Daddy has been away for more than 2weeks and we miss him so much. Especially when we are constantly reminded of the mishap and incompetence of the philippines police it makes the family worry about his safety as he visits one city after another. The manilla police obviously didn't train their soldierS well. With the ex-police officer holding foreigers hostage seeking foreign media coverage, thinking it's a great platform to voice his grievances? No wonder their highly trained squad team under the instruction of a silly commanding officer couldn't even strategise or let alone use the basic theories of negotiation, which I guess many of the CSI or Criminal minds fans out there would definitely do a much better joB at understanding criminal mentality. Anyway I've digressed..
The initial nights were the most difficult. Nat calls out for her papa before she sleeps. Every slight sound related to door opening, car honking or reversing she would jump out of bed and ru towards the room door inSisting on physically checking if papa is home. When we ask her where is papa she point up as though sayng that he took off on a plane. Pains us really to see how stressed she could be over her papa's trip and amazes me of how much info she could absorb at this stage!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Flying by the weight
Hey Nat,
Daddy took a special flight today from Ozamis City in Northern Mindanao to Cebu island. The flight is special because Daddy has to stand on the weighting scale to measure his weight before he is allowed to board the small propeller plane! Guess my weight? 94kgs!!?? With baggage; 104kg!!
Yes baby, daddy put on 7kgs in the Philippines... eating and taking multiple flights/ ferries... it does not help that Daddy usually falls asleep during the flight!
The Check-In area is also special... it is non-aircon and looks run-down by Changi airport standard... (see the attached pics above). Luckily, the pre-departure area has air-conditioning while we are waiting at the gate. I remembered that the airport in Zamboanga City does not have air-conditioning at all!!?? The weather was super duper hot and daddy was perspiring like nobody's business!
Daddy took a special flight today from Ozamis City in Northern Mindanao to Cebu island. The flight is special because Daddy has to stand on the weighting scale to measure his weight before he is allowed to board the small propeller plane! Guess my weight? 94kgs!!?? With baggage; 104kg!!
Yes baby, daddy put on 7kgs in the Philippines... eating and taking multiple flights/ ferries... it does not help that Daddy usually falls asleep during the flight!
The Check-In area is also special... it is non-aircon and looks run-down by Changi airport standard... (see the attached pics above). Luckily, the pre-departure area has air-conditioning while we are waiting at the gate. I remembered that the airport in Zamboanga City does not have air-conditioning at all!!?? The weather was super duper hot and daddy was perspiring like nobody's business!
finally!
My blackberry has been preventing inputs in my new postings and the problem has finally been resolved! Feel so relieved to be able to just pen whatever that comes to mind!! When access comes easy u just don't feel inspired enough to blog! So many things happened this week... And I'll tell u all abt it in my next post!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
words
nat has made some linguistic progressions this week! She could say stop and use it at appropriate junctures. For instance this afternoon whilst popo was feeding her she says stop distinctively when she doesn't want to be fed anymore and she would say stop when she wants us to not take something away from her. it amazes me when she could recognise some words such as ears, wave, sleep, pillow, clock and points to the objects/ perform the action without us prompting her.
Words which she has been heard speaking are as follow;-
Mama,papa, popo, up, clock, dog, car, truck,
Words which she has been heard speaking are as follow;-
Mama,papa, popo, up, clock, dog, car, truck,
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Daddy's Pic in Philippines
Hey Natalie
Daddy visited Tacloban, Leyte Province of Philippines. He went to the first landing point made by General Douglas MacArthur, Commander-in-Chief Asia-Pacific of the Allied Forces during WWII. General MacArthur’s famous promise: "I Shall Return", was fulfilled when he returned to Philippines on 20 Oct 1944. Interesting huh? Daddy read about this during his school days and now he is here!
Daddy visited Tacloban, Leyte Province of Philippines. He went to the first landing point made by General Douglas MacArthur, Commander-in-Chief Asia-Pacific of the Allied Forces during WWII. General MacArthur’s famous promise: "I Shall Return", was fulfilled when he returned to Philippines on 20 Oct 1944. Interesting huh? Daddy read about this during his school days and now he is here!
Daddy away in Philippines
Hello Natalie! How are you doing? What have you learned today? Daddy miss you very much!
Daddy is doing his training rounds in Philippines. He will be back in a week more. He is very happy to hear your voice over the phone. Po-Po mentioned that you will point up at the passing aeroplane overhead and exclaim,'Pa-Pa!'. So clever!
Daddy has to work hard so that Mummy and daddy can send you to a good school. Daddy went to a neighbour Primary school while Mummy went to CHIJ. It is important to go to a good Primary school. 'Primary' is defined in the dictionary as 'the most important' and it is very true you know.
Something happened to daddy's travel plan today. Our local Rep mis-read the arrival time as the departure time for our morning flight! By the time we reach the airport, the plane has already left! We are now waiting for the next available flight.... with 8 hours to go!
Please tell Mummy that papa miss her too. Remember not to watch too much TV k. Sometimes you will be 'glued' to the TV, just like your mummy!
Daddy is doing his training rounds in Philippines. He will be back in a week more. He is very happy to hear your voice over the phone. Po-Po mentioned that you will point up at the passing aeroplane overhead and exclaim,'Pa-Pa!'. So clever!
Daddy has to work hard so that Mummy and daddy can send you to a good school. Daddy went to a neighbour Primary school while Mummy went to CHIJ. It is important to go to a good Primary school. 'Primary' is defined in the dictionary as 'the most important' and it is very true you know.
Something happened to daddy's travel plan today. Our local Rep mis-read the arrival time as the departure time for our morning flight! By the time we reach the airport, the plane has already left! We are now waiting for the next available flight.... with 8 hours to go!
Please tell Mummy that papa miss her too. Remember not to watch too much TV k. Sometimes you will be 'glued' to the TV, just like your mummy!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
i Surrrendered
The decision to leave was a tough one, but went ahead anyway... With determination, I finally thrown in the towel. Didn't want to continue w thiS kind of lifestyle anymore. Reach home late, no time for nat, and have a million and one work requiring my equal amt of attention! It was ridiculous, and as a new mum with an energetic and cute toddler whom I really just want to spend time w, am no longer bothered about where I want to be in my career. After all I just want to be the best mummy and the thought itself is already so satisfying!
The resignation - when I thought the most difficult stage was over, explaining decisions.. Think and rethink option .. Overcoming fear of the unknown and moving out feom a firm that I grew up in. Come to think about it . I went through liFe's greatest milestones in that firm. . Marriage and child bearing. Will miSs my demanding clients and colleagus who have treated me with kindnesS and challenges to keep me gainfully employed. I muSt say it was a relieve to finally call it quits and move on to something better.
Anyway back to post resignation, here comes the handover. As both work on different wavelength, communication in itself seems difficult. On one hand I wanted to provide her with all the info, nuances etc. But it frustrates me when she can't remember a single thing that I say! Eg walked org chart and she can't rememBer what the abbreviation meant the next day! Irritates the hell out of me when we spent so much time running through an issue and she still could forget or didn't pay attention .. However I must say process wise she does have her strengths.
Saying goodbye - this was the hardest! And most emotionally intense! Went round saying bye and getting hugs from people u know so well and saw them grow! The sadness was unbearable odf not For the final handoverS that took the distractions away I may have cried a thousand rivers.. Ok a bit of exaggeration "). Left the building at 8iSh -my last and final overtime for the firm of 6 yrs!
Post departure- My Phone kept ranging on the first week as she didn't remove the diversion after multiple reminders. So I Felt like an operator for a bit and totally ignored all calls from office after a while. . ( I thought those were genuinely mine! People who missed me or needed urgent help... But it turned out to be all divertd calls!)
Definitely missed the friendly staff and lovely colleagues . . But based on how things are looking at home .. It was not a wrong decision. Chris may say it's totally right! As he no longer need to wait long hours along the tiny difficult to park lane as he fears the ever so frequent traffic patrols. Instead he gets picked up by me and still manage to reach home efore 7 pm each day!
The resignation - when I thought the most difficult stage was over, explaining decisions.. Think and rethink option .. Overcoming fear of the unknown and moving out feom a firm that I grew up in. Come to think about it . I went through liFe's greatest milestones in that firm. . Marriage and child bearing. Will miSs my demanding clients and colleagus who have treated me with kindnesS and challenges to keep me gainfully employed. I muSt say it was a relieve to finally call it quits and move on to something better.
Anyway back to post resignation, here comes the handover. As both work on different wavelength, communication in itself seems difficult. On one hand I wanted to provide her with all the info, nuances etc. But it frustrates me when she can't remember a single thing that I say! Eg walked org chart and she can't rememBer what the abbreviation meant the next day! Irritates the hell out of me when we spent so much time running through an issue and she still could forget or didn't pay attention .. However I must say process wise she does have her strengths.
Saying goodbye - this was the hardest! And most emotionally intense! Went round saying bye and getting hugs from people u know so well and saw them grow! The sadness was unbearable odf not For the final handoverS that took the distractions away I may have cried a thousand rivers.. Ok a bit of exaggeration "). Left the building at 8iSh -my last and final overtime for the firm of 6 yrs!
Post departure- My Phone kept ranging on the first week as she didn't remove the diversion after multiple reminders. So I Felt like an operator for a bit and totally ignored all calls from office after a while. . ( I thought those were genuinely mine! People who missed me or needed urgent help... But it turned out to be all divertd calls!)
Definitely missed the friendly staff and lovely colleagues . . But based on how things are looking at home .. It was not a wrong decision. Chris may say it's totally right! As he no longer need to wait long hours along the tiny difficult to park lane as he fears the ever so frequent traffic patrols. Instead he gets picked up by me and still manage to reach home efore 7 pm each day!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
First Road Trip - Malacca
Was contemplating a road trip since 1 month ago and finally decided to take on the challenge over the last weekend.
The pre-trip preparation took at least 3 hours and majority of the packing was for Natalie. You can't imagine the amount of items we had to pack just for her.. from clothes, shoes, hat, diapers, moisturisers, anti mosquito repellents, medicine, towel ... to milk, canned baby food, water bottles, milk bottles, kettle, snacks, toys etc. It was insane trying to pack everything in 1 bag. Most importantly I did not forget her potty! Grandma teased us for bringing it along, but this definitely is a must take since Natalie is slowly able to tell us when she needs to take a leak/poo, and the potty certainly came in handy! Not forgetting her stroller! Fortunately Daddy's car has a huge boot space, we miraculously squeezed all 6 bags & 11 kg stroller into the boot! Obviously little was packed for daddy, mummy , Grandmama and grand papa so we could maximise space for her essentials!
Anyway, last I was in Malacca was probably primary 3/4. Malacca gave me such a strong impression.. Portuguese architect, peranakan food and hainanese chicken rice.. I was so looking forward to the good food! But it seems that the reports have created more hype than reality.. I had forgotten how tiny the hainanese rice balls were and perhaps it was past the usual dinner time.. rice served weren't piping hot like I remembered and the chicken didn't taste as good though we were all super hungry. Fortunately we ordered beansprouts with the mains so veges made up for the shortfall.
Shopping wise.. we ended up at tescos shopping for dry stores and fruits. I must say the fruits are super cheap.. dates ( Chris' fav) selling at discounted rate for shoppers stocking up for Ramadan was such a steal! Would recommend as must buy if you visit Malaysia in Aug. Petrol was super cheap! To the extent that kiosk attendants were seen wasting petrol, they would pump beyond the brim in order to round up the cost to the nearest dollar. This would never happen in Singapore which only see cost spikes most times. Drivers gets excited over insignificant discount of 5 cents which comes after a minimum 30 minute queue to stretch the dollar on motoring costs!!
Overall, we definitely enjoyed the first road trip.. cause Natalie has been super cooperative ! She didn't complain nor struggle to get out of her car seat for hours and without falling asleep! Never knew this side of her if we were to stay at home.. such a wonderful and easy to manage child.. all the trouble of packing is worth it !
The pre-trip preparation took at least 3 hours and majority of the packing was for Natalie. You can't imagine the amount of items we had to pack just for her.. from clothes, shoes, hat, diapers, moisturisers, anti mosquito repellents, medicine, towel ... to milk, canned baby food, water bottles, milk bottles, kettle, snacks, toys etc. It was insane trying to pack everything in 1 bag. Most importantly I did not forget her potty! Grandma teased us for bringing it along, but this definitely is a must take since Natalie is slowly able to tell us when she needs to take a leak/poo, and the potty certainly came in handy! Not forgetting her stroller! Fortunately Daddy's car has a huge boot space, we miraculously squeezed all 6 bags & 11 kg stroller into the boot! Obviously little was packed for daddy, mummy , Grandmama and grand papa so we could maximise space for her essentials!
Anyway, last I was in Malacca was probably primary 3/4. Malacca gave me such a strong impression.. Portuguese architect, peranakan food and hainanese chicken rice.. I was so looking forward to the good food! But it seems that the reports have created more hype than reality.. I had forgotten how tiny the hainanese rice balls were and perhaps it was past the usual dinner time.. rice served weren't piping hot like I remembered and the chicken didn't taste as good though we were all super hungry. Fortunately we ordered beansprouts with the mains so veges made up for the shortfall.
Shopping wise.. we ended up at tescos shopping for dry stores and fruits. I must say the fruits are super cheap.. dates ( Chris' fav) selling at discounted rate for shoppers stocking up for Ramadan was such a steal! Would recommend as must buy if you visit Malaysia in Aug. Petrol was super cheap! To the extent that kiosk attendants were seen wasting petrol, they would pump beyond the brim in order to round up the cost to the nearest dollar. This would never happen in Singapore which only see cost spikes most times. Drivers gets excited over insignificant discount of 5 cents which comes after a minimum 30 minute queue to stretch the dollar on motoring costs!!
Overall, we definitely enjoyed the first road trip.. cause Natalie has been super cooperative ! She didn't complain nor struggle to get out of her car seat for hours and without falling asleep! Never knew this side of her if we were to stay at home.. such a wonderful and easy to manage child.. all the trouble of packing is worth it !
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Growth Series: Talk, read, music
Baby gibberish =)
The reader
The musician in the making..The drummer/ rock and roll dancer
The reader
Growing up series ..
Earlier series of her doing various activities. This was videoed when Nat was about 11 months old.
Monday, July 5, 2010
An Action baby
Brought Nat to the mall over the weekends. She was totally in her own little world as soon as she slips herself off our hands. She went around the mall smiling and touching majority of the items on display. Simply refusing to hold our hands and insist on going her own way. At the height of my kneecap, I was so afraid that she would be knocked down by passerbys who are oblivious of her existence.
She didn't care. No sign of fear. Dashed through open pavements to get to another aisle where a new and interesting object welcomed her on the other end. Simply absorbed into the world around her!
To the extent even when daddy and mummy went into hiding, she didn't panic at all.. Went along happily on her own in between aisles of clothes. She fell, but picked herself up.. mummy and daddy tried stalking her for a good 10 minutes...finally appearing in front of her.. she couldn't even be bothered. Mummy grabbed her and she struggeled with all her might, wanting to return to the ground again where she gets the utmost pleasure of independent roaming.
Am exploring the use of children leash..initially thought it to be cruel whenever I see parents use them on their children.. but we may have to reserve this as option else how are we to restrain this assertive little one?
She didn't care. No sign of fear. Dashed through open pavements to get to another aisle where a new and interesting object welcomed her on the other end. Simply absorbed into the world around her!
To the extent even when daddy and mummy went into hiding, she didn't panic at all.. Went along happily on her own in between aisles of clothes. She fell, but picked herself up.. mummy and daddy tried stalking her for a good 10 minutes...finally appearing in front of her.. she couldn't even be bothered. Mummy grabbed her and she struggeled with all her might, wanting to return to the ground again where she gets the utmost pleasure of independent roaming.
Am exploring the use of children leash..initially thought it to be cruel whenever I see parents use them on their children.. but we may have to reserve this as option else how are we to restrain this assertive little one?
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Junior and Nat
nat is now 16mths old and she is starting to display confidence in walking and learning to carry out tasks independently. She helps Sunarti with her chores by pushing the chairs in after someone has left the table. She would throw her dirty clothes into the laundry basket. Keep her toys after use.... and insist on returning the milk bottle to the kitchen after her night feed before she falls asleep.. it's amazing the things she could help with and each day is a new chapter for us.
Nat is also good at manipulation to get the things that she wants. Usually big fat tears would do the trick with her Grandpa and Daddy. Helper simply follows her bidding or tries to distract her with something else either a toy or blueberries or cookies. Grandma believes in disicipline and has on serveral occassions not spared the rod. I am not for physical punishment, but being firm and showing her the rattan when she gets cheeky does help to send the right message across.
Nat is the commander and chief when it comes to dealing with her dog. She simply loves ordering Junior her best friend around.And has no qualms about disciplining him. She would mimick grandma and holds the rattan as she speaks to him, telling him where he can / what he cannot do in her baby gibberish. She sometimes shouts at him to keep quiet and stop barking; raises her voice to tell him off when he is naughty; tells him to follow and return home after the walk. She interacts so well with our pet that he has become hers...And she knows he belongs to her. Hopefully one day she would take on the responsibility of feeding and bathing him! Can't wait for that to happen! Then I can relinquish my role as Junior's sitter... since his 'mummy' ... Rachel.. hardly is home to care for him.
You know.. it's really weird, and perhaps absence does make the hearts fonder.. Junior still recognises Rachel as the mummy in spite of her absence.. There is a huge difference in terms of attitude whenever he sees Rachel versus welcoming us. He'll do the whole 'hula jump' .. up and down.. up and down and his entire body exuberates joy! Telling everyone Rachel is back and he finally could be the star for the day.. and for the moment, steal the limelight away from Natalie.
Nat is also good at manipulation to get the things that she wants. Usually big fat tears would do the trick with her Grandpa and Daddy. Helper simply follows her bidding or tries to distract her with something else either a toy or blueberries or cookies. Grandma believes in disicipline and has on serveral occassions not spared the rod. I am not for physical punishment, but being firm and showing her the rattan when she gets cheeky does help to send the right message across.
Nat is the commander and chief when it comes to dealing with her dog. She simply loves ordering Junior her best friend around.And has no qualms about disciplining him. She would mimick grandma and holds the rattan as she speaks to him, telling him where he can / what he cannot do in her baby gibberish. She sometimes shouts at him to keep quiet and stop barking; raises her voice to tell him off when he is naughty; tells him to follow and return home after the walk. She interacts so well with our pet that he has become hers...And she knows he belongs to her. Hopefully one day she would take on the responsibility of feeding and bathing him! Can't wait for that to happen! Then I can relinquish my role as Junior's sitter... since his 'mummy' ... Rachel.. hardly is home to care for him.
You know.. it's really weird, and perhaps absence does make the hearts fonder.. Junior still recognises Rachel as the mummy in spite of her absence.. There is a huge difference in terms of attitude whenever he sees Rachel versus welcoming us. He'll do the whole 'hula jump' .. up and down.. up and down and his entire body exuberates joy! Telling everyone Rachel is back and he finally could be the star for the day.. and for the moment, steal the limelight away from Natalie.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Nat at 15 months
Time flies and with the lack of time to even sleep it's getting harder to keep up with frequent updates on the blog. Hopefully things will turn for the better and I will let you know why in the next couple of months =).. keeping you in suspense for now.
Nat is quickly growing up. She has started to walk and PD, Chris and I are certain that she could walk on her own unassisted, but just lacks the confidence. PD recommends to let her play around the coffee table with sofas as side support to allow her to slowly build up her confidence and slowly shift the sofas wider away from her each day. She is still pretty much relying on crawling as it's quicker to get to places , but we could tell she is getting there... Could now take couple of baby steps unassisted. Actually I dreaded the days where she could all of a sudden run and finds herself in control. Judging from how insistent she could be when it comes to getting her way.. I have no clue how I should go about disciplining her! Just yesterday, we were at Tanglin Mall and she wanted to go a seperate direction from daddy and mummy and threw a tiny tantrum at us for not giving in to her. She was quickly coaxed by distractions ahead. However, we could tell she is going to be a stubborn one.. just like the daddy hehehe. Better teach her about the naughty chair concept early. Both Chris and I are really soft hearted and tends to give in to her when she sheds her big fat tears and looks at you so pitufully with a pouting mouth.. our hearts just melts. It's so tough being a parent!!
Due to the hot and unpredictable weather, my hopes of tying her hair had to be postponed. Grandma trimmed her shoulder-length hair away whilst she was sleeping one evening. This little Nat is real sensistive when it comes to people touching her hair. She is also unable to stand the ends of her hair as she perspires, scratches and itches in the day. We tried tying her hair up but she simply hates it ! I suspect it might be sunarti who did not treat her hair gently esp when she removes the bib. She uses one hand and may have accidentally tugged on her hair at the same time! As a reult, Nat hates to wear a bib and hates us to touch her hair!! So we had no choice. Chopped it off to prevent her from scratching her neck. Now her hair is relatively short.. Rachel warned me about how I looked when I was a kid .. cause our hair was cut by mum and both of us look so mushroomy !! Imagine a bowl placed on your head as you get a haircut.. and that's exactly what you'll get! A mushroom head !! No way am I gonna let Nat look like that =D.. hmm better not leave the trimming to your grandma else history may repeat itself =)
Teeth wise Nat now has 6 upper milk teeth and 2 lower front teeth. Am now longer pre-preparing her vege in Ice-cube form. One of my colleague taught me to use a thermal cooker to prepare her porridge. This definitely saves sunarti alot of trouble as she could prepare Nat's lunch whilst she is taking her nap. The thermal cooker would continue to keep the food warm and porridge taste softer as well after it has been 'thermally' cooked for a while.
I have started to wean her off at 15 months. After getting a bottle and formula that she likes she has adapted well to 'artificial feeds'. Terrible as it may sound but with the formula packed with unaccountable ingredients like DHA & AA, Omega 3 and 6, Iron, Taurine, Choline and Zinc Lutein+, calcium together with 100% vegetable oil, I was really quite apprehensive about feeding her with manmade products. It was an adjustment for both of us and Daddy too, as he now plays an extremely important role of waking up and preparing the milk for Nat at 12 and 5:30am. =) WOnders of parenthood ! Never thought we could do with so little sleep and still be able to function the next day!
Btw remember we were advocates of Gina Ford's method? Doesnt quite work now as Nat refuses to sleep at 8ish..and drags her play time till 9ish and sometimes 10ish!!! How can babies sleep so late?? One Australian mother whom I knew said this is a Singaporean phenomenon... mothers work late, babies or children wanted to wait up as they won't fall asleep until they see their mommies. And I see a lot of truth in this. We are the cause for our babies sleeping late! Look at shoppers with kids, children awake and still running about at 11pm.. is defintely not a rare sight in Singapore. Sometimes I look at the mothers and I felt that they are so irresponsible and really felt like telling them off. How can a stroller feel more comfortable than their beds??
Although I may sound so indignant, it really is difficult on work days to reach home early enough to put your kids to bed.. something which Chris and I would have to work on really hard to get home before 7pm each day!
Nat is quickly growing up. She has started to walk and PD, Chris and I are certain that she could walk on her own unassisted, but just lacks the confidence. PD recommends to let her play around the coffee table with sofas as side support to allow her to slowly build up her confidence and slowly shift the sofas wider away from her each day. She is still pretty much relying on crawling as it's quicker to get to places , but we could tell she is getting there... Could now take couple of baby steps unassisted. Actually I dreaded the days where she could all of a sudden run and finds herself in control. Judging from how insistent she could be when it comes to getting her way.. I have no clue how I should go about disciplining her! Just yesterday, we were at Tanglin Mall and she wanted to go a seperate direction from daddy and mummy and threw a tiny tantrum at us for not giving in to her. She was quickly coaxed by distractions ahead. However, we could tell she is going to be a stubborn one.. just like the daddy hehehe. Better teach her about the naughty chair concept early. Both Chris and I are really soft hearted and tends to give in to her when she sheds her big fat tears and looks at you so pitufully with a pouting mouth.. our hearts just melts. It's so tough being a parent!!
Due to the hot and unpredictable weather, my hopes of tying her hair had to be postponed. Grandma trimmed her shoulder-length hair away whilst she was sleeping one evening. This little Nat is real sensistive when it comes to people touching her hair. She is also unable to stand the ends of her hair as she perspires, scratches and itches in the day. We tried tying her hair up but she simply hates it ! I suspect it might be sunarti who did not treat her hair gently esp when she removes the bib. She uses one hand and may have accidentally tugged on her hair at the same time! As a reult, Nat hates to wear a bib and hates us to touch her hair!! So we had no choice. Chopped it off to prevent her from scratching her neck. Now her hair is relatively short.. Rachel warned me about how I looked when I was a kid .. cause our hair was cut by mum and both of us look so mushroomy !! Imagine a bowl placed on your head as you get a haircut.. and that's exactly what you'll get! A mushroom head !! No way am I gonna let Nat look like that =D.. hmm better not leave the trimming to your grandma else history may repeat itself =)
Teeth wise Nat now has 6 upper milk teeth and 2 lower front teeth. Am now longer pre-preparing her vege in Ice-cube form. One of my colleague taught me to use a thermal cooker to prepare her porridge. This definitely saves sunarti alot of trouble as she could prepare Nat's lunch whilst she is taking her nap. The thermal cooker would continue to keep the food warm and porridge taste softer as well after it has been 'thermally' cooked for a while.
I have started to wean her off at 15 months. After getting a bottle and formula that she likes she has adapted well to 'artificial feeds'. Terrible as it may sound but with the formula packed with unaccountable ingredients like DHA & AA, Omega 3 and 6, Iron, Taurine, Choline and Zinc Lutein+, calcium together with 100% vegetable oil, I was really quite apprehensive about feeding her with manmade products. It was an adjustment for both of us and Daddy too, as he now plays an extremely important role of waking up and preparing the milk for Nat at 12 and 5:30am. =) WOnders of parenthood ! Never thought we could do with so little sleep and still be able to function the next day!
Btw remember we were advocates of Gina Ford's method? Doesnt quite work now as Nat refuses to sleep at 8ish..and drags her play time till 9ish and sometimes 10ish!!! How can babies sleep so late?? One Australian mother whom I knew said this is a Singaporean phenomenon... mothers work late, babies or children wanted to wait up as they won't fall asleep until they see their mommies. And I see a lot of truth in this. We are the cause for our babies sleeping late! Look at shoppers with kids, children awake and still running about at 11pm.. is defintely not a rare sight in Singapore. Sometimes I look at the mothers and I felt that they are so irresponsible and really felt like telling them off. How can a stroller feel more comfortable than their beds??
Although I may sound so indignant, it really is difficult on work days to reach home early enough to put your kids to bed.. something which Chris and I would have to work on really hard to get home before 7pm each day!
Monday, May 17, 2010
developments
Natalie has started to stand on her own and loves showing off this new found skillset as daddy cheers her on with repetitive encouragement that goes on and on with steady rythm..'standing! Stan-ding! Stan-ding!'. She would do this as part of the bedtime routine and crumbles to my tummy when she feels utterly exhausted. She understands and responds to commands like 'go to sleep' where she would fall flat immediately onto e nearest pillow and play pretence, peeping at our reaction as we look on with amazement. She recognises objects such as the clock, aircon, fan, cd player and of course the tv.. Chris calls her e aircon baby as she would demand for the aircon to be switched on or better still help herself to the remote control and presses the correct button to activate the function!
I am proud to say that to date
I am proud to say that to date
Monday, April 12, 2010
Fever and rash
Nat suffered from high fever over the weekend. Fortunately it's not caused by Influenza, but definitely viral as the temperature went up to 39.9degrees.
Scared the hell out of us, as we tried all means of lowering her temperature from cold towels to wiping her down, had to rush her to the hospital as the temperature rises persistently. Spent more than 3 hours at the hospital as we waited for the various tests to be returned. Didn't help that Wendy wasn't exactly the likes of Veronica ( her favourite PD or rather mummy's favourite as she is always so ever gentle with Nat), she was a backup since Veronica didn't start her day as early. Beggars couldn't be choosers, right but next time I'll rather wait another hour for Veronica. First thing Wendy did was to check her palm and feet for waterblobs, then checked her ears, and finally throat. All seems normal, except the temperature. Wendy suspected influenza, and explained that she had seen a spike in influenza related fevers over the past weeks. Causes unsure, but what came to my mind at that instant was .. oh dear could it be SARS again?? Has anyone been to the house and had viral fever? Was it someone from the workplace since virus could survive for days?
Nat underwent some further tests and good thing all returned negative. Fortunately it wasn't influenza.. but definitely viral.. and she is unsure of which one.. In the end we were told to go home, monitor the situation for the time being. Nat was prescribed both Nuerofen ( For temp more than 38.5) and Paracetamol.
Nat's fever fluctuated for the next few days. I hardly slept as she was such a picky eater and super whinny when ill. Our heartaches for her as she lets out little sighs whilst she slept. We split key duties to make sure that she was well taken care of round the clock. Daddy is the key temperature reader and mummy the feeder, cuddler, entertainer.. She just wanted mummy all the time to the extent where I couldn't even place her in her cot and had to keep her close to me.
Temperature dropped to 37ish degree today and she had her first heat rash. Thought it was chicken pox - never had them so any reddish blobs are chicken pox to me. Goggled and finally found out and was convinced that it was just heat rash when we place her in an airconditioned room =). No need to see the PD again tomorrow. Hopefully she'll sleep through the itch and it'll go away tomorrow.
Scared the hell out of us, as we tried all means of lowering her temperature from cold towels to wiping her down, had to rush her to the hospital as the temperature rises persistently. Spent more than 3 hours at the hospital as we waited for the various tests to be returned. Didn't help that Wendy wasn't exactly the likes of Veronica ( her favourite PD or rather mummy's favourite as she is always so ever gentle with Nat), she was a backup since Veronica didn't start her day as early. Beggars couldn't be choosers, right but next time I'll rather wait another hour for Veronica. First thing Wendy did was to check her palm and feet for waterblobs, then checked her ears, and finally throat. All seems normal, except the temperature. Wendy suspected influenza, and explained that she had seen a spike in influenza related fevers over the past weeks. Causes unsure, but what came to my mind at that instant was .. oh dear could it be SARS again?? Has anyone been to the house and had viral fever? Was it someone from the workplace since virus could survive for days?
Nat underwent some further tests and good thing all returned negative. Fortunately it wasn't influenza.. but definitely viral.. and she is unsure of which one.. In the end we were told to go home, monitor the situation for the time being. Nat was prescribed both Nuerofen ( For temp more than 38.5) and Paracetamol.
Nat's fever fluctuated for the next few days. I hardly slept as she was such a picky eater and super whinny when ill. Our heartaches for her as she lets out little sighs whilst she slept. We split key duties to make sure that she was well taken care of round the clock. Daddy is the key temperature reader and mummy the feeder, cuddler, entertainer.. She just wanted mummy all the time to the extent where I couldn't even place her in her cot and had to keep her close to me.
Temperature dropped to 37ish degree today and she had her first heat rash. Thought it was chicken pox - never had them so any reddish blobs are chicken pox to me. Goggled and finally found out and was convinced that it was just heat rash when we place her in an airconditioned room =). No need to see the PD again tomorrow. Hopefully she'll sleep through the itch and it'll go away tomorrow.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
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