Monday 27 April 2015

Conversations with my tot

All these took place in the past month...

*** *** ***

ZK: I want 看 video!
mf: No.
ZK: Why no?

That very soon progressed to a whiny WHY?!!!

*** *** ***

One morning, I came into the room after settling ZY to find ZK awake. The first thing he said to me was - Mama, how are you? *whisper*

*** *** ***

At HIS bedtime:

ZK: You want sleep? I pat pat *smile*

*** *** ***

mf: *singing* Driving, driving in my car...
ZK: This is not your car!
mf: Whose car is this?
ZK: AhMa...
mf: Where is my car?
Zk: *think* There! *randomly points to the front!*

*** *** ***

mf: Little pig, little pig, let me in!
ZK: Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin! I won't let you in!
mf: ... Ok!

:p

A short while later...

ZK: You want knock the door?
mf: No!
ZK: WHY??!

*** *** ***

ZK: Didi is naughty..
mf: Why?
ZK: ... Because he is not handsome..

??

*** *** ***

mf: Why the unhappy face?
ZK: ... Because I'm tired..

Awww...

*** *** ***

ZK: I want "who's afraid of the big bad wolf" like Teacher A... No, like Teacher C..
mf: *searching* 来,自己找!
ZK: *scrolling* Ahhh, correct! You find! Good job!

Yes, good job, my boy :)

Sunday 26 April 2015

Older but needier

The toddler is less than three months shy of his third birthday. But he suddenly became quite the baby - I think he sees me with ZY too much :( And we're also trying to send him to bed awake recently. This isn't new but this is the first time we're consistently doing it.

After ZY has gone down, I'll go back to my room to find ZK watching videos - ya, no other way to make him stay away from me before ZY sleeps! Then we'll make him turn it off to go to bed. But he'll want to read some books so unless it's very late, we let him. Then we're off to his room where I'll sit at a corner of his bed for a while, sometimes carrying him or hugging him. Then we get to "the last time, I promise". So one more hug and I set him down with lots of kisses. And I leave the room.

Within minutes, sometimes seconds, he'll be at our door *.* I send him to the sofa if he isn't sleeping. That sometimes works - after a while, he'll go back to his room. But often, he'll whine. And lately, he's working his charm on Sito. Sito just sent him in for the nth time tonight, after he came out every time after I sent him in.

That first time he charmed Sito into going in with him


And after all that, he usually ends up in our bed before dawn *.*


But I guess besides sleep, he has been progressing well.

My reading boys read together :)


And he patiently waited for YeePo to help him with Lego :)


He patiently sat next to me while I was hard at work on Saturday - guess the videos helped *.*


He can eat so well on his own - spoon, fork, knife.. Chopsticks next?


Even big slices of apple, except that he eats them from the middle *.*


He made a house in school!


This term is on nature so...


But his plant quickly became a monster!


He drew a happy face!! :)


That was done at home but his teachers often drew smiley faces on the back of his hands :) And they just went through a series of facial expressions. The happy face is our fave :)

He's usually happy going to school! ^_^


He... Well, I don't know what they're doing at ZK's check-in!


But at check-out that same day, I heard he was paying attention and answering questions! :)


I like that they go outdoors for lessons sometimes, formal or informal. But one evening, they were doing some colouring outside when ZK got bitten by some bug - his right ear was swollen for a few days! Thankfully, it wasn't painful..

My poor baby with a swollen ear :(


Ok, I don't know why he was grouchy that evening *.*


But he stood up suddenly and ran to the edge of the bus stop! We all got a shock! Had to educate him back home with a bear bear and one of his many toy cars - let's say that the poor bear bear got flung far quite a few times... I knew the lesson stayed when he re-enacted the scene with the bear bear a few days later, and at one point, he also verbalised the sequence - with lots of onomatopoeias.

He can finally sing the happy birthday song! In English AND Mandarin! Both Sito and I won't be the first recipients of his song wishes though - Ah Ye first, next week!

ZK sang the songs but was interrupted by clumsy Mama, oops...


His other fave song of late - "no need to see (video, just sing)"


And yes, he's grown taller - almost 97 cm today :)


I'm quite busy lately and hence too tired to blog at night, so have a lot of backlog - hope to upload more photos and stories this week! :)

Thursday 16 April 2015

ZY is a busy baby

My little baby has been very busy.

While I was quite ill in March, he learnt to high five. This whole week, he kept wanting to do that with Mum during dinner time - super cute :)

I want more food!!!!


A teacher told me today that ZY tried a little bread in school yesterday :) Yes, he should start to eat more.  Think ZK was already eating rice and chunks of bread and cheese at this stage!

Monday night, I walked in to find him on his belly - he flipped! I was so happy! But that soon gave way to despair when he kept flipping onto his belly and got stuck. One night, he got up every seven minutes for some 40 minutes!

Getting more mobile just by shifting butts - he had not flipped at this point..


Napping ZY - why can't you stay like this the whole night?!


He can sit very well now though he fell last Saturday when trying to turn on his butt *.* Hate the sound of head on tile :( Kena again the next day at Mum's place cos the brother was playful and I was pushed an arm away :(

Shuffling away on his little padded butt while playing with GeGe's toy!


Just this evening, he wanted to stand and play with the wall decal next to his bed. And it's not just about standing - he was talking! He pointed out the monkey and the wheel, and he pointed out the monkey and the wheel, and he babbled something each time.

He likes to pull himself up to stand in school!


Though I was the one who put him there in this photo taken a month before - one month is plenty for an infant to grow and learn!

Such a busy baby. Mama has been very busy too. But tonight I finally have some time to post some pictures!

What you looking at?


Happy with a "friend"!


I disapprove of this "friend" though - it looks scary!! Was a Christmas gift exchange in ZK's class.. Nvm, ZY seems to like it..

He now sleeps on his side most of the time, like prawn??! (random!)


Such a bright smile :)


Quit eating the books! Argh, whatever!


I was doing work and he wanted me, but he kept swiping at the laptop so I put him on the floor next to me. It worked!

Happy baby!


Love kiddy rides, even stationary ones!


ZY froze when the music played - the ride wasn't even on!


But he's ok on his belly in the day?!


Smiley milky baby :)


I read my fabric book...


What Mama is reading looks more interesting!


Fine, I'll read this..


Nah, let me have Papa's book if I can't have Mama's!


This boy really likes to read :)


When I next have some time - is ZK a busy bee as well?

Pump free mama

And so it happened.

My supply dropped quite a bit somehow. I suspect it was due to ZY's short nursing sessions - four mins! Anyway, I was attending a course on Monday, 16 March. I decided not to pump during lunch. And the next day, I worked through lunch during the course. And then I fell quite ill and just didn't pump. By the time I returned to office on Thursday, it was pretty clear that that was it - no more pumping. I continued to bring my pump essentials to office just in case but well, it was a very slippery slope..

I finally stopped bringing the milk bag to office on Tuesday, 24 March. I couldn't help but feel that I was forgetting something on the way to work - I was travelling light! So light that when I had to bring my laptop back for the rest of the week, it didn't feel like much to carry.

And then came last week - ZY had his last bottle of of EBM on Friday. And by Saturday, I decided to give him formula for his bedtime feed as well. So now I'm only nursing him when he wakes in the morning. And I've since killed the supply on the left too.

The last two feeds or so


I checked against my records for ZK. ZY had a slightly longer period of full breastmilk before I had to supplement with formula. I also stopped pumping later for ZY and had more in store. But overall, the amount ingested may not be very different as ZY didn't start out guzzling like supply was eternal - though he eventually did.

A proud moment - 320 ml at one shot! Back in mid November..


So much milk was coming out so fast - 快到冒泡!


ZY has never been the marathon feeder. Even now, sometimes he'll stop within five minutes. When I dropped the left feed, the factory didn't even swell *.* I really hope I can continue to breastfeed him until he turns one - even though it's only once a day now. Nothing quite beats seeing your baby having his fave meal right there in the crook of your arm :)

Saturday 4 April 2015

Good Good Friday

So after two weeks of stress, my body gave up immediately after the source of the the stress passed. I woke sneezing strange sneezes on Wednesday. I used so much tissue that my upper lip was all red by the afternoon. Took some medicine to tide me through the evening as I had a dinner with colleagues. Then? Diarrhoea halfway through the dinner!

So I stayed home on Thursday to rest. Best, I didn't bring my laptop home cos of the dinner. It was a real MC day!

Took some medicine in the morning. Sent the kids to school. Drove to school a second time with a bottle of milk cos I forgot it in my grogginess. Stomach was weird in the morning so I didn't sleep. Packed kids' clothes - some to keep, some to give away.

Napped after lunch but woke to heavy rain shortly. Saw the rain hitting the ventilator cover and splashing water into the bathroom. So I went in to close the ventilator. Then I saw water dripping down the mirror into my brushing cup - no wonder sometimes I returned home to find it filled and the tray underneath all wet! But very strange, it was always my cup, not Sito's *.*

I carried on napping until Y woke me to ask me about fetching the kids. Gosh, that was the longest nap I could remember!!

Much better yesterday though the cough from two weeks ago came back a little. Went to IMM for lunch and took a road trip to Bukit Panjang to check out the progress of our new place - only up to the second floor! And Dad (who works in construction) estimated another two to three years, omg *.*

We had dinner at home and went to Junction 8 for a little date night. It was as if we went to 夜市 - snacked a bit here and there, looked at stuff, snacked again :p We ended the evening at NTUC Finest to get some stuff that we don't get at the tiny branch at our place.

I woke past 3 am to the sound of ZY stirring, and found that ZK had somehow came onto our bed. Whatever. I slept with ZY for an hour and went back to bed. The next thing I knew, ZK was rolling over me and the skies were a pale blue - 6.30 am. ZY woke shortly after. And both of them went to bed very early last night - ZY at 7 pm and ZK at 8 pm! How I wish I could replicate that every day - 早睡不太早起!

I just woke from a short nap before fetching the two from the centre. The cough really came back, sans the phlegm. Sighs.. Hope things look up soon. Hate to sing out of tune to my babies!