Cruising

Sherrie can cruise confidently now...... she can pull herself up very quickly while holding onto the edge of the playpen or any surface with a grip. She has even tried going up the wall but then with no grip, she lands on her bottom! Haha... She has also tried to let go of both hands and stand but can barely stand for 2 secs and then I have to catch her. She finds it a fun game and does it quite often. Before she lets go she looks at me as if to say, 'Catch me if i fall, mummy!' and of course, i am there to do just that... Very amazing how babies can communicate without speaking our language.

Speaking of language, she has some rather definite sounds now and can quite certainly identify the difference between 'mama' (me) and 'dada' or 'baba' (Vincent). She doesn't say biscuit but at the moment, it's her favourite food. When she sees the biscuit box, she squeals in delight.. when we stop giving her biscuits, she whines... and when she has finished eating one piece she raises her hands and waves them about, along with her legs and goes 'mmmmmmm' to indicate she wants more.

When she is in the playpen, she plays with the toys for barely 5 secs and she grabs one of them in her hands and then stands up. She then throws the item she is carrying over the side of the playpen, slowly emptying it of the toys. I wonder what she is really trying to do! But it's so funny how she climbs up still holding the toy in her hand. She is doing the same now when she crawls around the room.. she grabs onto a huge paper flower and crawls around with it...... As if she is going shopping! haha... Oh yes, now she will move very quickly from a crawling position to a sitting up position and sit there for a while. Very often she will hold an object in each hand and knock them together to see what sound is produced. She will smile while doing so and it is quite fun to watch that. Now i feel very comfortable leaving her to sit up on her own. Of course, occasionally (very rarely actually) she does lose her balance so of course I cannot be leaving her by herself.

Food wise, she is now open to eating more fruits on their own. She can eat one slice of pear, 2 grapes and 2 tablespoons of banana and she doesn't push them away. We tried feeding her pasta and cheese the other day and she wailed! I think she really is a chinese baby... hehe.. what are we going to do in the US huh! I guess she will just have to get used to it..

In terms of teaching her words and all that, I feel that i'm not putting in enough effort. Maybe i really should have some kind of system, but i feel that i should relegate it to when we are in the US, when we can really settle on some kind of structure. At the moment, I'm just helping her with her physical milestones but not neglecting teaching and talking to her to expand her vocab. It's just that it is incidental and not deliberate. I really wonder how I can make it more so. I try reading books to her but all she wants to do is to flip the pages... maybe i shld just do so, with her listening and enforce it.

Sherrie amazes us

Wow what a weekend we've just had with darling Sherrie. She simply amazes us when we spend time together with her. V took a day off, plus public hol, so we had 4 days whole with us. Here are some things that must be penned down before we forget.

1. When she refused to finish her cereal, V decided that maybe if she saw one of us being fed, she would then eat up her food. So I took another spoon and put a little of her food onto the spoon and fed V with it. She saw what happened and then took 2 spoons of her porridge. After that she didn't eat it again, so we repeated the process. Soon, after 2/3 spoons, she made a 'uh' sound and looked at V as if to say, 'Your turn now!'. When he promptly took his turn, she happily ate up the porridge. In this way, she finished her food. We couldn't believe that it happened - not the imitating part, but the fact that if V didn't do it, she would deliberately look at him and get him to eat.

2. After having porridge, we decided to play with her. We took a foam letter 'C' and hid it in our hands. V threw it to me and i clasped in in my hands. Although she couldn't see the letter, she knew it was with me because she stared at my clasped hands. She also learnt to clasp her hands the same way after a few throws. When we tried to trick her i.e. pretending to throw but leaving the letter in the hand, she was not fooled and continued to stare at the letter in whosoever's hand it was in. She was only tricked when V threw and i clasped my hand, as if i had caught it. Of course, that would take a sophisticated baby to know but it was enough to amaze us. She knew we were trying to trick her and at times would laugh because it was so funny. :) Super cute baby.

3.We've been putting her in the playpen because she wants to climb things and stand up. We normally play peekaboo with her and one time, she actually tried to play it with us. She would bend her knee slightly and then jump up, just like V does. And then when she jumps up she would giggle cos she thinks it's very funny. Oh yes, she can also spend alot of independent time in the playpen without making a fuss. What a lovely gal she is!

4. She has also perfected her pincer grasp and now we let her take the biscuits from our hands. When she has successfully put the biscuit into her mouth without dropping it, she will tap the table and wave her hands, smiling. It's as if she is celebrating her success. Along with that, we will also clap and say 'Well done' and 'clever girl'. Now she is so confident of that, she tries to look away and pick it up.. not a good idea but it really helps to praise a baby when they're trying to master a skill.

Other than these amazing developments, she has begun to cruise around the playpen and in Koko's house she will make her way to the sofas and try to stand and climb up. Mama was so amused and she felt good when she could stand up. She even tried to let go of the playpen rail a couple of times, but of course she fell down. She didn't cry, just sat up and continued again.

Eating wise, she has started on fish porridge and today i made chicken porridge. She enjoyed the fish porridge, so I hope she will like today's chicken porridge. She will soon be able to eat pasta and cheese. So excited about introducing new foods to her - so far she likes to eat and seems hungry whenever she looks at what i'm eating (pineapple tart!).

She has also begun to give V kisses! V is so happy and says the 4 days has done the trick. I think she is just starting to warm up. I love her kisses - so soft and sometimes so spontaneous, yet sometimes so soft and slow motion... haha

Almost 9 months!

My baby will be 9 months very soon! That means I have not been working for 9 months as well. haha... it has been blissful at home, not having to worry about papers and emails etc that usually bug me at work.

Sherrie is literally growing day by day. Now she confidently pulls herself to a standing position and has begun experimenting lifting her hands one by one off the handrails of the playpen and cot. Every morning she greets us by standing up in her cot and giving us a brilliant smile. What a sweet baby! And she is now trying to lift both hands off the rail - a sign that she would soon be able to stand on her own.

I also now allow her to crawl around the house and she seems to be very clear where she wants to go - either the kitchen or the front door. She is telling me she wants to see the rabbit and she wants to go out! Babies really are so clever.. though they cannot talk, they have their ways and means to express what they want.

Her babbling almost sounds like some words now.. there is the distinct baba and mama and sometimes she calls me mama but it is not deliberate i.e. it just happens to be mama at the right time. Half the time I am baba. :) Anyway i think looking at how things are going, she is going to be able to get it right soon! I am so excited for her to deliberately call me mama for the first time. It will melt my heart!

We brought her to gymboree the past 2 weeks for trial classes. The first time it was the Play and Learn - where they do climbing on ramps and slides and various obstacles. They also sing songs and do physical activities together with us. I was very tired out after the whole thing but it was fun and I could tell she loved it! They opened up a big parachute and lowered them onto the babies and then lifted it up again.. she loved that very much too. The 2nd time we brought her for music class, but there were so many babies and I felt the lesson wasn't as well coordinated as the physical class.. she didn't interact much and wasn't herself i.e. active. Maybe she was sleepy but i think more likely it was way too noisy and simply too many people (babies + adults) for her to have the space to relax. I don't think we'll repeat the music classes anymore!

Her sleeping pattern is slightly more regular now. She sleeps between 7.30 to 8.30 at night and then wakes for a last feed at 12 midnight and then all through to 6/7am. It's quite a nice routine for us because it doesn't disrupt our sleep that much. And she's up early but goes back for a nap around 8 to 9am, allowing me to do so as well. Oh yes, she has begun to start sleeping on me! Either on my shoulder, my lap or my tummy. Dunno if she is being manja or what, but it's such a nice time for both of us for skin closeness and bonding. I love it! :)

Foodwise, she has started fish porridge! I had been feeling guilty that i haven't offered fish to her simply because it is more troublesome and i don't know where to get fish. But i found a fishmonger in TPY and hopefully we will make more trips to Chinatown next time to buy fish (much cheaper there). She likes the porridge, which i mix with carrots, sweet potato and a bit of bovril for flavour. Thank goodness she is now less fussy and now takes, melon, pear, banana, avocado. She still doesn't like apples and mango. I will try again! :)

Standing up!

My baby can pull herself to a standing position already! Though she did it a few days ago, I was only confident of leaving her to support herself just 2 days ago. She pulled herself up on the cot and stood there for a good half an hour and when I tried to pull her hands off the railing, I found her holding on to it very tightly. She could even walk left and right holding the railing (slowly, of course). I took a picture to capture it in case I couldn't find time to blog. So now because she can stand and feels confident, she does so even when on the floor. First she will put her two hands on my stomach, then onto her knees and finally on her feet. She can't stand right up but she will be in a push up sort of position first. All the while she is smiling away! This evening, I noticed her pulling herself up and then slowly letting go of one arm and back to a sitting position. This is fantastic, because I was wondering how she was going to sit down after standing for so long. It's amazing to see that babies learn these things or are drawn almost magnetically to practice these essential skills.

Yesterday, we put her with Koko for 2 hours while we went to visit Pop in hospital. She was very well behaved and Koko can't wait to babysit. I am so proud of her because she can take so well to them. Even though we were not around, she didn't display separation anxiety. I was afraid she would fret cos she couldnt' see us.

In terms of speech, she has been saying alot of 'oohs' and 'ahs' and 'booos'. Today she uttered 'ba ba' very often and sometimes ' ma ma'. I don't think she means mama and papa just yet; it's obvious she is trying a new sound. I reinforced her use of it by using 'baba' to mean daddy and 'mama' to mean me. She seemed quite happy and continued to use it for a while. Oh yes, she can now wave when we say 'byebye'. I think this is the result of my in-laws saying byebye and waving whenever they see her. Babies learn association very fast.

Food wise, she has begun to eat a greater variety of cereals and fruits. I am also starting to offer her green vegs (well soon anyway). So far, though she doesn't eat pumpkin, carrots, pears, apples when they are served to her on their own, she seems to take them when mixed with her cereal. I guess this will have to do for now because at least doing that she will get a variety of tastes and vitamins. The apples and pears can be so soft that I do not even need to steam them!

According to the wholesomebabyfood website, I can feed her pasta and cheese already. They even have menus I can download and follow for breakfast, lunch and dinner, so that a wholesome meal is provided each time. They have recipes that sound so interesting i.e. addition of spices and yoghurt etc.. Scrumptious! I must start doing some of those... oh yes, time to start on fish porridge and chicken soup! I'm going to be so busy!

She attended her first mass today and was very well behaved. She was also very sociable, smiling and waving at people. She also kept bending her body to look at the people behind me, so much so that they were quite distracted... other than that, she was adorable.. I sang songs to her quietly in her ear and teased her, causing her to laugh. So cute! But 1 hour is really too long for a baby to sit still and not engage in activity.. at the end of the mass, she was getting restless so I stood up to carry her. I totally understand why she felt so...

Took her swimming last week and though the water was cold, she adapted very quickly to it and soon was enjoying herself! She can pivot when we call her (thanks to being in leapfrog I think) and also paddle her feet towards us. Of course we support her by putting our hands under her feet so that she has something to paddle off on. The good thing about the float is that I can also hold onto it and push her around and then also let go of it for her to have some independence. I think she likes swimming alot! If I had a pool, she'd go swimming everyday.

Oh did i mention that she likes to sleep on her front? Also she has been sleeping and waking earlier these days. Like sleeping at about 8+ and waking up at about 6.30-7am. On the one hand it's tiring, but on the other, it's good cos it gives V and I more time.. and besides I can go to sleep with her during the day. Helps me recharge. Speaking of zz, I want to go zz now....

Oh yes, she is kissing me quite spontaneously these days. Sometimes when I ask for it, sometimes she just shyly kisses and turns away.. she is doing it well now, with the correct 'muak' sound after she finishes it! :) So happy each time that we do a kissing dance!!

Post fever

Sherrie is much better now, thank God! She took about 5 days to fully recover, with sponge baths and paracetamol syringes (which she of course hated). I am so happy that she is back to normal i.e. drinking formula milk and eating cereal. I was getting worried because my milk supply was dropping and she was only wanting bm.

Everyday I spend with her, I feel that she is very smart! I hope I am not biased and thinking that just because she is my baby, she is clever. But, she has done certain things that make me feel so. Here are some examples.

1. After a few demonstrations of how to play with a new toy, ie the gumball machine, she knows how to throw the balls thru the top and press the lever (though she still prefers to topple the tower).

2. She held onto a spoon and licked the food end of it and smiled; then flipped it and licked the other end and gave a disgusted look. She knows which end brought her the food and after flipping the spoon a few times, stuck with the food end. When she had licked all the food off her spoon, she dropped it.

3. She used the spoon once and now wants to feed herself. Same for the biscuits (though Mum & V get quite nervous about her feeding herself. It is very cute to watch her do so.)

4. I put her in the leapfrog when I pump and now she has gotten used to being next to me that she doesnt' want to play with the things on the frog but wait for me to entertain her. Just because I did it a few times. When she was far away from me, she would entertain herself... Boo.

5. She knows that the moment she comes in front of the computer, she can pull open my drawer. I didn't teach her that but she did it, so now it's almost impossible to do that because she will reach for it and it is dangerous (she might hurt her fingers if they get trapped).

6. On the toolbox, she knows that she can pull the lever and the ABC song will come out. Promptly she will sway her body to it (very cute). If she doesn't hear the song, she will keep pulling it until it starts or she might start to get frustrated.

Other than these examples, she has also grown abit. Taller, leaner and less chubby. But still very cute. She has started propping herself up on me and after going her knees, goes onto her feet. She is constantly searching for higher ground where she can pull herself up! I think she will be standing holding onto something on her own quite soon. How quick is that! The question is does she want to? She can be quite lazy..

She is still not so interested in story books, but she listens whenever we describe something to her. No 'words' yet but some of her sounds sound like 'hello' and 'hi'.. So i take it she is greeting us. Sometimes there is a some semblance of a wave so.. we'll see. Maybe soon she will associate waving with the hello. :)

Can't wait for her to toddle though i know i will be even busier.

Sherrie had a fever

Over the weekend that has just past, poor Sherrie had a fever. It all started on Fri night, around midnight.. She was feeling a little warm and when we took the temperature it was 37.1 deg. I took a cool towel to wipe her down and she went back to bed. When she got up in the morning (Sat), she was feeling much warmer, so we bathed her and decided that we'd take her to the ped. Not realising it was Deepavali, we took a morning stroll and found the doors closed..... thankfully a clinic next door had a sign that it was open at 1pm and it was a family clinic.. so off we went back for home.

At 1pm, after she had been bathed several times and wiped down, we brought her to the clinic. It was pretty crowded with other children and the consultation was $30. After waiting about half an hour, we took her into see the doc. She was burning up and the temperature at the time was 39.2! So scary for me.. he suggested giving her a rectal suppository to bring her temperature down. Thank goodness, because it worked very well! Of course, he checked her ears and her lungs etc and found that everything else was fine.. Phew, i was so worried!

Anyway, the whole weekend was spent taking care of her, sponging and taking temperature and keeping her cool. It was heart breaking when we had to feed her the fever medicine cos she obviously didn't want it. We had to pin her down and syringe it into her mouth, followed by water. Poor baby... thankfully it worked and she is now better. However, she is refusing her solid food. I guess being sick does something to your appetite cos her milk intake is also reduced. Unless... she is goin on a diet cos everyone says she's like Michelin!

On another note, she can now pull herself up using the railing of the cot! I walked in last thus to see her doing it, so promptly had to ask V to lower the mattress. The playpen is no go now unless with supervision. She will put both hands on the rails and pull herself to kneeling position. Scary if she is unattended, so the safest place now is the cot and the leapfrog. Yesterday when we held onto me and pulled herself up to kneeling position she was so happy, gleefully smiling away at me. New skills so I guess she wants to keep doing it. Oh yes, she now wants to crawl over things. Like me, for instance. Also, on the bed, she goes for the highest points! Somehow she knows that she can stretch herself doing so... so the pillows and cot become targets for her... and the wood carving on my bed post.. dunno why she likes that so much.

She is also waving objects about, as if to see how it responds when they are shook. Also she likes to drop things on the floor, just to see how it reacts/sounds. I guess all babies go through this. Very cute though sometimes troublesome! I think she might wave to us soon!! Hoping for that...

No kisses for the moment, though she did fall asleep on my shoulders yesterday night. What a sweetie! I love!!

Sherrie is crawling!

My baby has learnt to crawl quite proficiently! She can cover the mat too quickly and i'm afraid she has outgrown her rocker. She cannot be left alone in the rocker for even 30 secs because she promptly rolls over in it and can drop off. How scary is that! Also, in the playpen, she has started to put her hand on the railing to look over.. she could easily prop herself up and go flying down too. Hence, the safest place is in the cot, where we can raise the railings or in the pram, next to me.

Her crawling is really quite deliberate now. She looks for something she wants, then very determinedly crawls towards it, raising her hands in the air (one hand on the floor and one hand in the air) and then moves it forward, one at a time. It's really so cool to see her development day to day. Aside from crawling, she is also sitting up in her pram. She didn't use to even though she could, but now when out, she will sit up and look around, observing her surroundings. She really is very curious at this stage. The best part is that she can sit for quite a while by herself, looking around, giving us time to eat out. I love my baby!

Vocally, she hasn't said much, but is still squealing and babbling. I guess all babies have their own timetable. I am encouraging her by saying mama and dada and also reading the picture books to her. At this stage, however, she seems more interested in perfecting her motor skills instead.

In terms of food, we've introduced prunes into her diet because rice cereal tends to be constipating.. also avocado, which i discovered has alot of soluble fibre, so it helps her to poop too. She likes them both, thankfully. have not tried reintroducing pears but will do so today.. adding to her cereal should be a good way to get her accept it.

She really is a blessing to us because she is so well behaved. At Su's wedding recently, she was mildly frightened by the sheer number of people but she was so sociable, smiling and allowing so many people to carry her. Of course, so many people touched her cheeks.. we couldn't prevent that! We also brought her up to Su's new studio apartment and she rolled on the bed so happily. During the church service, she slept. At the dinner, she was also very good, sleeping for the most part, through the extremely loud music. I don't know how she did that!! But she has received nothing but praise from everyone and all cannot wait to spend time with her!

Sherrie kissed me!

To savour the moment, I am noting this down.. Sherrie kissed me twice tonite! I was hugging her when she was on her tummy in the quiet moments before she fell asleep and she turned her face to my cheek and planted the first slobbery kiss on my cheeks! Then she looked at me and gave the sweetest tender smile. After that i asked her if she kissed me and she kissed me again.. as if to say, yes! :) :) :)

I was so touched I cried. She is sooo sweet! I love my baby.

First accident!

Sherrie fell off the bed on Sat morning, to my utter shock! I was getting ready to pump and suddenly heard a thud from next door followed by loud crying. I knew my worst fear had come true. V was so tired from duty that he had fallen asleep while patting her and without realising, she rolled over the blanket barricade (not much obviously) I had made and landed, according to him, face down. I was so terrified to hear her wail and quickly ran into the room, to see him comforting her. Of course, she was crying and wailing very loudly, but after a few minutes of cuddling, she calmed down and promptly started rolling again. I was so worried that she might suffer broken ribs or concussion. Thank God that she is ok... no vomiting and she is eating and playing normally. With her increased mobility, we have to be extra vigilant and never allow this to happen again! Poor baby.....

She is also constipated, i think, from eating too much rice cereal and not drinking enough water. She doesnt' want to take water from her sippy cup and only wants to have it through the spoon. So everytime after having solids, I feed her water. She takes it but is not interested in it for long... so I think i've got to give it to her through her bottle. Probably fruit juice diluted with water will work. She's fussy about fruits so far, so hopefully that'll work. We've also bought prune puree from Gerber so hoping she will take to it and bomb tomorrow. I don't mind cleaning up the poop.

Last weekend, I didn't write, she had rather bad diaper rash, and we had to put her on cloth diapers for a few days. What exhausting few days those were! First she couldnt' sleep on her cot cos she would roll and spill her pee, so she slept with us. Then she peed about every 45 mins so I was constantly changing cloth diapers and applying thick coats of Desitin. Lack of sleep plus extra changing and extra laundry did not make me a very happy mommy at all. Boo. We are now very cautious to ensure it doesn't happen again.

On the positive side, now that i've gotten all the -ve things out, is that she has crawled forward! I think it was on Friday that she did so. She wanted to reach her blue teether and lunged forward, using her legs to propel her and she got it! Today i tried it using my handphone and she did it again! I think she will crawl soon. She doesn't much like sitting up, but she can do it. She needs a mood for it I notice, but she loves to stand and be on her tummy, propping up her legs. She has also started grabbing the railing of her cot I think she wants to use it to pull herself up... we gotta pull up the rails soon.

She has started to imitate some of our words. Like the other day I said 'Hallo!' and she said 'Ah oh' and then some other things we said today, she repeated in her bb language. I think she will get the hang of talking soon. She is making so many sounds. Oh yes, when she sees the bowl thati put her cereal in, she will go 'Hair hair hair (sounds like hair anyway) and flap her arms, showing her excitement. It's so cute!!! She will want to grab the bowl and spoon. Today, we had Mcdonalds cone ice cream and when i showed it to her, she immediately reached out and touched it, resulting in some of it landing on her fingers.... so sneakily fast!! When she likes something, her hand shoots out soo quickly!

She is certainly skilled in responding to her name already. When she is in the playpen, I duck and call her name and she will look around trying to find me. And she now notices that i'm below and have not actually disappeared! Haha... Very cute playing peekaboo and hide and seek. She is very curious about words, esp when I read the words on the mat aloud to her. She enjoys it very much and looks down then looks up and me.

Recently she has become very much more attached to me, because V has been on duty 10am to 10pm. She rolls towards me and wants to cuddle next to me. When he hugs her, she doesn't respond the same way and keeps fretting. Of course it makes me feel super close to her. Aww... so sweet. And i simply cannot get upset with her cos she wants to be close to me! Hee...

She is still not sleeping through the nite and we are wondering how we can do something about this. It is very disruptive to our sleep and I end up with blacker and blacker panda eyes. Not very desirable and not to mention, I am exhausted at the end of the day. So is V cos he has to work. In the long run it's really not very healthy for us. I guess we have to try something drastic (cry it out??) or just be resigned that she will definitely wake up once.

Ok I hear her. she doesn't like the pear juice! I dunno why.. it's sweet... this baby likes yams and sweet potatoes! I hope she takes to the prune or else she will be constipated for too long and will need an enema. Boo.

Growing growing growing

Sherrie is growing real fast! I dunno how heavy she is now, but her motor abilities certainly are much more varied than before. She now points at things she wants and we will walk towards it and then bend her body almost at right angles (if it's on the floor) or lunge both arms towards what she wants. It takes alot of energy to manage her when she is bent over. When we sit, she wants to bend her body to her side, arching her body to see whatever it is. I just put my arms in a ring and she moves freely. Sometimes she will lay her head on my shoulder to look up too.

When she is on her tummy, we turn on the christmas lights and she will arch her head backwards. It takes alot of effort on her part but she tries so hard! It's so lovely to see. She is still crawling backward but sometimes when she is stuck and both feet are against the wall, she kicks and moves forward a bit. Guess it's a matter of time before she gets the hang of it. You'll be surprised how much distance babies can cover by rolling and crawling backwards. She has to be supervised at all times!

She can also spend alot of time in the leapfrog now. Her favourite toy on it is the page turner. Even without the music, she can play in it for half an hour or so, frequently standing up on her own and then taking a break when she is tired by resting in the chair. Tonight she was so frustrated because she wanted to open a flap but only knew how to close it. She squealed and squealed... haha...

Food wise, she has officially accepted sweet potato (mixed with breast milk). We bought it from cold storage and steamed it. Surprisingly she loved it! when I ate it, I knew why! It is sooo sweet and doesn't hv the raw taste carrots have. I still wonder though, why she doesn't like pear. Maybe it's too tart? Anyway, we will try pumpkin, yam and avocado next. The 4 day rule means we can only try one thing at a time. Meantime, milk and cereal are enough. :) I enjoy feeding her cereal because i can see her face to face and she is so patient when eating. Sometimes, though, she gets distracted by the colourful playmat on the ground, so i hv to shield it with the pouffe.

We've also started taking her out more. Like today, Mum and I went down to CK Tang cos we wanted to look for a coffee machine for Su's wedding. We didn't find it at CK but mum wanted to carry her to show her things and she kept her hand out most of the time, wanting to touch things. Of course, knowing how expensive the things there are, we didn't let her.... soon i think she grew tired (even being carried need energy) and we settled her in her pram and made our way to ION to check out the Nespresso machines. We were treated to a demo of how the Citiz & Milk machine works and also a cup of espresso and i had a decaf latte. Nice! She took a nap till we got home.

Last weekend, we took her to the beach and let her feel the breeze on her skin, experience it turning from light to dark, see bicycles and roller blades, a small ferris wheel and market atmosphere. She was so tired she slept very well that night. We were of course pleased. :)

As for talking, she has begun to say 'ma', 'ba' but they are not deliberate. I do encourage the sounds when I hear them. Occasionally she says something that sounds almost like a word that matches the occasion - that fascinates us and we wonder if it's coincidence... :P Other than that, her babbling is really cutie cutie and i have videotaped them to remember them cos once they start talking we'll not hear them anymore. Not to mention the whining!!!

6 months!

Sherrie baby is 6 months old!! She can do so many things and is really so much fun to play with. For starters, she has started to sit up quite well on her own (with support left and right)to play with toys. She does so enthusiastically. i think she will sit without support come her 7th month. Really on the dot with all her milestones. She can also stand with her two feet on the ground while we hold her by her armpits for quite a long time as well. When we do so she is so excited because she gets a different viewpoint of the world around her. She giggles and screams to show her delight.

Aside from this she has also started crawling.. backwards! She pushes up on her arms and then it moves her backward. She now can move around my bed in super fast speed and not by rolling! Quite scary to wake up and see her at the foot of the bed. Thank goodness the cot is on the side blocking her from falling off and i am on the other side. Else i don't think i'd be able to sleep peacefully. Today she crawled backwards on the mat and almost covered it from end to end! Very tiring to play with her, but as i said, super fun! I can also do aeroplane with her i.e. hold her in tummy time position and move her parallel to the ground like a plane.. whoosh! And then since she is much stronger, I don't have to handle her so delicately anymore.. which makes it very fun. She likes to be lifted into the air and particularly likes the word 'down' said in a very dramatic way.

She has also started on rice cereal, which she likes. She takes 3 tsp per day and i'm thinking of increasing it because she doesn't seem to be full at night.. still waking up for a night feed. Really cracking my brain as to how to prolong her sleep at night so that we can get some time for ourselves!! Hopefully the 2 cereal feeds a day will work. We also tried bananas, which she positively disliked. Her disgusted face spoke millions and while I know it was probably an awful experience for her, it was very funny for us when we watched her because she was so genuinely disgusted. haha.. We also tried carrot, which she seemed to like much more than banana but not as much as her cereal. The next thing we're going to try is avocado and pumpkin. I think there's a high chance she will be ok with these 2. :) Very fun!

Now she is actively showing her wants to us. When we take away something she wants, she will protest. When she wants something that we are holding she wil reach out her hand or shake her legs. When excited she will laugh/giggle/squeal - all very delightful. Oh yes, she also is making sounds that sound like whispers but not particular 'words' seem to be coming out... just whispers. Haha... And her babbles sound like 'oo', 'ha', 'ba'.. a little more like words. She can also be very manja, lying on me when she is tired and hugging me when she wants to.. but she hasn't learnt to kiss. Hopefully by the next post she would have. Am looking forward to that...

Trying out the sippy cup to see if she wants to take water/milk from that, so that she can progress to holding her own cup/bottle to drink milk. So far she thinks it's a toy and puts her mouth to it and chomps on it ,but hasn't realised that she can also suck the spout. I shall try milk in it tomorrow.

Coming to 6 months

In a couple of weeks, Sherrie will be 6 months old! :) I cannot believe she has been in my life for that long already! She certainly has turned my life upside down and brought loads of joy to my life. And I think it has made me a better & stronger person.

Her development these days is really fast. We've started giving her cereal for about a week already and she is taking well to it. The first time we did it she gave me a disgusted look, but now she actually likes it when it is mixed with breastmilk! Today she had 2 teaspoons and still wanted more when it was all finished. She also tried to reach out for the spoon and the bowl containing the cereal. Her hands are really so active! Upon finishing, in order to show that she wanted more, she used her palms to hit the bumbo - almost like beating drums! As the pedi has advised waiting a little longer before giving her more cereal and fruit purees, we didn't want to give her more. Instead, I distracted her by playing with her, singing to her and letting her roll about.

She is also starting to sit up! In her rocker, she holds onto the bar and tries to prop herself to a sitting position! And she can do it quite well. In fact, whenever you let her sit up or pull her up she can't wait to do it and always lets out a huge smile! It's really so lovely to see. Oh yes, she also does tummy time on my tummy and lets out such big grins and chuckles. I simply must do it twice a day.. but of course, it is very tiring!

Yesterday, I read in the babycentre email that babies love bubbles, so we made some soapy water and blew bubbles out of a straw. She was fascinated and when the bubble burst, she looked so shocked because she didn't know what had happened! In the bath, we try to make bubbles by using a cup to scoop the water up and let it fall into her palms. She tries to touch the stream of water!

In terms of pooping, she now poops once a day, sometimes once in 2 days! It certainly makes diaper changing easier and a lot less messy. Of course because of the increased quantity of milk she is drinking, she also pees more. And these past 2 days, it really seems as though milk is just not enough! My baby is growing so fast!

The last visit to the gynae revealed that she is now 67cm and 7.95kg! She is close to 8kg and not even 6 months! My friend's daughter who is 9 months is only 8.5kg! Soon my arms won't be able to support her.

Finally she now can spend time by herself either playing with the plastic ball, lamaze toy or in the leapfrog. When we first put her in the leapfrog she didn't like it and cried almost immediately. That was last week. Fast forward to today and she spent about 15 mins inside playing with the items around and bouncing around in it. I'm not sure if she is a fast learner, but she certainly adapts very quickly to new things.

Stranger anxiety has begun!

Sherrie is starting to feel stranger anxiety.... It is now confirmed because when we went to Kaufoo's place yesterday and there were many unfamiliar faces all looking at her, she promptly cried and let out a loud wail. I tried many times to go in slowly but somehow she just couldn't go in. She was also hungry, so I guess it made the situation worse. But anyway, I read on the blog that it's true, stranger anxiety begins around 5 months. She was ok when we went to che doo's place subsequently. There are many more familiar faces there so it's no surprise.

She can also bear weight well on her feet, when I hold her up. She steps on my thighs firmly and when I hold her with her feet on a solid surface, she will stand firmly as well. She is really growing fast! And the changes are on a daily basis. I bet soon she will be moving forward with her crawling. As it is, put her in the playpen and she will be rolling all over and when on her tummy, pivoting the top half of her body towards toys that she wants, holding the toys in her hands and interacting with them using her hands and mouth. I think it really will be soon that she makes her first crawl forward.

We tried to put her in the leapfrog today but she wasn't very receptive. I think it's a matter of getting used to it. Hopefully she will like it and play with it, so there'll be something new for her to do. :)

It has been a tiring weekend because she keeps wanting to roll over in the middle of the night. Plus, the pacifier keeps dropping out of her mouth when she sleeps on her side (no help from gravity!) and we both gotta wake up to put it back in her mouth. In the end, we put her on the bed (maybe that's what she wants) and then try to pat her till she sleeps. Even so, she still closes her eyes and try to roll. In which case, she is on her tummy, fully awake, staring at you in the middle of the night. And because she is in between us, either her right or left limbs will knock into you and wake you up. Imagine seeing her smily face when you are woken up from your slumber. How to get angry?? You feel the tiredness the following day because from that moment on she is gleefully rolling about and it is a real challenge trying to go back to sleep (at least for me).

It's late and she has just gotten to bed. It is hard trying to get her to bed because she excites herself so much rolling about that I have to hold her very tightly in my arms before I put her down in the cot. Tiring for me but at least she sleeps! Otherwise i'd be standing by the cot, patting her, which honestly I find even more exhausting.

5th month

Sherrie is 5 months old this week! I am a happy mummy because I've applied for No Pay Leave to stay at home to take care of her. I put her at a nanny for 3 days last week and it was a heartbreaking experience. I shall not relate it but suffice to say, it helped me make the decision to stay at home. I was feeling bad about taking NPL but i think it will be worth it. Looking at her, I know it is.

Everyone cannot help but remark how fair she is and how strong she has become! All thanks to milk. No doubt we do give her formula at night, but the majority of milk she drinks is breastmilk. She really has grown so well.. She is also a very cheerful baby, always smiling and seldom crying. Of course, when she cries it is for a valid reason i.e. wet, dirty, hungry, tired etc. Nowadays we know her cues quite well and usually we're able to meet her needs before she wails non stop. Of course, days on my own sometimes I am too late to do so and i end up having to calm her down from a crying fit. It breaks my heart to look at her with tears streaming down her face. Poor baby.

Rolling over has become easy peasy now and she is moving on to crawling. She gets frustrated when she cannot move forward and cries. I do try to help her but she has yet to learn to move her arms so her butt is high up in the air. Very funny! And entertaining at the same time. She is more proficient at rolling towards her right and if you put her on the bed, she will do a full roll i.e. from back to front and then to back again. She doesn't

realise sometimes, that I am next to her, and she continues to roll.. right into me. I have actually to make space otherwise she will protest! Haha....

Now she actively reaches out to grab her toys. When she lies in her rocker if she sees a toy you want, she will raise her hand to reach for it. Also she will kick her legs when she sees the milk bottle, to tell me that she is hungry. Babies are so clever! They can find their own way to communicate without talking. She is also showing preference for toys. Some toys she can play with for a long time.. other toys she holds it for 2 secs and throws it away. We are trying to figure out which toy will become her 'favourite'...

Today we went to my colleague's place for a bbq and put her in a white dress. She looked sooo lovely and cute! I cannot stand it!!! I want to hug hug hug hug and kisssssssss. If I have another one, I wish that he/she is as good as my Sherrie. So lovable and well behaved.

The other day we went for Su's food tasting at the Shang and when there were alot of unfamiliar faces that appeared all at the same time, she cried. I think she is starting to recognise faces already. When there are alot of unfamiliar faces, she feels nervous. I think they also wanted to touch her and so she got a bit scared.

Oh yes, we gave her some rice cereal today! She was a little uncomfortable throughout the whole experience, with lots of the cereal being pushed out of her mouth. At first, we didn't put any milk so it must have tasted very bland. Once we added some formula to it, she took it, one spoonful at a time. Solid food feeding is a messy affair!! But she was so patient, sitting in the bumbo, taking it a little at a time. She didn't manage to finish it but at least she gave it a good try. I am so proud of her!!

Here are more photos of her:

Sherrie at the nanny

So today is day 2 that sherrie is at the nanny. I am a wreck! I cannot help thinking about her and what she is doing.. whether she is enjoying herself and whether the nanny is doing a good job. Just now before I left her place, sherrie was agitated and crying.. It was so hard to leave. I didn't feel like I could because the nanny didn't seem very confident. And the way she was handling Sherrie seemed so rough. Sherrie obviously doesn't like being carried by her... Keeps crying. I find the nanny very kan cheong. That is exactly what I don't want! Sighz.

I dunno how long more I can bring her there only to see her sad face looking at me refusing for me to leave. I know that eventually I gotta let her go.. but now I wonder whether I really can anot. I got a feeling that I cannot. I only hope that Sherrie will soon feel more comfortable with her. *tear*

Anyway, aside from that, Sherrie has successfully rolled over many times and she is very fluent with it now. She can even roll holding her toy. And when she is on her tummy she can control her head such that she can lie on her arms or stretch out for her toys. She can also sit up on her own quite a bit, but of course she is slouched over cos she has yet to develop really strong back muscles. It's a matter of time, of course. Oh yes, she has also started to try to crawl! When we put some resistance on her feet, she moves a littel bit (like 2cm) and she is trying so hard by raising her bottom and them squirming about.. Very cute and funny!

She is also reaching out her arm to want to touch toys when I carry her. And she can carry the items in her hands and hold them for a while before dropping them. My goodness, she is growing really fast! I love to see the new developments everyday.

As for speech, well the other day she said something like 'ok' when V asked her if it was ok for him to come to carry her. And then the other night when we were talking about something, she said ' Yeah'. Of course it was probably just a sound she made but it was so coincidental i.e. the sound matched the answers that we were so amused!

She also laughs and smiles so much more these days. In the last 2 weeks, we have brought her swimming twice at Kaufoo's place. He has a lovely penthouse in newton, so we bring her to his rooftop pool to swim (dip) and she loves it! though the first time she cried a bit cos the water was cold, the second time she was beaming from ear to ear for the whole 15 mins she was in there. It was so lovely to see. I wanna bring her again!!! :)

Sherrie is growing up too fast

Time flies very fast! Soon, Sherrie will be 5 months old. In fact, she is now 20 weeks old. On one hand, I can't wait for her to reach the major milestones.. but on the other hand, I wish she would stay cute and totally dependent on me. Selfish thought? I bet all mothers think that way.

Recently, she has begun to touch her toes and feet and is successful most of the time. Sometimes she will get so frustrated because she can only touch one foot and not the other. It is amusing to see her like that... but it's all part and parcel of learning isn't it?

Anyway, she rolled over officially on 20th July!! She did it twice on the same day. The days before that she kept sleeping late because she simply wanted to roll! She couldn't stop and stayed up till 11am. Even when she woke up for her night feed, she would want to roll. Finally after she rolled on that morning, she was so happy. Of course, I rewarded her with hugs and kisses and words of encouragement. I am so proud of my darling!

She has also started to express preference for toys, eagerly reaching out for toys she likes and promptly put them into her mouth. The Tigger, plastic ball, elephant rattle are amongst the toys she likes the most. When i carry her by supporting her bum and dance in front of the mirror, she reaches out for the white rabbit that hops like a chicken. It's so fun to see her show her likes and dislikes. For instance, she likes it whe I carry her and dance in front of the mirror and when I tickle her by nudging her ribs. She also likes to do tummy time on my tummy but only if i sing to her! She simply loves song and dance.... Oh yes, she now talks to Tigger.. literally just having a conversation.

Oh yes, she doesn't like to be swaddled already and we didn't even do any weaning. She simply didn't want it over the last few weeks and voila! No more swaddle. She does, however, like the pillow that V bought.. it gives her a sense of assurance and probably has her smell. Now to get her to sleep, I put the pillow over her chest and sing the song 'Pass It On' to her. It helps her sleep and soothes her. Certainly works wonders!!

This saturday we are going to take her for a swim! I can't wait to see how she reacts to it. We filled a soft tub last week with warm water and let her kick around but because there wasn't enough water, it wasn't really like swimming.

Time flies when you have a baby to entertain everyday

Wow! Time flies.. Sherrie is now 4 months old and 1 week old! I cannot believe where the time has gone.. and slowly it is building up to the day when I have to put her with the bbsitter. I am going to have Sherrie withdrawal syndrome come Aug 3. Though I will be glad to have more time to myself to go shopping (for office clothes) and clearing some things in the house, I will miss her terribly. She is suuuppper cute! Heehee.

Anyway, her milk rash has cleared so I'm v happy. She went for her jabs again and the doc prescribed some steriod cream and all it needed was one application and it cleared! I was so amazed. And we had been putting aloe vera and rice water for so long and it had been taking forever.. i wondered when i'll see the beautiful skin she should be having instead of the nasty rash. Yeah...

She hasn't rolled from back to front but if i put her on her tummy she can roll to her back, with lots of effort and protests. She is very 'teh' and 'manja', often letting out whiny sounds and looking at me with those eyes, beseeching me to carry her up. But i'm naughty - I usually let her try her utmost before I carry her up.. This often results in her crying. Oops! This mummy bullies her daughter...

Since we went to the pediatrician, we weighed her. She is now 7.2kg and 64cm tall! Doc says she's in the 75 percentile for her weight and 50 percentile for her height. That doesn't sound too bad to me! She is growing well and looking lovelier everyday. Her legs are so squeezable, almost like stress balls!

Her latest favourite activity is touching her knees and calf. I think she is trying to reach for her toes and feet. So much so that she will hang on to her knees while I change her diaper and when she is playing till there are small little red finger marks from all that pressing. It's really funny! She also hangs on very tightly to me when she is being held against my body, leaving those same finger marks on my skin. Sometimes she grabs the area around my neck, almost like she's strangling me. Must be getting back at me for making her work so hard during tummy time.

That said, her neck is getting stronger and she is also bearing some weight on her legs. She enjoys trying to control those neck muscles... and we've been encouraging her by putting her in the bumbo. She doesn't sit there for long but at least she can sit up without us supporting her and get a good view of the surroundings.

Over the weekend, we took her out quite a bit. On fri we wanted to eat kway chap but V ended up coming back a little late (long queue la...) and so we just went to the central to ta pow our fav hawker fare - chwee kuay, xiao wan mian, bachang for dinner. I was craving some sushi so that went into our dinner too. We also borrowed 2 dvds - Revolutionary Road and Slumdog Millionaire. The 2 movies were excellent and I enjoyed them thoroughly... though we had to stay up late to wach them and now I think i'm more tired over the weekend than the weekday! On Sat we brought her to che doo's place (he's out of town but we went there anyway) so that Mama could see Sherrie. KJ and family came and we bought durians over. We had fun and she was so cooperative!! (As usual, going out she has no problem, but the moment we went home she made a fuss) On Sunday we went to try out western food at Lorong Ah soo (Western Chow - not something i'd return for) and went to Ah Ma's place. What a weekend!! She enjoyed all the outings.

Oh yes, we've tried out the diapers from bumwear. So far so good.. they are a little bulky but look nice on her... make her butt look a bit big but the fleece is so soft. Of cos since they're not absorbent like the disposables she needs to be changed almost immediately when she poos or pees. Which I guess isn't a bad thing cos then she won't get diaper rash.

Ok it's the start of Week 20 and i'm looking forward to the surprises she's going to throw me. :)

Rolling over?

Sherrie tried very hard this morning to roll over front to back and we tried to encourage her by smiling and clapping well done when she did a 3/4 roll. It was so gratifying to see that she was trying so hard.. even though she got a bit frustrated, she rested for awhile before starting again. I'm glad my baby doesn't give up easily. I'm confident she will roll over soon - it better not be on the changing table during a diaper change though! haha..

She is certainly growing very fast. She can now hold the red ball firmly in her hands and wave it about.. she can also throw it away if she wants to. Also, her hands are now her favourite toy. She tries to put her whole hand in her mouth and if that doesn't work, then it will be her thumb or fingers. And she takes great pleasure in doing so, such that if you take them out of her mouth while she is sucking, she will wail and throw a fuss. And believe me, that's not something you want to hear or try pacifying. The sucking noises she makes are so loud that it can almost wake us up during the night.

I believe she is also growing out of her swaddle.. almost literally. Two of them given by our friends are really getting too small for her and with her strength and wiggling she almost always breaks free of it. Sometimes we wake in the middle of the night to see her hands waving about. Haha... I guess soon we won't swaddle her - problem is when we don't do it, she will try to pull the milk bottle out of her mouth and cry immediately when that is done

. And when we don't, she can't sleep on her own and stay asleep for long... meaning more tiring afternoons and nights! How to stop? I guess she will find her own way to do so and i' shouldn't worry.

Oh yes, we've started carrying her by her armpits and putting her against our chests. She likes it and we can now carry her in the baby carrier. Although a little troublesome to put her in it, it's so comfy that she can fall asleep in it. That's what she did when we went to the Botanic Gardens yesterday and we felt so bad to have to take her out of it to put her back in the car seat. The trip was really enjoyable, and we will definitely do it again. On the same note, she is also abel to sit unsupported against the pillow on our bed. Can't wait for her to be able to sit up on her own.

I notice that Sherrie is very attentive when we read to her so we've started borrowing books for her to read to her. She likes the big attractive pictures and funny noises that some books have in their text. She literally laughs and chuckles to her self. And of course, we laugh along. Anyway, i'm going to try to read a new book to her everyday and then repeat.

Having fun with Sherrie

I am having so much fun with Sherrie! Having had 2 weeks with her for almost 12 whole hours a day (Without assistance) seemed almost daunting to me, but it turned out quite well. I guess through it all, I got to know her even better. She learns so many new things that I can't quite keep up to update.

As of 2 weeks ago, she weighs 6.2 kg and is 61cm long. When I look at her in the rocker, she has certainly filled it out and now when I unswaddle her she is arching her back because she wants to have more space to flip flop about. She sways her hands with determination and raises her legs to indicate that she'd much rather be on her playground. I think very soon we gotta donate the rocker :P

She has also grown much stronger. She can now come out of the swaddle by herself through squirming about and before you know it, you see her hands flying in the air or palms up next to her face. She even had a small scratch on her face cos it happened before I had done her weekly trimming of nails (these nails grow too fast on such small fingers!). So now I really have to tighten the swaddle much to her discomfort.

Besides putting her hands in her mouth, she can now quite confidently grasp objects and hold them in her hands. She can also bat the ones that she likes.. for now, she likes the toy that Lynette bought her and the Barney that my brother-in-law got for her. Of course, she can also throw them when she is frustrated with them. She has learnt to grab her own shirt and her thighs as well, leaving marks in her flesh. Oh yes, she has also learnt to remove her own pacifier. Talk about independence and determination! I intend to wean her off her pacifier at about 6 months. Hopefully she will be receptive to it.

I think she will roll over soon. When playing on the gym, she keeps trying to twist and turn but hasn't gotten the knack of it yet. Her head and bum still remain parallel to the ground but she tries furiously to twist her back and waist to turn to the left. She really tries so hard that i'm so proud of her. I think in 2 weeks time she would be able to flip to the left side already....

Her sounds and reactions have also changed. For instance, she now screams with delight when happy.. She also now laughs at things and smiles at familiar faces. She loves looking at herself in the mirror because she thinks its another baby looking at her. She promptly smiles when she sees her reflection. It's so cute to see the deliberate smile!! I must take a picture of her doing so.

Oh yes, now I can lift her by her armpits as her head is much stronger. Of course we still need to support her neck but it really is much easier to lift her up. The next stage would be for her to sit up on her own. I am really looking forward to it!!

Add-ons

I forgot to add that Sherrie has the recent new developments:

1. She has started putting her fingers and whatever she can grab into her mouth!

2. She squeals when she's happy, and the squeals are full of air.

3. She thumps her legs at night when she's wet, dirty or wants milk. Then she starts to make sounds. The thumping wakes V and I up cos she literally raises the legs high up in the air and then lets them down onto the mattress with a force.

:) One more pic of my darling.

Sherrie is 3 months old!

Sherrie went for her 5-in-1 jabs on Monday this week, meaning that she is now 3 months old! She is 60cm and a good 6.2kg. The ped commented that she is a good weight and is eating very well. I am so thankful! In fact, i couldn't ask for a better baby. Sure, after the jab she got a bit feverish and had a fretful Tuesday but other than that, she really is great. Like this morning, I couldnt' get to bed after expressing milk at 4am and when V left for work at 745 I wondered how I was going to last the day with so little sleep. I spoke nicely to Sherrie and persuaded her to let me sleep so that i can take better care of her. I put her on my bed next to me and patted her till both of us fell asleep, till 10am! Thank goodness she responded to my patting. When i woke up, she didn't even cry.. Her hands had come out of her swaddle and she was looking patiently at me. It's not the first time this has happened! She really is a sweetie.

On the

developmental side, she has started to grab things and hold them with her fingers. Now she enjoys putting her hands together, almost as if she is praying! And she will hold the Eeyore and the ball because they produce sounds when she squeezes them or throws them. She is also good at footsie... hehe, yes when I place the ball in between her legs, she will move them and can almost balance them! She enjoys it because of the rustling sound (thanks to the squishing of the plastic in the ball). She also does it to the Eeyore, only there is a bell inside.

V has bought a Itouch and downloaded baby flashcards! It is so interactive and comprises 2000 words. It is colourful and educational and Sherrie loves to look at it. She will listen intently when I read the words to her, just like when I read the book to her. I can't wait to read them to her again later when she wakes up.

Her head control is getting better.. Her tummy time is fantastic and she can hold it up at least 2 mins. Of course, some days are better than others because she has more energy, but i think it must be very hard to do that for a baby; and very tiring too. Everytime after she does tummy time, she is tired and starts crying.. promptly after that, she goes to sleep.. hehe, this mommy has found a way to make her baby sleep! Another development is that when we carry her in her swaddle, she will lift up her own head to look around instead of just leaning on our arms. Of course she doesn't do it all the time, but she has begun to do it quite often.. It is so cute to see her do that.

The sounds she produces these days are so adorable. I have reached the stage when I can more or less tell what kind of sounds they are. There are the hungry sounds, tired sounds, whining sounds, teh pau sounds, happy gleeful gurgles and coos and of cos, the wailing. These few days however, she has started saying 'uh uh uh' and quite loud at that! I'm still trying to figure out that one. Haha... The good thing is that i've recorded these sounds and I'm sure time to come i will cherish these delightful tunes. Oh yes, she enjoys talking to V since he only comes back at night and literally she will make these sounds continuously for 10 mins, as if to make up for lost time. The other day, I put her on V's side of the bed to swaddle her up and she promptly started talking! Haha... i think she could smell him and thought he was near.

Physically, since she has grown in length, some of her clothes cannot fit her already. We might have to soon buy new clothes for homewear. She has lots of gif

ts from people and i think she will slowly take her time to wear them when we go out. They are not so convenient for home wear, but look nice when outside. Some of the clothes are long sleeved - not so practical for S'pore weather. It is getting increasingly hot and humid and thank goodness for aircon!!

Oh yes, we went to meet up with a nanny (through an agency) and she seems nice. I'm planning to put Sherrie with her full time from 730am to 730pm everyday so that I can slowly go back to work. Initially I had planned to go back when the 4 months was up, on half load, but after considering the amount of work I might have to do, and the fact that my milk supply will most definitely dwindle when I go back, V and I have made a joint decision that I will extend 2 months to complete breastfeeding. At least I would have done my duty. I will still continue after that, for as long as I can cope with it.. seriously, pumping aint' fun.

I am looking forward to the next stage for her - rolling over, sitting up, eating solids.. it will be so exciting! And I cannot wait.

Sherrie is learning to lift up her head!

Yes! My baby is doing well during tummy time.. we put her on her time once or twice a day and she enjoys the challenge of lifting up her head and chest. Her neck is very strong and it certainly gives me great pleasure to see her trying so hard. Of course, we put Tigger (her fav toy) in front of her and she is trying to see Tigger. Other toys she likes are the Orang utan, the red/white/black ball, eeyore and pooh and the pinwheel! She can stare at the pinwheel going round and round for ages because it not only moves, but is so colourful!!

She has more awake time these days and I try to make the most of them by reading to her.. from the 1001 words book. She is very attentive when I read to her, almost as if she understands... and it's like being a teacher once again, only this time, there is so much motivation on my part to explain all the different words to her. She is a good listener and hardly gets distracted. She has also started gurgling and cooing and they are incredibly delightful sounds. I love hearing her!! I've even recorded some of the sounds on my phone. She has also learnt to make sounds for when she's having fun, wants attention and when she's tired. She even 'shouted' the other day when I walked away from her. She is really developing very fast.

She has also grown alot. I believe she is now almost 6 kg and from the looks of it, 70 cm already. I mean, her feet are almost touching the end of the car seat. Soon, she won't be able to use it!! And we will have to buy a bigger one. No wonder people say babies are an investment...they grow out of things so quickly!

The other night we brought her out to Che Alan's house (12 May) and on the way home, she started to smack her lips and dribble saliva. Something new again! When I read online, i discovered these may be early signs of her being on her way to teeth. I don't think her teeth will come out anytime soon, but dribbling are early early signs of the process. I do hope it's not too painful for her... Can't imagine how it's going to be like breastfeeding though.

She has also started to poop less, but larger quantities each time. It's very cute cos we can almost tell/predict when she's going to poop. Not quite so good with the pee yet though... but once we sort of know, we will put her on cloth diapers some times.. this will not only help her to be toilet trained faster but also save us money - may generate more work for me though.. but it's worth a try methinks. :)

I'm not sure when she will roll over - am very excited to see this happen. They say it happens around 3 months!! I can't wait. I think she will find it very fun.. and so will i!! Already looking at her do her mini push ups is very cute. Oh yes, she loves to kick and if we offer resistance she likes to kick even harder.. she is a strong gal. Must be the lots of breastmilk she is drinking!!

Sherrie slept thru the night!

Yes! My dear Sherrie slept thru the night the past 2 nights.. resulting in wonderful rested sleep (though I still hv to get up to pump.. at least she is not wailing for milk in the middle of the night)! V is happy that maybe, just maybe, the night duty is coming to an end.. it has been tough on him as he also has to work in the day. But he has been wonderful - as my relatives say, almost a PRO! Heh... I should seriously consider persuading him to be a house husband.

Anyhow, since i last wrote, Sherrie has learnt how to grap onto toys and has been spending alot more time playing. She loves just to hear me tell her stories or sitting in her rocker looking at the mobile. I tell her stories about the 4 animals that are on the mobile. Somehow, i think she will get bored soon. I also play with her in the Disney Discovery gym, hanging many colourful things above her for her to hit and to touch.

We have also cut her fingernails! It is rather challenging cos she doesn't like it and keeps moving around. Yesterday I only managed to cut one side, so today we shall attempt the 2nd side. We also dressed her up in a cute Minnie mouse hat and she looked sooo cute!

Oh yes, we took her out last weekend to Ikea, around 1030am in the morning, when it wasn't so crowded. She was well behaved and allowed us to eat lovely meatballs and fried fish for lunch. After that, while we walked around to look for things to decorate her room, she sat relatively quietly in the stroller. Of course, after a while, she grew restless and we gave her the pacifier. That worked and she went off to sleep, continuing to do so when we arrived home.

Last night, we went to Koko's house and she was so alert and curious.. Constantly looking around and even allowing everyone to carry her! Mama was so happy to be able to put her on her lap... Even che doo carried her! She really allows anyone to carry her... Isn't that lovely? She didn't cry alot at all.. In fact, she just sat quietly, looking around and taking in the new environment. V and i conclude that the reason she cries at home must be due to boredom (partially..). We agreed that we would try to make her room more stimulating so that she can have many things to look at. Maybe then she won't cry too much.

On another note, i've grown to recognise her cries and her behaviour. For instance, when she cries when feeding, she either has wind or pooped/peed. In which case, I would either burp her or check her diaper. Most of the time I am right as to which is the cause! Also, now I know that after she has fed, she'd like to stay awake - it's not a cue that she wants more milk... she wants to play! So I would put her to play in the gym or on the rocker or walk her around the house, telling her a story or singing songs to her. She loves music! Only after that, she will drift off to sleep.

Now i understand what it's like to enjoy the day with Sherrie. She is really growing very fast! She has started to coo, smile, gurgle and make cute sounds! I can't really imitate them but they are so adorable! We put her on a mat next to the both of us and she was so excited.... looking around and wiggling her legs! After playing with her for quite some time, all 3 of us fell asleep until she woke us up when she awoke. That was so cool! :)

She is now 7 weeks.. Soon she will be 2 months old! Wow! We would have survived a month without the confinement nanny and found some kind of routine. Am glad that things are working out....... :)

The real test

The confinement nanny has left.. meaning i'm on my own now. Today is the first day at home alone with baby. It has been an exhausting morning, but once she settled to sleep, thank goodness I managed to sneak in a nap and a shower.

The morning started with a feed. She did well, drinking up the 110ml very quickly. I was amazed when I put the teat to her mouth and she wanted more. AFter heating another 30 ml for her to drink, she seemed satisfied, but I could smell that she had a poop. I quickly brought her to be changed... As I was changing her, more poop came out and some of it almost hit the bed! Then as i was so caught up changing her diaper, I did not notice that she had thrown up some milk and it had flowed back into her clothes. I had to change her clothes then and wash her hair as it was covered in milk. When I thought all was done, she refused to nap even with my patting, so I had to feed her some more... She took 90 ml and then dozed off for an hour. During that one hour, i had to pump out my milk and heat up my lunch. Before I knew it, she was up crying again.. This time she had soiled her diaper again and spilt milk on her clothes!! I had to change her again. I had just about changed her when she spilt more milk onto the new top... so i had to change her top again!! After that, she looked hungry so she finished the remaining 20 ml in her bottle.

I put her into her rocker for a nap but she refused. I really wanted to cry!! Why was she not sleeping? the last choice resort was to put her to the breast. She took the breast for about 10 mins and dozed off again. I thought she would go to bed then... but it lasted barely 10-15 mins..... In the end i held her in my arms until she slept before putting her in the rocker. Thank goodness that worked! She has been sleeping from 2pm till now (4.30pm). I managed to sneak in a nap and even read the news on the net. Now as I write this post, i hear her moving next to me... it's going to start again!

Oh well... anyway, life as a full time mom is really not easy... though everytime I look at her I cannot help but smile. Give me strength to continue! here's her most recent picture. Ain't she cute?

Baby learns to read

Yes, i know it's still early days yet but who's to say we shouldn't be educating Sherrie everyday? She is a smart gal and i think it doesn't hurt to talk to her and teach her things. So far, we've been using toys to teach her things, primarily those that are red, black and white. Babies see best in contrasting colours so it's good to let her play with toys that have these colours.











On the educational side, V bought her a little children's bible and over the weekend, we got her some music CDs and a 1001 word book. Of course, you might say we are kiasu, but the pictures in the book are lovely and thematic.. making it easy to tell her a story during play time. She has play time normally between 4-6pm in the evenings. She enjoys the playtime. Actually I wonder how much time she should spend sleeping and how much time for playing.. i guess I will figure out as we go along.












The confinement nanny will be leaving this Sunday and i'm rather apprehensive as to whether I'll be able to cope. Mum has agreed to help out in the afternoons and we are going to get a part time maid for the housework. Also, probably going to order tengkat food for meals since cooking is probably out of the question. Koko has also kindly called and asked me to call her if i need assistance.

The thing i'm most afraid to do is to bathe her. But, i should have confidence. The nanny says she will teach me how to bathe her tomorrow so i'm back to being a student again; albeit for a very different kind of education! I'm looking forward to it (the learning, i mean) and hopefully by the time she leaves this Sunday, i can do it on my own. I suspect the first few times I would need another person to be around, just to be safe.

Sherrie's started on the bottle and somehow takes very long to finish her milk. She was being spoon fed the past 3 weeks but kept whining throughout the feeding. Spoon feeding involves having to press down her tongue to ensure she swallows her milk.. but being lazy, she always keeps it in her mouth. Try to put in some more and out it will come. Now with the bottle, I had hoped for less crying.. which worked, but she is taking twice the amount of time to feed. We will have to ensure she learns to suck faster.. or i will be spending all day feeding her.

Also, i bought a pumping bra from Mums & Babes but it's a little on the tight side that when i put the pump head on, it sucks so much of my nipple and areola in that it hurts so bad after i finish pumping. I must try to sell it online.

Week 2-3

Staying at home is unusual for me. Usually i'd be at work from 830 to 6 and be home only in the evenings. With the arrival of Sherrie, my life has really changed. I'm up bright and early, around 6.30am - for her first feed and i take intermitten naps throughout the day to recharge for the night.

In the previous post, i mentioned having engorgement, which affected my breastfeeding. The past 2 weeks have been better, with frequent pumping and feeding of Sherrie. Milk supply has gone up a bit and i'm feeling more at ease with being a Mom. Of course, looking at Sherrie and playing with her makes it all worthwhile.

In the past 2 weeks, Sherrie has grown more alert, frequently opening her eyes to observe the surroundings. She especially likes looking at lights and Eeyore. Yes, Eeyore. My cousin Alex bought her a Disney Discovery gym and she lay on it one day and couldn't stop looking at Eeyore. Here's a picture of her on the gym. See the Eeyore on the left? Here she is looking at me as i take her photo. She is certainly responsive.

Oh yes, she enjoys waving her hands about as if she is dancing, prompting me to ask her what song she has in her mind....

I really enjoy playing and talking to her. She may not be able to say Yes or no, but she looks at me with those innocent eyes and makes facial expressions that i don't make and it's all so cute! For e.g. she curves her mouth into an 'o' shape and opens her eyes big as if to say 'wow! is that my mommy?' and i just want to snuggle close to her. Feeding time is precious to me... i enjoy burping her and looking at her as she is nuzzling on my breast. She likes to multi-task i.e. drink milk and look around at the same time. As i bf her in my room, she stares at my wedding picture hung above the bed. Maybe she's wondering why mommy looks so big, especially my eyes.

At times when she is not playing, she is either feeding or sleeping. In order to recharge for the time I will be looking after her full time, I let the nanny feed her for most of the day, by spoon. this is to avoid nipple confusion. However, i think we will soon have to introduce the bottle. I'm afraid this might mean the end of her nuzzling my breast, but for practical reasons (V will feed her at night), I may have no choice. This doesn't mean she will stop drinking my milk; she will just drink it through bottle. As it is, she only likes to drink from my breast when the milk flow is fast. Otherwise, she will pull away from the breast. She is one smart cookie!

Here are more pictures of her and what she does most (as most babies do)...











The confinement nanny will leave soon. I am wondering how i'm going to cope being on my own. I think things will be fine... Sherrie's basically quite easy to manage. She likes to be fed full and then she will either sleep or be awake, but she won't cry. The other times she cries are when she is hot and sweaty, had a poop/pee or simply wants to be cuddled to sleep. Isn't that what she all want? :)

A baby is born

Day 1
Sherrie arrived into this world on Friday, 6th March, at 7.40am, through C-section. Sherrie was estimated to be 3.7kg at birth and because of an uncooperative cervix, she could not be naturally delivered. I don't think that it would have been wise to try and end up in an emergency situation.

She cried the moment she was lifted out of the womb... taken to be wiped down and wrapped in a towel before she was placed in my chest. Daddy was there through the surgery (I opted for epidural: I was awake through the surgery) and was very supportive. When she was placed on my chest, it was such a joy and the first thing we noticed were her puffy cheeks! And was she rosy... I wonder if all that birds nest helped... The anaesthetist helped us to take photos and Sherrie left with Daddy to be properly swaddled and weighed. She turned out to be 3.740kg (as predicted). What a big baby!

I was wheeled to a recovery room and shortly back to the room to rest. Sherrie had to be monitored till her temperature stabilised and that took about 2-3 hours. Meanwhile Mum, Dad and Koko came to visit and since I had just gone through the op, I was on a drip and had my legs still slightly tingling from the epidural. Tired as I was, I was looking forward to seeing Sherrie.

She was wheeled into my room around 2pm and I got to breastfeed her for the first time. Though there was no colostrum yet, it was so warm to feel her suckling on my breast. The rest of the day whizzed by with Sherrie being wheeled in for feeding and bonding.

Day 2
Staying in a single-bed ward was the best decision we made. It gave us privacy and lots of space. We could even surf the net in the room. V could also stay over and be my support through the nights.

With the morphine wearing off, the wound started to hurt and it was not as easy getting out of bed. To help the recovery, the hospital provided an abdominal binder to hold the wound tightly together so that I could walk around more easily. While a little troublesome, it did help considerably.

Over the day, I learnt various ways of breastfeeding Sherrie - football hold, cross cradle hold etc. It was really interesting to see which hold was the easiest for me. I think most people like the cradle hold because the baby is right against the chest.

Sherrie opened one of her eyes today and we were so excited to see whether she would open both at the same time. We couldn't tell for sure if she had double eyelids or dimples (from Daddy) but she sure had the chubbiest rosy cheeks. She was also a loud wailer (not good for our ears) but it was always for a valid reason. She was either hungry, had wind in her tummy or pooped/pee-ed. At least there was a reason and she was not jus throwing a tantrum.

That night, we opted for Sherrie to have glucose water so that I could rest - a decision I regret now. Because of that, i didn't get up to feed and the next morning awoke with swollen breasts. I had read about engorgement but didn't know that the breasts would actually feel like rock melons.

Sherrie had a bit of jaundice and had to be put under the light to reduce the jaundice. However, the doc said that she would likely be able to go home with me because it was mild.

Day 3
We attended a bath talk to revise how to bathe baby and breastfeed and through the talk my breasts keep getting harder and harder. When i went back up to the ward, i requested for help from a lactation consultant or someone to massage my breasts because of the pain I was in. Thank goodness for a nurse who helped me massage and put cold cabbage on them to reduce the swelling.

Sherrie was also my heroine. She would, over the night, be wheeled in to help me clear the engorgement. What i didn't know was that the engorgement inadvertently prevented her from suckling efficiently on my breast and getting much milk at all. Oh yes, this day, Sherrie opened both her eyes and we were all so delighted. She is really cute!!! We also discovered that she loved being swaddled tightly, but also enjoyed sticking her hands out through the swaddle. She had a strong grip and strong kicking legs (exactly like in pregnancy).

Day 4
Leaving the hospital was tough! In the hospital, I could wheel baby away when i neede to rest.. but at home, i had to hear her cry whenever she was either wet, hungry or tired. It was heartbreaking. We were met at home by the confinement nanny and the agent. Ying jie would be spending the next 28 days at our home, taking care of baby, doing laundry and cooking for us. It would be a good transition from the hospital. What we ddin't know, was that I STILL had engorged breasts and a baby with insatiable hunger.

V had to go buy more stuff for the nanny to cook and so i took a nap while Sherrie slept (well, not for long). The rest of the day passed relatively quickly, with reality sinking in that this was going to my life for the next 4 months.

That night had to be the hardest night ever. Sherrie kept crying and ying jie told us that she was hungry. I was determined to breastfeed and she brought Sherrie to us. Yet after each feed, I was exhausted, but Sherrie was not satisfied. She kept wanting more. Desperate and sore (nipples), we took out the breast pump, thinking we could express some milk for her. However, cos I was still engorged, we got only 1 or 2 drops and worse still, cos the nipple was cracked, there was also some blood. It was painful! We called the TMC hotline and they suggested to hand express. When we tried that, again, only 1 drop came out. Hardly enough for my lovely Sherrie. As a result, she cried all night and we hardly slept.

Day 5
We made an appointment with TMC Parentcraft to find out what was the problem. I didn't know i was still engorged, thinking it was a latching problem. When i arrived, the lady told me that the engorgement was quite deep and needed alot of massage to remove it. In fact, she put me on a regime of Cabbage-massage-feed-pump. Sherrie came along each time because I thought it was a latching problem... and cos she started to cry there, they had to feed her formula. She promptly drank down 60 ml of the milk and quietened down. That was when we discovered that she had a great appetite. She was only 5 days old. That morning, we went back with cabbage on my breasts and bottles of formula for my darling (so we wouldn't hv another sleepless night).

I had to return to TMC that afternoon because the problem was still there. Believe me, i didn't really look forward to it because the massage was so painful. But i really wanted to settle the problem and feed Sherrie with as much breastmilk as possible. When we were there, Mrs Wong Boh Boi, lactation consultant and our antenatal class teacher, found Sherrie very cute and in her words, 'eh sai jia' (hokkien for 'edible'). She promptly asked V whether Sherrie could be part of a photo shoot for her new book. Of course, we agreed. We were asked to bring her back the next day... she could go for the shoot while I could continue my massage treatment.

Day 6
Back at TMC again.. The breasts were getting better and I could pump out about 20 ml for Sherrie. But it was not good enough. I still had to continue with the regime and look sadly while Sherrie drank formula again. I guess it was a no choice situation - I'd rather she have milk than go hungry. As she spent many hours at the photo shoot and probably used up a lot of energy, she consumed almost 3 60 ml bottles, leaving Mrs Wong to remark that i had a big eater on my hands... Sadly, mummy here was not a big supplier at the time....

The photo shoot for her new book was interesting and the photographer took many lovely photos of her. They would call us to pick up the CD once they had settled all the photos. I hope we also get a copy of the book she's writing.. Sherrie is a star even before she made it to 1 week! As mummy, I'm proud of her! Anyhow, the ladies at the photo shoot were gushing over her and wanted to ta pow her home. I said they could whenever she cried. hahaha.... Kidding, of course. Who would want to give her up? She is incredibly sweet and cute. But i am biased of course.

Day 7
We had to go bk to TMC again.. this time not for engorgement. The breasts were getting softer with V's massage at night. It was tiring for him, having to be back at work and wake up in the middle of the night to pump milk and massage my swollen breasts. However, thank goodness for his strength because the breasts became much softer. Of course, i still had to follow the regime, even sleeping with cabbage and waking up to remove it by setting the alarm.

We were back at TMC for the pediatric appointment and to register her birth. Sherrie weighed 3.755kg, only slightly heavier than when she left.. probably cos she just fed. We had brought along some formula and picked up 40 ml of breastmilk from TMC... as contingent. We ended up taking longer than expected cos we wanted her to do a metabolism test so the two milk items saved our lives! I also had to go to the nursing room to feed her before we went home. She was certainly a big eater.

Her name on the birth cert is Sherrie Chan Mei Yan (Chen Mei Xin). I am a proud mummy.