4th Month Vaccination

We brought Ian to have his 4th month vaccination today. He has both thighs jabbed with the 5-in-1 and pneumoccocal vaccines, and later on, an oral dose of the rotarix. Ian cried for only a short while after the 2nd jab, and we are proud of him for being brave.

However, just like last month, he is a bit cranky after the jabs. It is fortunate that hubby is on leave today.

Here are Ian's latest stats:

• Height: 66cm
• Weight: 7.06kg
  

Dr Ong said that he is growing well. However, because most babies are averaged at around 10-12kg by 12 months, Ian may be expected to drink lesser. Dr Ong also reiterated that drooling is normal and not a sign of teething. He prescribed a cream for the little blister on Ian's little toe. We are wondering whether the blister came about from jumping in the jumperoo?

We also asked about his flat head, but Dr said that it is quite normal that the head may not be symmetrical, but later on this will be concealed by hair. But, we need to let Ian sleep on the left side more frequently.

Dr also mentioned that it is better to delay feeding cereal until the 5th or 6th month, so as to avoid triggering allergy. And, it is OK to continue the stage 1 milk or to move on to the stage 2, which contains more protein.

We grabbed our lunch at AMK hub and passed by Fox Baby. It was having a storewide 50% sale, so we bought a shirt and pant set for Ian, for less than $10. This is a size 12-18m, so it will go to the wardrobe for a while.

Grab Those Freebies!

I recently discovered a local online platform which sends out free samples for a nominal fee (postage & handling). Look what I've grabbed for $2.40 ($1.50 for postage, and $0.90 for material and labour costs).


Here's how it works:

1. Sign up at the website and you will get 60 points instantly.
2. Use these points to grab some samples. The postage & handling fees will be shown after you add the items into your cart. For 60 points, I only managed to grab 3 samples.
   
3. After checking out, immediately transfer the fees to their POSB account and fill in the payment form on the website to inform them.
4. Wait for the items to arrive in your mailbox!
5. Review the items on the website to earn more points, or refer friends. Then, the grabbing process starts all over again.
   

I signed up on Sunday and received the loots today!

Now dear friends, if you wish to join the program, please use this link so that I can earn some referral points too. *grin*

Ian Is 4 Months Old

Our little bundle of joy has reached 4 months today. His recent 'milestones':

• Sleeping through the night. I cannot remember since when he has started to sleep through the night, but for the past month at least, he sleeps before midnight, and only wakes up for a feed in the morning, between 6am-8am. We are very grateful to him for allowing us to sleep through the night as well.
  
• Being able to flip from back to tummy, and then propping himself up on his arms, unassisted.
• Displaying signs of wanting to jump on our laps.
• Being able to sit up with some support. In fact, he does not like to be lying down now. He prefers to sit up to see the world around him.
  
• Drooling, drooling, and drooling. I have lost count of the number of bibs that he is using everyday. Recently, he is able to swallow some of the saliva back instead of puking it out.
  
• Watching TV, though this is hardly a milestone to be proud of. *LOL*
• His milk intake has only recently increased to 4oz.
• His weight is 6.9kg as of last weekend.
• On his lunar 4th month birthday on 24th July, my Mom swiped a piece of scrambled egg across his lips, as a symbolic gesture of starting on solids. Do not ask me why, it is a tradition.
  

As for myself, I am losing hair by the bunch!!! It is normal to lose hair during the 4th month because of hormonal changes. Hopefully, like what articles say, this will stop by the 6th-12th month.

We Are Refugees

Ian and I have been seeking refuge at my mom's house for the entire week. This is all thanks to the renovation work that has been going on at a neighbouring unit.

1. Noise nuisance - Hackings and drillings have been carried out for the entire week. Ian has been frightened to a cry more than once from the noises. And, I could not do the GD cards with him with all the deafening noises.
2. Smoke nuisance - The workers love to smoke!!! And they have been inflicting harm on us with their second-hand smoke. Our house has been a smoke-free environment, but now, they have turned it into a pub.
   
3. Dust nuisance - No matter how much we try to close all the windows, the dust still managed to find its way into the house. No matter how much we mop the floor, it is still dusty when we return home in the evening.
   

I really hope that peace will return to us soon. Please, no more new neighbours!!!!

More BBB!

This week has been 'fruitful', with a new shipment of loots arriving from online shopping...

#1
After a long, long consideration, I finally bought the Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo from Amazon. It has been a long-drawn 'battle' to get this item from the States: firstly, the shipping forwarder took wrong measurements (overcharged by 2kg), and that wasted much of my precious time chatting with the CSOs for over one week to get it amended; secondly, it encountered problem with the shipment after I requested to have it shipped to SG. It was a huge relief when the DHL man finally delivered it to my doorsteps yesterday night.

To date, it is the most expensive toy that I have bought for Ian and I must really cut down on my spending. Hubby says enough spent on toys already.

Although hubby was tied down with work even when he was at home, he spent some time (eagerly) assembling the Jumperoo yesterday night. We immediately put Ian inside, and he seemed to enjoy it!

Enjoy the pictures!



The downside of this thing is that Ian's little feet cannot reach the floor, so we have to use a stool or something to put underneath so that he can jump instead of just hang in the air.

#2
New additions to Ian's little library. There was a promotion at Amazon, buy 4 books and get the cheapest one free, and I simply could not resist the offer. I have been striving to read these books to him every night, and hopefully one day, he will start to love books like his mummy.


#3
Finally, something for myself! I have bought yet another carrier - a Babyhawk meitai this time round. It was after a long consideration before I took the splurge, a hefty USD$88.50. The cool thing about Babyhawk is that I get to customise my own carrier from the straps to the prints. I have gotten a reversible one with a floral kimono print on the main side, and an earthy stripes print on the reverse side which hubby can use. (By the way, hubby chose the prints for me.)

I tried it on this morning and have worn it for the whole afternoon, with Ian taking his afternoon beauty sleep inside. And I am not disappointed! I have decided on Babyhawk over other meitai like the Catbird or Kozy, based on rave reviews from the babywearer forums. It is indeed very comfortable, supportive, and well-constructed. I do not feel Ian's weight as much as I do in the other carriers. If I were to list out something that I dislike, it is the long straps, which is something that all meitai users have to deal with.

The packaging

The main side - Kimono Blooms

The reverse side - Earth Stripe

The BBB Syndrome Never Ends

BBB is for Buy, Buy, Buy. And below are the new arrivals in our house...

#1
A Bumbo seat, bought from another mummy at $45. It comes with the tray, is still in a very good condition, and the only minus point is that the mummy bought this 5 years ago. (I only found out when I reached her place to view the seat.)



#2
Ian's first library, from the Babycenter store at an additional 20% off the already reduced prices.


#3
Socks and bodysuits from a Babymallonline spree which I joined almost 2 months ago, and another good buy from Babycenter. The sizes are still quite big so they will go into the cupboard for the time being.

Ian's Playground - Part Deux

The playmat has proved to be a good investment so far. The moment I put Ian on it, he starts to flip away! The surface is much firmer than a mattress and it becomes easier for him to prop himself up with his arms. It appears that he is quite curious about the colourful ground on which he is lying, and thus, he keeps wanting to turn onto his tummy to look at the pictures.


Here's a video of Ian flipping...

Hubby spent the whole of yesterday evening to clean up the living room area, and rearranged the furniture a bit so that we can have the playmat next to our sofa. Threadmill, off you go!

Ian's Playground

The playmat that we ordered via a BP has finally arrived this morning, after a long wait of more than one month! It will be an area of play and more tummy time for Ian. I have been waiting with much anticipation for this to come, because Ian needs more tummy time as he has already developed a flat head on the centre and right side. And hopefully, the mat will reduce the painful bumps that Ian is going to get when he learns to crawl and walk.

Presenting the LG Prime Tom & Jerry mat, for a hefty $210.... (Almost literally, we're stepping on $$$.)

Dimensions: 1900X1300X15mm.

The front design

The back design

The mat turns out to be smaller than I have expected. Or, did our house turn bigger? But nevertheless, it does feel to be of a much better quality than those that Minitoons is selling.

Ian Says "Ma"

It has been a while since I first started to hear Ian pronounce the word "ma", and all this while, I have thought that my ears were playing a trick on me. However, I heard it clearly yesterday, and hubby heard it too! Is Ian trying to call for me? Or is it just coincidental that he said this word?

Recently, we have also discovered that Ian likes to watch the TV!!!!!! This hobby must have been inherited from his parents. He particularly likes to watch a violin performance on Channel U last week, and also laughed at a baby program. I wonder what's so funny?

More Damages Over the Weekend

We incurred more monetary damages over the last weekend...

We missed the online BP for thermal cooking pots, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. One big and one small pots, gotten at a better price thanks to an offer from hubby's friend. We eagerly tested out the bigger pot on Sunday. We cooked barley for 15mins on high flame and left it in the pot while we went out. When we returned, the barley was nicely cooked as if it had been put on high flame for at least an hour! What a gas saver!


Ian has been on the GD program since 3 weeks ago, with the visual stimulation cards. As it is time to start on the English words cards, we returned to the GD guys for a workshop, last Saturday. I succumbed to the Temptation Devil and bought the Maths kit as well. According to the GD guy, a 3-month-old baby is at his best to learn from the Maths kit as compared to older children. Since I am still at home for the next 2 months, I thought that it is good to leverage on this advantageous period to help Ian learn more things.

Busy Weekends

I signed up for the refresher course at SSDC and today's lesson was my 4th and last. For the last 2 weekends, I have been deprived of sleep (more than ever) because the lessons were at 10.30am.

What I've been "refreshed":

• Lesson 1: Introduction to the car make, basic stuff like adjusting the interior fittings, mirrors, how to get into a car safely, circuit driving, outside driving.
  
• Lesson 2: Circuit driving, outside driving, vertical parking.
• Lesson 3: Circuit driving, parking outside with real cars, outside driving.
• Lesson 4: Opening up the bonnet to check on the engine oil, radiator, windscreen water, etc. and changing tyres, parking, driving on the expressway (took the BKE & SLE), and driving around Woodlands.
  

The school uses Honda Civic for all their automatic cars, and I must say it had been a thrill to drive such a powerful car. Even while I was on the road, some drivers attempted to "challenge" me by overtaking my car, and then slowing down. But, I was not an easily beaten opponent because I changed lane and sped up to show that driver the powess of the Civic.

I'm quite surprised at the new things that I've learnt from this course. If I were given a second chance to take a driving course, I would have opted for the school instead of a private instructor. One major difference is that the instructors from the school do not scold the students. :) I wonder whether it is because I am a licence holder now?

Hopefully, I will muster more courage to be on the driver seat, and relief my husband of his chauffeuring duties.

Keepsakes

This is what Ian's baby hair and his dried up umbilical cord have become...after a 1.5 month of long wait.

A baby hair brush made from Ian's first haircut to wish him wisdom in future, and his umbilical cord sealed in a glazed crystal (liu2 li2 crystal) to wish him good health and wealth.

The umbilical cord is something that once connected Ian and me. It is now, together with a few strands of Ian's hair, sealed within the centre of the rat stamp. Interestingly, the umbilical cord stamp is also called the "wealth stamp". What makes this glazed crystal design special is that it does not flatten the umbilical cord like the other typical crystal stamps.

The baby hair brush is made of red sandalwood, and engraved with well wishes from us, our names and his lunar birth date. It has a hidden mini seal with Ian's chinese name, on the top of the brush.

Me and My Flower Float

How do I look? :P

Who Do I Look Like?

Some say that Ian looks like Mommy, some say that he looks like Daddy. Let's find out who he looks like, at 3 months...

I Can Sit

Look what hubby did to baby! Two cushions, and Ian sat on the sofa on his own.

Our young master...

Do not disturb! I'm watching TV!

Who's calling?

Huh huh?

Evaluation On My New Toys

LeapFrog Little Touch Learning System

We have been playing this system with Ian for a few days now. Although he does not always keep his eyes on the screen, he has shown some reaction like placing his little hand on the book, and trying to flip it at times. When we play the music like the ABC song, he will stare at the screen.

It takes a bit of strength to press on certain parts of the book, especially along the spine. It is definitely not a toy for a baby to self-entertain, but more for a parent-child interaction time. The system is cool because the cartridge has narrations for the book, and there are cool stuff like the ABC song (which Ian seems to like) and animal sounds, depending on the book. For an older kid, the book becomes interactive with activities like counting and seeking an object.

Hopefully, Ian will like and learn much from playing with it, and at the same time, nurture a love for reading.

~~~

Baby Einstein Takealong Tunes

This is probably Ian's favourite toy for the time-being. Though the toy is simple with only a button to press, he is attracted by the music and dancing lights. The music is not annoying loud and there are 2 levels to adjust for the volume. It keeps him entertained (or rather, distracted) for a while.

Now, I'm pretty tempted to get the Fisherprice Rainforest Jumperoo from Amazon as it is on sale. Should I get it?