Ian Is 18 Months Old

Ian had his 18 month vaccines done at Dr Ong's clinic this morning, accompanied by the 18 month checkup done by the nurse.

We expressed our concern on his speech ability because he was still unable to talk much, but they reassured us that boys were generally slower.  The nurse recommended us to put him into a childcare, because most children progressed by leaps and bounds after a few weeks in the childcare centres.

His weight and height measured 12.3kg and 85cm respectively, which was in the range of 90th percentile.  Although he had not gained much weight for the past 2 months or so, Dr was not worried because his weight was in the top range of the age group.

Once again, Dr reiterated the importance of introducing a wide variety of food, and to supplement more solid food with his usual porridge.  He also reiterated that at this age, milk was not so important because he could absorb the nutrients from other food.  We would have to work on getting him to eat less soupy stuff because till now, he had a preference for porridge over rice.  Dr also gave us a tip: we could train him to eat anything by persistently giving it to him everyday for 2 weeks.  So far, we had let him try a little spicy food and he showed no sign of rejection!

His milestones:
- Able to speak some words at whim: Daddy, baby, milk, "na2" (mandarin for "take"), ball, please, thank you, mum mum, up, two, dog, cat, book, shoe, bike, more, bye.
- Able to use a crayon/pen/pencil and scribble.  However, he still doesn't differentiate between scribbling on a paper and on the table.
- Able to keep his toys upon Daddy's order.
- Able to tell us what he wants by pointing and saying "na2".
- Able to throw up a ball and hit it from mid-air.
- Likes to flip books.
- Able to use a fork to eat.  However, he is still not dexterous with a spoon.
- Able to sort shapes with the shape sorting toy.
- Kicks objects on the floor, not just balls.
- Able to blow bubbles.
- Able to take off pants though not very skillful at it yet.  Able to take off one side of his diaper.  Can pull up his shirt but that's it.
- Has a lot of temper tantrums!  Is this the onset of the "terrible two"?
- Able to brush the front teeth on his own.
- Able to run to his little putty when he needs to poo.
- Puts his finger to his mouth and says "shhh".
- Unfortunately, he does not always respond well to instructions.  It helps to show him the 'cane'.
- Takes things apart and attempts to put back together.
- Understands what is "throw away" by taking the object to the rubbish bin and throw into it, and what is "wash hand".
- Understands some of his body parts like "mouth", "ear", "head".
- Loves to jump with both feet (and it is causing a headache to us sometimes).
- Able to take off his shoes though he needs help putting them on.
- Imitated us and now he knows how to play his favourite VCD before his mealtimes.
- Able to stack rings without help. 
- Able to blow his nose with a tissue.

We are still trying to teach him to put things back to where they belong, and sometimes, he will throw a tantrum and refuse to follow our instruction.  We discovered that his temper is especially short when he is tired and at such times, it is best to make him take a nap.  Also, Ian tends to obey his Daddy more and is starting to walk all over his Mummy.  Sigh sigh sigh...

The Beginning of A New Journey

Yesterday, I have finally bade farewell to my company of 7 years, after rounds of debates and contemplations.  It was for the good of our family, to take Ian home for some discipline and also in the hope of helping him to learn more things than being at the babysitter's.  It was also for the mental and physical well-being of both hubby and I, for me to take a break from the stressful work and to play a greater part in taking care of the household. 

My last day at work was a hectic one, as I had to uninstall all the softwares that did not come with the laptop, wipe out my personal data, reset the user profiles, backup my emails, say goodbyes to my users and my good colleagues, and lastly, to rush back to the headquarters to return my assets and get the clearance forms signed.

Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in our family, as I converts to a full-time home-maker.  For the time-being, I will take a short break to rejuvenate myself, while gradually adapting to my new lifestyle.