My little big boy is almost turning 5 in another 2 months' time. How time flies!
He is now more matured, and starting to look after Isabelle when I am busy with other things, abeit they still fight over toys now and then. He also helps to undress Isabelle for shower after we come home, while waiting for me to change and bring the towels to the bathroom.
He is also my little helper, helping out with the household chores like bringing the dishes/pots to the kitchen for washing, wiping the table after meals, vacuuming the floor, fetching things for me, and he has even attempted to scrub the toilet floor for me once.
Academically...
We have started to read chapter books to him, like Winnie the Pooh. We also purchased a few Step-Into-Reading books and he seems to be able to read at Step 3 of the series. At one of the book fairs last year, I collected the whole series of Peter and Jane, and right now, he is only at book 4, which I have made him read by himself. Recently, I also made him read the classic "Hansel and Gretel" from the Ladybird Read-It-Yourself series at level 3. In order to let him learn how to speed-read, I made him read the books quietly, as he had been used to reading books out aloud in the past so that we could check if he could read the words. As I feel more confident in his reading skills, I have decided to let him start reading books quietly. It is a joy to watch him read at a corner of his room, independently. To me, it is another step forward!
When it comes to Math and Chinese, Hubby and I will feel like pulling our hair immediately. Ian is now towards the end of the 2nd term in his abacus enrichment, but still having problem with addition and subtraction. And he loathes Chinese! It becomes a chore to revise Chinese words with him, and he takes a lot of effort to remember a word. I wonder how to arouse his interest in the language? *sigh*
Emotionally...
I wonder if there is a "terrible 4", just like a "terrible 2"? Sometimes, when he makes a mistake and I try to correct him, reason with him, he does not accept it immediately. He may throw a tantrum, such as deliberately stopping on the spot if we are walking outside, or make some noises, or slam on the table. I guess we just have to work harder and keep on reasoning with him at this age, and I think he is beginning to understand what we are trying to put across.
Physically...
I have no worries in this aspect at all! Although we still have not bought a bicycle for him, he has been allowed to cycle on a trike and ride on a scooter in school. His teachers have feedback that his sense of balancing is good and he learns physical activities pretty fast.
Quick stats:
Weight: 18.2kg
Height: 113cm
Showing posts with label Developmental Milestones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Developmental Milestones. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Showering - A Step Towards Independence
I have been allowing Ian to shower himself in the past 2 months. At first, I supervised him and made sure that he had applied soap all over, and showered thoroughly until there was no more residue of the soap. After a few times, I stopped supervising him, and only inspected him after he said he was done. And the result had been satisfactory. Good job, Ian.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Her First 3 Steps!
Our dear girl took her first 3 steps today. And, Hubby was the only one who witnessed it! Well, not too bad, at 1 year 1 day old! Gambatte, Isabelle!
Friday, June 1, 2012
Isabelle's New Skill - Putting Objects Into Containers
Recently, Isabelle had learned to put things into a container after taking them out. Now, she had been trying to fit in things, into all sorts of containers.
So, I had passed her a box of wooden blocks, and she happily put them into the Busy Ball Popper machine. After it was filled to the bream, she would clap her hands in delight.
She had also attempted to put other objects into the machine, such as the diaper cream, other toys of different sizes, and even a tennis ball (although it would not go into the hole).
Although it might not be a major achievement, it was a delight to see her feeling so happy at her own achievement!
So, I had passed her a box of wooden blocks, and she happily put them into the Busy Ball Popper machine. After it was filled to the bream, she would clap her hands in delight.
She had also attempted to put other objects into the machine, such as the diaper cream, other toys of different sizes, and even a tennis ball (although it would not go into the hole).
Although it might not be a major achievement, it was a delight to see her feeling so happy at her own achievement!
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Isabelle @ 11 Months
Isabelle is still cruising for the past month and has not been courageous enough to take an independent step alone. She is starting to inch her toes around though. Gambatte to our little girl!
This month, she has also learnt to put things into a container. Finally, she can play the Busy Ball Popper toy on her own, by putting the balls back into the machine if they fall outside. She has also learnt to push the knob on the ball popper and also press tiny buttons on toys, the aircon remote control, and the DVD player.
She has shown us her ability to copy actions - from us, or from the TV. I have been teaching her a few signs, such as milk, water, eat, drink, daddy, mommy, hello/goodbye, more, again. She has been able to hand-sign "milk", and "more" quite frequently. Although, sometimes I am not sure whether she really means she wants to drink milk when she shows me the sign. She has also attempted to sign "eat" and "water" after watching us do it.
Everyday, after her bath, I will let her see herself at the mirror and show her how to wave hello and goodbye. Now she is quite an adept at it, whenever we passes by the mirror. She can also clap her hands in joy, and hold up her arms when she wants us to carry her.
She appears to be recognising books that have been read to her before. Everyday, one of her routines is to rummage through the bookshelves. She loves to pull out the paperbacks that are meant for Ian, until I rearranged the shelves to bring the board books to a lower level within her reach. Now, her favourite activity is to pull out the board books and throw them onto the floor. When she sees something that she has been read to before, she will bring it to me to read to her. Or, she will flip through the books on her own.
Her favourite books now are:
- Moo, Baa, La La La (Sandra Boynton)
- Peek-a-Who? (Nina Laden)
- Pat the Bunny (Dorothy Kunhardt)
- Blue Hat, Green Hat (Sandra Boynton)
- Chinese flashcard book
She is also not one to be bullied. About 2 weeks ago, when Ian grabbed a toy right out of her hand, she retaliated by chasing after him, beating him on the back, screaming at him, and also grabbing his leg and attempting to sink her teeth into his flesh.
Oh yes, she has 4 teeth now, 2 middle incisors and 2 bottle incisors. I am not sure why, but she loves to bite my legs when I am wearing my black and white pajamas. She has also bitten me on my tummy once. I don't recall Ian ever biting us!
Her favourite word now is "ma ma" or "mum mum". She will say "ma ma" when I come out from the shower. I am not sure if she is actually calling me, but it sure makes me a very happy mama! She will say "mum mum" whenever she wants to eat something.
She is also showing greater independence now. I can leave her alone in the room with Ian and my Mom for a few minutes without her crying for my presence. She is also crawling around the house even when we are not inside a room or following her. There was once that I had to search around the whole house, and found her in my master room toilet!
How time flies! In a month's time, our little girl will turn one year old!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Isabelle @ 10 Months
It is amazing to be witnessing our little baby's progress day by day. This month, she appears to be fast-approaching the next major milestone - walking.
- Stands up without support and stands still for about 15 seconds at times.
- Cruising well
- Creeping has turned into a "bear walk", which is walking with legs, but crawling on hands
She loves bath time, and always manages to splash the water all over the place.
Her stickiness to us appears to be slowly, very slowly, waning. We can now leave her alone to play for a brief period. At times, we can also leave Ian and Isabelle together and let them play on their own.
She also hates it when we take away something that she is holding, if we do not offer her something else first. Actually, we do not remember having this problem with Ian.
Every morning, when her Daddy leaves for work, she will hurry to Daddy and pester him for a hug. When the door closes, she will cry very loudly unless I quickly distracts her.
Something about Isabelle that is noticeably superior to Ian, is her ability to recognise faces and expressions. From about 1-2 months old, she could return a smile to me. Now, she will always check on the person who is carrying her to make sure that this person is either her Daddy or Mommy. She will smile at strangers, but when the stranger wants to carry her, she will turn her back to him as a protest and hold on to me tightly. Whenever we smile at her, she will also return us a sweet smile.
- Stands up without support and stands still for about 15 seconds at times.
- Cruising well
- Creeping has turned into a "bear walk", which is walking with legs, but crawling on hands
She loves bath time, and always manages to splash the water all over the place.
Her stickiness to us appears to be slowly, very slowly, waning. We can now leave her alone to play for a brief period. At times, we can also leave Ian and Isabelle together and let them play on their own.
She also hates it when we take away something that she is holding, if we do not offer her something else first. Actually, we do not remember having this problem with Ian.
Every morning, when her Daddy leaves for work, she will hurry to Daddy and pester him for a hug. When the door closes, she will cry very loudly unless I quickly distracts her.
Something about Isabelle that is noticeably superior to Ian, is her ability to recognise faces and expressions. From about 1-2 months old, she could return a smile to me. Now, she will always check on the person who is carrying her to make sure that this person is either her Daddy or Mommy. She will smile at strangers, but when the stranger wants to carry her, she will turn her back to him as a protest and hold on to me tightly. Whenever we smile at her, she will also return us a sweet smile.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Isabelle @ 9 Months
We paid the PD a visit this morning for her 9 month assessment (and mistakenly thought that there was a vaccine as well).
Her stats:
Weight: 8.06kg (25-50 percentile)
Height: 73cm (75-90 percentile)
Head Circumference: 44cm
It was a surprise that Isabelle's weight had dropped to the below-50-percentile range again, as we had felt that she gained weight after taking in more solid food. But, at least her height was in a good range, which served as a kind of consolation that not all the statistics were below average.
The doctor checked on her and concluded that everything was normal for her.
Some of the things that Isabelle can do:
- stands up by holding onto something
- stands without support for about 2-3 seconds
- takes a few steps forward while holding onto our hands
- creeps and crawls
- makes different sounds like "ma", "da", "di"
- picks up a small object using her pincer grasp
- passes an object from one hand to another hand
- feeds herself a small puff (previously she could only eat a big piece of biscuit)
- holds her own bottle for a while
She loves the song "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" as Ian and I had been singing this to her quite often. She also loves the song "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". In fact, I think that she loves to hear us sing to her!
Unlike Ian, Isabelle experiences a pretty severe stranger anxiety. The moment someone other than her Daddy or Mommy carries her, she will wail very loudly. So far, only one of our friends has managed to carry her around. When we are outside, she will also turn around to check who is carrying her once in a while. If it is someone who is not her Daddy or Mommy, she will start her crying antics again. Even when she is at home, she often needs our company, to be next to her. Sometimes in the middle of her sleep, she will wake up and check that we are still beside her, before going back to sleep again. Hubby and I thought that perhaps she feels insecure, and hence, always wants our assurance.
Her stats:
Weight: 8.06kg (25-50 percentile)
Height: 73cm (75-90 percentile)
Head Circumference: 44cm
It was a surprise that Isabelle's weight had dropped to the below-50-percentile range again, as we had felt that she gained weight after taking in more solid food. But, at least her height was in a good range, which served as a kind of consolation that not all the statistics were below average.
The doctor checked on her and concluded that everything was normal for her.
Some of the things that Isabelle can do:
- stands up by holding onto something
- stands without support for about 2-3 seconds
- takes a few steps forward while holding onto our hands
- creeps and crawls
- makes different sounds like "ma", "da", "di"
- picks up a small object using her pincer grasp
- passes an object from one hand to another hand
- feeds herself a small puff (previously she could only eat a big piece of biscuit)
- holds her own bottle for a while
She loves the song "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" as Ian and I had been singing this to her quite often. She also loves the song "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". In fact, I think that she loves to hear us sing to her!
Unlike Ian, Isabelle experiences a pretty severe stranger anxiety. The moment someone other than her Daddy or Mommy carries her, she will wail very loudly. So far, only one of our friends has managed to carry her around. When we are outside, she will also turn around to check who is carrying her once in a while. If it is someone who is not her Daddy or Mommy, she will start her crying antics again. Even when she is at home, she often needs our company, to be next to her. Sometimes in the middle of her sleep, she will wake up and check that we are still beside her, before going back to sleep again. Hubby and I thought that perhaps she feels insecure, and hence, always wants our assurance.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Isabelle Creeps
These few days, our little girl has decided to try creeping (crawling with belly off the ground). She would take a few steps on her knees, before falling back down onto her belly again. We could tell that the frequency of her creeping is increasing slowly and steadily, as she gains more and more confidence in doing so instead of crawling on her tummy. This is a great milestone that we have been awaiting. Gambatte!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Isabelle @ 8 Months
Our little girl has reached the 8 month mark in a blink of an eye! How time flies!
The milestones she has attained from 7-8 months (reference from Babycenter):
Her nap times are erratic. She takes short naps, then stays awake for the rest of the day, even when she displays signs of tiredness like yawning or scratching her head.
She loves snacking on her puffs. We have tried the Happybellies puffs and the Gerber puffs. She likes both equally.
Her first teeth appear to be emerging. I noticed a faint white line where her middle lower incisors are, just last Saturday.
She has also displayed a fiery temper when we take away something that she is holding. In this aspect, Hubby and I agree that Ian has been much better.
The milestones she has attained from 7-8 months (reference from Babycenter):
- Sits without support
- Sits up on her own from all fours
- Drags object towards herself
- Experiences stranger anxiety strongly. Whenever someone other than her Daddy and Mummy is carrying her, she will cry loudly.
- Stands for a few seconds while holding onto something
- Begins to understand object permanence
- Says "mama" when she is angry
- Holds her bottle for a while
- Crawls on her tummy. Still trying to figure out how to crawl on her fours.
- Can follow the direction of my finger when I point to something
- Picks things up with thumb-finger pincer grasp
- Starting to sign "more" when we show her the puffs. When I signed "milk", she attempts to open her palm, and appears to be trying to figure out how to imitate me.
- Enjoys glazing at her reflection in the mirror
Her nap times are erratic. She takes short naps, then stays awake for the rest of the day, even when she displays signs of tiredness like yawning or scratching her head.
She loves snacking on her puffs. We have tried the Happybellies puffs and the Gerber puffs. She likes both equally.
Her first teeth appear to be emerging. I noticed a faint white line where her middle lower incisors are, just last Saturday.
She has also displayed a fiery temper when we take away something that she is holding. In this aspect, Hubby and I agree that Ian has been much better.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Isabelle @ 6 Months 3 Weeks
Due to the recent bout of nappy rashes and flu, we had delayed our girl's vaccines until a week after she had recovered from the flu.
At the clinic on 7th January 2012 (6 months and ~1 week), her measurements were:
Weight: 7.2-7.4kg (my postpartum brain is bad)
Height: 69cm
I wonder if Ian's clothes have shrank? Because Isabelle is now wearing about 12M sizes in some of Ian's old clothes, and even some of the Gap/Carters/OshKosh dresses that I had bought for her. However, the percentile charts do not seem to put her height in the top range.
Her weight has been rather stagnant since 5 months, probably because of our recent trip to HK and also because of a poorer appetite when she caught a cough and a flu from her elder brother.
Since some time around hitting the 6th month mark, Isabelle could roll over from both sides, and from tummy to back, and vice versa. And now, she can also crawl, based on GD's definition of crawling (meaning move around on her tummy). Whenever we put her on the LG playmat, she will wriggle her way out of it quickly. And if some object catches her fancy, she will make her way towards the object. Ian has had a "hard time" keeping his slowly deflating blue balloon away from his baby sister. She has also been showing signs of wanting to lift up her butt, and hopefully, she can start creeping soon even though that means more efforts on our part to keep her safe.
She can also sit independently for a few seconds, before she topples over and go back to her crawling position. We are waiting eagerly for the day when she is able to sit more steadily, so that we can leave her on the high chair while dining.
I think that she is a rather quiet baby, as she has not started to make many babbling sounds. However, I noticed that when we forced her to take her medicine until she was crying very badly, she would let out a "ma" sound! Wonder when she could start calling us? I have always thought that girls develop speech much faster than boys.
At the clinic on 7th January 2012 (6 months and ~1 week), her measurements were:
Weight: 7.2-7.4kg (my postpartum brain is bad)
Height: 69cm
I wonder if Ian's clothes have shrank? Because Isabelle is now wearing about 12M sizes in some of Ian's old clothes, and even some of the Gap/Carters/OshKosh dresses that I had bought for her. However, the percentile charts do not seem to put her height in the top range.
Her weight has been rather stagnant since 5 months, probably because of our recent trip to HK and also because of a poorer appetite when she caught a cough and a flu from her elder brother.
Since some time around hitting the 6th month mark, Isabelle could roll over from both sides, and from tummy to back, and vice versa. And now, she can also crawl, based on GD's definition of crawling (meaning move around on her tummy). Whenever we put her on the LG playmat, she will wriggle her way out of it quickly. And if some object catches her fancy, she will make her way towards the object. Ian has had a "hard time" keeping his slowly deflating blue balloon away from his baby sister. She has also been showing signs of wanting to lift up her butt, and hopefully, she can start creeping soon even though that means more efforts on our part to keep her safe.
She can also sit independently for a few seconds, before she topples over and go back to her crawling position. We are waiting eagerly for the day when she is able to sit more steadily, so that we can leave her on the high chair while dining.
I think that she is a rather quiet baby, as she has not started to make many babbling sounds. However, I noticed that when we forced her to take her medicine until she was crying very badly, she would let out a "ma" sound! Wonder when she could start calling us? I have always thought that girls develop speech much faster than boys.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Isabelle @ 5 Months
Our little girl is not a big eater like her brother. Till now, I am just starting to push her milk intake to 4-5oz every 3-4 hourly. However, many people have commented to me that she appears to be bigger-sized than her age. I feel rather puzzled, because according to statistics, she is merely in the 50-75 percentile range for both weight and height. And this is a result of adding one dreamfeed at 1 plus AM just before I call it a day.
As of this month, Isabelle is now a proficient flipper, abeit only from back to tummy, on her right side. She likes to sleep on her tummy, or her side. Whenever we put her down to sleep, she will quickly turn to her side or her tummy, and find herself a comfortable position to fall asleep. In a way, it is a good thing because her head will not become as flat as Ian. On the other hand, we have to be more vigilant when she is sleeping and make sure she is able to breathe well.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Ian @ 3 Year 8 Months
We have an early Christmas visit from Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer!
Our super duper active boy had a fall from the sofa at G2000 Takashimaya about 2 weeks ago. His face landed flat on the rough mat and his skin sustained scratches from the mat. The bump on his forehead has subsided a lot now, but his broken skin on the nose is still red and pretty raw. It does not help that his itchy fingers are always scratching and peeling on the wound!
As of now, his weight is approximately 16-17kg, height is approximately 105-110cm. I think he is the tallest boy in the class now!
He is now able to read books with simple words. During the recent Popular sale, I purchased more of the Peter & Jane series (3a/b, 4a/b) for him to progress to the next level. As always, I have difficulty in making him sit still during our reading sessions, unlike Daddy. Wonder how to make him improve on his attention span?
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Isabelle's First Flip - Tummy to Back
Our little girl was having her tummy time as usual, and to my surprise, she put down her head on the mat, turned the body sideways, and appeared to be struggling to turn over to her back. I quickly called out to Hubby to watch Isabelle, as she was about to perform her first tummy-to-back flip. With great luck, both of us witnessed her first flip (some parents did not get the privilege if it happened while they were away at work)!
It would probably take a while before she would do it again, but still, it was an unassisted flip!
It would probably take a while before she would do it again, but still, it was an unassisted flip!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Isabelle Lifts Her Head
After the session from GD, we decided to work harder on Isabelle, and to give her more tummy time. Her neck was still not strong enough and as of 3 months, she still could not flip.
Yesterday evening, since our girl was wide awake, Hubby put her down on the playmat to let her have her tummy time. Her two arms were "stuck" at the side, arms straight and she did not know what to do with them. So we had to help her bend her arms and put them near to her body, so that she could use them to prop herself up. We had some success getting her to lift up the head, but as usual, she was frustrated after a while.
This afternoon, since she refused to go back to sleep, I put her on the mat again to let her have her tummy time. To my joy, she propped herself up, and lifted her head higher than yesterday. She lasted in that position for at least 10 seconds. She also demonstrated lesser frustration in this position.
We would continue to work on our girl more diligently!
Yesterday evening, since our girl was wide awake, Hubby put her down on the playmat to let her have her tummy time. Her two arms were "stuck" at the side, arms straight and she did not know what to do with them. So we had to help her bend her arms and put them near to her body, so that she could use them to prop herself up. We had some success getting her to lift up the head, but as usual, she was frustrated after a while.
This afternoon, since she refused to go back to sleep, I put her on the mat again to let her have her tummy time. To my joy, she propped herself up, and lifted her head higher than yesterday. She lasted in that position for at least 10 seconds. She also demonstrated lesser frustration in this position.
We would continue to work on our girl more diligently!
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Ian Is Reading!
We finally paid a visit to GDBaby for a refresher course, after procrastinating for so long. I attended the advanced class first, because I wanted to see how to get back on track with the GD program with Ian.
Since Ian already knew quite a number of words, I was given a simple book to "test" Ian's proficiency in reading. To my surprise, he could read most of the book. When he came across a new word, he would try to sound out by looking at the beginning letters, though he might not get the pronounciation correct eventually. Hubby said he was looking at the picture and second-guessing the words though. So, Ian was asked to participate in the demonstration on how to do word-play. And the instructor concluded that Ian was already reading.
He did not have to continue with the GD method any more, but we just had to expose him to a big variety of books, and to try to get him to read books with more words and less pictures. Since Ian already knew the numerals, we did not have to do the Math program with him too, but just to expose him to all the concepts that we ourselves knew. The world is the limit now.
Before leaving, I had a brief refresher on the method for a newborn. I hope that with Isabelle, I would get more use out of the cards.
Since Ian already knew quite a number of words, I was given a simple book to "test" Ian's proficiency in reading. To my surprise, he could read most of the book. When he came across a new word, he would try to sound out by looking at the beginning letters, though he might not get the pronounciation correct eventually. Hubby said he was looking at the picture and second-guessing the words though. So, Ian was asked to participate in the demonstration on how to do word-play. And the instructor concluded that Ian was already reading.
He did not have to continue with the GD method any more, but we just had to expose him to a big variety of books, and to try to get him to read books with more words and less pictures. Since Ian already knew the numerals, we did not have to do the Math program with him too, but just to expose him to all the concepts that we ourselves knew. The world is the limit now.
Before leaving, I had a brief refresher on the method for a newborn. I hope that with Isabelle, I would get more use out of the cards.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Isabelle's Vaccines
We brought our little girl to have her pneumoccocal vaccine today, and to our surprise, Dr said that she could take the Rotavix as well as the 6-in-1 as well. We did not feel so comfortable with her getting poked so many times in a day, and hence decided to delay the 6-in-1 till next month.
As of 2 months 3 weeks, Isabelle was:
- Weight: 5.5kg
- Height: 60.5cm
She was in the 25-50th percentile for weight, and 50-75th percentile for height. Dr was not worried about her low weight, because she had actually gained 1kg since last month, which was just right. Dr said we should not start solids for sure because her neck was not firm enough. Well, we did not plan to start this early anyway!
As of 2 months 3 weeks, Isabelle was:
- Weight: 5.5kg
- Height: 60.5cm
She was in the 25-50th percentile for weight, and 50-75th percentile for height. Dr was not worried about her low weight, because she had actually gained 1kg since last month, which was just right. Dr said we should not start solids for sure because her neck was not firm enough. Well, we did not plan to start this early anyway!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Isabelle Likes to Socialise
Recently, we noticed that our little girl has started to smile at us. During the day, I attempted to play with her by coo-ing and talking to her, or touching her face. When she saw me, she would give me a heart-melting smile. She must be a happy baby, because she often smiled or let out a chuckle in her sleep. From my memories, Ian did not smile at us this early as Isabelle (just over one month old). Perhaps, girls do develop faster than boys?
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Isabelle's 6-in-1 Vaccination
We brought Isabelle to her PD for the first 6-in-1 vaccination. As she has just been discharged from hospital not too long ago, Dr skipped the Rotavirus vaccine for this time, so that her body would not be so overloaded.
The clinic assistant took Isabelle's weight and height. As of 6 weeks old, she is:
- Weight: 4.4kg
- Height: 58cm
Her statistics were not as fabulous as Ian who always topped the charts. Perhaps it was because she was a small eater, unlike Ian. As of now, her milk intake was still hovering around 60ml every 2-3 hours.
The clinic assistant took Isabelle's weight and height. As of 6 weeks old, she is:
- Weight: 4.4kg
- Height: 58cm
Her statistics were not as fabulous as Ian who always topped the charts. Perhaps it was because she was a small eater, unlike Ian. As of now, her milk intake was still hovering around 60ml every 2-3 hours.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Isabelle Is One-Month Old
On 24th July, we held a customary full month 'celebration' for Isabelle with the immediate family. Well, not exactly a celebration, but rather going through the rituals of praying to ancestors and distributing cakes among the family.
Early in the morning, Hubby, my mom, and Ian went to collect the cakes. After that, Hubby dropped off Mom at the temple where she wanted to pray for Isabelle, and in the meanwhile, Hubby drove back to fetch us before going back to the temple to fetch my mom.
Back at my mom's place, we offered prayers to the ancestors, had our lunch, before going to Hubby's parents' place for another round of ancestors praying. After that, we delivered a box of cake to Hubby's godparents before heading home.
On 29th July, one day before Isabelle turned one month old, I was down with a fever and was not sure whether Isabelle was sick too. I informed Hubby about my fever, and he returned home during lunch to bring us to see the GP. My fever had subsided by the time we reached the clinic, and since Isabelle was there, we asked the doc about her as well. To our shock, she was running a high fever and the doc suggested us to bring her to the hospital immediately, as she could not accept a patient under 6 weeks old.
We dashed down to TMC for the pediatric clinic since our usual PD was closed under the evening. We had to wait a while for 2pm when the doctor would return from lunch. In the meanwhile, the nurse took her measurements and put an urine bag on Isabelle to collect the urine sample for tests. While waiting, we took a quick lunch with Delifrance sandwich.
I was in a shock, when the doctor said that she had to be hospitalised for at least 3 days, as they treat infants under a month old very seriously. Moreover, the bacteria test result would only be out in about 3 days. We proceeded to do the admission and then waited in the ward for the doctor to visit again. We decided that Hubby would stay in the hospital while I return home to take care of Ian. The nurse offered to bathe for Isabelle, and when they returned, she said that her weight was only 3.2kg. We were totally stunned as we had always felt that she had been gaining weight!
For the next 2 days, I had to shuttle to and fro the hospital with Ian. On Saturday, it was the first time I drove out alone with Ian to a shopping mall to shop and settle our lunch. We went to Causeway Point and the ongoing renovation made the place a big mess. We could not find our favourite sushi chains on the top floor and in the basement. Hence, I brought him to his fave haunt - MacDonalds. I ordered a kids meal for him, and it was a torture to watch him eat. I had finished my burger and all he had were fries and my coke. I had to trick him to finish 2 nuggets, while I ate the other 2. It was fortunate that he loved to eat corn, so there was no difficulty in making him eat that on his own. We brought some fruits and bread before going home to let Ian have his beauty sleep. In the evening, Hubby brought Ian out to buy dinner while I took over the duty at the hospital for the time being. We had udon and sushi for dinner, and Hubby also got the Koi bubble tea that I had been yearning for since I had abstained from it during my pregnancy. We sat around for a while before I brought Ian home.
On Sunday, the doctor brought us good news that the bacteria tests were negative and Isabelle could be discharged on Monday. So on Monday, after putting Ian into his school, I headed for the hospital straightaway. The nurse took her weight again - almost 4kg. Daddy had done a good job in feeding her every 2 hourly in the hospital.
Back at my mom's place, we offered prayers to the ancestors, had our lunch, before going to Hubby's parents' place for another round of ancestors praying. After that, we delivered a box of cake to Hubby's godparents before heading home.
On 29th July, one day before Isabelle turned one month old, I was down with a fever and was not sure whether Isabelle was sick too. I informed Hubby about my fever, and he returned home during lunch to bring us to see the GP. My fever had subsided by the time we reached the clinic, and since Isabelle was there, we asked the doc about her as well. To our shock, she was running a high fever and the doc suggested us to bring her to the hospital immediately, as she could not accept a patient under 6 weeks old.
We dashed down to TMC for the pediatric clinic since our usual PD was closed under the evening. We had to wait a while for 2pm when the doctor would return from lunch. In the meanwhile, the nurse took her measurements and put an urine bag on Isabelle to collect the urine sample for tests. While waiting, we took a quick lunch with Delifrance sandwich.
I was in a shock, when the doctor said that she had to be hospitalised for at least 3 days, as they treat infants under a month old very seriously. Moreover, the bacteria test result would only be out in about 3 days. We proceeded to do the admission and then waited in the ward for the doctor to visit again. We decided that Hubby would stay in the hospital while I return home to take care of Ian. The nurse offered to bathe for Isabelle, and when they returned, she said that her weight was only 3.2kg. We were totally stunned as we had always felt that she had been gaining weight!
For the next 2 days, I had to shuttle to and fro the hospital with Ian. On Saturday, it was the first time I drove out alone with Ian to a shopping mall to shop and settle our lunch. We went to Causeway Point and the ongoing renovation made the place a big mess. We could not find our favourite sushi chains on the top floor and in the basement. Hence, I brought him to his fave haunt - MacDonalds. I ordered a kids meal for him, and it was a torture to watch him eat. I had finished my burger and all he had were fries and my coke. I had to trick him to finish 2 nuggets, while I ate the other 2. It was fortunate that he loved to eat corn, so there was no difficulty in making him eat that on his own. We brought some fruits and bread before going home to let Ian have his beauty sleep. In the evening, Hubby brought Ian out to buy dinner while I took over the duty at the hospital for the time being. We had udon and sushi for dinner, and Hubby also got the Koi bubble tea that I had been yearning for since I had abstained from it during my pregnancy. We sat around for a while before I brought Ian home.
On Sunday, the doctor brought us good news that the bacteria tests were negative and Isabelle could be discharged on Monday. So on Monday, after putting Ian into his school, I headed for the hospital straightaway. The nurse took her weight again - almost 4kg. Daddy had done a good job in feeding her every 2 hourly in the hospital.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Ian @ 3 Years 1 Month
Today marked the day of Ian beginning his full-day in school. When I picked him up in the evening, he was happily playing with a few of the classmates who were also waiting for their parents. It was a relief that he appeared to be adapting well, as what the teacher had informed me. The only problem that she highlighted was his lack of interest in eating. We would have to monitor his weight for the subsequent period.
For the past 2 weeks, we had been eating at home, because my Mom had undergone an eye surgery and was thus not able to cook for a long period. One benefit of eating at home was that Ian had been forced to self-feed, and we had managed to cut him off from TV and iPhone. When I told Hubby about this over the weekend, he thought that it was better for Ian as he was getting obsessive with watching TV and playing iPhone during mealtimes. However, that meant it would be tougher on us because he had to go grocery shopping on a few mornings and I had to cook in the afternoon. One good thing was that I did not have to worry about the weather, because it had been raining cats and dogs at those times when we were just about to leave the house (also depending on what time Ian woke up from his beauty nap)!
As of 3 years old, our little boy had become very talkative, and often talked to himself about his imaginary friends from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Backyardigans, or Little Einsteins. He had also found a pet dog (a soft toy that Hubby gave me many years ago) that he claimed to be his, and sometimes, we found him to be talking to the pet dog as well. It was a pleasant progress to us, because he was diagnosed with a speech delay when he was 2.
He also found a love for reading books, and always demanded us to read him a few before he was willing to take his milk bottle and go to bed. He was able to read some of the words in the books, but we were not sure whether he memorised the book, or he was actually reading the words. But it did not matter either way, because it was still a progress. One problem we were still facing now, was his lack of interest in the Chinese books. We let him choose most of the books that he wanted to read, and he seldom picked the Chinese ones. We had also noticed that he was unwilling to speak in Mandarin sometimes, and wondered why?
I also discovered a change in Ian's attention span, at least in watching cartoons! In the past, he would only watch for a few minutes at most, and then find something more interesting to do. But recently, he had been watching cartoons with his eyes glued onto the screen. I wondered if that was a natural progression in growing up?
Since Ian had been toilet-trained in the day for about half a year, Hubby and I had been playing with the idea of toilet-training him for night-time as well. We tried to put him on one of the cloth diapers for one night, and that was it. He refused to wear it subsequently, and I thought it was because the diaper was too tight on his chubby thighs and made it uncomfortable. Well, we would just save the diapers for his little sister then! However, the good news was that subsequently, he had kept his diaper dry for a few random nights. Recently, we had noticed that he woke up more frequently early in the morning, took off his diaper on his own, and went to the toilet in the dark. And, his diaper had remained dry. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this would continue (although that would mean we would get lesser sleep)! One thing that we did not change was his nightly bottle of milk, because some parents had cut off any liquid an hour before bedtime when they potty-trained their little ones for nighttime. I did not want to do that because I thought that it was essential for him to drink more milk at his age (without sacrificing solid food intake), especially when he was so willing to drink it.
Our little boy was also growing to be a bossy guy. For instance, if he wanted our attention and we were watching TV or looking at our phones, he would say "Daddy, stop watching. Come and sit on the floor.", or "Mommy, stop watching. Eat your lunch.". Sometimes, if I unfastened the seat belt before the car came to a full stop, he would chide me, "Mommy, your seat belt!". Somehow, I could not help but be amused by this little bossy guy.
Just a quick stat:
Weight: 16.4kg
I was astonished when I saw the number on the weighing scale, because I had not been carrying him for the past few months. But I was super pleased with his weight gain! I did not manage to measure his height, but a random guess would be around 100cm perhaps?
For the past 2 weeks, we had been eating at home, because my Mom had undergone an eye surgery and was thus not able to cook for a long period. One benefit of eating at home was that Ian had been forced to self-feed, and we had managed to cut him off from TV and iPhone. When I told Hubby about this over the weekend, he thought that it was better for Ian as he was getting obsessive with watching TV and playing iPhone during mealtimes. However, that meant it would be tougher on us because he had to go grocery shopping on a few mornings and I had to cook in the afternoon. One good thing was that I did not have to worry about the weather, because it had been raining cats and dogs at those times when we were just about to leave the house (also depending on what time Ian woke up from his beauty nap)!
As of 3 years old, our little boy had become very talkative, and often talked to himself about his imaginary friends from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Backyardigans, or Little Einsteins. He had also found a pet dog (a soft toy that Hubby gave me many years ago) that he claimed to be his, and sometimes, we found him to be talking to the pet dog as well. It was a pleasant progress to us, because he was diagnosed with a speech delay when he was 2.
He also found a love for reading books, and always demanded us to read him a few before he was willing to take his milk bottle and go to bed. He was able to read some of the words in the books, but we were not sure whether he memorised the book, or he was actually reading the words. But it did not matter either way, because it was still a progress. One problem we were still facing now, was his lack of interest in the Chinese books. We let him choose most of the books that he wanted to read, and he seldom picked the Chinese ones. We had also noticed that he was unwilling to speak in Mandarin sometimes, and wondered why?
I also discovered a change in Ian's attention span, at least in watching cartoons! In the past, he would only watch for a few minutes at most, and then find something more interesting to do. But recently, he had been watching cartoons with his eyes glued onto the screen. I wondered if that was a natural progression in growing up?
Since Ian had been toilet-trained in the day for about half a year, Hubby and I had been playing with the idea of toilet-training him for night-time as well. We tried to put him on one of the cloth diapers for one night, and that was it. He refused to wear it subsequently, and I thought it was because the diaper was too tight on his chubby thighs and made it uncomfortable. Well, we would just save the diapers for his little sister then! However, the good news was that subsequently, he had kept his diaper dry for a few random nights. Recently, we had noticed that he woke up more frequently early in the morning, took off his diaper on his own, and went to the toilet in the dark. And, his diaper had remained dry. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this would continue (although that would mean we would get lesser sleep)! One thing that we did not change was his nightly bottle of milk, because some parents had cut off any liquid an hour before bedtime when they potty-trained their little ones for nighttime. I did not want to do that because I thought that it was essential for him to drink more milk at his age (without sacrificing solid food intake), especially when he was so willing to drink it.
Our little boy was also growing to be a bossy guy. For instance, if he wanted our attention and we were watching TV or looking at our phones, he would say "Daddy, stop watching. Come and sit on the floor.", or "Mommy, stop watching. Eat your lunch.". Sometimes, if I unfastened the seat belt before the car came to a full stop, he would chide me, "Mommy, your seat belt!". Somehow, I could not help but be amused by this little bossy guy.
Just a quick stat:
Weight: 16.4kg
I was astonished when I saw the number on the weighing scale, because I had not been carrying him for the past few months. But I was super pleased with his weight gain! I did not manage to measure his height, but a random guess would be around 100cm perhaps?
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