Saturday, October 28, 2006

Please don't pang-sai tonite, ok

Last 2 nights, it was as if I had travelled back in time to be a mother to a newly born infant.

On Thursday night , Bryan woke up at 430am ++. I breastfed him and he refused to go back to sleep. Instead he cried and cried and cried. Finally, hubby took him out to our bedroom, turned on the lights and let him play with some toys. Turned out, he want to pang-sai (pass motion) *shit* roll eyes*

He went back to sleep at ~630am, when it was time for me to get ready to work. I can hear our alarm clock go off in the next room as he dozes off.

Yesternite, Friday - Bryan woke up at 1230am. Again, I breastfed him and after that he cried continuosly. Refused to let me cuddle him and refuse to sleep on the bed. During the day, his EBM consumption had been very low, only about 10 Oz cause he napped for a long time. So i thought, maybe hungry. I refuse to take feed him my EBM in the fridge, because if he is not hungry, it will be wasted.

Since i plan to introduce formula after he officially turned 1, i decided to open a tin of formula. Made 4 Oz for him, but the moment, Bryan had a sip of formula, he spit it out. Actually, it looked as if he wants to vomit. (*formula really that bad meh???*).

For the next 2.5 hours, hubby and i tried this and that to calm him down. Finally, hubby took him to the living room and let him play some toys. And turned out, he want to pang-sai. Went back to sleep almost immediately after he pangsai and we changed his nappy. Think it was close to 4am by then.

Aiyooo...this baby ah!!!! Do you have to pangsai in the middle of the night? Can pangsai in the morning, afternoon or evening mah. Why middle of the night one???!!!!

I was about to go mad with Bryan crying non-stop and me feeling so sleepy & tired after a long day at work. Luckily hubby is very patient and helped to comfort Bryan, otherwise, i sure go cuckoo.

So today, hubby and i have been telling/ asking Bryan, "Want to pangsai boh? If yes, do it now ok? No more pangsai tonite" And he did pangsai in the afternoon liao la.

So, i am crossing my fingers for a good night's sleep tonite. Let's hope my wish come true.

Going to sleep now...ZZZZZ

Thursday, October 26, 2006

1st birthday party

We decided to take advantage of the Raya Holidays to have an early birthday celebration for Bryan. Afterall, it is only about a week earlier, as the actual day is next Thursday.

I had thought and planned about this day months in advance. I was thinking of a few options

#1: Afternoon garden party at the BBQ corner at our apartment grounds. The place is nice, shady and spacious. I was planning to hang balloons & streamers at the tree branches to create a party environment.

#2: Dinner party at a restaurant.

#3: Small party for just relatives at our house.

Finally we decided on #3, and I am happy about it cause
#1: It has been raining the last few days and the grounds are muddy and wet. It also rained towards the evening as well.

#2: Went to hubby’s colleague baby’s first birthday party and it felt more like a wedding dinner.

#3: Since only relatives are invited, Bryan is familiar with everyone (almost). Also, as it is at our house, Bryan was very comfortable…no stranger anxiety at all.

All the food at the party is home-cooked
Mom: Fried noodles + egg jelly + red eggs
MIL: Fried bee hoon + curry chicken
Me: Pasta with cheese & tuna
Aunt #5: Swiss roll blueberry cheese birthday cake, creamy cream puff, tuna rolls, cheese tarts

Unfortunately, Bryan cannot have any one of it, not even the birthday cake. Paed had advised me to continue to avoid giving egg to Bryan for fear of allergy.

Nevermind la darling, by this time next year, you will be able to enjoy everything on the table.

MIL had to hold Bryan's hands at the sides to get this photo, as Bryan will pull the cap down as soon as we put it on for him....






Sunday, October 22, 2006

My Super Manja Prince

Since Bryan is unwell, he is cranky and expects everyone to treat him like royalty. He expects entertainment - make it varied entertainment all the time. He gets bored easily and when he is bored, he is CRANKY again.

And he has learnt to use his magic index finger!

*Point* point* must get him the item he wants
*Point* point* must carry him to the place he wants

So this holiday, hubby and i are destined to be slaves to this little prince.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Caught by the sick bug

I had to leave Bryan at my mother's house yesternight as
1. I had to entertain a colleague from America for dinner
2. I have a 730am conference call and hubby have an early conference call too.
==> I will have to leave the house at 630am to send him to mom's house if i take Bryan home

I called home a few times yesternight to make sure that Bryan is ok => drink milk oredi boh? Sleep liao boh? Before i went to sleep at 1130pm ++, sis sms me to inform me that Bryan has some slight fever...38C++. Since it's late already, i told her to tell mom to just monitor, give some kiddi paracetamol, put coolfever, and see how things are in the morning. Anyway, paed said that it is only considered high fever if > 39C.

Then i got a phone call at 1240mn from my sis - Bryan is having a high fever - 39.2C . Sis asks that i take him to see the doctor. But so late liao, it'll take me 30mins to change my clothes, pack some of Bryan's stuff and get to my mom's place. Another 20 mins to get to the hospital, another 20-30 mins there for the paed to arrive & examine him. No one is going to get any sleep, esp Bryan. So i told my sis, (mum taking care of bb, cannot talk on the phone), wait till morning and see how. Just continue to check bb, and sponge if necessary.

In the morning, bb's fever had subside, but mom said that bb is still cranky and ask that we take him to the paed. There's no way i can take the day off because i have a few meetings scheduled with my visiting colleague, and there's no way i can reschedule the meetings as he leaves this afternoon. Luckily hubby took the day off as he was not feeling well himself.

So hubby went over to mum's place. Checked baby - still no fever. But my mom & dad insists to see the paed. So off to the hospital they go. The paed is a very popular paed, and it is usually a very very long wait.

While waiting, hubby and mom felt Bryan's body got warm and asks the nurse to check his temp - sure enough fever again - 38.7C. As the paed is still not in yet (still at the ward doing his rounds), she gave Bryan some paracetamol.

Hubby warned the nurse that Bryan hates taking medicine, so to get him to take 2.5ml of medicine, the nurse had to separate it into many many sessions. Each session, just put a few drops into his mouth. The paed arrive about 30 mins later, and when he sees Bryan, fever has gone down to 37.2C .

Turned out Bryan has some throat infection and have to take antibiotics. No choice as there are some white spots at the throat. But luckily don have to admit yet. Have to monitor for the next 2 days and if he is still ill, will have to take him back to the paed.

Anyway, now he is slightly feverish - up & down. Has no appetite for food. Does not want to drink EBM out from the bottle. So he barely ate during the day except for a jar of Heinz pureed vegetables.

Actually my mom ask me not to take him back for the night as he is very very clingy and mom is afraid that I will not be able to get anything done, since i normally need to work from home.

But since he rejects EBM from the bottle, I need to take him home so that i can directly breastfeed him. And i do want to spend time with him. Luckily he accepts direct breastfeed. In fact I had to breastfeed him more times than usual last night. But it's ok, coz BM will help him to recover faster.

Poor baby, pls get well soon.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Hello, pretty stranger

Although Bryan is wary of strangers, he is nevertheless attracted to young and attractive strangers. When he sees them around, he will be staring at them for a few moments, and if they do not notice him, he will call out to them, "Eh, eh, eh.."

And hubby will go, "Baby pang-ten* again"
* (hokkien literal - sending electricity = flirting)

And Bryan does this to all attractive girls of all races - chinese, indian, malay - waitresses, shop assistance, the girl in the lift, and the indonesian maid who clears our table in the coffee shop.

Was at Gurney Plaza yesterday, and we were queing at the carpark payment machine when we heard Bryan go "Eh, eh, eh...*giggles*". We turned behind us, and there was this sweet young girl winking away at him.

And during dinner last night, he was teasing the ladies (malay mother and daughter) at the next table so much, that the mum just came over and scooped his face up in her palms. *geram-nya*

With a toothless smile like this, how can any girl resists his pang-ten, right?

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Happy Birthday To ME

Happy Birthday to ME
Happy Birthday to ME
Happy Birthday to ME
Happy Birthday to ME

(clap) (clap) (clap) (clap)

Monday, October 09, 2006

Lessons from a baby

This morning, Bryan tried to play spider-baby again. He tried to pull himself on the display cupboard in our living room, by placing his palms on the glass door. Since the surface is flat, it is hard for him to hold on and of course he fell, brushing against the side of the cupboard (1). He tried to get himself up, and fell some more, now against the coffee table next to the cupboard (2). Determined to get up, he tried to balance and pull himself up, only to fall to the floor (3).

And did he cry? No. Instead he got angry with himself and swatted his forehead with his palms. And tried to do it all over again.

I find this amusing that i related this to my colleagues over lunch. And my friends remarked that sometimes we should look at babies and learn from them. Baby perceive pain differently from us, and their determination for success is so strong.

How true? There are indeed lessons that we can learn from a baby. Things that we forget as we age...

1. We will always make mistakes when we are learning, and life is a never-ending learning experience.
2. It's ok to fall. Just learn to get up and try again.
3. Just because you fail the first time, it does not mean you will fail again.

These are indeed priceless lessons in life. Imagine, if a baby does not possess them, they will never learn to stand, walk, run, talk, ...

As adults, we are often afraid to make mistakes, to challenge our limits and to try new things. We are hampered by our past failures and painful experiences. But if we don't learn to let them go, how far do you think we can go...?

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Caring daddy

LK can be such a sweet and caring daddy sometimes. Eg,this evening, I went to the hairdresser for a wash, cut and set (got wedding lunch tomoro , and was out for 2 hours. He took care of Bryan, fed him porridge and kept him entertained while i was away.

When i am back, I prepared Bryan's bath water, and LK bathed and dressed Bryan while i vacuum the floor a bit and relaxed. Nowadays, Bryan has developed a wanderer spirit, and would be crawling all over the place or pulling himself up using anything & everything. LK would usually be the one who will rush to Bryan side to prevent any potential accidents.

And t0night, when its time for Bryan to ZZZZ, LK accompanied me while i nurse Bryan. It has been a long day and as the room is dark, it is a nice snoozy opportunity. It does not take long for LK to snooze off, and i was getting sleepy myself. Besides, during breastfeeding, our body releases the oxytocin (happy) hormone which helps one to relax.

Mana tau, this naughty baby go and give me a BITE....ARRRRGHHHHHHHH

So far Bryan has been a good baby while nursing. Except during the initial teething stage, he does not bite me during nursing as he understands that it is a no-no.

It was REALLY painful as he has 4 teeth now - 2 top & 2 bottom. So to let Bryan know that it is a BIG NO-NO, I smacked his cheeks a few times with my fingers (gently only la, angry but he his still my precious baby), and put him down immediately.

Of course la, Bryan begin wailing immediately, he cried even harder when Lk picked him up to comfort him as if to complain about me. But it did not take long for him to stop crying and i continued nursing him, with a bit of fear. But luckily no more biting and Bryan fell asleep soon after.

I fell asleep with Bryan and was only awaken by LK some time later. By the time i got out of Bryan's room, LK had retrieved all the dried laundry and was folding them at the living room.

So sweet! I want to write it down to remind myself to be thankful and appreciative of my hubby. Being a working mother is not easy, and having a caring husband certainly helps to make motherhood more enjoyable.

Friday, October 06, 2006

Mid Autumn Festival 2006

Today is Bryan's first Mid Autumn Festival. We bought him his first lantern, a battery operated Baby Donald Lantern which emits the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star song, a few weeks ago.




















Bryan also have a David Beckham lantern which plays the "Here we go, ole, ole, ole song". The figure will kick the football when it is switched on. My aunt #3 (his great aunt) bought it for him.

At his paternal grandma's house, his aunt Lena also gave him a small round lantern. Again, battery operated but no music.

That's certainly a lot of lanterns for a baby who has yet to learn how to enjoy a lantern. To Bryan, the lanterns is just another toy that emits music and light. Another potential object to explore with his mouth..Ewwwww..

Although the weather is hazy (thanks to Indonesia's forest fire), we decided to take him to the apartment grounds for a short stroll to enjoy the festive atmosphere. The hazy weather certainly did not stop residents from enjoying the night.

At the BBQ area, a group of students was having a BBQ party.

A group of middle-aged aunties was having pot luck at one corner of the garden.

There were groups of children lighting candles on the path way. I tried to capture the atmostphere with my camera, but the photos turned out blurry as i was using the night mode without the tripod. Anyway, below are some of the clearer ones.




Happy Mid-Autumn festival Bryan.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

So tired

The last few days has been so hectic - at the office, and continue to work somemore after Bryan is asleep. The last few nights, i have been working till about 1am. So tired....

Lk also the same - a lot of work and have been working late as well. So if you go to my house now, u will see a big pile of clean laundry sitting at the corner. I just cannot find the time to tidy them up.

This morning when the alarm clock goes off at 630am, i realized LK was no longer at my side, nor is he in the bathroom.

I found him sleeping next to Bryan instead.

Shooi: Baby cry meh?
LK: Er...donno. I don't remember why i am here also...

Cham la.
Me: i didn't even hear baby crying over the baby monitor (if baby did la)
LK: Must have heard baby cry and went over to baby's room to comfort him, but have no recollection of that. He did remember waking up at 530am because baby was tickling his chin, but cannot remember when or why he went to Bryan's room in the first place.

Arrggghh...Both of us so overworked. Can't wait for the long Deepavali & Raya holidays to start.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Taking charge...

Finally Bryan realized that he is capable of taking charge and it is sometimes pointless to cry.

This morning, LK put out a few toys on the living room floor for Bryan. Then he left to go to the kitchen to get a drink while Bryan is engrossed with the toys. I was in the kitchen at the time. After a few minutes, Bryan realized that he was alone in the living room. LK noticed that and said, "Oops, he just noticed I'm gone. He’s going to cry now”

But to our surprise, Bryan did not cry, but instead just quickly crawled towards the kitchen. Not sure how he figured out that we are in the kitchen. I am so proud of him.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Learning to drive?

Normally we do not allow Bryan to the driver seat, as we do not want him to make it a habit. But today, he got a fright from fireworks when we are about to reach home. And as i release him from his car seat, he called to his daddy. Since we have already parked the car, I decided to let him go to his daddy.

And as soon as he is behind the wheels, he started playing with all the knobs, and handles. Obviously he had been fairly intrigued and was excited to be allowed to touch.

His favourite obviously is to turn on the car wiper and to spray the water. He als

Later i found out that my dad regularly let Bryan sit with him at the driver's seat while waiting for my mum to finish her marketing.

No wonder he is so familiar with all the different car "control items" - whatever you call them

Monday, October 02, 2006

Bryan is 11 months old

Now he can
  1. Say papa, mama, mum-mum, bye bye, bear bear, ai, kai-kai. These are the common words he says each day. Sometimes he will surprise us by imitating certain words as we say it.
  2. Pull himself up to a standing position.
  3. Take a few steps while holding on to something. Usually it is merry go round in his play pen.
  4. Understand most of the things we say. Eg
    1. When we say “suei-chiau” (sleep), he will find the nearest pillow and plop his head on it for 2 seconds. LOL. If only he can really go to sleep when we ask him to.
    2. Up or “Chi Lai” when he is bathing, he will get up, of course with our help. But will still cry because he loves playing with water.
    3. When we ask him to not put objects into his mouth. He will usually obey but sometimes can get angry. If he gets angry, he will throw the item down with force, only to pick it up again in a few seconds to continue playing , …and attempting to put it into his mouth.
  5. If we leave the room and go to another without him, he will crawl after us…usually crying along the way.
  6. Get down from his mattress (~ 6 inch high) on to the floor with no problem. No more hitting his head when getting down.
  7. Has developed fear of strangers. Takes a while to warm up to strangers now, and is quite clingy when he is in new places or among new people.
  8. He’ll clap my hand when I say “High 5” and offered my palm.
  9. Ask for food whenever he sees us eating.
  10. Can “drive” his car…backwards.
  11. Sleeps through the night with occasionally waking up for 1 feeding. Usually at about 530am because of the azan from nearby mosques. That’s the trouble with staying in apartments, can hear sounds from different directions.

He loves - The mirror.

He still doesn’t like to:-

  1. Sit in the stroller
  2. A bit more cooperative in the car seat. Still will cry to be let out of the chair but not loud (bad) enough for me to get him out. (Except yesterday night on the way to LK’s colleague’s baby birthday party. Did not cry loudly but was as if trying to make himself vomit. I know he is capable of doing that, so LK said to get him out quick).

And he has 2 little teeth at the bottom, and another 2 emerging tooth at the top. OK, now mummy got to start planning for your 1 year birthday.

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Crawling on fours

Yippeeee.....Bryan is now crawling on fours! And I was there to witness the very first crawl, together with my mom, sis and LK.

Hmm...i hope i will be there to witness his first unassisted step as well, which will not be too far away.