Started on Solids - Part Two

New stuff that my baby has tried:

1. chicken and potato pasta stars
2. broccoli and cheese baby spagetti
3. capsicum stir fried in olive oil with chicken porridge
4. apricot with chicken porridge
5. black bean and pork porridge
6. minced beef with chopped spinach porridge
7. salmon and sweet potato quinoa 
8. apple and chicken quinoa w a tinge of organic cinnamon
9. red snapper and potato porridge
10. frog leg, huaisan and pumpkin porridge
11. slice beef and shitake mushroom with porridge
12. salmon, asparagus and carrot with organic macaroni

Started on solids Part One.

She is getting bored with porridge and I will move on to mee tai mak and udon soon when she is 11 months.

Monkey see monkey do

Baby G lately has been trying to copy me doing the things that I do to her. She is 10 months 2 weeks old now.

(1) She doesn't like it when I clean her tongue or when it's time to brush her teeth. I guess the bristles of the toothbrush feels weird in her mouth. She struggles or keeps her mouth shut tightly when I pry her mouth open to clean her tongue. Then the next thing I realised, she keeps digging her fingers into my mouth to scratch my tongue just to let me know how irritating it is.

(2) When I lie down in the play-yard or on my bed, she will come and pat pat me attempting to make me fall asleep.

(3) When I accidentally hit something and I "pretend to cry" cos it hurts, she will put her whole face on my neck and sometimes, she will kiss me (with her mouth full of saliva dripping wet).

(4) When she is eating her teething rusk and I asked for some, I put my mouth near the rusk and open my mouth trying to get it, she straightens her hand and give me but then changes her mind and take it back again. Then I come near her and I attempt to snatch it, she holds the teething rusk tightly and hides it under the highchair.

(5) My mom calls my dad [Dar] and we stayed with them for 2 weeks. Gracel started to call everyone else Dar for a while.

(6) I played with her the Ah buuu bruu bruu game (see facebook video) and she copied me laughing away.

(7) She copies me wiping her playmat and signing 'Thank You'.

Music makers trial

I went to hunt for this trial class and was the organiser. However, only Mommy Karen manage to turned up with her Rebecca.

It's a 50 minute class with spontaneous music, songs and movement and Baby G had fun. I almost feel like signing her up for the class cos it's cheaper (6 lessons at $100) than all the music trial classes we've been to.

Sign sign sign

Gracel can sign milk, sleep and brush teeth at 9 months 1 week old. And can sign diaper at 9 months 4 weeks old. She also understands when we tell her she has to go for a shower, it's time to read a book and if she wants to eat something. I know she understands cos she gets very agitated / excited for it and starts to behave herself. Sometimes, when I forget to tell her what's going to happen next, she does get cranky but when I tell it to her and she is expecting the next activity, she behaves better and doesn't throw tantrums.

She is growing so fast I wish time can slow down. She is also enjoying her swim with papa nowadays :)

Peek-a-boo with Mikaela

We played for an hour at Kallang Leisurepark. It's free for babies 9 months and below :)

Shake shake shake

Baby can shake her head left and right now and she's so funny whenever she does that.

I will then take this opportunity to ask her questions such as:
Baby, is mama fat? and she shakes her head left and right, looking very serious and convincing. Hahahaa.
And I will reply, "thank you darling".

Me: is it raining now?
Baby: *shakes her head left and right*
Me: oic, it's not raining. It's a bright and sunny day.

Me: are you hungry now?
Baby: *shakes her head left and right*
Me: ok, not hungry and it's time for you to take a nap soon.

Virgin swim at a real pool

Sleep

Did you read today's Straits Times on "Not Enough Sleep?" at the Home Section? omg. I am so glad that they published this saying that Singaporean kids are not sleeping enough. Source was from National Sleep Foundation somemore. Good la.

I really really cannot emphasis how important sleep is. I am SO MUCH happier now that my gal can sleep 12 hours at night and I can sleep very well and have my personal time too. When I say 12 hours, it really means so with no milk at all. Occasionally she might wake from a bad dream/noise, cry for 3-5 minutes (ok max 10 mins) and she settles herself back to sleep without my help. Or she woke up due to a loud thunderstorm, play with her toes for 5 minutes and settles herself to sleep without crying.

Straits Times 20 April 2012

From Babycenter website

It used to be so bad previously. She would wake 4-7 times at night screaming away even with feeding milk. And I am always sulky and in a bad mood most of the time that my fil asked me to go back to work (I stay with my in-laws and that makes sleep training all the more difficult but I shan't go to that in this post). I am so so so so glad that I bought the sleep package and read the book on "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth". Going to share some excerpts from the book with you.

Elisabeth Pantley, author of The No-Cry Sleep Solution, advises sticking with what works: “If your child is getting enough sleep, you are all sleeping well, and the people who live in your home are happy with the way things are working out, then nothing needs to be fixed, regardless of what anyone else has to say about your family’s sleeping situation.”


One last excerpt that is not very pleasant but very true for me (earlier post was betw me and my mom's quarrel, will not go into my in-law's story).

http://singaporemotherhood.com/articles/2012/04/sleep-and-your-young-ones/

Well, I have come so far. I will protect her sleep at all cost.

The problem with grandparents

I was in the shower. Baby was in the playpen crying herself to sleep. Suddenly there was silence. I came out of the bathroom and saw my mom carrying her.

Well, I purposely went for a shower when she is crying. The idea is for her to learn to fall asleep on her own and there is absolutely nothing for me to do. She is now at Day 20 of her training and there is no limit to how long she cries and I will not pick her up.

From 40 mins of crying, it has been reduced to 30 mins, 25 mins, 15 mins and currently anything between 5 - 10 mins before she can soothe herself to sleep. My mom carried her at the 9th minute for goodness sake.

Anyway, I shouted at my mom and I banged the cupboard. Baby was back in the playpen crying EVEN HARDER this time and EVEN LONGER while me and my mom were outside; in the living room. This is the first time I shouted at my mom in my life. I have never ever reacted in such a way towards her.

I told her "If you are the one taking care of baby at night, I won't bother how you want to carry her, rock her to the sky. But I am the one waking up 7 times last time [and now just once at most and crying for 5 mins and she can soothe herself back to sleep] so please do it my way".

She is really mad at me and she left after saying "I don't understand you." And then cold war with me for 3 days and counting. I sent a message saying sorry that I was rude .... within an hour after she left and also two other smses but till date no reply.

I have never been this sure that I am doing the right thing. Because I did my confinement at her place, I failed at breastfeeding. This time I am determined to do what I want for my child (assertively).

Just so, I happened to meet a mommy downstairs at my void deck. I got to know her in-laws first, who happened to be my neighbour. She has two girls Keston 24 months and Megan 11 months old. She shared with me that she quarrelled with her mom numerous times because of sleep training too. I asked her how long did Keston cry last time. She told me 'An hour plus of crying and struggling'. That time Keston was sleep trained when she was 14 months. Her mom couldn't understand either.

I suppose there are lots of differences in terms of her view and her in-laws and mom's views. That's why even though they both are healthy and strong, she quit her job and choose to be a stay-at-home mom to take care of her two girls herself (with a maid).

There is another grandpa who would bring his 18 months old grandson downstairs. So usually the four children will play together at 4.30 pm (before dinnertime). He told me that his daughter-in-law is quitting his grandson of his pacifier but he cried and cried so badly. So whenever he is at his place, he will secretly give him the pacifier to sleep -_-|| I just kept quiet.

Oh no... grandparents :(


Back to the sleep training - Gracel woke up 4 times at night yelling away for 40-45 minutes. She thought grandma is coming to carry her. Poor baby. I have to re-train all over again.

7 months and one week old

Baby is 7 months and a week old. She is learning to do the crawl position already.

She was practicing until she is tired and fell asleep on her own. 

This only happens when I am at home with her.

I am very frustrated and irritated when people start to disrupt the healthy sleeping habits that I am training my baby. If you want to carry and rock until she falls asleep then you jolly well come and stay at my house and rock in the wee hours at night. Damn.

Warded in Mount Alvernia

My baby was warded in Mount Alvernia. She was having a fever of 39.2 degrees and doesn't want to eat her porridge. We went Thomson Medical 24 hours clinic but he didn't do anything, just gave us fever medicine. Then the next day, the fever was still high and we decided to go Mount A. Doc said that she has 5 mega red ulcers in her throat and suspected her with HFMD. She has to be warded.

The first night, she woke up 7 times (from 10 pm to 6 am) cos of the pain in her throat. Mommy was really really shag out on the second night. I couldn't wake up to change her diaper at all and she pooed in her romper and soiled the whole mattress crying and crying for help.

On top of waking up to attend to my baby (feed milk, change diaper, entertain her while she is awake),
a) Nurse came in to ask whether she drank milk, how much she drank, whether she pooed, changed diapers?
b) Nurse came in to check temperature
c) Nurse came in to give medication
d) Nurse came in to give nebulizer
e) Nurse came in to deliver my food
f) Cleaner came in to empty rubbish bin and wash toilet
g) Nurse came in to give newspaper
h) Visitors talking loudly along the corridor
i) Babies in other wards wailing away
j) smsing and updating my friends on baby's condition

I almost died.


The third night onwards, mommy gave up and decided to put her on drip. It was just too exhausting for me. If she was on drip, I don't have to be bothered about whether she is drinking enough milk. At some hours, she only can drink 60 ml and I don't know how to calculate the next timing to feed her and how much.

We spent a total of 8 days in the hospital. HFMD sprung her bronchitis and she was put on nebulizer. The nurse had to come and disturb her (and mine) rest every 4-6 hourly. She ended up with really lack of sleep. One night, she was so frustrated and angry that she cried for a full one hour non-stop after being disturbed from her sleep.

We cannot imagine the hospital bill as we didn't manage to get a hospitalisation plan in time. Stupid Aviva took more than 5 months to approve the insurance when they already took the premium. We decided to cancel and go with NTUC.

Anyway, glad that she is well and fine now.

We celebrated her 7 months old in the hospital. Daddy got her a present and she was so happy.