Flu Fest

It's been almost 2 weeks since my last entry. I haven't had the strength or the time to write because our family had been nursing successive flu infections. First T, then me, then T again and finally Mountain Man.

T got hit the worst because he got 2 different infections. The 2nd one was extremely potent because it also gave him a fever. The flu wiped out his appetite completely, at times he ate less than 30ml per feed. He has also lost all sense of routine because he keeps falling asleep every other hour. To make matters worse, he also suffered from a febrile seizure - his back was arched and his eyes were rolled backwards for a good 30 seconds, it really scared the shits out of us.

And as if the flu weren't enough, my nanny also had to leave because her mother has cancer. So to sum it up, it's been the most horrible 2 weeks.

Now i must attempt at introducing some semblance of a routine back into T's life. I need God's superhuman strength!

New tricks!

Looking all handsome on the bumbo. He used to lean forward on the bumbo, but now he's a little more firm.

T is becoming more kaypoh with his hands. Some people say it's the result of eating too much crabs during pregnancy.

He's been wanting to feed himself since we went back to Singapore. His accuracy is still lacking so the milk will often end up everywhere but his mouth. It got to a point where half the milk will be wasted.

So i decided to put him on a training water bottle just before he takes his bath everyday. A. He gets to practice. B. He learns how to drink water (u'd be surprised that most kids don't take to water very well). C. He understands now that he can play with the blue bottle, but not the milk bottle.

Here T is "reading" a book from Aunt Corsage! I realised tht by putting the book upright, he can flip the pages better. Of course sometimes his head will get stuck in between the pages.

His latest craze is the Jumperoo... He's not tall enough to tiptoe on the ground yet, so the nanny put a hard pillow underneath. He plays with the little spinning gadgets while going boinky boinky...It keeps him entertained for a good 15 mins all by himself.

Lately, his toes have joined in the fun as well. I love pretending to bite off his toes cos it drives him absolutely bonkers!

Here's a nice recent shot of T and I...

Why become a mother?

The weekend that just passed felt like the longest weekend but not in a good way. It was non-stop slavery for 48 hrs because the nanny went on leave. For once in my lifetime, i really looked forward to Sunday evening, specifically the moment when T goes to sleep at 830pm.

Last night after that last feed, the whole room was dark and i can finally hear silence again. I felt a kind of peace in my heart that i couldn't explain. I said a little prayer to thank God for giving me such a beautiful baby.

I've always believed that it was better to love than be loved. The feeling of loving someone is more intensed and makes u do crazier things. Before i gave birth i've always wondered if Love was finite. Maybe things between Mountain man and i would change because i would have to divide my love for him, maybe 50/50 between him and the baby (or 40/60). But God in His amazing ways have proven that human beings are capable of creating more love out of a screaming-pooping-burping baby.

It is such a privilege to be a woman because i get the chance to experience maternal love. My heart is so overwhelmed with a love so deep that i think only a mother can understand. So there u go... One good reason to become a mother.

Caveat: all these loving feeling MAY/WILL disappear during the day when u have to scrub shit stains off the sheets.

The visit

Just before the turn of the year, my SIL Angie brought my 2 nieces Shannon and Sonia to Beijing to visit T. I knew it was a little crazy to travel to a strange country with 2 kids in tow IN WINTER, but she did it. BRAVO! I'm sure the nieces won't forget the very snowy encounter two weeks ago.

Anyway here are the pictures i took, enjoy!

Mountain man the super"manny" singlehandedly entertains 3 children. Shannon and Sonia just got out of bed.

Shannon was so sweet to T. She's telling him a story from a bible picture book which was a gift from my sister Wina.
Picture perfect!

Mountain man has a little groupie...This picture cracks me up. Sonia really looks like she's enjoying it.







It also happened to be my SIL's birthday on Jan 1st, so we surprised her with a cake. Sonia's missing from this picture cos she slept through dinner.

Angie: Thanks for coming all the way here to see us. Hope u've enjoyed ur stay. God answered ur prayers, biggest snowstorm in 30 yrs just for u and the kids. =)

A new play area

Since T has started to flip, it's time to upgrade his play area into something a little more "vast". So i bought a huge child friendly playmat (like one his cousin Timmy has in Singapore) and dedicated a play corner to T, right next to Daddy's drumset.

See how happy he is...

It's even big enough for Daddy to lie on! Mountain man is so sweet, he's trying to tell T a chinese story with his broken chinese. 这个狮子设么设么设么....

T getting real high with daddy

This is evidence of how T enjoys being "scared".


After close to 30 minutes of non-stop laughing, he demanded some cuddle time. Look how he got his Dad to carry him!

Hello, we're back!

Apologies for the long hiatus. I didn't bring a laptop to SG so i didn't get much access to the internet. Actually even if i did, i wouldn't have time to blog cos i was just so crazy busy. Looking after T without the help of a nanny was just insane.


We were doing something every waking minute- change nappy, bathe, wash bottles, sterilise, express milk, pat to sleep, playtime, feed... T was also incredibly fussy the first 2 days due to the extreme change in temperature (from -10 to 30 degrees celsius). On top of all that there is the stress of flying with an infant, i was so afraid that he may cry non-stop or hurt his ear during take-off and landing. I was so stressed that my milk supply dipped and i had to supplement him with formula.

But given our trepidations during this trip, we've also encounered many milestones, and we learnt alot more about him too!

1. He now flips on his own without any assistance (at 3.5 months!).



2. He makes a new face.



3. Increased his vocabulary, now he makes the Darth Vader sound "kkhhhhh, kkkhhhhhh" and "AarrRRrrrrr", like he is about to say Arrribah...
4. Found his toes so he loves to grab his socks and pull them off.
5. In general, he prefers women to men. Mountain man says he likes to "kuah char boh" cos his eyes always follow pretty women.
6. He likes to play rough. The louder, the more shocking the better.
7. He can sleep in noisy places at night. We went to Holland V for drinks, went to friends' place to play mahjong/chit chat, and he even slept through very loud "yum seng" at a wedding.
8. At night, he can sleep on his own without patting, rocking, singing. Just leave him in his cot, he'll cry softly and fall asleep!
9. Last but not least, not really a milestone, but it's a decent family picture in 4 months.

Happy 4 months T, mom and dad are so proud of u. For more pictures of our 12 days stay in SG, click here.