My pillow and bolster

My daddy bought me a new pillow (not my doggy) and a bolster. The pillow's really flat and thin, good for babies.

Actually, I don't really use them. I always slide off my pillow and 'rotate' a good 90 degrees from my original position. Daddy sleeps on my right and mummy on my left, each morning, my legs will end up kicking daddy's waist, I'm his morning call for work. 

My Grandma's birthday!

Busy Busy Busy... not me, but my mummy! Grandpa, Grandma and small jiu jiu have shifted in with us. Mummy was busy arranging more space for them bunk in. There seems to be some overcrowding effect, but it's just so fun living with them. Mummy will bring me to greet everyone in the morning before bath time, but in the night, most of them come home after I sleep, no chance to say 'night night' to them.

Mummy's housework has lighten too, because Grandma will help keep the place neat and clean, mother's instinct I guess. Just this tues, we celebrated Grandma's birthday at Shangri la, using 'flash your age' promotion. She's 55, so we got 55% off the total bill. The lunch was not as fabulous as dinner, so thumbs down. Anyway, we had a great time of food, I had my milk there and slept sound so that everyone can have undisturbed meal. I've been good!

A big family staying together is fun, Mummy likes it because it means more people handling me when I'm cranky. 

 

Where's the resemblance?

My face is changing almost everyday. Dad and Mum would constantly be arguing about who I resemble more. They posted this photo on facebook and there were almost equal votes for Dad and Mum. A conclusion was hard to derive, because I have a combination of their features on me. Moreover, Dad and Mum are always complimented by friends and even strangers that they have '夫妻脸', not sure how you would say that in English. In simple terms, they look compatibly alike. So, nothing to argue about... we all look like a family. Mummy recalled, once they shared a table with an uncle at a hawker, he commented that they have '夫妻脸', Mum was taken aback and thought he sounded like a prophet.

Mummy on left and Daddy on right

Well, whoever I look like doesn't matter, I'm their fruit and which parents aren't proud of their child? Mum and Dad can't stop praising how adorable and pretty I am. They know I'm gonna be a real beauty when I grow up. Not to deny, the cutest moments are usually during my sleep time, it's this long paused position that they'll admire and admire. Dad will tell Mum, "She's so small, so cute!" and before I arrived, Dad always tell Mum, "small small, cute cute." Mum's no more the cutie in Dad's eyes now... it's me! Anyway, babies are real fun to play and laugh at, their movements are so so so adorable! 

 

ebay purchases

Times are bad, it's only right to scrimp and save. Mummy's someone who doesn't mind getting used items for both herself and me. Only if these items are alright to be used as second hand, like dramas, books, CDs etc. For clothes and toys? Hmm... only if they are new.

Mummy have been wanting to add on to my books collection, but the prices of babies and toddlers' books are exuberantly high in the stores. Especially the hard covered types. A search on ebay threw out many choices for her.

She did some bargaining and settled for these:

All at a bargain of $15, including postage

If you think about it, it's rather expensive to buy because they are unwanted books by the seller. The comfort is that, to get them new, it'll go way above $15. Moreover, I'll outgrow these books too... but, mei mei or di di may be using them next time. Well, that's ok, books are not perishable, we can keep. We'll all outgrow these books some day and they'll be given or thrown away too. 

Mahjong's back

The last touch Mummy and Daddy had of mahjong was when I was still in Mummy's womb. Ever since, mahjong was off their mind till last night. Jiu jiu and his girlfriend made up the players. They had been bunking with us early this week, and next week grandma and grandpa will join. What a crowd! Yes, the house is gonna be overly occupied, their new home isn't ready and they sold their current home too hurriedly. Back to the good old days when mummy can keep chatting with Grandpa and Grandma nightly.

Back to the game... Mummy called for a practice session last night because neighbours are gathering a game next Saturday. The practice session could only begin after I sleep, which was a late 11p.m. I disrupted the game once and mummy had to pause to comfort me back to sleep, it didn't take long though. After that, I was quietly dreaming. You couldn't believe it, the shuffling of the tiles and their occasional loud excitements didn't wake my sleep. Amazing! In fact, each time Mummy shuffles the tiles, she was crossing her fingers that it wasn't too loud. Thank God all went well.

Maybe silent mahjong with silent tiles would be baby friendly, but where's the kick? So mahjong can exist with parenthood. Mummy thought Mahjong would be ruled out for years upon my arrival, doesn't seem impossible after all. Some things are still achievable even with an added commitment, it's probably more arrangements and inconveniences. But always a will, always a way. So what's next? 

 

Insomia?

Not sure what's with me the past few days, I'm disrupting Mummy's sleep again. I'm waking up for comfort at unusually 3-4 times a night. Sigh! It's really taxing on Mummy. Against her mind and flesh, she has to cradle rock or feed me back to sleep.

Feeling kinda curious, mummy did an online search on this behaviour, some sites suggested that it could be teething or overstimulated by day activities. Have mum and dad been playing too much with me? Talking about it, daddy introduced elmo and barney puppets to me yesterday, maybe they caused me to be overly excited. Nah, ruling out that possibility. Babies and children meet new toys all the time.

Another possible reason could be that I've learnt how to roll over. Over the past 2 weeks, I've learnt to roll from my back to tummy. 2 to 3 Months ahead, I'll be learning to sit upright and crawl. Could I have been over excited about achieving new milstones? Hmm... doesn't sound too logical to us.

Anyway, hoping I'll get through this 'insomia' stage once mummy starts introducing cereal to me. I may be waking up lesser with a filled tummy.

Barney and Elmo puppets!

Over excited expression...

TV and me

Some time ago, Daddy bought me this DVD, it's the part 2 of Baby bright's series. I'll watch it every morning after shower, and I love it. Along the many years, there have been an explosion in baby videos and programs, like 'Hi-5' and 'Barney'? So is TV good for children? Mummy stands on the fence, it's neither harmful nor healthy, moderation is good. Maybe just 20-30mins a day.

Watching TV helps mummy much by keeping me occupied and mostly silent. This is when mummy will hurry through her laundry or whip up a dinner.

Sometimes learning may not just come from parents, books or teachers. Choosing an age-appropriate programme can help stimulate learning too. My show has many colours, pictures, songs and objects that can aid my learning process. Sometimes the songs they play are familiar, I think my mummy sings them for me too.

And best part about good baby shows are the slow moving images. Not over straining those little eyes of mine.

Peekaboo!

I'm approaching 5 months! So wonderful... At this tiny stage, it's fun to cuddle and play with. I'll smile and laugh at any silly actions and games. The game that never fails to make me laugh is peekaboo! It's really fun, I'll laugh madly whenever daddy or mummy plays it with me. That's just how simple it is to make babies laugh. These moments absolutely bring joy to them, it's heart wrenching. Truly!

Illuma

Internet was down for the past few days, but it's up now! So I'm back updating.

Another weekend approached. Nice! Last week, dad and mum went Illuma for dinner, they were fascinated by this upbeat Japanese restaurant. You'll know why when you've visited it. It has so many restaurants under one roof, they named it restaurant 1, 2 and 3. Not knowing what they were, mummy randomly picked one to try. When it comes to ordering, it was even more interesting, it uses a pen that speaks (yes... it speaks) and to point on the menu when ordering. After which, your food appears within minutes. There wasn't much communication with the servers, but still service charge applies. Worth a try, the food is good!

 

After Dad and Mum had their fill, it was my turn. We headed to the nursing room, which they named it 'Baby room.' It was rather disappointing to see how inconsiderate the nursing room was done up. It has a transparent glass panel on part of the door. Mummy likes the privacy when it comes to nursing.

And finally, this long long escalator which daddy wanted to try, but mummy prefers the lift. I'm on a pram you know. It's quite scary to be on a moving escalator for long.

Living with Pillow

The long weekend ended and the short work week began. Daddy's back to work, Mummy's home now looking after 2 kiddos, a furry pal and me. Life with pillow these days has been easy, not much chaos because pillow had always been well behaved. Probably a little more troublesome for mummy, she has to mop the floor more frequent than before, and she just did it. Pillow sheds lots of fur and so it's a routine to brush him daily. Daddy walks him in the morning and mummy walks him in the evening. It's good exercise for all. When I can walk, I'll walk pillow too!

Pillow is a timid pal, he's easily frightened by loud noises or strange stuff. He has never come so close to a baby before, and when I cry, he'll start backing off (Probably wondering why I'm loud even though I'm smaller than him). And when he barks, I'll laugh. Pillow barks when he hears someone at the door, but mummy will scold him off. Few times, he frightened us with his sudden barks.

I love Pillow and Pillow loves me...

It's friday - 070809

Auntie LS's twins greeted the world today... Congrats! Mummy's so excited for her, she's ever teary when she hears her friends gave birth. Life's really a miracle! Like me, I grew from a little peanut in her womb, to a mango, to a papaya and finally to a honeydew before seeing light. What a fruity cycle... 

It's Friday! Though the days make no difference to mummy, but approaching weekend is equally exciting because daddy will be home. A home bounded mummy appreciates companion too. So what's in today? Groceries shopping, some ebay transactions (mummy sold some plush toys and a coffeemaker) and finally the most exciting moment... We're bringing Pillow home!!! After a long 4 months. It's against all odds (grandma and great grandma nagging), but Mummy's gonna overcome them to bring him home. This was and this is his home, he grew up here. Wonder how's life gonna be for the foursome living under one roof... I'll update you soon.

And classes began for Mummy this week, she's gonna get busy. Above that, she has cancelled the meal delivery order as they tasted bland, and not many caterers deliver to our area. For now, she'll have to include 'kitchen time' into her daily schedule. On good days, I can stay silent while she cooks, on bad days, I'll scream and cry for her attention, and that's when she has to put down her kitchen chores to entertain me. Just like yesterday, she tried making dinner, but I was of much disturbance to her. Still, she managed to whip up a simple meal and rushed to school.

Alrighty... real excited about Pillow's arrival tonight. Neighbours kept asking when is 'Kor Kor' coming back. Yes, he's a boy... 

 

Follow up on neighbour

If you recalled, some time ago, Mummy was upset with the neighbour above us, and she is still upset. The family above is not making any improvements despite Mummy's friendly letter to them. She dropped a letter of concern into their letter box, but they don't seem to make the environment better. It's either they don't understand English or they don't bother, how ignorant.

When their kids get caned, we can hear their Daddy scolding and them crying so loud that we do sympathize with them at times. But still, we can't tolerate their sudden and frequent stomping and door slams. Now, mummy is considering a 2nd letter and if all else fails, we'll pay them a visit with anti slam cushions which can be purchased from Daiso.

Anti slam cushion

Wake up letter to neighbour

Motherhood does make a person more tolerant, but when limit is stretched, a demure Mummy becomes an angry Mummy! All for her baby.

Underweight

Doctor said that I'm under average by 500g. He recommends mummy to start me on rice cereal, but she felt that I wasn't too ready yet. A search on the World Health Organisation's website suggests babies on total breastfeeding to begin solids only after month 6, I'm only at month 4. I think doctor doesn't know me best after all.

Here's a mini checklist to gauge my readiness:

• Ability to sit up unassisted - NO
• Staring at you when you eat - NO
• Frequently waking up in the night - Once
• Demanding for more after a full milk feed - NO

Sometimes if any of the last 2 points happens, it may be confused with growing spurt too, which can occur between 3 to 4 months.

In any case, Mummy decides to only introduce solid foods when I've reached 6 months. I need to be able to at least sit upright first. Moreover, she doesn't want to interrupt her current total breastfeeding plan with other food. Starting after 6 months also helps to reduce the risk of food allergy. I hope mummy isn't on the wrong track. I'm still enjoying the bond when she breastfeeds me.

Quoted from WHO "Breastmilk promotes sensory and cognitive development, and protects the infant against infectious and chronic diseases. Exclusive breastfeeding reduces infant mortality due to common childhood illnesses such as diarrhoea or pneumonia, and helps for a quicker recovery during illness." Mummy is planning to stop after 6 months though. Shall see how it goes.

And Daddy joked that my slow weight gain was because I'm on diet. But no, I wasn't... I love milking! I'm just drinking lesser when I'm cranky. But vertically, I'm 'longish', does that give me a perfect figure when I grow up? 

 

My saturday

Once upon a time, there were 3 little pigs, Daddy pig, Mummy pig and Baby pig. They had a long and fruitful Saturday day out, so tiring that they fell into deep sleep that night till 11am the next day! Not forgetting, we were the morning people even on Sundays. I was so exhausted that I forgot about my night feed, waking up only at 7.30am for a drink and fell back to dream again. That was a long good 8 hours of sleep since my last drink at 11.30pm before bedtime. Mummy feels so thankful, though it could just be for that night.

Yes, we had a long Saturday out. It began with my trip to the paediatrics's clinic for my 4th jab, which amazingly, I didn't cry. Then, we proceeded to ION at orchard for a good 4hrs of lunch and shopping!

When we arrived, it was milk time, adding on to the list of breastfeeding places, ION does have a number of nursing rooms, at B3, B1, L3 and L4. It was a long wait and search for a vacant room though, and the lifts were always packed! Poor us, have to escalator up and down with pram for a vacant room. And the room was simply set up with only one chair for one nursing mum, so mummies can't share the room.

After shopping, was Great Grandma's birthday celebration at her house, followed by dinner. A really long day huh. This explains why I got cranky during the dinner, specially when Grandma carried me away for walk, I started to cry so loud that heads turned at us. What a commotion, yet this drew a conclusion that I probably fear unfamiliar faces and cry when dad and mum are not in sight. A new challenge for them...

Great Grandma and me

 

 

Ok, that's my Saturday adventure for now... back to staying prudent about the flu pandemic. Home bounding more often.