We have a textbook baby on hand! Everything that is written in a textbook is as good as describing our little princess.
Just when Mummy was wondering when will she do her first flipping over... she finally did it 2 days before she turned 5-months old... hip hip hooray!! According to the health booklet this is something that was "scheduled" to happen at 5-months old. Mummy got a bit worried initially probably because Matty was able to roll over (all over the place!) when he was only 3 and half months old but all the tummy time that Elaina had didn't seem to spur her on. Then again Matty is a bad benchmark because he was really advanced in some areas but slow in other aspects. It never happened on the dot or around the dot for Matty. With Elaina it was a different story.
Elaina started to sleep through the night at 2 months old as "predicted" by alot of books that I have come across without even the need to replace her night feeds with water. It never worked with Matty no matter how hard to try to deny him the milk. Elaina's sleep cycle is usually very regular. She will need to take another nap after being awake for 2 hours. At night, she needs her bath at 8.30 pm and followed by milk. By 9.30 pm she will be off to lala-land until 8 the next morning. Matty's sleep and nap time was a guessing game. It took us forever to get him to sleep (still does) and staying asleep was a big challenge.
The only problem is that when we are out... it is an uphill task to pacify Elaina. She will be tired and cranky but unable to sleep because she is not in a familiar environment. A textbook baby needs to have all things constant which can be tough on certain occasion... and when it is nap time she better get her nap otherwise all hell break loose. There is no room for negotiation. On the other hand, we don't have to worry about Matty feeling cranky when we are out of the house. As long as there are things to keep him occupied he will be a happy baby... much happier than when he is forced to sleep. When the zee monster gets to him... he will just doze off in his stroller easily.
We are lucky in a way that both of them are opposite in this area... at least we only need to deal with one cranky baby be it out or at home.
Monday, 27 August 2007
Tuesday, 21 August 2007
Moving On
It was an extremely crazy period for Mummy the last 2 weeks... moving both house and office. In between, I had to get a root canal treatment, nurse both Matty and Elaina back to health from a nasty flu, deal with a bad throat and runny nose myself and not getting enough rest due to the constant late night crying and screaming from both babies (a result of blocked nose and new environment). The good that came out from this episode was that Mummy lost 2 kg in just one week. Haven't been able to get on to the weighing machine over the weekend... hopefully I managed to lose (at least) another half kg. Guess I will know if I should find the time and energy to replace those dead batteries in the weighing machine.
To Mummy... it was mixed emotions to move out from the place that I knew so well. Even though it was only a short two years in Sea Avenue, it was a place where lots of memories held. Matty's first dip in the pool, the 3 flight of stairs where he learned to first climb, the kitchen where I first learned to make baby food, Matty's first Christmas party... and the list goes on. I was initially worried that Matty will miss "home"... but the truth is that it didn't bothered him a bit. We walked past the house just last Sunday and he didn't even stopped to look at it. Somewhat glad that Matty was not the least bit concerned... otherwise it would have been tough trying to pacify him and explain to him why we are not allowed into the place which he used to call "home". As it is... we are having a tough time dealing with his tantrums every night getting him to go to bed. He now has his grandparents around him 24/7... see the link?
Changes in life are inevitable... we somehow survive it all no matter how reluctant we are to move on initially. I'm sure we will continue to have many more happy memories to add. It is who we have that counts and not where we are.
To Mummy... it was mixed emotions to move out from the place that I knew so well. Even though it was only a short two years in Sea Avenue, it was a place where lots of memories held. Matty's first dip in the pool, the 3 flight of stairs where he learned to first climb, the kitchen where I first learned to make baby food, Matty's first Christmas party... and the list goes on. I was initially worried that Matty will miss "home"... but the truth is that it didn't bothered him a bit. We walked past the house just last Sunday and he didn't even stopped to look at it. Somewhat glad that Matty was not the least bit concerned... otherwise it would have been tough trying to pacify him and explain to him why we are not allowed into the place which he used to call "home". As it is... we are having a tough time dealing with his tantrums every night getting him to go to bed. He now has his grandparents around him 24/7... see the link?
Changes in life are inevitable... we somehow survive it all no matter how reluctant we are to move on initially. I'm sure we will continue to have many more happy memories to add. It is who we have that counts and not where we are.
Wednesday, 1 August 2007
Boys will be Boys and Girls will be Girls
There was an episode in "Child of Our Time" which touched on the topic of girls going for girly stuff and boys doing the boys' stuff. It is amazing how each child is borne with an innate ability to have a preference over what is deemed "appropriate" for their own gender without being told.
Like most boys, Matty has a love for cars, trucks, buses, motorbikes, tractors... of course there will be others who prefers airplanes or trains. When we are on the road, it thrills him to see all the transportation machines going by. He has cars on his shirts, shorts, bedsheet and toy cars in all sorts of form, sizes and colour. You name it... he has it. If you think Formula 1 is an adult's sport.... you are so wrong! The Formula 1 race is something that Matty watches other than his usual dose of Baby Einstein and Hi-5. I think it is not hard to imagine that he will share the same dream car as Daddy (for the record... it is Ferrari we are talking about) in years to come. Of course that shall remain in his dream... how else would it qualify to be a "dream" car.
We had loads of soft toys that we received as presents when Matty was only a newborn but he instinctively chose car over the stuffed toys even when he was as young as a few months old. It wasn't deliberate... it just happened to be this way.
Elaina started to show interest in her cot-mate yesterday morning. The gaze in her eyes, her cooing and her sweet smile gave her away. Anybody could tell instantly how she adores the Pooh Bear that shares her cot and watches over her every night while she is away in lala-land. Whereas Matty never ever notices such stuff at this age.
So we can conclude that girls will be girls and boys will be boys... if they behave otherwise I think we probably will go into panic mode.
Like most boys, Matty has a love for cars, trucks, buses, motorbikes, tractors... of course there will be others who prefers airplanes or trains. When we are on the road, it thrills him to see all the transportation machines going by. He has cars on his shirts, shorts, bedsheet and toy cars in all sorts of form, sizes and colour. You name it... he has it. If you think Formula 1 is an adult's sport.... you are so wrong! The Formula 1 race is something that Matty watches other than his usual dose of Baby Einstein and Hi-5. I think it is not hard to imagine that he will share the same dream car as Daddy (for the record... it is Ferrari we are talking about) in years to come. Of course that shall remain in his dream... how else would it qualify to be a "dream" car.
We had loads of soft toys that we received as presents when Matty was only a newborn but he instinctively chose car over the stuffed toys even when he was as young as a few months old. It wasn't deliberate... it just happened to be this way.
Elaina started to show interest in her cot-mate yesterday morning. The gaze in her eyes, her cooing and her sweet smile gave her away. Anybody could tell instantly how she adores the Pooh Bear that shares her cot and watches over her every night while she is away in lala-land. Whereas Matty never ever notices such stuff at this age.
So we can conclude that girls will be girls and boys will be boys... if they behave otherwise I think we probably will go into panic mode.
Monday, 23 July 2007
Checked!!
Both babies were back at Dr. Chan for their jabs last Saturday. Luckily there were no tears this time round.
Matty's weight remains stagnant at 12.5kg, "towering" at 88.5cm tall with a head circumference of 50cm. As for Elaina, she has only put on 500gms in the last one month... bringing it to 6.3 kg in total. Looks like she will be one petite little princess. Height was measured at 60cm and a head circumference of 40.5cm.
Thinking that Elaina can finally start taking some cereal after her check-up, we were told to hold it off for at least another month because the recent recommendation from World Health Organisation was to start semi-solid only after the baby turns 6 months old to lower the risk of developing allergy to certain food. Looks like it will be a while more before Elaina get to taste some yummy stuff.
In the meantime... our little piglet doesn't seem to make much effort to try and roll over. Mummy remembers that Matty will be frantically trying to flip over when he was only into his third month. Then again... Matty is always so impatient about alot of things and tries hard to get ahead in everything. Elaina enjoys just lying around and wait for something to happen. Hopefully it also meant that she will have a milder temper and more patience as compared to the rest of us in the family.
(For the record... Matty caught the fireworks of the National Day Parade rehearsal when we were dining at Pan Pacific Hotel last Saturday!!)
Matty's weight remains stagnant at 12.5kg, "towering" at 88.5cm tall with a head circumference of 50cm. As for Elaina, she has only put on 500gms in the last one month... bringing it to 6.3 kg in total. Looks like she will be one petite little princess. Height was measured at 60cm and a head circumference of 40.5cm.
Thinking that Elaina can finally start taking some cereal after her check-up, we were told to hold it off for at least another month because the recent recommendation from World Health Organisation was to start semi-solid only after the baby turns 6 months old to lower the risk of developing allergy to certain food. Looks like it will be a while more before Elaina get to taste some yummy stuff.
In the meantime... our little piglet doesn't seem to make much effort to try and roll over. Mummy remembers that Matty will be frantically trying to flip over when he was only into his third month. Then again... Matty is always so impatient about alot of things and tries hard to get ahead in everything. Elaina enjoys just lying around and wait for something to happen. Hopefully it also meant that she will have a milder temper and more patience as compared to the rest of us in the family.
(For the record... Matty caught the fireworks of the National Day Parade rehearsal when we were dining at Pan Pacific Hotel last Saturday!!)
Monday, 9 July 2007
Dump the Diaper and Take a Dump
After months of agonising over when Matty will take to using the potty... we are finally making some headway!!
In the span of 1 week, he actually managed to poop into the toilet bowl 3 times. We didn't manage to get him to the throne on time yesterday and he had to let it out in his diaper. Before last week, he will cry and scream and hold back his bowel everytime we take off his diaper and attempt to put him on the potty. The mere fact that he knows that he needs to poop and pee and can hold back in when we show him the potty... and let go the minute the diaper in on his butt again is a sign that he is can be toilet-trained. Somehow he just resisted the idea of letting go except into his diaper.
Hopefully it won't be long before he decides to pee into the potty... that will surely save us a lot of money getting disposable diapers.
In the span of 1 week, he actually managed to poop into the toilet bowl 3 times. We didn't manage to get him to the throne on time yesterday and he had to let it out in his diaper. Before last week, he will cry and scream and hold back his bowel everytime we take off his diaper and attempt to put him on the potty. The mere fact that he knows that he needs to poop and pee and can hold back in when we show him the potty... and let go the minute the diaper in on his butt again is a sign that he is can be toilet-trained. Somehow he just resisted the idea of letting go except into his diaper.
Hopefully it won't be long before he decides to pee into the potty... that will surely save us a lot of money getting disposable diapers.
Monday, 2 July 2007
Matty Turns 2!
Yesterday was Matty’s 2nd birthday. Can’t believe how time flies. It wasn’t so long ago that we could still cradle (a lot of cradling done in those initial days!) him in our arms.
Again… there was no big bang celebration this year. We didn’t think it was necessary because he will just end up having a lot Mummy’s and Daddy’s friends at his birthday party. It would have been quite pointless. Maybe when he is a little older and has got little friends of his own.
We did however got him two cakes like last year – one strawberry shortcake and another one which was made up of many many many small cupcakes. One for Mummy’s family and the other for Daddy’s family. The lady at the pastry shop reminded that it won’t be long before we will need to get three separate cakes when he starts schooling. Hmmm… guess we will deal with it when we get there.
Matty got to enjoy his favourite Fish and Chips on his birthday. I didn’t think he would be very pleased if he was to eat some boring stuff on such an important day.
Wai-Gong bought him a pair of cool Reebok shoes that lights up with every slap on the bottom of the shoe (yes he was literally hitting the soles with his palm) and Daddy got him a Transformer toy… which Matty calls it a “robot truck” (I wonder who it was actually meant for…). And more ang-pows to add on to his five-figure digit bank account. Sounds like a Christmas and Chinese New Year all rolled in to one… minus the Christmas tree and Gong-Xi Gong-Xi that he was forced to say every time he gets an ang-pow.
Hopefully Matty had a great birthday even though he may not recall this day years down the road. At least I think he did from the grin on his face when we sang him the birthday song. Oh yes… he managed to blow out the candles on his cake this year.
While we take joy that the boy has grown another year older and celebrate this important day… it is also to mark that Mummy and Daddy has survived another year of parenthood!
Again… there was no big bang celebration this year. We didn’t think it was necessary because he will just end up having a lot Mummy’s and Daddy’s friends at his birthday party. It would have been quite pointless. Maybe when he is a little older and has got little friends of his own.
We did however got him two cakes like last year – one strawberry shortcake and another one which was made up of many many many small cupcakes. One for Mummy’s family and the other for Daddy’s family. The lady at the pastry shop reminded that it won’t be long before we will need to get three separate cakes when he starts schooling. Hmmm… guess we will deal with it when we get there.
Matty got to enjoy his favourite Fish and Chips on his birthday. I didn’t think he would be very pleased if he was to eat some boring stuff on such an important day.
Wai-Gong bought him a pair of cool Reebok shoes that lights up with every slap on the bottom of the shoe (yes he was literally hitting the soles with his palm) and Daddy got him a Transformer toy… which Matty calls it a “robot truck” (I wonder who it was actually meant for…). And more ang-pows to add on to his five-figure digit bank account. Sounds like a Christmas and Chinese New Year all rolled in to one… minus the Christmas tree and Gong-Xi Gong-Xi that he was forced to say every time he gets an ang-pow.
Hopefully Matty had a great birthday even though he may not recall this day years down the road. At least I think he did from the grin on his face when we sang him the birthday song. Oh yes… he managed to blow out the candles on his cake this year.
While we take joy that the boy has grown another year older and celebrate this important day… it is also to mark that Mummy and Daddy has survived another year of parenthood!
Thursday, 28 June 2007
No Big No Small
Matty is a true blue ang-mo. Not only does his Mandarin come with an ang-mo accent... he started calling his elders by name. Mah-Mah is now "Ya-Mei"... Chek-Chek is now "Kai Teck"... Gu-Gu is now "Kai Ling"... and Ah-Yee is now "Ah-Zhen". Amusing it may be... we hope he will not continue to do that. Afterall we are still Asians.
Tuesday, 19 June 2007
Sucker!!
Elaina is a sucker... thumb sucker I mean.
Whenever she is bored with nothing to distract her, in goes her left thumb. Sometimes in the middle of the night she will instinctively pop her precious lollipop even though she is only half-awake.
We woke up one morning to find her little nose covered with dried-up blood - the result of her thumb sucking. While the thumb goes into the mouth, her other four fingers will rest on her nose... which will end up scratching the nose every time she takes a suck.
Elaina is now back to wearing mittens for the night. The mittens didn't stop her from sucking (we know cos there are times when the mitten is soaked with saliva the next morning!!) but at least it helps to prevent her from scratching her nose badly.
Tuesday, 15 May 2007
Leaps and Bound
In the last two months, Baby Elaina has put on a whooping 1.7kg... which is pretty much on target. At least Mother Cow's efforts had not gone to waste. Now we just need to wait for her first milestone to come.
As for Matty, he has been picking up new words so fast that we have totally lost count how many words he has added to his vocabulary. On days, he will surprise us with words which we never knew he knew. At times, he will repeat our words back to us... and stringing words together is no longer a challenge to him. BUT the fact that he is conversing mainly in English and has not been picking up Chinese is something we cannot comprehend... because we do use a mix of both languages with him since Day One. Even if he does try to speak (rarely) in Mandarin, it comes with an accent that sounds like an Ang-Moh grappling Mandarin. I can't help but laugh when I hear the Chinese words that come out from Matty's mouth. I think I have given birth to a "kantang" (which so happens to be one of Matty's favourite... cos that's what french fries and hash browns are made of !!).
As for Matty, he has been picking up new words so fast that we have totally lost count how many words he has added to his vocabulary. On days, he will surprise us with words which we never knew he knew. At times, he will repeat our words back to us... and stringing words together is no longer a challenge to him. BUT the fact that he is conversing mainly in English and has not been picking up Chinese is something we cannot comprehend... because we do use a mix of both languages with him since Day One. Even if he does try to speak (rarely) in Mandarin, it comes with an accent that sounds like an Ang-Moh grappling Mandarin. I can't help but laugh when I hear the Chinese words that come out from Matty's mouth. I think I have given birth to a "kantang" (which so happens to be one of Matty's favourite... cos that's what french fries and hash browns are made of !!).
Friday, 13 April 2007
Day to be Remembered
Elaina is finally turning 1 month old in a few days time. As we celebrate this special day... tomorrow is also a day of remembrance of our two angels.
Our family picture is now complete with the birth of Matty and Elaina... but yet it seems so incomplete.
Our family picture is now complete with the birth of Matty and Elaina... but yet it seems so incomplete.
Tuesday, 10 April 2007
Weekend Schedule
Here's a glimpse of a typical weekend for the past 2 weeks...
he-eats, she-eats, she-eats, he-eats, I-eat, he-eats, she-eats, she-eats, he-eats, I-eat, she-eats, she-eats, he-eats, she-eats...
Mummy is getting all burnt out trying to satisfy the hunger-pangs of both babies. The whole day is spent feeding away. Can just about imagine that when Elaina starts having solid food... "I-eat" will be dropped completely out from the equation!
he-eats, she-eats, she-eats, he-eats, I-eat, he-eats, she-eats, she-eats, he-eats, I-eat, she-eats, she-eats, he-eats, she-eats...
Mummy is getting all burnt out trying to satisfy the hunger-pangs of both babies. The whole day is spent feeding away. Can just about imagine that when Elaina starts having solid food... "I-eat" will be dropped completely out from the equation!
Tuesday, 3 April 2007
Little Professor
Matty understands the benefits of "starting young" and had recently given his little sister her first lesson to build up her language skills...
(Matty shows toy dog to Elaina)
Matty: wow-wow
(Matty shows toy truck to Elaina)
Matty: truck
***
Matty is into addition lately as well but he still has a long way to go
Us: 4 plus 4 equals... ?
Matty: 8
Us: 1 plus 1 equals... ?
Matty: 8
Us: No... it should be 2
Us: 4 plus 4 equals... ?
Matty: 2
(Matty shows toy dog to Elaina)
Matty: wow-wow
(Matty shows toy truck to Elaina)
Matty: truck
***
Matty is into addition lately as well but he still has a long way to go
Us: 4 plus 4 equals... ?
Matty: 8
Us: 1 plus 1 equals... ?
Matty: 8
Us: No... it should be 2
Us: 4 plus 4 equals... ?
Matty: 2
Thursday, 22 March 2007
We Are Home!
We are finally home with our newest family member!
Elaina was born on 18 March 2007 at 8.24 am. Weighing at 3.06kg, with a body length of 49cm and head circumference of 34cm... she is so much smaller in size as compared to Matty when he was born. Then again, that's the size of most newborn... Matty was just alot bigger than average.
Taking after the character of a pig (she has afterall a "piglet" since this is the year of the golden pig)... getting her beauty sleep matters most to her. Not complaining... and in fact Mummy is going to enjoy this moment while it lasts. We had peaceful nights so far and hopefully it will stay this way.
Elaina drinks alot lesser as compared to Matty. One feed of 30ml can sustain Elaina for 2 hours at least and if her appetite is good and can down about 50ml in one go... the next feed will only come 4 hours later.
Despite all that... Elaina is not too far from Matty where her temper is concerned. She is calm and relaxed at most time but when she is upset... all hell will break loose and without any warning.
Matty seems to be taking well about having another baby around the house and will "sayang" the little sister when asked to... and sometimes even voluntarily. Mummy and Daddy miss having Matty and his ongoing chattering. If all goes well tonight again... we are likely to bring him home earlier than expected.
Sunday, 18 March 2007
Today's the Day
In another 3 hours, we will finally get to meet Baby Elaina and for her to meet the world.
The past 38 weeks seemed to have zoomed past so quickly but the last 6 hours felt like forever. On a normal night, Mummy would have complained about not getting enough sleep and the night was too short... but last night it was the opposite... the night felt so long.
Things will be different tonight when we start our life of waking up every 2 to 3 hours to clean poo and feed milk... and feel completely deprived of sleep. But like what everybody will tell you... it will get better (just a matter of when!).
The past 38 weeks seemed to have zoomed past so quickly but the last 6 hours felt like forever. On a normal night, Mummy would have complained about not getting enough sleep and the night was too short... but last night it was the opposite... the night felt so long.
Things will be different tonight when we start our life of waking up every 2 to 3 hours to clean poo and feed milk... and feel completely deprived of sleep. But like what everybody will tell you... it will get better (just a matter of when!).
Wednesday, 14 March 2007
See Ya on 18 March!!
Mummy has been so so so tied down with work since the beginning of the week that I didn't even have the opportunity to jot this important piece of news down here.
The date has finally been set... Baby Elaina will be out this Sunday, 18 March. She is still in a breech position and so Mummy is going to get herself cut again. I don't know what is labour pain or contraction but I sure know how it feels to have a 10-cm cut on the lower abdominal... two times.
As at last week, Mummy has put on a grand total of 7kg for this pregnancy. 2kg lesser than the last time round... but I can feel my tummy so much heavier. Wonder why.
Mummy has bought a present for Matty which will be given to him when he visits for the first time and pretend that it is from his little sister. I don't know if it works but almost everyone I know seems to say that it helps to prevent the older one from feeling sore that he or she is not the "star of the day". Anyway... better to err on the right side.
The date has finally been set... Baby Elaina will be out this Sunday, 18 March. She is still in a breech position and so Mummy is going to get herself cut again. I don't know what is labour pain or contraction but I sure know how it feels to have a 10-cm cut on the lower abdominal... two times.
As at last week, Mummy has put on a grand total of 7kg for this pregnancy. 2kg lesser than the last time round... but I can feel my tummy so much heavier. Wonder why.
Mummy has bought a present for Matty which will be given to him when he visits for the first time and pretend that it is from his little sister. I don't know if it works but almost everyone I know seems to say that it helps to prevent the older one from feeling sore that he or she is not the "star of the day". Anyway... better to err on the right side.
Monday, 5 March 2007
An Acrobat in Action
Just when we thought that there was a possibility of trying natural birth at the earlier checkup two weeks ago, Princess Elaina decides to get back into breech position again. We are not hopeful that she will find the heads-down position more comfy before the next checkup (which is only a mere five days away). In the meantime, her breech position may be the best position for her... not so for Mummy. Her head is pressing against my tum tum and it feels like I have suffered a bruise. The only relief that I get is when I lie down on my right side and with her weight pulled down by the gravity... the tension comes off.
Mummy is all prepared for another caesarean this time round... which is likely to happen either on 17 or 18 March depending on the availability of Dr Lim. Not too far away... just another two weeks more to go to get to D-day. The good part is that because we know when exactly it is going to happen, there are alot of things which we can plan beforehand and get everything in place. On top of that, Mummy is gorging myself silly with all the good food before "confinement" begins. Doesn't bother me much since my weight has been stagnant over the last two weeks and not likely to see it go sky high before D-day.
Not sure if its really so true... Matty is getting more and more clingy these days. It worries Mummy what his reaction will be when he needs to be parked with his grandparents for at least a week while Mummy recuperates from the 10-cm long wound and keeping sane with a cranky newborn. One thing that we should really get done is to bring Matty for another swim. It has been ages since we last did that... either because of the bad weather or someone down with a flu.
Mummy is all prepared for another caesarean this time round... which is likely to happen either on 17 or 18 March depending on the availability of Dr Lim. Not too far away... just another two weeks more to go to get to D-day. The good part is that because we know when exactly it is going to happen, there are alot of things which we can plan beforehand and get everything in place. On top of that, Mummy is gorging myself silly with all the good food before "confinement" begins. Doesn't bother me much since my weight has been stagnant over the last two weeks and not likely to see it go sky high before D-day.
Not sure if its really so true... Matty is getting more and more clingy these days. It worries Mummy what his reaction will be when he needs to be parked with his grandparents for at least a week while Mummy recuperates from the 10-cm long wound and keeping sane with a cranky newborn. One thing that we should really get done is to bring Matty for another swim. It has been ages since we last did that... either because of the bad weather or someone down with a flu.
Friday, 23 February 2007
The Gong Xi Gong Xi Festival
This year... Matty celebrates his second Lunar New Year. Just like Christmas, he definitely understood better. At least to him, it is "just not the same like any other day".
For a vain-pot like him, he was simply excited to be dressed in new clothes the whole day starting from Chinese New Year's eve. He even insisted on holding the joss-sticks on his own like everyone else when offering prayers to the Gods and ancestors. Then came all the food that he got to taste.
Matty also got into the drill that when anybody hands a red colour packet with stuff in it... he takes it and gives it to Mummy for safekeeping instead of returning it to the giver (like what he always did in the past). Not just that... he also learnt that when we start chanting "Gong Xi Gong Xi" it means he is to clasp both hands together and start shaking them. Anyway all these are worth his while especially since he collected $1,200 ang pow money in just a few days. It is indeed one prosperous piggy year for Matty.
We had our second round of Yu Sheng last evening and Matty was already able to work out that he needs to grab the chopsticks, dig into the huge mountain of vegetable and start tossing... whereas the rest of us got really concerned about the Yu Sheng spilling onto the table while he did his share of "lo-hei". Is that the reason why he is more "prosperous" than the rest of us? *shrug*
Anyway, we had our fair share of "glitches" for this period. Firstly, Matty was a cranky baby just days before the New Year. Came down with a bit of flu due to teething but luckily the leaking tap stopped on the first day of Chinese New Year. He was better during the Chinese New Year weekend... at least Mummy got to sleep till at least past 8 every morning. Then the hot and dry weather got Mummy edgy and lethargic. I could really feel that it was the year of the pig... as I was sweating like a pig day in day out... and even starting to smell really bad.
Elaina got herself a new dress by accident. Mummy bought a sleeveless "t-shirt" for Matty and specially kept it for Chinese New Year without realising that it was actually a t-shirt dress. Mummy only started to suspect something wasn't quite right when the top fits really well but the bottom was longer than a normal t-shirt. I even thought that it was due to lousy cutting initially. It was only after Matty ran off with the "t-shirt" could we tell from the back that it was actually a dress. Come to think of it... it was pretty amusing. I blame it all on the salesgirl at Isetan who told me that for Disney's apparel... the range for boys will come with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse for girls. On top of that the "t-shirt" had blue lining along the collar and armhole. Who would have suspect that it was a girl's dress.
For a vain-pot like him, he was simply excited to be dressed in new clothes the whole day starting from Chinese New Year's eve. He even insisted on holding the joss-sticks on his own like everyone else when offering prayers to the Gods and ancestors. Then came all the food that he got to taste.
Matty also got into the drill that when anybody hands a red colour packet with stuff in it... he takes it and gives it to Mummy for safekeeping instead of returning it to the giver (like what he always did in the past). Not just that... he also learnt that when we start chanting "Gong Xi Gong Xi" it means he is to clasp both hands together and start shaking them. Anyway all these are worth his while especially since he collected $1,200 ang pow money in just a few days. It is indeed one prosperous piggy year for Matty.
We had our second round of Yu Sheng last evening and Matty was already able to work out that he needs to grab the chopsticks, dig into the huge mountain of vegetable and start tossing... whereas the rest of us got really concerned about the Yu Sheng spilling onto the table while he did his share of "lo-hei". Is that the reason why he is more "prosperous" than the rest of us? *shrug*
Anyway, we had our fair share of "glitches" for this period. Firstly, Matty was a cranky baby just days before the New Year. Came down with a bit of flu due to teething but luckily the leaking tap stopped on the first day of Chinese New Year. He was better during the Chinese New Year weekend... at least Mummy got to sleep till at least past 8 every morning. Then the hot and dry weather got Mummy edgy and lethargic. I could really feel that it was the year of the pig... as I was sweating like a pig day in day out... and even starting to smell really bad.
Elaina got herself a new dress by accident. Mummy bought a sleeveless "t-shirt" for Matty and specially kept it for Chinese New Year without realising that it was actually a t-shirt dress. Mummy only started to suspect something wasn't quite right when the top fits really well but the bottom was longer than a normal t-shirt. I even thought that it was due to lousy cutting initially. It was only after Matty ran off with the "t-shirt" could we tell from the back that it was actually a dress. Come to think of it... it was pretty amusing. I blame it all on the salesgirl at Isetan who told me that for Disney's apparel... the range for boys will come with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse for girls. On top of that the "t-shirt" had blue lining along the collar and armhole. Who would have suspect that it was a girl's dress.
Monday, 12 February 2007
New
New Bed - Matty finally had to vacate his cot for Baby Elaina and upgrade to a super-single sized mattress last Saturday. His new bed is big (for his size) and comfy... so comfy that it is comparable to Mummy's and Daddy's bed. The three big worries we had were that he will roll off the mattress in the middle of his sleep, bump his head against the wall and walking out from his own bedroom and tumble down the stairs. Thankfully it has been an uneventful weekend.
New Year's Day Haircut - Chinese New Year is just round the corner and Matty had to get his hair trimmed two weeks beforehand in order for his hair to be at the right length. Although he has been a brave boy for the last two haircut, he was still looking a bit traumatised...
New toilet roll - We had to replace the toilet roll even though it was half used because someone was mischievous enough to throw it into the toilet bowl. I don't think we need to spell out the name...
New Year's Day Haircut - Chinese New Year is just round the corner and Matty had to get his hair trimmed two weeks beforehand in order for his hair to be at the right length. Although he has been a brave boy for the last two haircut, he was still looking a bit traumatised...
New toilet roll - We had to replace the toilet roll even though it was half used because someone was mischievous enough to throw it into the toilet bowl. I don't think we need to spell out the name...
Tuesday, 6 February 2007
Just Around the Corner
At 32nd week, Baby Elaina is still lying in a breech position with her head on top left-hand side and legs strapped across to Mummy's right-hand side... a position that she has been in since Day 1. As we proceed into the late stage of pregnancy, the possibility of Baby Elaina turning head-down diminishes... and in another 4 weeks the chances will drop to zero. But we are all prepared mentally to go through another cesarean. End of the day... alot of things are beyond our control and as long as Baby Elaina arrives safely... nothing else matters.
For elective cesarean, we could be looking at 16 March (though Mummy is hoping to target 23 March so as to be nearer to the actual due date with the blessing of Dr Lim) and which means we are only slightly one month away from the D day. A very daunting thought especially when we are not done with all the washing and setting up the place to accommodate a second baby... the wardrobe needs to be rearranged, the cot needs to be moved back into Daddy's and Mummy's room, the kitchen has to make space once again for the steam steriliser and more milk bottles, the changing station needs to be mobilised again... and not forgetting that the hospital bag is only half-packed till now. So many things to do but so little time. The one good thing is that since the D day is a planned one, Mummy can always start maternity leave one or two days earlier just to get everything organised before we welcome Baby Elaina home.
In the meantime, Mummy's energy is seeing another nose-dive despite Matty has been sleeping quite well at night and hasn't been too much of a terror. Sometimes I wish for D day to come soon but then again... maybe it won't be as tiring dealing with a pregnancy than a newborn baby. Hopefully it won't be wishful thinking on Mummy's part that Baby Elaina will sleep better like most babies. Imagine having to deal with Matty's bad sleeping pattern two fold... hmmmmm....
For elective cesarean, we could be looking at 16 March (though Mummy is hoping to target 23 March so as to be nearer to the actual due date with the blessing of Dr Lim) and which means we are only slightly one month away from the D day. A very daunting thought especially when we are not done with all the washing and setting up the place to accommodate a second baby... the wardrobe needs to be rearranged, the cot needs to be moved back into Daddy's and Mummy's room, the kitchen has to make space once again for the steam steriliser and more milk bottles, the changing station needs to be mobilised again... and not forgetting that the hospital bag is only half-packed till now. So many things to do but so little time. The one good thing is that since the D day is a planned one, Mummy can always start maternity leave one or two days earlier just to get everything organised before we welcome Baby Elaina home.
In the meantime, Mummy's energy is seeing another nose-dive despite Matty has been sleeping quite well at night and hasn't been too much of a terror. Sometimes I wish for D day to come soon but then again... maybe it won't be as tiring dealing with a pregnancy than a newborn baby. Hopefully it won't be wishful thinking on Mummy's part that Baby Elaina will sleep better like most babies. Imagine having to deal with Matty's bad sleeping pattern two fold... hmmmmm....
Thursday, 1 February 2007
Are we seeing the light at the end of the tunnel?
Either due to a stroke of luck or maybe our prayers have finally been answered by the angels... Matty has been able to fall asleep on his own without the need to be rocked and patted for the last three nights in a row. It is an easy task for most babies but not ours. We totally gave up on sleep training him gazillion moons ago (yes it felt that long to someone who has been sleep-deprived for more than one and a half years).
Daddy has been able to coax Matty to drift off to la-la land on his own for one or two nights since last week... but had not been successful all the time. It really only started on Monday night when Daddy had to work late and Mummy has left alone to "face the battle" with Matty. Matty as usual was a handful and kept squirming even though he was being cuddled and walked around. I completely lost it because his squirming on my rock-hard tummy resulted in a dull pain. In a fit of anger, I left him in his cot and sat next to the cot... refusing to carry him. Trying not to agitate his Mummy dearest any further, he was smart enough to lie low (in every sense of the word). Any attempt to sit up was dealt with a stern lecture from me asking him to close his eyes and go to sleep. Thirty minutes later... Matty was off to dreamland.
Mummy decided to try it again on Tuesday night when Daddy was out again for a "team building session" (at the Crazy Horse) with his colleagues. It felt like a miracle when it worked again... and this time round Matty was snoring away in just fifteen minutes. Last night was the same albeit that he woke up shortly after that and ended up crying when he realised that nobody was there next to his bed as guardian angel.
Finally at 19 months old... our boy has decided to give his Daddy and Mummy a break! We are keeping our toes and fingers crossed that our hopes will not be dashed. We can only be sure if Matty is able to keep this up for at least two weeks. After this hurdle is crossed... hopefully we will not have the same issue with Elaina. Guess that only time can tell.
Daddy has been able to coax Matty to drift off to la-la land on his own for one or two nights since last week... but had not been successful all the time. It really only started on Monday night when Daddy had to work late and Mummy has left alone to "face the battle" with Matty. Matty as usual was a handful and kept squirming even though he was being cuddled and walked around. I completely lost it because his squirming on my rock-hard tummy resulted in a dull pain. In a fit of anger, I left him in his cot and sat next to the cot... refusing to carry him. Trying not to agitate his Mummy dearest any further, he was smart enough to lie low (in every sense of the word). Any attempt to sit up was dealt with a stern lecture from me asking him to close his eyes and go to sleep. Thirty minutes later... Matty was off to dreamland.
Mummy decided to try it again on Tuesday night when Daddy was out again for a "team building session" (at the Crazy Horse) with his colleagues. It felt like a miracle when it worked again... and this time round Matty was snoring away in just fifteen minutes. Last night was the same albeit that he woke up shortly after that and ended up crying when he realised that nobody was there next to his bed as guardian angel.
Finally at 19 months old... our boy has decided to give his Daddy and Mummy a break! We are keeping our toes and fingers crossed that our hopes will not be dashed. We can only be sure if Matty is able to keep this up for at least two weeks. After this hurdle is crossed... hopefully we will not have the same issue with Elaina. Guess that only time can tell.
