notes on second hand flash cards.

One too many mosquitoes

in the house!

She's got 4 or 5 bites already. Heart aches.

Caught and killed 1 large and full mosquito after showing Lougong last night in the living room, sitting on the sofa. Nasty.

I hope nobody's breeding them here, especially not the Aedes mosquito!

She rolled off the bed to her potty!

2 mornings ago, after holding her over the potty, I went to the toilet myself and left Ning with Papa, still asleep.
 
She rolled across the foot of the bed, off it until her face was right next to the potty before crying for help! When Papa roused, she's already face-next-to-potty. And her diaper's wet!
 
Wow!
 
I'm so amazed! Hee hee. I think she's actually trying to go to the toilet by herself. When she couldn't pee in it, she cried, after that long journey from the bed!
 
Double wow!
 
Can't wait for her to be able to sit and stand, let's see if she'll be able to go by herself. Hmm, then there's still the task of taking off the diaper/pants to tackle... Will try look for those 'split' pants which splits open when they sit down. Heard that babies in China all wear them. I remember seeing them on a show where all the tiny 2-3 year old orphans wear them :)
 
Time to work fast and source them online!!!

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First Teeth @ 6 mths 2 wks

Shay Ning's first teeth burst out from the gums and can cut!!! They're the middle lower jaw teeth! First spotted it yesterday, while holding her over the potty. The first one's on the right and is completely surfaced. The left one's half out, but today it's all out!
 
I'm so so happy :D
 
Also a little afraid she might graze my nipples after falling asleep nursing.

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Hard to make her stay on her tummy

Since she's learnt to roll back, it's hard to get her to stay on her tummy. Sigh. Whenever she's tired of tummy time, she'd roll back. I can't even get her to stay on her tummy for more than a minute yesterday. While a few days before, she was able to stay on her tummy for up to 20 minutes at a time.

Tummy time is good for strengthening her back muscles for sitting upright and crawling.

The little one is one smart cookie.

Love those chipmunk cheeks!

By the way, the missing right double eyelid has finally made it's appearance this week! Now, both her eyes look more symmetrical. *phew* I'm so relieved, I was so worried it'd be lopsided and she'd have no end of teasing once she enters childcare.

Sucking lips

She's recently started this really adorable sucking lips habit. I'd love to catch it the camera. It really reminds me of someone... someone like... Popo ?
 
Hee hee, it'd make a cute entree in the 3-6 months DVD.

She rolled back yesterday all by herself :)

For the second time... The first time she rolled over and back, I think was mainly due to momentum.
 
This time, it is intentional :)
 
Have a long backlog of photos and videos to organize, print and compile, have gotta catch-up. Lougong, you could help too, since you've got more computer time than I do, in general ;)

Out by myself and Ning > 6 hrs yesterday...

We had to extend Ning's social visit pass a the Immigrations & Customs Authority office yesterday in person. So that mean both of us have to be there.
 
While there, I had to fill in a form, photocopy her birth certificate (long queue), feed and change her after submitting her application. The 30 day extension wouldn't have covered us until 22 May, when we're going back to KL. The kind ICA lady actually helped us enquired and obtained permission to extend 31 days to 22 May, so we wouldn't need to go back there for 1 day extension :) Thank goodness we talked a bit ;)
 
After that, I thought, since we're so near Bugis, we're not going to be around during the Vesak Day weekend, I'd bring Ning to the Kuan Yim Temple to pray. She slept like a log and wouldn't rouse even when I tried to. So I just prayed and bowed with her in my sling.
 
Then, we went shopping at BHG but not before I get a freshly juiced watermelon drink for $1 at Bugis Street market. Yummy! Fed her again at BHG, the nursing room there is quite alright, spacious, with built-in bench seat and curtains. Lots of changing stations, with hot water and tap.
 
Alright, she's starting to tire from watching Mummy type on her lap. Adios!

Ning sucked the skin off her thumb...

Her teething must really be quite unbearable by now for her to suck her thumb so badly.
 
I keep checking her gums for any teeth buds but couldn't find any.
 
Will chill her teether and give it to her more often. Also, will rub her gums with wash cloth as often as I can remember.
 
So poor thing... =(

First cold (runny nose, cough)

We both got our first cold since Ning's arrival.
 
It's been raining daily and I've been sleeping in milk drenched tops. That's how I got it last weekend. It got really bad on Sun, 11 Apr 2010, and Lougong took leave to take care of both of us on Monday.
 
Thankfully, the worst is over and we're on our way to recovery, hopefully very soon.
 
Her runny nose is almost to the last drip, and my cough is almost gone.

Yesterday was rollover day!

Though this isn't the first time, it is a regular start!
 
Caught her rolling over after throwing her nappy into the laundry bag. She rolled from middle of bed to her tummy, heads up, then back again. By the time I got the camera, she's stopped.
 
Then, I decide to hide behind the divider with camera on her, she did it again! Yay!
 
After that, she got stuck and couldn't get roll back. So I had to help her. Think her stamina isn't there yet. And the whole day, no matter where I put her, she'll keep rolling over left to her tummy and couldn't roll back. So worried!
 
I was actively watching and helping her the better half of yesterday, yet didn't feel exhausted as I expected. Maybe it's because I'm so happy :)

Increasingly active participation..

in her demeanor...
 
Yesterday, while having lunch outside with Ning Ning in my sling, she surprised me by suddenly reaching out for the piece of carrot on my plate. I have just had 1 spoonful of rice with vegetable, and she looked at me expecting me to give her a mouthful. When I didn't, she just grabbed the carrot! (4m)
 
Now I must take care not to let her drag the whole plate towards us :P
 
When we reached home, Papa fed her pumped out milk for the first time with a spoon! She had at least 40ml! Good girl!
 
Wow, this is a really big wake up call for baby proofing our home!

Potty: After the first 3 days...

It seems that I'm totally out of sync with her EC. She seems to want to go all the time but when I pot her, she'll be struggling very soon. Sigh. Now I missed the first 3 days, I'd really rather pot her now.

We went out for lunch @ Causeway point on Good Friday and I needed to feed her. While waiting for the nursing room to be available, there was this lady who came in angrily with her daughter (in disposable diaper) who seemed older than 3 years old (Cerys' age).

I was wondering why she was so angry until she tore the diaper apart and the stench greets us! Oh my goodness! The poo stinks as bad as Lougong's 3-day old toilet stint. She was angrily wiping away the poo from her daughter's bottom and didn't wrap the diaper properly before throwing it into the bin. I had to nurse as if I was in the toilet, ew!

That's when I resolved to pot Ning full time instead of part time soon as possible. Once she starts solids, her poo will not smell as nice and changing her won't be as pleasant. So, let's hope she knows how to tell me she needs to go more regularly really soon!

Triple Challenge: How to hold 3 toys?

I've been reading this book I borrowed called "Your child at play: Birth to One Year". One of the games was the Triple Challenge. About 2 days ago, I play this with her the second time.

We gave her 1 blue teether, she held with left hand and starts mouthing it. Then we gave her the yellow teether, which she held with her right hand, still mouthing the first blue teether.

Now, I hand her the soft book, which according to the book, she'll either try to grab with both hands full, or let go of one, then grab the third toy.

Here's the best part. She bites the first blue teether with her mouth, then her left hand grabs the book! I laughed until my stomach hurts. Her response is even better than the what book says. She overcame the challenge the Shay Ning way!

By the way, this is a 6-month old game (she's coming to 5 months in 2 weeks), oh, so fun! I checked after the event :P The first time I played this game with her, she reacted by letting one go after some deliberation (3 days ago).

She just rolled over this morning!

Yay! Her first roll over happened while we were on the new playmat :)  At 4 months!
 
We were both lying side by side, about my arms length apart. She was swinging her legs over towards me and I was reaching for her hand farthest away from me. Then she did it, she swung over, and was immediately in push up position (heads up).
 
Unsuspecting, I'm really surprised :)
 
Papa ran out from bedroom upon hearing me say it aloud, but too bad, no encore for Papa just yet :P

Ning's toy handling

Ning Ning can pass toys between her hands now!
 
And she knows how to look for her teether when it's out of sight (thrown by her) instead of waiting for us to get it. And her favourite teether is the one Papa bought, yellow-red one. Sigh.
 
She's also babbling a lot, and loudly too. On the downside, when she complains, it's also quite loud AND extended :P
 
So fun!

First week Ning on the potty...

She wetted only 6 diapers on the first 3 days...
She stayed dry for over 3 hours while we had dinner at Causeway point over the weekend...
then poo'd and pee'd after I shower and put her on the potty. I'm so proud!
Now I do diaper laundry only once a week compared to the 2-3 times (every 3 days).
 
Am beginning to get the hang of it. Lets see how things go next week.
 
If she can get by without more than 3 wet diapers a day, will put her in training pants (bought one already ;) instead of diapers.
 
Am raring to go and get the portable potty (foldable, plastic bag for containing urine), maybe the one that's also convertible to a toilet seat reducer, if not too pricey.

Happy Anniversary, loupo!

Time flies. Our lovely baby girl, you and me - A HAPPY FAMILY!

Potting Ning Ning @ 4.5 months

Last Thu, while on the phone with Mummy, Ning Ning was straining to poo. Mummy asked what Ning Ning was doing, and I told her. Mummy then ask me to pot her because she's a 'clean baby' and doesn't like to go in her diaper. Sure enough, the moment I position her over the potty and go 'shhh', she peed, and poo'd shortly after. I was quite pleasantly surprised.
 
Whenever she shows sign of wanting to go, I'd put her to the potty. She can't or don't like to sit on the potty yet so I'd have to hold her between my legs and aim for the potty :P Sometimes, the poo almost shoots over the edge of the potty on to the wall or floor. There were a few close calls :P
 
I borrowed a book from the library called the Diaper Free Baby which talks about elimination communication (EC), Sis (thanks :P) talks about this but I chanced upon it by a different title, to find out how this 'potting' works and was only half way thru when the above happened. I intended to only start after finishing the book, and only part time i.e. don't potty at night, sleep more important. However, she intended otherwise.
 
Now she waits for me to pot her and won't do it in the diaper at all, sometimes whining (oh did I say she started whining recently after our trip to Malaysia the week before) until we do or until she cannot stand it anymore! Last night, she didn't go back to sleep until I potted her, she peed and poo'd then drank back to sleep shortly after. Yesterday we changed 6 diapers a day, mostly at night or when she's napping.
 
I still think washing diapers is easier than holding her over the potty, then cleaning the potty. Yeah, I know I should be so happy that my baby's willing to go in the potty, so call me spoilt. So I'm looking for strong reasons to keep me going this early like...
- less diapers to scrub (not really persuasive),
- no need to buy disposables when she goes into child care (I checked they won't use cloth diapers even with diaper cover)
- less diapers (just for backup) to bring out / when traveling, and
- when she is mobile, she'll scoot herself over to the potty and I'll just sit her in it!
 
Ok, now back to the baby again :D

She woke 5pm... or i heard her playing with her rattle @ 5pm...

Scary!
I put a rattle out of her reach on edge of bed in case she roll too far to side, I'll know.
She actually turned herself there to play with it by herself!
Proud she's independent, but also means I have to go in and check more often.
In case the toy gets too near the edge or falls off the bed.
Sigh, parenthood...
 
See ya soon tonight!!! It's Friday, give yourself an early start to the weekend and come home as early as you can!
Looking forward to any tasty treats for dinner my dearest Lougong brings home!

Weighing 6.34kg & 61cm @ 3 mths 4 wks

Woo... she's growing fast... Clothes that uncles bought for her are already too small... time to get some new ones ;)

She's so much fun to play with now!

Only complaint is, she plays until she doesn't want to sleep sometimes. Have too start 'cooling' down activities from 5pm onwards, nothing to stimulating, or else she might wail til 11pm or 1am, Lougong, right?

Sigh.

She can grasp her toys @ 3.5 months!

With the skwish placed beside her, she can now grasp it / hook her fingers around the strings and bring it towards her. So cute!

She gets frustrated if she cannot get any of the rounded ends into her mouth though. Took some videos of her mouthing the toy, picking and relinquishing the skwish :)

This toy is something!

By the way, this skill usually appears at 4 months for 90% of babies, so proud!

Tummy exercises with Papa

Papa and Shay Ning doing tummy exercises on Papa's lap.

You can tell that Shay Ning wasn't too enthusiastic about it.

26 Feb 2010, 10:28am.

3-day laundry cycle

Shay Ning's using less diapers nowadays, since a month ago, on average 15 per day, so we're doing laundry 1 more day apart :) Later, maybe longer :) We still wash diapers with our clothes, no need to separate as I scrub off the solids before throwing into the machine.

Saves us on average 60 washes p.a. compared to 2-day laundry cycles :)

My 150 pc per box of Anakku nappy liners, cut in 2 for usage, should last us a month per box :) Am considering omitting the liners altogether since I have to scrub the 'massive' poos anyway, and most importantly, I don't like the way it sticks to her skin whenever we change her, wondering if it's uncomfortable or warm. It helps keep her dry even when nappy is wet, good when sleeping (dun suddenly wake up with wet and cold nappy).

Meanwhile, will still continue using until she's using the potty or when my stock is used up :)

Baby Ning's consoling hands...

Last night, I was extremely tired... Fell asleep aching all over and with a pain on right lower abdomen (ovulating?!).

Fed Ning Ning twice in the night.

In the morning, when I fed her again, she turned her head 45' towards me and placed her other hand on top of mine and gently brushed down / pat as if to console me.

It felt really nice, boosted my morale & energy :)

Vocalizing more, crying less

She's been babbling a lot lately, very cute! Now, even with me, she'll start babbling after milk, or when her nappy is wet. When the diaper needs changing, her babbling becomes more urgent.

Yesterday, we went out to 'Lou Sang' @ Causeway Point. Usually she'll sleep peacefully in my sling, but yesterday was an exception.

So, I brought her out to Kiddy Palace to look at some teething toys and books. She's happily looking at them as I try it out in front of her. After viewing and finding nothing that fits my requirements, I turned to look at the strollers and diaper organizers. That's when she started babbling persistently. I turned again to the toys section, and she's quietly watching the colorful displays as we walked past them. The moment I changed section, she's again babbling quite assertively!

Oh dear, seems like she's already in love with toys.
We'll deal with that later.

Best thing about it is she's not crying, but starting to express her wants vocally.

She doesn't need help with milk...

Around 10 weeks or so, she started exhibiting a very independent behaviour, a little sad to me, but it's good for her development. Sad because she pushes me away...

I used to have to stick the nipple into her mouth for her. Now, she pushes my hand away with the back of her hand. And even if I manage to stick it into her mouth, she'll turn away and do it herself. It's as if to say, "Mummy, I can do this by myself!"

What makes me proud is, she's learnt to use her hand to push it into her mouth.

Sigh.
^_^

Gong xi gesture just in time!

She cupped her hands together in the middle just in time for Chinese New Year!

We noticed this new skill on the 3rd morning of the Tiger year, 16 Jan 2010, at 3 months and 1 week old, while I was eating breakfast and Papa was playing beside her in the pink bouncy chair! It's as if wishing us happy chinese new year!

Can't wait to take a picture of this new gesture to commemorate our first CNY together!

Updated with picture, Sun, 21 Feb 2010.

客人來,看爸爸...

While trying to lull her to sleep last night, I sang the 客人來,看爸爸 song... During one repetition, she actually vocalized in pace (not in tune yet) with me!

I was so engrossed with trying to lull her to sleep, I didn't praise / encourage her... :( Must watch out again for these attempts to sing, who knows, we may have a Theresa Teng in the making ;)

Oh, and she loves Theresa's "月亮代表我的心" song.

3 month development

Went to the polyclinic for her 3-month vaccines and developmental checks on 12 Feb 2010. She's now 5.8 kg, 58 cm long and has a head circumference of 40cm, all at the 50% percentile (average).

She's skillsets are almost complete except for 2 items, which doctor clarified she has, for one, the 45' head lift when placed facing downwards. The only other skill that's a little late is the grasp. She can hold if placed in open palm, but not when you touch the back of her hand or fingers.

Past 3 days have been really tiring, with the vaccination crankiness, and yesterday, drinking at least 3x after midnight.And it's REALLY HOT these days, am sweating like a sow!I've been wiping myself everytime I get the opportunity after a feed. Lougong don't feel the heat. I wonder if it is the milk production, or my hormones.
=)

She laughs...

A week ago, I was singing to her in bed until my voice was sore. Then I choked on my own saliva and coughed. That's when I first noticed her laugh, she chuckled twice.

I thought it was a coincidence, revisited what I just did, and then coughed again, this time faking it. And she chuckled again! I tried again, and again she chuckled.

THREE times!!!

After that she didn't repeat the laughing until yesterday. Lougong and I were playing with her in bed, then she started her smile half way then frown, so I stripped and said milk time! And she laughed!

Oh, so fun!

Playing with Shay Ning to sleep

Discovered last Friday that exercising her can make her tire and sleep more easily, without having us to carry / rock her to sleep. So far, she's only been falling asleep after feeding and rocking. Playing has never ended peacefully.

How do you exercise a baby? I don't know. She likes to kick and fling her arms around a lot.

So, I sing and do the same with her limbs :) She likes it especially when I do dance/kungfu moves with her legs. Her arms, if you move it like she's very excited / drumming, she likes that too :)

I've also been pulling her up to sitting position by her hands in bed. At first, her head just hangs back, now she's able to hold her hed for quite a long time. She can even bring it close to her hand and try to suck at it :P

Being able to put her to sleep with play rather than have her cry and rock to sleep really boosts my confidence. Twice, while playing, her eyes droops, so I lower the singing volume, slow down a bit and quite quickly she'll close her eyes to sleep.

Sigh.

The many faces of Hua Shay Ning (9 landscapes) - 3 months

The many faces of Hua Shay Ning (4 portraits) - 3 months

Only a parent can tolerate and care...

Yesterday was a very difficult day.
She fed non-stop till 12pm, and still latched on.
She's sleepy yet unwilling to let me put her down.
Just wail and cry.

I had to re-heat and eat lunch with her in my arms.
When I sat down to eat and cannot rock her, she wailed all the way till I scooped enough food to 'tahan' for a while.

These are the times when I think, even I can barely withstand her neediness, how will those in the infant care be able to handle 2 babies (ratio of carer to infant is 1:2) during times like this?

Will they let her cry herself to sleep?
Will they leave her nappy wet/soiled?
Will they soothe her when she cannot go to sleep on her own?
Will they lash out or scold her if she doesn't quiet down and wakes the rest of the babies?
Will they 'shake' her and intentionally/unintentionally hurt my baby?
Will they physically hurt her?

I cannot imagine how others, especially non-family members, may react or do to her on a day like yesterday.

I'm glad I'm the one taking care of her.

It is difficult.

All the more relieved that I am the one taking care of her, that the worst I can/will do to her, is let her cry in my arms / cot until I finish my food/toilet break. If I'm on the verge of falling asleep, then she'll lie with me till she falls asleep.

Yesterday was peaceful...

Shay Ning woke up for while and fed only 8 times yesterday and she didn't fuss in the evening. I was quite worried she'd reverse the schedule and wake up once every hour after midnight for feeds. Thankfully, she didn't.

Breasts were very hard, nearly painful. I was so worried they'd be engorged again. It felt like someone stuffed metal plates into my bra while I wasn't looking. The last 2 times they felt like this, I very high fevers, close to 40 degrees Celcius and had to pump out the excess milk, apply cold packs and cabbage leaves, and take Paracetamol to bring my temperature back to normal. So, I was very relieved when Shay Ning drank when she did.

Now, if only yesterday's trend would continue from now onwards... That'd really be nice ;)

Our new life routine

Nowadays, my daily ritual is feed and change Shay Ning every hour for 20-30 minutes each time between her 0600 - 1400hrs, then it's twice between 1400-1800hrs, and another 2-3 times between 1800-0000hrs. After that, it's 1-2 times between 0000 - 0600hrs. In the evenings, when she 'fusses', wouldn't sleep or feed, she needs to be held and soothed for 1-2 hrs to sleep, thankfully, Lougong is a good father and takes care of Shay Ning when she fusses in the evening so I can have dinner and take my shower. That is more or less the usual if she's not on a growth spurt, that is a totally different story, it's once every 1-1.5 hours from 0600 - 0000hrs.
 
Ever since Lougong has gone back to work, I've been following a 'system' to adapt to taking care of baby, myself and the household chores :)
 
For someone who cooks occassionally after work or in the weekends, and is okay cleaning house once every few months, this is a really BIG challenge. When Lougong went back to work, I have no one to pack lunch for me, to take over caring for Shay Ning when she fusses when I'm worn out, doing laundry (about 20 diapers daily), all that is quite a handful for me to handle on my own.
 
So, every alternate day, I do laundry, with about 65 diapers to last thru the 2-day laundry cycle. She wets close to 20 diapers daily.
 
As for food, I cook 4 portions of food when it's not laundry day, so I can refrigerate 2 portions for when it's laundry day, and when I cannot cook by lunch on a cooking day. Since I only have very short periods 20-30 minutes to prepare meals, I break up the preparation in these slots. When all the ingredients are ready, I use the steamer to make a stew / soup, with rice / noodle on top layer, sometimes steamed egg with minced meat or other side dishes on top (it has 4 layers). The Simply Her freebie induction cooker comes in handy as I can set the temperature (tried and tested beforehand) and the timer so that if I need to attend to baby for long periods, I don't have to worry about it boiling over at the gas stove ;) Convenient eh?
 
I've also been looking for snacks and decided to make sardine fillings (like those in curry puffs, fry chopped big onions, mash sardines with bones removed, then season with tomato sauch, salt, pepper) and egg mayo for toasted sandwiches. Checked online, these fillings can last a week in the fridge. So there, two snacks a day taken care of, once before lunch, once before dinner :) Maybe I'll make some hummus too, if I have the time, sigh.
 
Am tempted to get a sandwich maker :P I like my food hot :P
 
Till my next post, think it's time she wakes for milk.

Erm, just checked, she's awake, but went back to sleep. Gave me a very sleepy smile when I checked her diaper and asked if she wants milk. Sigh. These are the moments I live for nowadays :)

Shay Ning with toys

She loves the new Fisher & Price Jungle Theme mobile... but it doesn't help when she's fussy and crying.
Same with the IKEA baby gym.
 
Think she was on a growth spurt yesterday, was awake and drinking every hour from 7 A.M. until 7 P.M. with only 1-2 hours nap in between. These growth spurts are really challenging on us, not only is she drinking so much, but she's also clingy and fussy (means needs to be carried or else she'll cry). Lougong had to wake me up during the last one when she couldn't latch on and I've already fallen asleep.
 
Today's a good day. Managed to cook tom yum soup with rice and bee hoon. Had it for lunch too. Though it soaked up all the soup as Shay Ning woke up just as I have sat down to eat. Have stored away 2 portions for next 2 days in the fridge. Tonight's portion is awaiting Lougong :)
 
Was looking at her health booklet for the 3rd month development checklist, she still has 3 skills to learn:
1. both hands touching in the middle,
2. lift head 45 degrees while on tummy, and
3. grasp toy for few seconds when placed in hand.
 
It's still the 2nd month, so there's still lots of time ;)
Looking forward to spotting these skills soon!
 

Blowing bubbles since last week (week 7)

Found out from BabyCenter that blowing bubbles is also a skill, and half the babies can do it in the third month, which means, our little girl is a little advance ;) or maybe we really bore her till she has to resort to blowing bubbles :P
 
It seems like so long ago, when it has only been slightly more than 7 weeks when we have Shay Ning. Maybe the last couple of weeks was really tough in the evenings, when she would only feed for 3 minutes and then start crying, no, it's wailing, and we'll carry her, rock her and won't let us put her down. She's got a penchant for being carried chest to chest, upright and her head flopped backwards, which is quite tiring. When she's in our arms, and comfortable, she's just awake and curious and looks around until she's sleepy then falls asleep. See photo of Papa below. Most of the day she sleeps or plays nicely by herself or with us and then goes to sleep. Between midnight and morning, she'll only wake twice for milk, at most and then falls asleep again. It is only the evenings, so I guess, we're still quite lucky.
 
Yesterday we brought her out to buy her a cot mobile, a brush and maybe some other toys, since she was fussy and didn't really want to sleep. We've got some vouchers for Kiddy Palace and got her the Fisher and Price Jungle theme cot mobile. It has lights, 18-minute Bach, Beethoven, Mozart music and a revolving mobile with jungle animal soft toys. We're gonna put it up later. Maybe take a picture afterwards.
Hopefully it'll make it less boring for her when her parents are totally knocked out to play with her.
 
We also bought a front carrier, since she likes the chest to chest, to take some weight off our arms while soothing her in the evenings. Papa's tried it out, it's good and Shay Ning doesn't object to it, thankfully.
 
So, now, we're still trying to figure out why she's so fussy in the evenings. Maybe we'll try to go out again in the late afternoon, or see if her pattern is changing, then go out again tomorrow. She slept relatively quickly yesterday. We arrived home about 1900hrs, then she started fussing shortly after, but finally drank at 2100hrs falling asleep during feed after an hour and fifteen minutes.
 
Wish us good luck!
Or give us some good tips ;)

Playing with Pa in Bed

This is Lougong playing with Ning in bed.
He's very creative in play.
This is just one of the games ;)

Finishing Line in Sight @ Wk 38

It's been a long run...

We're now seeing the obstetrician weekly.
Am scheduled for a CTG (cardiotocograph, measures fetal heart rate and uterine contractions) and ultrasound scan to check baby's EFW (estimated fetal weight) and AFI (amniotic fluid index).
What it means is, we'll check if baby's ok and if there's enough amniotic fluid.

Been very tired, taking 3 hr naps is becoming a norm.
Regularly irregular Braxton Hicks, which started as early as 7th month, are making me sore sometimes. Not painful, but quite sore, imagine having a little one grinding against your urinary tract on average 4 times an hour, and everytime it happens, your whole stomach goes really tight and you have to pant to catch your breath. Hmm, not painful, but not exactly a walk in the park either :)

Been tracking my weight. Wow, this week, I've gained 14 kg since my 3rd month *gasp* Think I'm even heavier than Lougong now.

Another thing, Lougong says he thinks he saw stretch marks on my underbelly! It couldn't be! Mummy & BB both didn't have any. And this was suppose to be hereditary. Hmm, anyway, you can't control these things, not even if you applied creams, I read. So no point crying over spilt milk :) I'm sure the cosmetic industry has ways and means to reduce / undo this once Lougong and I've had enough kids :)

Alright, that's all for now!

Thoughts & Baby's Patterns @ Week 34

Baby's very active.

I would often stop what I was and just enjoy feeling baby moving inside. Sometimes you can even see the belly move!

Almost every meal time and a while after that, baby will start to fidget. Lougong, right?

When Lougong puts a hand on the belly during the active period, baby will even 'pop-up' under his hand. Funny Lougong, he'd jerk his hand back as if afraid of it. Lougong says quite 'geli' :P

Recently, while watching television after dinner, I would lie flat on my back and watch my belly change shape. Baby would take the opportunity to 'stretch'. My whole belly would distort from big round dome to diagonal bump from my bottom right stomach up to my left hand side just below the left breast. I didn't know they could do that :) Hee hee, we didn't take any pictures yet, coz usually don't wear much by then, VERY HOT.

Even in the day time, sometimes, my belly will show a bump on the right while the left hand side is 'deflated'. Then I'd really feel the stretch :)

Another observation is, baby tend to 'hiccup' a lot. Can feel it. 1 week at least a few times. Nobody knows why baby 'hiccup' in the womb. *puzzled*

Alright, that's all for now.

Been feeling very heavy and tired recently. Taken 3-4 hr naps every weekend since last week.

A Very Pregnant Photoshoot @ Week 33

Lougong remarked we don't have any photos of a pregnant me.

Actually we did take some, they weren't very flattering. That's why we didn't put them up. Oily complexion and water retention doesn't make for a very flattering shot ;)

Anyway, here's 2 that made the censorship and into our memory lane / album :)

Checkup @ Week 31

Last obstetric visit was a non-event. I was attended to by Dr John Su (Su Si Chang) at Clinic C.

Travelled 45 mins there, waited almost an hour, in and out of the Doctor's office in under 5 minutes.

I printed out the revised Birth Plan for the Doctor to follow, only to have him glance at it for 2 secs to figure out what it was, then declare, "Sorry, I'm afraid you cannot follow it."

I defended that I've first cleared it with the nurses at the ante-natal class to see what was feasible in KKH before submitting this plan. Only then did he have a second glance while the attending nurse prepared me for the Doppler scan to hear the baby's heartbeat.

After hearing the heartbeat, the Dr Su explained that what's in my list is already what KK does. There's no need to have the birth plan.

I'm very disappointed at the doctor's initial response. Subsidized patient means part of the fee is paid by government, doesn't mean they're paid any less. How can he discount the service quality as well?

Other than that, he says everything seems smooth so far, and gave me an appointment 4 weeks later. I thought I would be seeing Doctor every 2 weeks from now on, in 3rd trimester, but no, wrong again. Sigh.