Bible Verse of the Day

December 2006

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Christmas in our Hearts…

December 18, 2006 in Celebrations, Christianity, Ethan, Growing Up, Parenting | No comments

Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la…!!!

With Christmas about a week away, we are all in a Christmassy mood now. Festive decorations adorn the malls, Christmas trees are sprouting out everywhere and Christmas carols are played 24/7, transforming the hot and humid Penang into a “winter wonderland” of sorts.This year’s Christmas will mark Ethan’s very first Christmas and we intend to make it as memorable as possible, for him and of course, for us too. The layman would easily associate Christmas with presents, and although we too visited the newly opened Queensbay Mall to complete our Christmas shopping, we would like to eventually inculcate the understanding of the true meaning of Christmas to Ethan.

Christmas isn’t Christmas till it happens in your heart, so the song goes. So really, the presents we exchange during Christmas merely represents the wonderful act of giving and sharing from the heart, which form the essence of Christmas: LOVE. I expect that Ethan would be thrilled with the presents he’d receive each Christmas from now on, but in the years to come, I hope and endeavor to draw his attention to that lonely manger in Bethlehem, many, many years ago where the very first Christmas was celebrated with the birth of Jesus Christ. That was where Christmas started and will forever stay in our hearts.

Well, as a start, I have been singing him Christmas carols almost every day now: Joy to the World, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, O Come All Ye Faithful….you name it, I’ve sung it. I do it all the time, while changing him, while nursing him or even when riding in the car with him… I’m glad he is enjoying my renditions…maybe cos I have a sweet voice.. ahem!

We will be spending Christmas Eve in Taiping (Pete’s hometown) and Christmas Day in Ipoh (my hometown). I know everyone is looking forward to Christmas this year. So are we.

Being a Moomie

December 14, 2006 in Breastfeeding, Ethan | No comments

In essence, the majority of people in our community are still ill-informed when it comes to breastfeeding. Despite efforts to promote breastfeeding amongst new mothers (especially), many are still in the dark about this beautiful bonding practice, which ought to come as second nature to all mothers.A common problem we hear people have is whether or not the mother “has enough milk” for the baby. In fact, several days ago, this very same topic came up among my breastfeeding group at work about why some mothers claim that they do not have enough milk to breastfeed their babies.

With all due respect, I DO NOT believe the authenticity of this claim. I believe that all mammals will certainly have the ability to produce milk and breastfeed their babies. In the same vein, humans, being mammals, WILL have enough milk to provide for their babies. For those who claim they do not, there will surely be a good enough reason why they eventually can’t.

Some of the reasons why the “not enough milk” mentality came about:

  • Failure to nurse baby on demand: a newborn demanding milk every hour or so is wrongly “believed” to be “still hungry” and hence, formula is introduced. Breastfeeding works on a supply-and-demand concept. When there is demand (from baby), there will be supply.
  • Not drinking enough water
  • Lack of confidence. Off and on, I meet pregnant women with whom I would ask “Are you going to breastfeed?” An answer along the lines of “See la, if I have enough milk…” shows that they are ill-informed and do not have the confidence to breastfeed fully. From the onstart, one must already have the confidence and think and KNOW that they can breastfeed exclusively.
  • Being told that one does not have enough milk

A common misconception is that all mothers will NATURALLY (read:automatically) produce sufficient milk for their babies, when this in fact, is not true at all. All breastfeeding mothers, including myself, can confidently attest that breastfeeding takes a LOT of effort, countless sleep-deprived nights and persistence. Oh, and how could I forget the support of the people close to me?

Ethan is now 10 months old and I am extremely proud of myself for being so persistent and perseverant in exclusively breastfeeding him. My 6-month target for breastfeeding was altered to a respectable 1-year target when he was about 3 months’ old. And now that I have about 1.5 more months to go to reach the 1-year breastfeeding contract with Ethan, I can’t help but consider a contract extension. After all, if I have the ability to give him the best, why should I settle for less?

Shop and Breastfeed

December 13, 2006 in Breastfeeding, Ethan, Shopping | No comments

A shopping mall is never complete without the inclusion of a breastfeeding/nursing room. Going shopping with Ethan tagging along is a breeze because for a breastfeeding mommy, we didn’t need to tote along milk bottles, milk powder, bottle warmers and whatnot. So when the all-new Queensbay Mall opened in Penang just about a week ago, checking out the breastfeeding room was top on my list of priorities.I was pleasantly amazed at the thought that was put in into creating a very conducive environment for nursing mothers. There were 3 rooms available, all privately enclosed by draw-curtains (having a door would be better, but this would do anyway), 3 diaper-changing stations, a sink and a hot and cold water dispenser. There were also 2 sofas provided in the lounge area, presumably for daddies to rest their weary legs or just to read the newspapers. I also thought it was a nice touch that they also hung posters promoting breastfeeding on the walls.

Alas, my excitement was short-lived as during my 3rd visit to the mall, we encountered someone who was quite unclear on the concept of the breastfeeding room. One of the 3 breastfeeding rooms was occupied by a guy and his kid, who was taking a snooze! Talk about insensitivity!

All I Want for Christmas…

December 12, 2006 in Celebrations, Ethan, Growing Up, Milestones | No comments

…is my 2 front teeth, my 2 front teeth, see my two front teeth?!!!

We are all familiar with how that song goes, but how many of us actually know someone who could actually relate to that song? This year, if only our Ethan boy can sing, that would be THE most appropriate song for him.

Last Saturday, we noticed a faint glimpse of white protruding through his top gums. That’s why methinks he is teething again (top two front teeth, nonetheless)… This would also explain the numerous times he wakes up at night. SIGH. It’s so heart wrenching to see him go through so much discomfort just to grow teeth…

Cheeky Lil’ Fella

December 11, 2006 in Ethan, Miscellanous | 1 comment

Ethan has yet again proven that he is one photogenic baby.Over the weekend, SIL (Ethan’s Koh-Koh) presented an early Christmas present to him: his first vehicle, which amazingly is a TRAIN! Anyway, this is a toy which is designed to aid baby in walking, something like a push-and-stride thingy.

Only to be used when baby is 12 months and up, it was no surprise that Ethan’s feet dangled above the ground when he sat on it. So he now just amuses himself with the buttons and sounds on this new gadget now.

We did manage to take a few shots of him on the toy train. Really really….and I mean REALLY cheeky shots. Whenever the camera got ready to capture the picture, Ethan would instantly flash a cheeky grin….without fail. Check them out:


Life’s Lessons

December 8, 2006 in Ethan, Parenting | No comments

Before we had Ethan, I was told that having kids would teach me patience. Well, apart from patience, Ethan has also taught us many priceless lessons. Some of the lessons serve merely as a reminder to us, as we may have forgotten them due to the humdrum of our daily routine and busy life.Perseverance
Better known as the “Never Say Die” attitude, Ethan exhibits this daily. Since becoming mobile, he is a champion at proclaiming this cause. For example, when he is free to roam on the living room floor, he will very rapidly crawl to our TV cabinet, move himself to standing position and watch TV – AT CLOSE RANGE! Of course, we’ll tell him “No, Ethan….don’t do that!” and carry him away from the TV back to the floor. But immediately he will move to the TV again. Same thing happens in his cot. He will grab the sides of it, stand up and start chomping on the cot ends, but not before he flashes a mischievous grin. His cot railings are covered with plastic protectors on both the lengths of the cot, but our incredibly “smart” boy will only chomp on the uncovered wooden ends! Affinity for wood, you’d think? Go ask the woodpecker/woodchuck…

Demonstrative
When you love someone, show it, right? Ethan shows affection by BITING.
I really honestly believe that he thinks that he is being affectionate when he bites and sucks my chin, shoulder, arm, finger and just yesterday night, my leg!!!

When all else fails, SMILE!
Ethan will still be smiling even though he has a fever or cough. His smile is so infectious that he makes us smile too. Thank you Ethan boy for reminding us of the power of a smile.

Parenting and parenthood is all about learning, I believe. It works both ways. Just as we impart knowledge to Ethan, in the same mysterious way, he teaches us wonderful things every day.

Ethan is 10 months old!

December 1, 2006 in Ethan, Milestones | No comments

Our Ethan boy is now 10 months’ old! Pete was just commenting that his age is now a 2-digit figure… heh. It seemed like just yesterday he was just a tiny bundle in my arms and now….he is Mr Bulat.Here’s a short report of how our boy has grown thus far:

Weight
8.6kg as of a week ago, should be about 8.7kg or so now

Height/Length
69.5cm as of 3 weeks ago, he should be at least 70cm by now.

Teeth
2 bottom central incisors

Motor Skills
• Crawling: Ethan is now able to crawl on his hands and knees, and it is his preferred mode of mobility as opposed to commando or bear crawling.
• Assisted Standing: Ethan can pull himself up to a supported standing position with tremendous ease and speed. His favorite areas for supported standing are:
o The TV cabinet
o Inside his cot
o Our leather sofa
o His Stand-up Ball Blast toy




• Waving: Ethan can wave bye-bye now, and sometimes does it “his” way, flapping both his arms and legs
• Pincer’s Grip: He can exhibit Pincer’s grip now with finesse. I first noticed him doing that when he began pulling his own ear lobe.
• “Pointing”: He can make his fingers in the shape of a pointer, but instead of pointing, he uses it to dig his nose (gasp!) and make blubbering sounds on his puckered lips!
• Cruising: Ethan can move from one end of the cot to the other whilst holding on to the cot railings.
• Sitting after Standing: Ethan is now able to lower himself to sitting position after he has stood for a while. Previously the poor guy will stand there and just didn’t know what to do next…

Communication & Social Skills
• Say Mum-mum-mum…., nen-nen-nen….. but sometimes just says it for the heck of it, not cos he is hungry. I think he calls me Mum-mum for now.
• Say Daddy (or something that vaguely sounds like it), and most of the time, actually refers to his Daddy when he says it! Yay Ethan! Well, sometimes it sounds like Dadada…..
• Other repetitive syllables: yayayaya……, wawawa…., etc.
• “Inform” us when he is about to pangsai or pangsai-ing by showing us his pangsai face:


Food
Ethan takes two solid meals a day of porridge (lunch and dinner). His porridge is cooked with some meat (chicken, fish or pork) and vegetables (spinach, lettuce, pumpkin, carrots, corn, etc).Sometimes I will give him some fruit in the evenings or some oats. During weekends, I occasionally give him a meal of breakfast too; usually it’s oats with EBM and some fruit (bananas, apples or pears).

Rollercoaster of a Week

December 1, 2006 in Ethan, Growing Up | No comments

The past week has been one of the most trying weeks ever.

Pete came down with a high fever and chronic cough on Sunday, visited the doctor, and we all stayed home while he recuperated. After 2 days, his fever finally subsided, but he was still coughing.

On Tuesday morning, Ethan had a slight fever and cough, so we gave him some paracetamol. I also took the second half of the day off to nurse him at home.

Wednesday afternoon: the baby sitter called me after lunch and told me that Ethan was having fever and wouldn’t take his milk. I rushed back home to get the paracetamol and then rushed straight to the sitter’s. We gave him a dose of paracetamol, although when I arrived, his body temperature felt normal to me. With this pattern of body temperature fluctuation, we decided to take Ethan to the night clinic at the hospital after work. Coincidentally, his pediatrician was on duty that night. She assured me that he just had a minor sore throat, so antibiotics were not necessary. She didn’t even prescribe cough medication and just told me to give the flu medication to soothe his throat, and paracetamol only if the body temperature is more than 38 degrees.

Thursday: both father and son were recovering well. Unfortunately, dear Mommy fell caught the flu bug. It was really inevitable given the fact that Ethan coughed and sneezed directly into my face all the while. I rested at home… well, whatever rest I managed to get, I did…let’s put it that way.

Friday: Daddy, Mommy and Ethan are on the high road to recovery. Yayyyy!!!

So yeah, it’s really been a rollercoaster of a week. On Wednesday, I was jokingly telling some of my friends that I had to look after two babies for the past couple of days. Ah well… I’m just grateful that God gave our family the strength to see us through our time of need.

Recently I came across this short story, which I feel is so poignant and it really touched me to the core, now that I am a parent myself:

When I was a new mom, I called my own mother one day to commiserate over how difficult parenting had been that week. My mother abruptly changed the subject and began talking about her golf game. She went on and on about her frustration with her game and how many times she has sworn she would never play another round. Just when I was about to ask her why she was ignoring my problem and talking about hers she said, “And then on the 18th hole you chip in one beautiful shot, and that makes you go out and play another entire round.” She continued, “Parenting is like that. You have a horrible day and think that you cannot take it one more day. And then as you tuck your ‘little monster’ into bed, she says, ‘I love you, Mommy,’ and you go out and parent another round.” She explained that I would forget most of the horror stories, but would remember the “I love you, Mommy” stories when all is said and done.

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