Stomach Flu

It's really hard to see Caleb sick. This time he was listless, tired n not his usual bubbly self.

I got the call that he vomited a couple of times when I was at work on Monday. By the time I got home in the evening, he has vomited 6 times. Bi got home already n I met them to bring pipi see a doctor.

He diagnosed that pipi got stomach flu n inserted meds into his butt. At night, pipi got loose stools n we had to change him n the bedsheets. Sadly, his beloved toy dog n pillow got affected too. We couldn't give him his stuff n had to find substitute. He vomited in the night n we had to change him again.

Usually when we change him, he will b moving around n we had to keep him entertained to finish. But these times, he just lie there. Once, he laid on his side n hug bi, sort of like reassuring us. Brought tears to our eyes.

Yesterday there was still loose n watery stools, esp after we inserted the meds agn. A couple of vomits n refusal to eat. He only wanted to drink milk. It was only until dinner time that he was eager to eat a bit. I made plain porridge with steamed egg. He ate about 1 soup spoon of porridge n 3/4 of the egg.

Hopefully he's on the way to recovery.

Big Boy means a change in Habits

There's just so much to learn about parenting! Speech, movement, nutrients, etc.

I'm always very concern about his nutrients, fearing that he does not get enough to grow. With the one year old milestone hit, I need to adjust his food intake again.

Here are some articles that I found useful:
Caring for toddler
Solids by age: 12 - 18 Months
How to feed your toddler
Caring for your toddler
Social and emotional issues in toddlers

A Week of SAHM

How fast time flies. Caleb is one, and my week of being a SAHM has ended.

My MIL went for an overseas trip and hubby was on course, so I had to take leave the whole week to take care of Caleb. Overall it was fun, and we had a good time bonding with each other. There were ups and downs, with Caleb throwing tantrums, refusing his dinner and generally doing what toddlers this age do. But after taking into account him teething (7th tooth), he has been an angel for the whole week.

14 Nov
The day started fantastic, with a slight drizzle to give rise to a beautiful rainbow.

Beautiful rainbow, wishing Caleb Happy Birthday

We went out for lunch at Jurong Point. I wanted to bring Caleb to Vivocity to play in the indoor playground, but he woke from his nap too late to reach Vivocity in time for lunch and play. It was good that we went Jurong Point too, as I could bring him back for his second nap and I could rest myself too.

Out for lunch!

16 Nov
Hubby was able to take leave on Wednesday, and we went to IKEA for lunch. Caleb loves handling cold stuff now, and seems to have an instinct on what's cold and what's not. He'll always point to those cold items to ask us to pass them to him.

Happiness @ IKEA

17 Nov
I wanted to go to my aunt's place sometime this week. But sadly, she was sick and advised me not to, so that she won't pass the germs to Caleb. So we popped by our neighbour, Sabrina's place, for a playdate with her 14month old son, Lincoln. I really believe that babies can communicate with each other with their babbles. It's really very amusing listening to them eee-eee orh-orh arh-arh at each other! They not only do parallel play, but will play a little with each other as well. It's really interesting to see the growth and difference between babies of the same age. Lincoln is much better at communicating, using hand signs and could point or respond to questions. I believe it's because there are many more people with him throughout the day to stimulate his brain. Sabrina brings him to baby classes as well. Caleb is able to stand, walk rather steadily and sometimes even run. He'll rarely sit still or crawl anymore. In this case, he's better than Lincoln, as Lincoln still sit and crawl most of the time. I guess this is what experts always advise about babies developing and reaching their own milestones at their own pace. We parents are just facilitators and should not rush them to achieve any before their time.

Forgoing the spoon during self feeding practice

18 Nov
I must admit that I was rather upset yesterday. My MIL came back late in the night on 17th, but hubby only got to know about it the day before. She could have take over babysitting duties, and I could have gone for my company's D&D. I really really wanted to go, as I missed the one last year already. I feel that hubby could have checked instead of assume on his mom's date of return. Also, hubby could not confirm on the time he'll reach home, and that he may need to do OT. But in the end, he reached home around 6pm. I really could have gone to the D&D.

I thought that since I could not go to the D&D, I could have a half day to myself, sort of like a compensation for not going. My MIL could rest for the first half of the day, and take over for awhile in the afternoon. I was planning to go for a massage and a tea session with my book. But I had to take care of Caleb for the whole day, as my MIL was not feeling well due to diarrhea. Oh well, it's my own child and I don't mind sacrificing. But still, I kind of feel unappreciated by hubby. He really could have planned things better. 

Not wanting to spend the last day of my leave at home, I brought Caleb out to Jurong Point again for lunch and decided to treat myself to Lai Lai lamien. We did not stay long, as Caleb was throwing tantrums and grumbling throughout the trip. I just kept reminding myself that he's not always like this, and is usually cheerful and funny, to accept his occasional acting up. If I as his mom don't accept it, who will?

Mummy still love you, even with your tantrums

Cutie enjoying the toys and books at JP

And now, I'm having some quiet moments at work, reflecting on the past week and kind of wishing that I have another week of playtime with my baby. Haha, playtime is learning time for Caleb and exercising time for mommy. My calves ache with all the walking that I did with him, and have surely toned them a little!

Our Weekend Pictures (29 - 30 Oct)

A fun-filled Saturday followed by a relaxing Sunday. How better could a weekend get?

Fun at Peekaboo! Caleb was a little scared of the balls and trampoline,
but enjoyed himself with the toys in the open space.

Daddy with baby @ Peekaboo

At least it was restful for the baby.
Mommy was not able to catch a nap in the afternoon. :(

Peekaboo was the start of Caleb's interest to pull things along as he walk. He looked so funny and cute doing that. These push toys are not really good, as the wheels do not have any traction and babies pushing them could just lose balance and fall flat on their faces. I really wonder why toy makers tout these as toys for kids to practice walking. Practice falling will be a better term. Anyway, I guess I have to start renting pull-along toys for him. :)

Diva - Help! My son, 8, is in a ‘relationship’

Diva - Help! My son, 8, is in a ‘relationship’

Kids these days are so exposed to matters that we were ignorant about when we were their age. They can read up about stuff that they do not know from the internet. They can watch "instruction" videos about things that arouse their interest. Gone are the days where kids have to ask their parents about things that they do not know. Gone are the days where we parents can give them vague, dismissing (don't ask; go and play with your toys) or weird answers (isn't "we found you at our doorstep one day" weird?).

I have a colleague with a 5 year old child, who already "likes" a couple of girls at his kindergarten! How early is that?!

I don't believe that we should dismiss their questions, but should answer them truthfully in a manner that can they can understand at their age. Haha! I don't know what I'll do when Caleb asks about the birds and the bees. But I do hope that he'll be at ease enough with me to ask. I hope that I do things right enough that my son will want to share about his 'relationship' with me.

Because it is only than that we as parents can check their growth, give them the right information, and hopefully, help to steer them in the right direction.

What Is The World Coming To?

These Heartless Chinese. I simply can't imagine how anyone can just walk around a little child who's lying on the ground, bleeding away. For god's sake, she's just a little girl. The people who walked by her didn't even take another glance at her, as if she's just a pile of rubbish on the floor.

I didn't want to watch the video at first. However, morbid curiosity egged me into watching, and boy, did I regret watching it. Having a child of my own, it's hard not to imagine my own being in the little girl's shoes. It's not hard to imagine how the mother feels right now. How helpless and angry at the driver and passerby the parents must be feeling now. Hit and run is very common. But being heartless enough to ignore a bleeding baby? I guess it's also very common in China, since almost 20 people did that in the video.

Critics said that the passerby may be afraid that they will be implicated if they help the little girl. Is calling for help or the police that hard? If they don't want to touch the girl, fine. Call for help! But no, they are just too busy passing by.

A quote from Martin Luther King, Jr - “Morality cannot be legislated but behavior can be regulated. Judicial decrees may not change the heart, but they can restrain the heartless.” If they can't educate and instill morality in these people, add/change the law. The passerby are as guilty as the drivers.

YES u can do it! NO, stop pressing the button

Isn't it funny that we adults will encourage babies to do one thing, only to reprimand them for doing the same a couple of years later?

When our child is a baby, we will encourage them to press buttons, pick things up, stand n walk, etc. But a few years later, many of the kids will hear "stop pressing the button!", "put it down!" and "don't move!".

Why do we start to discourage them and bury their curiosity? Why do we stop their experimentation? Why do we stop them from being kids?

I hope that a couple of years later, I will still encourage my baby to scale new heights n experiment. I hope that I will still let my baby be a child. I hope that my child will enjoy his childhood.

So go ahead n press all the lift buttons. I'll just enjoy the longer lift ride home.

And so he graduated

Nope, not the baby. The love of my life has graduated from TP as the top student of his cohort today! Congrates dear.

Looking back at what he went through, I font think I would be as disciplined as him in going to classes n hanging in there. To get the top on top of all commitments, amazing.

PS: the baby graduated from babyhood to toddlerhood todae. He was able to walk 16 steps unaided!

The two men of my life

The first post using mobile blogging. Blogging made easy n super convenient!

The Start of Porridge Dinners

I admit; I was in a runt. And was happy to continue giving Caleb cereal with puree for dinner. But at his insistent refusal, we tried pasta only to fail as well.Yesterday evening we tried porridge, but instead of using the slow cooker, I cooked over the stove. We were outside for lunch and only got back around 4.30pm. He ate about 1.5 soup spoon (SP) of cod/pumpkin/kale porridge. Considering that he missed his afternoon nap and that his appetite is usually smaller at night, I deemed that a success.

Hopefully tonight will be better. I got my MIL to cook egg yolk/carrot/broccoli porridge with the slow cooker. If he eats 2 SP, it'll be another success. 

I shall try mashed potato this coming weekend. We tried that a couple months back, but he hated it. Hopefully Caleb's more receptive to it now that he's older.

This picture was taken on Saturday morning, when we went down to Mac for breakfast. And no, he's not eating a hashbrow. It'll be at least another year before he gets to try that.

It's Times Like These...

It's times like these that I really wish to take care of Pipi myself. He would be able to roam as he wishes, and learn about pain should he fall or knock himself. He would be able to know love, and not "jokes" about hating him. He would be able to try different foods and texture, instead of stuck with banana cereal. He would be able to hear more words, instead of "no, no, no".

Sometimes I feel that if she continue to say all these, Pipi would subconsciously not like her, and all the better for us. After all, who could like someone who will only say "no" and "jokes" about hating him and beating him when the parents are not around? But on the other hand, I don't wish for Pipi's self confidence to be eroded with her constant stupid "jokes". I don't like those "jokes". Children this age listen to the tone of what you say. They don't understand such "jokes".

Sometimes I pity her. Her low self confidence and desire to be at the top is making her lash out at others. But when she lashes at Pipi, that's when pity turns to hatred and defense rear it's head

We'll see how it goes bah. Today we should celebrate Pipi being 10 months old! 

PS: Pipi is the nickname. My child's name is Caleb Zhuo. :)

A Reason for Blogging

I must admit that I'm lazy, and that I may forget to update my blog. But I realized that I forget lots, and I want an avenue to remember important stuff. Things like when my kid starts to turn, when he starts to stand, my headache on his nutrients. I want somewhere to remember the sweet things that my hubby did for me or just the things we did on a specific day. I guess in short, I want a place to jot down my life.

Hence the start of the blog. Hopefully I'll remember to update it. :P