Baby's First Bug

About 3 weeks ago, DN caught his 1st bug. Bah. It really caught me by surprise because I truly believed my breastmilk was superior to the elixir of youth, and because it was the antidote of all antidotes, harmful bacteria and viruses would just bounce off my baby. DN was invincible!

Alas, it is not true. My baby is normal. Humph.

DN had a phlegm-y cough for slightly more than a week and a runny nose too. It was terrible to hear him hacking away at night. When he woke up, oh my goodness, he had those old-man-in-the-morning coughs. The only thing that was missing was the "kaaaa-pui" and the projectile flying phlegm.

The good thing is, he was in pretty good spirits the entire week. :D All that hacking didn't seem to faze the little guy, and he couldn't care less that his nose was flowing like the Ganges. We figure he probably picked up the bug at the PD's when we were there just a coupla days before for his jab.

*BUGger*!

My breastmilk has failed me! It didn't help to combat DN's second "attack" of eczema too.

DN's eczema came back! His last "attack" was when he was about 2 months old. Dry, angry, red patches on his cheeks. The doc prescribed a topical steriod cream. It was SUPER effective, but a side effect was that it could affect his growth. (WHAT??!!) So I decided to try an organic, all-natural cream recommended by a friend and goodgollygraciousmissmolly, it worked!


In true Singaporean fashion, before DN's first tub finished, I bought 4 more tubs. -_-










Looks like rosy cheeks right? But no, it's his eczema patches. :(







But still very cute lah, hahahaha...

Sit Boo Boo, Sit!

DN is about 5 mths and 3 wks old today.

For the past 3 weeks or so, we've been plonking DN into a sitting position without much success. So far, the routine has been "plonk-wobble-topple". That's why no pictures! By the time we move our hands away, he wobbles, then topples. I think it's because his head is too big.

-_-

(But I tell myself it's because he has more brains!!!!!)

Well, we gave up after awhile. (I mean, cannot let the poor guy keep falling on his head right? Must protect his brains!)

But today, I decided to try again and hecanhecanhecanhecan!








I plonked him on the bed this morning, moved my hands gingerly away, all ready to catch him... but Mr DN rose to the challenge (literally) and SAT UP. Ha! How long did he sit up? Well, long enough for me to run to the next room, grab the camera and take 5 pictures. i.e. LOOONG! Of course, after a while it was "wobble-topple" again, but at least I managed to get some shots of him in "mid-flight", ha!

(Please do not laugh at our "orbit" bedsheet. It's Chinese New Year ok!)

The Leaning Tower Of Pisa

You can tell he's just fallen over coz his legs are still in a sitting position. Hahaha!

Still in a sitting position! (and clapping his feet, ha!)

DN : "Yay! I'm up!"

DN : "... er... I have a bad feeling about this."

DN : "Mom, H.E.L.P."

DN : "I'm falling and she's still taking pictures. What kind of mother... ?!"

DN : "Ooooof!"

Tong! Tong-tong! CHIANG!

Anyone who tells you that CNY is about family-love-bonding-peace-hope-charity has a long wooden nose. Everyone knows it's about the ang pows! Bring it on!

My "grand plan" was to visit with a vengeance with baby in tow. Our days of giving out ang pows to strange, unfamiliar children at other people's houses are over. We now have our own strange, unfamiliar child and he is definitely worthy of your 'doh-lahz', ha! :D Married childless couples don't run away!

Anyway, "Grand Plan No. 1" went the way of the dodo. Nobody told me CNY visiting with a 5.5 month old baby was going to be so tiring! We only visited 4 houses on Day 1 instead of the planned 200, haha.

Move on to "Grand Plan No. 2".

I woke up on CNY Day 1 with "Grand Plan No. 2" swimming in my head - to chronicle DN's first CNY from start to finish by taking a picture of all momentous events. How brilliant is that! I was going to be the photographer who caught everyone at their most natural, doing ordinary things like look and coo lovingly at my baby.

That went down the toilet too. Give ang pow, take ang pow (yeah!), give oranges, take oranges (who cares??), juggle diaper bag, camera bag and oranges bag, carry baby, placate baby, feed baby... and now take pictures of baby???

Sorry. Cannot.

Managed to scavenge some photos of Day 1...


CNY Day 1 (morning)
DN looking spiffy in a short-sleeved shirt, with his Grandaunt






CNY Day 1 (afternoon)
DN in a sleeveless tee (coz it was SO HOT - 34 degrees celsius ok!) with his Grandma

(he's like a bride at the wedding banquet - got costume change ok!)








Gold or red, he put them all in his mouth.







DN :
"Obviously me sliding down the couch is not bothering anybody. Humph."




DN : "I may be a baby, but I know what an ang pow looks like. And this is NOT IT!"

DN the Bookworm

When DN was about 2 months old, we set up a little reading corner in his room. It's not much, just a chair and a lamp from Ikea, but I think it's downright cosy! Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he'll inherit our love for reading instead of our laziness, tardiness and our-inability-to-save-$$$-ness.


It's cosy right!

We strive to read to him every night but it all really depends on how His Royal Highness is feeling. You know how royalty can get right? (Unreasonable, inflexible and demanding!) HRH can get really cranky at bedtime... grrr...











Anyway, we started off with "Moo, Cow!" by Salina Yoon, a book I got on offer at Borders when I was about 6 months pregnant. (I think it was only 5 bucks, ha!)


You can't tell from this pic, but the cow's pink "nose-area" (golly, what IS that part called? A muzzle? A snout?) on the cover is furry! (How far from reality can you get?)

Anyway, "Moo, Cow!" lost its appeal very quickly. (It only has 5 pages ok!!)





So, to save my sanity (and obviously not my $$ haha!) I bought more books...


Ta-dah! DN's little libray!











When he was about 3.5 months old, just about the time he had better control over his hands, he started reaching out for the pages and turning them. I told PF, "Look! Look! We have a genius!" (Yes, my head is that big.)

When we read to him now, he'll usually start blabbering too, as if he's reading along. And he still doesn't know how to adjust his volume for a reading voice, so imagine a little baby sitting on my lap screaming at Dr Seuss. Hilarious.

Anyway, I can't seem to stop buying books. Couldn't resist getting this soft book yesterday because I used to have it as a child too!


"Are You My Mother?" by P.D. Eastman










It's about a little bird that fell out of its nest (and didn't crush its skull on the ground below!!) and went around looking for its mother who had gone off to look for food. (and probably worried his mother shitless, the ungrateful thing)


Come on, how could I not buy it? It comes with a little bird that you can "pop" out of the egg!



And on the last page, you can tuck the little bird under the mama bird's wing!

It's "cute" with a capital "Q".



Super excited about my new buy, I plonked DN on my lap last night, knowing that he would appreciate the little bird as much as me. Yes he did. He put it in his mouth straight away.

-_-


Here's DN looking like the cat who ate the bird. (literally) All this photo needs now is a little feather on his chin.

DN : "I eat little birds."














All this reminds me of that time when I brought Flash out for a walk and he ate a dead bird.

YAHHHHHHCK...!

But I'll leave that for another time when I have nothing else to blog about.

You've got mail!

When I first found out I was pregnant, I joined a motherhood forum just for a lark. PF now believes the lark has turned into a Pteranodon with a 20-metre wing span. (i.e. it has taken over my life... it is DANGEROUS!)


The forum when I first joined - SAFE.


The forum NOW
- NOT SAFE!

But I beg to differ. (see exchange below)

PF the Pot : "You are black!"
Me the kettle : "... mumblemumble... yeah right... dunno what clubSNAP.com... mumblemumble... snatch computer with me... mumblemumble..."

I chat with other Sept 2006 moms and it's so fun coz all our babies are the same age, so we compare baby milestones, diaper absorbency, poop consistency, pee frequency, hair growth (or in DN's case, lack of)... blah blah blah. We share blogs too! So all the "little ___" blogs u see on the left are Sept baby blogs.

Here are DN's online baby friends... aren't they the funniest?

montages courtesy of another sept mom :) click on the pics to see them in a bigger size.

Anyway, I also buy a lot of DN's stuff online too and once in a while, (PF the Pot would say "once a week") mysterious brown/white packages appear in our mailbox stuffed with baby goodies! I've bought diaper cream, organic moisturisers, rompers, sleepsuits, baby cereal, carriers, children's books, breast pump parts (!!) and even a stroller, changing table and honey!

I've also taken to asking for these packages to be addressed to DN.

(Oi, you don't do things for cheap thrill meh??)

Hiak! Cheap thrill!




DN : "Aiyah! Why is the package so small??"



DN : "Now, that's what I'm talking about. All packages should be bigger than me!"



DN : "Oooh... wonder what's inside...."








DN : "Mmm! Sleepsuits! Tasty!"

Mr Kiwi is 5 months old!
(I'm posting this 1 day late though...)

Golly, how time flies. Before I'll know it, DN will be running all over the house (with me huffing and puffing miserably behind him), then he'll be in Primary 1 (with me holding onto the bars of the main school gate), then he'll be in Sec 4 (with me eavesdropping around the corner when a girl calls) and then he'll be getting married (with me trying desperately to lose weight to squeeze into a kebaya) and then I'll be a mother-in-law!!!

ARRRRRGH! My youth!

Why am I scaring my own pants off?

Let's just appreciate "DN the baby" for now! Here're my favourite photos for each month he's been with us.















September

*awww...*

We couldn't stop staring at him when we brought him home from the hospital. He was a wee little thing (only 2.7kg). I kept willing him to wake up so I could see his HUGE eyes. After 2 days of taking care of him, I kept willing him to go back to sleep. -_-















October

Hello Mr Groggy! This was taken just after his BCG jab. *sigh* He used to have such nice thick hair... and I swear, I did nothing to it in this picture. It just styled itself! Au naturel man.




















November

Oh I just LURVE this shot! It doesn't look like him at all! He looks like such a little man here. He's got such a funny expression on, and we've never ever caught this exact expression on camera again. (i think he was trying to poop) And, if you look closely, he's giving the finger!!!!! Ha!














December

It's "Attack Of The Xiao Tian Tian Eyes" again! (so watery-watery!) By this time, his head was more stable and we could relax a little when carrying him. The first 3 months, I lived in the constant fear that he'd get whiplash from all that lolling. As for his hair, it's a classic case of GOING...


January

... GOING...


February

... GONE!!!!!

Balding Egg Update

DN is no longer as bald as an egg.

No more "ii-or! ii-or! ii-or!"
(think finger rubbing on clean plate)

Anyway, he has graduated to kiwifruit status! Ha! There is now a soft sheen of fur-like-hair on Mr Kiwi's little head. Nowhere near "glorious", but I'm hopeful!

Now, I can only hope the same for my hair which is still as luscious as a "sapu-lidi".

-_-






Looks like right!!


Mr Kiwi :"Did u call me a kiwifruit???"



Mr Kiwi : "I'm not too happy about that."

*furrows only right brow*
Can kiwifruits do that???
hiak!


Mr Kiwi : "Hurh?"

I'm cutting Mr Kiwi's nails.





Aiyah, there Mr Kiwi goes with his one raised eyebrow again.