Just Keep Swimming

My New Toy: Action Snap for Android

On the Menu: How-to

Steam and blend fruit or vegetables or meat.

Ta-da! Homemade Purée.. Just scoop what ever that is needed for the day and pack the rest in sterilised containers or ice cube trays.

Label with date and chuck them in the freezer and thaw whenever needed. Use by 8 weeks.

How to thaw baby food safely:
Method 1: Downgrade the individual cubes to the refrigerator a few hours in advance
Method 2: Steam / Microwave to heat it up before feeding

A Tribute to All Mothers

"By and large, mothers and housewives are the only workers who do not have regular time off. They are the great vacationless class." -- Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1907- 2001)


A special tribute to Christine, who will be starting work soon. I cannot imagine me being able to manage both baby and work together with breastfeeding and the night wakings.

Just Keep Crawling

Baby Dan mastering the art of getting around.

You Have Done Your Best!

No one ever knows exactly whether they have done right or wrong. The fact that you have been trying, shows that you have already done your best.

-Emil-

This goes to all mums out there. A big thank you to my mum!

Take It As It Goes

Take each day as it goes, there is only so much you can do in a day. Tackle one matter at a time and you will see progress.

Nappy Nap Time

Being a stay-at-home-mum gives you the opportunity to really observe on the changes that is happening with the little one. However, it can be stressful decoding what he wants, and even more, with decoding gone wrong and is returned with glass breaking shrieks and screams and tears.

So far, passing six months, it has gotten easier and easier to understand what Baby Dan wants. The struggle has always been to differentiate his sleep, eat or awake needs. Born a very alert and inquisitive baby, it has been difficult to help baby Dan sleep. Now that we have finally gotten him to sleep at night, we are still finding a way or a schedule suited for him to get the amount of nap that he needs. 

Tips that I found useful:

1. Observation helps, I have to use my trusty baby log to help me log his sleep and eat activities to understand when he starts getting tired. 

2. Rule of thumb for a baby younger than 7 months is that they need a nap every 90 minutes or so to recharge. Any longer they are awake, they start getting agitated. 

3. Understand the appoximate total amount of sleep and nap a baby needs, ie for the first three months, they need at least 15 hours, now that baby Dan is older, it is about 14-15 hours a day including naps. 

4. Having a schedule helps too, but just have it as a guide after observing. Also understand that as the baby grows, the schedule might need a little tweaking here and there.

5. The longest nap usually is the first one, and decreases later in the day.

6. Baby naps best in the place he sleeps at night. However, before 4 months or if not possible, help sooth him to nap until he finds a way to self sooth. 

We have gone from swaddling too nursing until he falls asleep, to going off road with the stroller to nursing and then rockin in his carseat, to bouncing him around in his carrier. Since he was a very colicky baby, he always liked being placed in an upright position. And now we are trying the crying out for naps whenever we are home.

Currently, at six months, baby Dan's schedule has consolidated to something like this. With first nap lasting around 2 hours, followed by a 1 hour and then half an hour nap.

6.30am Rise and shine
8.00am Feed
8.45am Nap
11.00am Wake/Feed
1.30pm Nap
2.30pm Wake
4.00pm Feed
4.30pm Nap
5.00pm Wake
5.30pm Bedtime routine
6.30pm Feed/In bed
Sleep by 7.30pm

He still wakes up twice for night feeds - which we need to start eliminating.

And find a method to get him nap/sleep when we are out. As he seems to be too interested in the people, the lights, and everything that is happening. The only way now is when I am carrying him in his carrier.

Of course there are good and bad days. I think a huge amount of patience is needed to take care of a baby. Or am I just too much a perfectionist to make it right?

Sites which I frequent for reads on sleep advice or reference:
The Baby Sleep Site - http://www.babysleepsite.com
Baby Center - http://www.babycenter.com
Baby Whisperer - http://www.babywhispererforums.com
Slumbersounds - http://www.slumbersounds.com

Out and About: Swim Play Date

Brought baby Dan for his first swim play date today. It was nice watching him interacting with baby Alex who is 2 months older, trying to touch him and grab him.

Daniel was very quietly observing what was happening the whole time. I would assume it is the first time he is out with other babies and moms and also being in a new place.

I guess it takes time for babies to learn how to play with their peers. Let's see how it goes the next time.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

How easily entertained Daniel can be sometimes.

On the Menu Today: Cabbage Purée

Cabbage Purée

Finishing the meal with some milk.

London Bridge is Falling Down

On Baby Dan's inquisitiveness towards the towers I build with his blocks.


Hmm.. Wonder what mummy's doing..

*crawls closer* Oooooo... A TOWER!!

Let's see what I can do to help...

*Tower crumbles*

My thoughts: I could totally relate to the scene of a toddler building his blocks and the younger baby demolishing it with the toddler running and shouting: "Mummy, look what the baby did!!!!???"

To Carrots or Not To Carrots?

Second day of carrots on the menu, Baby Dan's not sure whether he likes it or not. 

Sleep Position of the Day

Question: Should I re-position him or just let him be?

On the Menu Today - Carrot Purée

Baby Dan holding tightly to his spoon of carrot purée

Yummy, all gone in less than 5 minutes.

Cry-It-Out

We marked Dan's sixth month over the weekend. Though a short six months being with him, it seems that we have spent years together, I guess it is because he has not left my side since day one.

Looking back the past six months, what I dread the most about babies is the crying. I never knew before that it would be so tough. 

At five months, we decided that it was time to start to put Baby Dan on sleep training, as he could only fall asleep on the breast. After painstakingly trying different methods, at the last resort, we decided that the only way to go was the cry-it-out method. 

From the name, cry-it-out, you would probably be able to guess, it means to let the baby to cry. However, it does not mean letting the baby cry if he has a problem. This method means to allow the baby to cry under controlled conditions, knowing that he is fed, changed, not too cold or not too hot and do not have any prevailing illness or anything that is bothering him, ie teething. 

After checking with the doctor that he is healthy, we started the first night:

5.30pm Bath

6.00pm Massage

6.30pm Feed

7.00pm Put down to the crib awake

As expected, the first night started off with a terrifying shriek and non-stop crying and screaming. We were supposed to enter the room and say good night at every 5, 10, 15, 20 minutes intervals and leave the room. After close to an hour, he finally fell asleep. We agreed to start the programme and see how it goes for 3-5 days, if all goes well, we should see a decrease in cry-time.

After 3 days, the crying decreased to 30 minutes and by the end of the fifth day, it was a record time of 15 minutes. 

It was excruciating, going through the whole experience with Mi, hearing your own baby scream his lungs out. However, I think it was for the best and I am quite glad we went through it and it went well.

To date, Baby Dan sleeps much longer during naps and at night he gets the idea that mum and dad will not be there to pick him up he will just cry a little for maybe 5 minutes or less and fall asleep.

Disclaimer: Never try this before the baby hits 4 months. As a newborn, he needs all the comfort and support that you can give, there is no such thing as spoiling a newborn.

Berries, Oh Berries

Yum, let me stuff it my mouth to get more

*shake, shake, shake

I think I have just finished it...

hmm... Maybe I will get some more tomorrow?

Seeing Red

Baby Dan attempting to crawl towards my freshly pedicured red toes.

Noodles Doodles

chop up some garlic and dice some broccoli, stir fry with some oyster sauce. Boil noodles and drain, adding some dark and light soy sauce to taste.

Ta-da!

Nailed on the Cross

I am amazed at the various baby sleep positions. Here are two examples, the Dead Frog and Nailed on the Cross.

Berry-licious

Little things that make my day - Strawberries drenched with chocolate sauce and blueberries drizzled with chocolate sauce topping it up with a cherry

Balls of Laughter

Babies do not need complicated toys to be entertained, just give them a few balls and they will be happy. Just make sure you are up for running after them and picking them up.

Experimenting Taste

Baby Dan will soon be hitting his 6 month mark. He has been drooling buckets. I found this ingenious baby product that looks like a pacifier with a mesh where you can put small cubes of food for baby to chew without being afraid he might choke.

Yesterday, I decided to try it out with some blueberries, baby Dan took it and immediately put it in his mouth - of course, but instead of the mesh, he sucked the handle. With a little help, he got the idea.

Today, I tried some frozen strawberries to help ease his teething. Let's just see how his belly will react with this change.

A Love Affair

Little bundle of joy, which everyone congratulated us in the beginning when we had baby Dan, did not quite relate to me back then.

It was certainly not love at first sight for me. Staring at this tiny human being that soon will take control of my life for the first few months and the years to come. This screaming and unreasonable little baby.

I would say my love affair started around in the third month when baby Dan started smiling and playing and his crying became more predictable.

Now half way through to his first birthday, I would confidently say I am in love with my son. His smiles, giggles and surprises he provides everyday.

Walk Away

When you are tired and cannot take it anymore, just walk away and take a deep breath then continue what you were doing later instead of having an out break.

A Bid Farewell

Had a farewell barbecue for Rizwan today at the beach. It was nice and cool for a change as it rained almost the whole day. It turned out to be a nice evening catching up with friends.

While we were waiting for the fire to get started and the food to be done, Dan started to get a little agitated as sleep time was approaching and a little overwhelmed by so many people. Mi decided to bring him for a walk along the coast. The next moment I saw, baby Dan laying so peacefully in Mi's arms.

I really appreciated what Mi did and for a change I could spend time with friends without needing to soothe Dan to sleep.

I guess fathers just need a little bit more time to be with their babies to develop the same instinct that mums have.

Reliving Nursery Rhymes

I have always been interested in story books and nursery rhymes when I was younger. It is funny how our memory works. Those nursery rhymes that I used to recite just stuck to my memory and got stowed away. After having baby Dan, slowly but surely day by day, the nursery rhymes that were stored at the deep far end of my memory started to reappear, twinkle twinkle little star, baa baa black sheep, mary had a little lamb. Even those that were not quite popular at that point of time.

Now looking back, nursery rhymes were just rhymes to us that we recite. As an adult, trying to literally interpret it, most of them have a tragic end. Here are some

Baby falls from the cradle from the tree?

Rock-a-bye baby, on the tree top.

When the wind blows, the cradle will rock.

When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall.

Down will come baby, cradle and all.

Poor Humpty Dumpty...

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.

Jack and Jill rolling down the hill?

Jack and Jill when up the hill to fetch a pail of water

Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after.

This makes me wonder what is the criteria of nursery rhyme selection and whether there is a moral behind it.

Humpty Dumpty Had a Great Fall

Today's morning started with a loud "THUD" accompanied by a shriek. I guess that is a sound that a mother would dread. Lesson learnt, you can never be too careful with a baby who has started learning to roll. Never to place a baby at the edge of the bed even with the crib at the edge preventing the baby from falling.

Concept of Time

After lunch, I met Piret today for a guided tour through the peranakan museum. Then, we headed off for tea at the national museum. I had a chocolate orange cupcake and she had a hazelnut chocolate muffin.

A wonderful afternoon I would say. Before parting, we made plans for the week to meet up again, which was for a farewell barbecue for Riz. Funny enough, we knew it was going to be in the evening yet not knowing exactly what time the barbecue was.

At the end, Piret just said: Ah, we just don't really need to keep exact track of time. We will just check our calendars and turn up on that day.

At times it is good to have time at your own expense. Planning your day as it goes, and just going with the flow.

I am a Big Boy Now

Looking back at pictures it is amazing how fast babies grow from new born through to infancy. As a mum, it was an excruciating first three months of sleep deprivation and crying out of no reason.

However, looking back now, it seems that it was just yesterday, baby Dan was new born.

You would always want time to pass quickly, but at present, you would want to rewind back into the past. Maybe it's time to just enjoy the present and be happy.

Courage

Courage is an attribute that I have build up being a mum. Bring more confident of my decisions and facing new challenges everyday.

Memories

Mi asked me one day why am I still keeping the keychain since it is not working anymore.

I think our memory capacity is limited. Therefore, we tend to hold on to objects to remember. I took a photo of the keychain and store it as a memory instead.

How many times we go through the basement or attic to find toys or items of yesteryears that has been in storage for ever. Should we still keep it until it becomes an antique or pass it on to someone who can really make good use of it?

Get Out and Roam Free

A little bit of fresh air will do you good. Not only you get to do your daily exercise it will help you take your mind off things and help you to relax.

Baby Friendly

Spent the day at the immigration authority trying to get a visa extension for Dan. Fearing that they will deport baby Dan back home. Ha! Seems like we were not the only ones with a little baby, there were others with newborns. I really like the system back home where you get a different queue number if you are with a baby. It kind of make sense, rather than spending the whole morning waiting in line with the baby in a crowded area.

Buses here do not allow prams on board. While I understand that space might be an issue, I do not understand the bus company's idea that baby in the arms of a mum is safer. On top of balancing a squirming baby, she will have to balance the folded-up stroller, diaper bag, plus maybe groceries, while the bus driver does not even offer to help loading the stroller on the bus.

On the way home, I decided to drop by the grocers to get some stuff. The aisle of the grocers was just right to accommodate a stroller and one person, while I was shopping around, a lady wanted to pass, there was just enough space for her to pass. However, she had to comment: "it is already so cramp and you want to push your stroller into the grocers." Seriously, what can I do? Should I leave the baby outside while I do the shopping?

The Little Things That Make Me Happy

Treat yourself with a little something everyday after a long tiring day. Indulge and be happy. :)

Hugs and Kisses

As a mum, it is the smile and giggles that are returned from hugs and kisses given that drive my day.

Green Day

Not bad for a change to dress baby boys in green rather than the cliche baby blue.

Baby Dan in green :)

Happy Parenting

There is no right and wrong in parenting, no one exactly knows. As long as the child is given a positive and safe environment to live in, that's the most important.

So focus on the relationship with your spouse first before tending to the child's needs.

And be Happy!

2 July 2011

I believe that skills learnt cannot be forgotten. However, it might take a little time to recall and get it back.

30 June 2011

It rained almost the whole day today. It is a good thing as it did not feel as hot as it usually would.

We decided to get one of the apartments we viewed. At the end of the day there is no right and wrong decision as Emil says. Everything will turn out fine in the end.

Had a nice dinner with Christine and Trae. And a nice journey back home enjoying the weather after the rain.