Another A&E trip!

This time, it is to the adult A&E.

Sito came home to poop around lunch time on Thursday. He didn't manage to grab lunch on the way because, well, diarrhoea. Mid afternoon, I was in the room with Yu when he came in to say that he was feeling weak from hunger. I told him to go eat something.

A while later, I heard him open the door clumsily, way louder than usual. Then N called me to the living room. Apparently Sito called me but I didn't hear. I was shocked to find him lying on the sofa looking horrid! His hand was on his torso and at first I thought he was having a heart attack! But he said through gasps - he was breathing hard to control the pain - that it was his stomach.

This was unlike that time Yang had a fit in my arms. This was more like the time I heard Yang was on the way to the hospital without knowing what had happened, i.e. it was downright scary!!

I called the ambulance and quickly got changed and instructed N to pack some clothes for Sito. I picked up the sleeping baby all ready to go with Sito to the hospital.

The ambulance was taking quite a while. A paramedic called to ask for details. Sito was lying on the floor by then though not breathing as hard. By the time the ambulance arrived, the pain was more manageable. Sito felt bad about calling the ambulance but I insisted he go to check things out properly. It's perfectly ok to go A&E for pains in the stomach!

I couldn't hear the conversation very well as I was sitting in front. But I guess the paramedics must have ascertained that there was no urgent medical need to send Sito straight to the doctor coz the ambulance dropped us at the walk-in door and a paramedic registered us and told us to wait to be called.

But it wasn't a long wait, thankfully. At triage, Sito had an ECG done. Then we were sent to wait outside room 2. Yu did a poop so I went to change him. By the time I was back, Sito was with the doctor but in another room. I was quite sian coz I wanted to make sure he told the doctor about all his pains - headache, neck, knee etc!

When he came out, he said that the doctor said it was probably reflux and the blood test would take two hours. Reflux? Yup, apparently it affects the very young and the ageing...

He told me to go home but I didn't want. I went with him when the doctor called him back and mentioned all these pains! Given family history, the doctor suggested that he be warded to do a cardiac enzyme test which would require blood tests every few hours over a 12-hour period.

With that, I felt assured enough to go. I had texted Mum to inform her earlier so that she wouldn't be scared if N didn't convey the situation properly. She came to the hospital after settling the two older boys and I went back with her, leaving Sito to wait for admission... Later, I found that his hospital stay was nowhere near my baby staycation at Gleneagles. It was in the A&E area, quite open, no TV, no wifi. My poor husband...

Sito's supper

We googled for reflux. Now we're staying away from late night suppers, big meals, reclining after meals. Sito is motivated coz he doesn't want to stay in hospital again! I'm motivated coz I don't want to be fat. Anyway, we ARE getting on age and should take better care of ourselves for the sake of our lovely boys if not for ourselves. The doctor has given Sito a letter to follow up at a polyclinic for cholesterol control. Looks like I might have to be more involved in our dinner preparation - today, N put together a sweet and sour sauce and poured it over sauteed egg tofu *.*

I think we have been on ambulances far too much and to A&E far too much as well for this year. So this morning, we went with Mum to 还太岁 - the temple sent us vague letters which we unknowingly threw away :p Hopefully, 明年会更好！

Little Yu is growing up!

Last Monday night, i.e. the very day he turned botak, we moved Yu to his own bed. It's actually a cot mattress on a playmat on the floor right next to our bed. I had to shift our bed a little to accomodate it.

All twisted to the side in the morning

That first night, he woke hourly - I saw the clock at 1 plus, 2 plus, 3 plus, 4 plus, 5 plus and finally six plus before I got up for good. And every time he woke, I nursed him. So I broke out the pacifier on his second night. I spent time putting the pacifier back and he still woke hourly but we went a couple of times without nursing to sleep.

Pacifier face

Within the past week, he woke less. Some nights, I didn't see 2 plus and 5 plus, or 1 plus and 4 plus. I seem to be living by the clock numbers these days - how long does he nap/sleep, when was his last feed, is it time to change his diaper though there's no poop...

Then I found that there were times when I could just place him on the bed and he would settle to sleep on his own! Last Saturday, I was watching Harry Potter on TV when he cried. I went in to settle him and just sat at the foot of the bed - um, no other space actually! - to watch the TV visible through the ajar door while he moved his little fists about until he knocked himself out. This is undoubtedly a big achievement unlocked all by himself for his mama :)

But it doesn't work every time. Sometimes, he wants to nurse; sometimes, he is too tired; most times, he has gas and/or poop. But I don't mind. We got our bed back. He is still near enough for me to get to him quickly.

At some point, however, we'll have to transit him to the kids' room so that we can reclaim our room and the lamp in it! While Kai probably won't disturb Yu too much, like he didn't disturb Yang when Yang moved into the room, I can't say the same for Yang, who is more active and unpredictable. To be safe, we'll let Yang grow a few more months and let Yu add a few more kilos before we let them sleep together...

Where's my baby's neck?!

Taller than the Devastator! Unless its gun is raised...

Though Yu is visibly growing, as in we find him looking bigger every few days, he still has tummy issues coz he's so gassy! This morning, he pooped on the changing table and I saw bubbles coming out with some poop, which, btw, was just before his projectile poop on my pants... (Then he pee onto a fresh diaper and wetting the sides - gotta change again!) I found an online tutorial on massaging a gassy baby and it has been useful! Rub thumbs to the sides from belly button, "I Love You" around the belly button, three fingers walking across the belly and rubbing any hard spots found. When baby gets cranky, hold the knees to the belly for 30 seconds. The key is to apply enough pressure.

Besides growing physically, he is also taking in more sights and sounds and saying more things. It's fun to talk to him, make movements with my hands, make facial expressions, and wait for him to respond with a smile or a "hur" or a punch or kick.

Finally spent more than five minutes on the baby gym looking around without fussing!

Looking at my hand movements above

In other news, I feel super auntie rocking the bouncer on Sunday

Oh wait, I AM an auntie! :p

The expendables - cord stump, hair and cradle cap

Yu's cradle cap came out in full force the week following his full month.

My baby has become 白眉 黄眉 *.*

It started showing at his right earlobe perhaps two weeks back and then on his eyebrows and scalp. I bought some Detinox but it only succeeded in making the thing flake off bit by bit. It wasn't until we shaved him that I realised that I could massage in the shampoo and rub the thing off with his wash cloth! I put some on his eyebrows and rubbed off with a cotton bud. So now, two days after shaving, we're left with only a bit on his left earlobe, eyebrows and random parts of his scalp.

At first I thought the cradle cap on his scalp was localised towards the top only but nope, it was just like Kai and Yang - from front to near back of the head. Yang might not have it on his eyebrows, or had very little of it.

In any case, I don't like cradle cap!! It's nothing harmful but it makes the head smell oily. And all that flaking!! I kept finding flakes on his eyelashes and face when he was 黄眉...

Shaved on 21 November - the shaver took off some of his cradle cap too..

He uttered his first three-syllabic word sound that day right after pooping! 舒服噻 or what have you done to me?!

A ring of less hairy spot, just like Kai

I kept most of his hair and gave a small bit along with his cord stump to the lady to make his name stamp. He looks quite different with no hair! His brothers noticed it too and touched his head - all spiky!

Stories for Kai

I wanted to write about routines tonight but Kai impressed me just now so I must write it down before I forget - my memory is not like before...

A few days ago, I saw an email on the new NLB app and downloaded it. It's much easier than using Overdrive to search for titles but it is slow and it is not a reader; I still have to read in Overdrive.

Anyway, so I found a cute book "Are You My Mother?" and downloaded it. I meant to read to both the verbal boys but weekdays are tough so I decided to prioritise Kai who is *gasp* going to K1 next year!!! My big boy is growing up so fast!!!

Anyway, anyway... Overdrive got stuck the day I told Kai that I had something for him *.* So it wasn't until yesterday that I finally managed to open the ebook and read it myself in the day before reading to Kai at night, with Yu asleep in my arms, Kai next to me, Sito next to Kai and the iPad propped up on the duvet in front of us.

And Kai liked the story! He asked me to read it to him again :)

Tonight, he wanted the story again but Yu was fussing so I only managed to read the first three or four pages before I had to walk around with Yu. Then - and this was where he impressed me - Kai went on to read the book himself!

Of course, he couldn't read the words but based on the pictures, he told the rest of the story. And some parts, he gave the exact lines from the book, apparently purely based on what he heard last night!

It hit me that he learns more by listening. Just back in September, he cried when I was trying to ask him to read some words on a worksheet. Think it's better to learn from a story, better with pictures, than from words alone?

As I wrote the above para, I suddenly remembered that when he didn't show interest in hardcopy books, I attempted to tell him stories at bedtime with no books. I made up a few stories - the little boy who lost his bolster, the lady whose house burnt down, the totally random Bumblebee Transformer teaching bad boys a lesson, and lately, his own poop stories. And I must always use the same lines and the same order of events or he would correct me. One day, a long time after we stopped telling the bolster story, he even told me that story himself, using very similar lines.

Now I'm very motivated to read more to him :) It's better then YouTube any day! We've recently switch to YouTube Kids and will soon impose a time limit for each day or session, tbc with Sito...

I'm also thinking of imposing a ban on devices at the dining table, not just for the kids but for the adults too. To be fair, we seldom need to whip out the phone for the kids when we dine outside. But we do sometimes watch Thomas or flashcard DVD during meal times at home - does that count?? Anyway, the adults tend to be the culprit these days! 上梁不正下梁歪 so better to not model undesirable behaviour. After all, we do wish our kids would communicate with us over a meal than be passively absorbed in cyberspace...

Even playing RPG with Papa is better than watching YouTube on his own!

Where have we been?

Well, it's not as if I hadn't gone out with Yu in his first month. I had, but only when necessary. I didn't go out otherwise coz I was plain lazy *.* And I find it more tiring this time - perhaps it's age, perhaps it's three kids...

So I was pretty excited to head out after the end of tingkat! I need lunch somehow right? I do have a stash of food to cook if it rains (or when I feel lazy!) but else, let's eat out!

But first things first. I desperately needed a pedicure... My toe nails are quite brittle so I prefer them done professionally. And it doesn't hurt if they look nice :)

My standard colour for childbirth :p

Sito: Are you bringing Yu?
mf: Yup!
Sito: Aren't the fumes bad for him?
mf: Oh, this place doesn't stink coz they don't do acrylic.. Or whatever that causes that smell.
Sito: Ok...

But wait - I also brought Yang out for my pedicures but you never asked??! Considering how Yu would sleep in his arms, I think this boy is a papa's boy :)

Anyway, so, pedicure! Chose a lollipop peach colour this time and headed off for nasi lemak. What an exciting choice for lunch after 28 days of tingkat rice! But I had a revelation the other day - I didn't lose weight / put on weight with Yang coz I continued to have big meals after I stopped breastfeeding. The tingkat meals were HUGE. I think I would need to gradually cut down on meal size... Hence, let's start with rice :)

Mama is preparing to feed me yummy lemak!

I had wanted to go further out but got lazy... But I didn't want to go home so soon as N was cleaning the house. So I went to check out beauty products at Sasa - didn't buy a thing - and ended up at Starbucks for a cuppa - my standard decaf java chip light. Sipping coffee while reading (ebook) 是人生一大享受！That is, until the boy started to wake up..

So I left and checked out toiletries and groceries before deciding that it was the wrong day to buy shampoo as I was carrying my big going-out bag instead of my tiny go-downstairs bag. So I went home.

Kind of lame now that I'm thinking and writing about my first "excursion" but more was to come!

Friday was Yu's vaccination day. He weighed in at 4.68 kg! My chubby baby!! ^.^ And I weighed in at 70 kg - so chubby too *.*

This was his first time with our regular PD so I updated him on his birth etc and he checked his heart again - triple confirmed no murmur! Everything else was, as usual, fine, which is good!

Also asked the PD about meningococcal vaccination. The available vaccine is for serogroups A, C, Y and W only, not B though that is available in some other countries. Apparently, it's new so not brought in yet. And while the disease is rare, A and C are the main causes when it happens so it's good to guard against it. Alright, doc, Kai will join Yu on his next vaccination day! Discussed with Sito that we'll wait until Yang is older before subjecting him to non-mandatory vaccination due to his febrile fits...

Took a cab back for lunch at Buona Vista and took the train back to Holland Village - time to do banking! Opened an account for Yu to deposit all his angbao money - that's your seed fund for whatever exciting venture you're up to next time, baby!

And today, I went to Daiso to pick up some cleaning materials before my first gynae visit after discharge from hospital. Brought Yu and N along - no choice coz Yu rejected the bottle twice - chilled and fresh - after that first success with frozen milk.. He did a big one at the clinic *.* But the nurses were very nice and let me change him on the sofa and stay on to feed him.

Anyway, no scan was done, just a PAP smear and a few presses on the wound. He ordered a comprehensive PAP test - never heard of it before, and so ex! Point is to vaccinate me against HPV if I'm clear. Given my history, better do it la, off label or not... Oh, and I weighed in at 69 kg - one down! Never mind that it's a different machine :p

Shared a set meal at the Soup Spoon with N and came home. Yu was fussing a lot and refused to be put down for his nap. In the end, I slid down while holding him and managed to nap with him for an hour. When he fussed again, I thought he wanted milk but he just happened to wake and still wanted to sleep. We tried a few positions but none that I could nap as well, sighs... And that was it until evening time when he miraculously napped through his brothers' noisy dinner and shower time!

He woke at 8 pm but slept again in Sito's arms while I was settling Kai in bed. Sito and I had a "fun" time putting him down on the bed... But there he is now, and here I am :)

So what's next.... I'll meet Yang's teacher tomorrow coz they couldn't give me a slot adjacent to Kai's on Saturday. My first RedMart delivery will arrive tomorrow too! Ok, that's no excursion... Be heading to Tiong Bahru Plaza on Thursday to shop and meet colleagues for lunch. Looking forward to Friday - Sito's birthday!

振宇满月了！

We celebrated Yu's full month on Sunday :) Went to Peach Garden at Metropolis, same as for Yang; we went to the one at OCBC for Kai :p And Yu slept through most of his lunch, stirring here and there for milk.

Parents are outnumbered!

Went to Mum's place after lunch and look at what we found there!

1) The same setup as for Yang on the sofa

2) The same bouncer used by his brothers

We reminded Yang that he once leaked poop while on the bouncer - he laughed :p Kai also loves stories of how he used to poop and pee anyhow - boys *.* Yang also immediately identified the toy as a giraffe - honestly, I'd always thought it was a horse, oops...

So Yu became ever more alert in the past couple of weeks. In fact, he seems to be as needy as Kai was - have to carry him and hard to put him down to sleep. I foresee hours and hours of baby slinging on the way!

One morning when Yang wiggled until he was right next to Papa

Since Tuesday, I've been trying to put Yu to sleep on Kai's bed in the evening. The idea is to switch him and Yang over when it is time for Yang to go to bed so that Yu can sleep through the whole shower din in our room. But he kept waking up during dinner time anyway with all the talking and shuffling of chairs and throwing of toys... Then he will take another two hours at least, before he can be settled in bed, which means sore arms for both parents or sore nipples for me, or more likely, both...

Since Yu is so good at 玩-ing his parents with his non-sleeping antics, we must also 玩 him!

Reenacting one of our fave poses - on the sofa corner!

Floating baby?

Papa-induced smile!

More fun going forward! Oh, I had my last tingkat lunch today. Time to head out! More fun indeed, yeah! :)

The boys in October

I've been so busy with Yu the past month that his brothers are finding their Mama MIA... Just this morning, coz I was so tired from handling Yu last night, I slept through Yang's goodbyes to me and only vaguely remember Kai saying byebye :( Must sayang them more tonight...

The big brothers had some fun times in October - concert and Halloween party in school!

In their concert costumes

Kai danced to Uh-ee while Yang danced to MJ's Beat It. I couldn't be there but Sito took videos. But Kai was blocked by a classmate in front while Yang was wearing a hat and was difficult to spot, sighs..

Kai being led out for the finale

Source: School FB 

Yang being led out for finale

Source: School FB 

We received the hat a few days later and Yang paired it with sunglasses - cool!

I'm a cheapo mama who won't spend on Halloween costumes. So I reused a Daiso cape for Kai and bought an axe and a pumpkin head wand from Daiso. Kai didn't like the cape last year (or was it two years ago?!) but he loved it this time!

So cute, sure get treats instead of tricks :p

I asked Yang to give me a scary face a couple of weeks back and he did. Then Monday, when I asked him to show me scary face again, he gave me cute face! In fact, he gave the same cute face for scary, angry and cute ^_^

The original scary face

Super cute faces of Yang

When N eventually took her Sunday off, Mum helped to send the boys back from her place in the evening. Sito showered Yang and for the first time, brushed his teeth for him. When Yang was done, I put his diapers on and found a big butt staring at me - he's grown so big now! I really couldn't remember the last time I put diapers on him already, sighs..

Say ahhhh...

In other news, we've been trying underwear on Yang - this was before he peed on the sofa...

Well, we'll try every weekend to help him get used to it. Hopefully, we can achieve day dryness soon...

Love how he sits crosslegged

Mama, do you know how to transform this?

Honestly, I don't. But my big boy does! He can transform the whole Devastator set and more! And he'll teach me by showing me and having me do it. I love being taught by my son :)

One toy for each boy - Yang put Jigajung on Yu :p

I'm thinking of bringing the older boys out on some Fridays during my leave, when I'm more settled into bringing Yu out. Will be fun to take them out a bit earlier, after their nap in school, to go to the playground, have ice cream, play toys etc. Just want to spend some time with them during off peak - peak hours in the mornings and the evenings are just too chaotic sometimes, what with their meals and getting ready for school or bed.

Yu, the fat baby

Yu has really grown a lot. Yesterday, I realised that he's growing out of range for the single-arm hold!

Check out those succulent cheeks!

I attribute his birth weight - highest of our three - to avocados. In the past three weeks plus since we came home, he has been nursing hourly or more frequently when awake. I could almost see the flesh piling on him! Very happy to see that though my arms and back will complain very soon...

First pump using my new Haakaa on 26 October

First bottle - frozen milk! - given lovingly by Papa on 31 October

Finally noticed Jigajung! And swiped it off the bed!

As he begins to notice more of his surroundings, he's also beginning to make more sounds that are more than his usual throaty grunts. Very cute! Downside? He's more alert and less sleepy...

Since last Thursday, Yu has decided to stay awake from 8 pm to as late as midnight - why??! And nursing doesn't help. In fact, he fusses at the breast. We think it is gas :( Thankfully, Sito was around to help me take him when I was tired. But now that the weekend is over, I'm back to solo-ing it as Sito has night calls every day except Friday, sighs..

Papa found a new way to calm Yu - lifting him up and down!

Yu looks like a turkey in this hold :p I commented that 我们好像在玩 baby, and Sito said that it was more like baby 在玩我们 hoho!! Sito is finding Yu getting heavier too so it's quite siong to lift him up and down. Else I thought Sito's method is better than this, which is effective but requires a change of hands and position.

But this baby can doze off while being burped *.*

Yesterday, we napped until 5.45 pm so Yu didn't sleep until seven plus and his awake time was shifted later too - we were up 2.45 am to almost 5 am!!

That said, Yu has been a rather predictable baby. I know roughly when and how much he naps and sleeps and wakes. And if he fusses, he wants milk; else he has gas and needs to burp or fart or poop. Even his poop is predictable - after waking, lunch and before shower. Miss any of those poops, I'll be in for night poops...

得意 look when he pooped five minutes after I changed him!

This boy poops like Kai - explosively! Just this morning, I was thinking he might have pooped coz I smelled something. And when I wanted to check, I saw poop on my shirt! As I exclaimed, he let rip another one and poop came SPLUTTERING out of his diaper! Luckily, the poop only dirtied more of my tee, not the bed! But as I lifted him up to go change, some poop dripped down on the side of the bassinet - I wiped it down later. And when I was nursing him later, I saw a bit of yellow on my duvet - of course it was poop too! Argh, what to do? 有进就有出 *.*

A meeting with the school

Two Fridays ago, Kai was having fruits when he suddenly jumped up and ran to his school bag, saying that he forgot something in an urgent manner tinged with fear. He pulled out his communication booklet, saying that Teacher H asked him to give that to me. I wondered about his tone but I decided to act on his request first. So I took it, read it, filled in the PTC form, and put everything back. All the time, he had his eye on me and when he saw me put things back, he cried out to me not to put it back, it was for me (or something along those lines), and - this I remember very clearly - otherwise Teacher H would be mad at him, in the same urgent tone tinged with fear.

Now, I'm aware that kids' feelings tend to oscillate - I like you in the morning, I don't like you in the afternoon, I like you again tomorrow - and hence their words aren't the most reliable at times. Hence, it wasn't what he said that I was most concerned with but how he said it - urgent, fearful. I have never seen him like that before and it alarmed me. Plus, other parents had issues with this teacher before.

I continued to probe for more clues over the next few days. Took some time as he tended to be distracted by his toys and I could get more out of him only during bedtime.

1) (Why would Teacher H be mad at you?) Teacher H is always mad at me. (Is she mad at other children?) No, only me. (I've since learnt that that is not true - she has also been mad at others. The power of connecting with fellow mummies at the gate!)

2) (Why? Have you been naughty?) No... (This is admittedly iffy...) (Then why is she mad at you?) She is a good person. But she is always mad at me. ... But sometimes she is happy with me. (Now, isn't that a familiar line?)

3) (What does Teacher H do when she is mad at you?) ... silence ... (Does she punish you?) ... nods ... (How does she do that?) She hit [sic] me. (Where does she hit you?) On my hand. (She hits your hand with?) Her hand.

4) (Do you like Teacher H?) No. (Why?) Because she is always mad at me. (How about your other teachers? Do you like them?) Yes.

I sense that he wants to please Teacher H. There were a few occasions in the past few months where he came home to say happily that she was happy with him when he made a truck or something or another in school. But it is one thing to want to please someone and another to become fearful of said someone becoming angry.

I'm not too concerned over her hitting his hand because we don't spare the rod at home too so I don't think he is afraid of that. That said, bodily punishment in a group setting could be detrimental to self esteem so it should be meted out in an appropriate manner. The need of such punishment should depend on the offence - unfortunately, I can't tease out from him why the teacher is mad at him.

And arising from this, I wonder if he has caught bad phrases from her. I mean, it could have been other kids too but...

a) We don't say "I'm mad at you" at home; we say "angry".

b) He tends to give a rude/irritated "what?" in response to us calling his name. We have asked him to reply with "yes?" but he said Teacher H would say "what?"

c) He recently told Sito, "stand to one side, don't talk to me" - so rude! We don't say that at home too.

So I asked to speak with the principal and Teacher H last Tuesday when I was texting the principal on some other matters. She called back and asked for more details. I was hesitant as I preferred not to snitch on Teacher H as I've had direct contact with her. But the principal said she would investigate first. So I told her. That evening, she called to clarify and I asked to meet up to clarify further.

Sito and I discussed our approach before I went down last Wednesday to speak with them and a director of the school. So apparently, Teacher H asked the whole class on Thursday to show their parents the communication booklet to book PTC dates. On Friday, only Kai and another kid's parents failed to look at the booklet so she reminded them.

Actually, I wasn't there to find out what really happened. No one can know for sure what had happened. Only the teacher is in the class. If she had been up to no good, I don't expect her to say ya I threatened your kid. Else, Kai could have perceived her words and action in a negative way too. Simply put, I think the teacher was not experienced enough so I wanted to tell her how: Take an age-appropriate approach, use more concrete terms, be consistent.

A four-year-old kid may be young but anyone will feel self-conscious to be singled out for a reminder. And if you say you would be mad, or just show anger, what does that mean? Anger is kind of abstract for a child of this age; he needs more concrete ideas, like specific consequences - naughty corner, removal of privilege etc. And even if you don't say you're mad, he may perceive negative vibes. And to be happy now and mad later sends mixed signals to the child - there's a need to explain different treatments at different times or he might just want you to be happy with him all the time, creating stress and fear.

Still seems happy in school

But of course, my kid is in school all the time so I need to do this amicably. There's always this fear, right, that raising an issue with the school might end up being detrimental to the kid. So I positioned my concerns from Kai's perspective - that he just had a new brother so he might be more sensitive etc - and asked the school to be more mindful when interacting with him, taking note of the three how's. At least, the school is aware I'm aware too.

This incident made me feel very sad for Kai. I don't want bad school experiences at this early age to affect his subsequent schooling life. It also made me reflect on how I treat him. Have I taken an age-appropriate approach with him? Do I confuse him? Does he think I treat him well and fair? Sometimes, I'm pretty harsh on him - it is partly due to this reflection that I decided to let go at dinnertime. Sometimes, he's so naughty or whiny that I lose my shit. Need to remind myself that I'm the adult - I have greater self-control and can handle this better!

What's wrong with eating??

Sito and I eat a lot. I would say we eat to live rather than live to eat. A simple meal from the mixed rice stall would suffice for lunch every day. But we do enjoy our food.

But why don't the kids eat?! Ok, correction - they do eat yogurt, candies and biscuits so... Why don't the kids eat DINNER?

Kai has been less than enthusiastic about dinner. In fact, he said that he would feed himself in school but would only eat if fed at home! After a difficult dinner two Mondays ago, I finally put my foot down and told him to feed himself. But we had roast chicken fried noodles the next day and he didn't like the smell so nope, he did not feed himself.

It wasn't until Thursday, 20 October, that he was finally feeding himself. He even reminded me that he could put away food he didn't like if he had tried it - yes, I did say that on Wednesday so ok. Learnt this from a book called French Kids Eat Everything - you don't have to like it, but you have to try it.

Over the next few days, he still said he didn't like certain foods without trying. I made him try. And trying is not just putting the food into your mouth but also biting into it for the texture. Usually, his verdict remained unchanged. But last Tuesday, he changed his mind about the pork pieces - yeah!

But the war was hardly over. It was so tiring and frustrating at dinner time until I read an article over the weekend. I had read something similar before but this time, I decided to take the advice - we would decide when, what and where to eat while the kid would decide whether and how much to eat. There is no consequence - except hunger - if the kid doesn't eat, i.e. in our case, Kai can still have his fruits and milk if he wants them.

So since Monday, I told Kai that he didn't have to eat his dinner. He decided not to eat. When I drew his attention to the soup, he decided he would just have the soup. Good enough. And yes, he had his fruits and milk. The next day, he said he would try the tauhu, which was coated in a sweet peanut sauce that looked like sweet and sour sauce, which he likes. But he smelled it and decided not to eat it  - I had to resist asking him to try it. Today, he had a few mouthfuls of rice and vegetables.

But he hasn't been hungry in the middle of the night. The past few mornings, he had three slices of bread with peanut butter though. And two cups of milk. Well, if he prefers to load up in the morning, so be it. I should try to sneak in other breakfast options.. He asked for mayonnaise this morning so perhaps egg mayonnaise?

Muffins? Sure!

Yang fares better though sometimes he rejects vegetables and lately, he rejects all fish. But he's only two - I don't think Kai ate much meat back then! And since he's already eating more than Kai at dinner, I shouldn't complain, much as I would like him to clean his plate. Oh but interestingly, he likes lollipops and gummy bears but he isn't too keen on cakes, unlike Kai who really likes sweet stuff...

Let's see what this new approach brings. Even if it does not help Kai open up about food, it probably will be a matter of time before he eats more than me and Sito combined - we really shouldn't complain then. Unless, of course, he gets too fat *.*