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Little Miracles · Ethan
Bible Verse of the Day

Ethan

All about Ethan

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.

Ethan vs Flu Bug

November 23, 2006 in Breastfeeding, Ethan | No comments

Last night my maternal instincts told me that Ethan was about to catch the flu. We gave him a quick bath anyways, and prepared him for bed. After dressing him up in his pjs, I breastfed him for his night cap. Normally he would take only 15 minutes tops and then he would be out like a light, but yesterday night, it took him 30 minutes to feed. He was drinking a LOT of milk! That was a sign that he was catching a virus.

He then awoke at sometime past midnight and I nursed him, as usual. His body felt slightly warm, so I prayed that it would return to normal after a while. However, after feeding, he refused to go back to bed in his cot, so I had to cuddle him as I sat slightly upright in bed, propped up by pillows. During the many times when he awoke during the night, I breastfed him and let him sleep, either in my arms or beside me on the bed. His body was still warmer than normal in the morning at 7:00a.m. when he woke up but when we took his temperature, it was only 36.1 degrees Celsius – probably cos he was wriggling all the while, and it was hard to keep the thermometer in his underarms. We then decided to take him to see the doc, just as a precaution.

Upon reaching the hospital, I felt that his body temperature had gone back to normal somewhat. To be completely honest, Ethan was looking very much like his normal self and not at all sick (the wonders of being a breastfed baby never cease to amaze me). The nurse at the registration desk asked if baby had fever, and I told her only this morning, not sure about now (for the record, all this while, Ethan was flashing the nurse a big wide grin). To be on the safe side, the nurse directed us to the Accident and Emergency department to have his temperature taken. Reading: 37.3 degrees.

Up we went to the doc’s clinic – after like an hour of waiting, we were finally ushered in. The doc said it was the beginning of a flu virus, but since he seemed happy, there was nothing to worry about. We were given Paracetamol but it was only to be administered if his temperature was 38 degrees and above.

We took him home, gave him a quick bath, fed him and he slept for most of the afternoon. I then prepared his dinner for him, which is what I like to call comfort food. When I was a little girl, I remember my Mom cooking comforting soupy stuff for me when I was not well. My version of comfort food for Ethan? Mee Suah with ground oats topped with lettuce and corn with that extra bit of yummy chicken. It was gobbled down with glee!

So who do you think won the battle between Ethan and the Flu Bug? You be the judge…

Photo taken at 7:19 p.m.

Photo taken at 7:21 p.m.

Birds of a Feather Flock Together

November 22, 2006 in Ethan, Growing Up | No comments

Yesterday, on the way back home, we made a detour to the Bel’Air Aromatherapy sales office to buy some Eucalyptus essential oil – I’m an aromatherapy lover and Ethan has been enjoying the benefits of aromatherapy since he was a newborn. Well, anyway, the lady manning the office is also a breastfeeding mom and her son is now 13 months’ old.

The moment Ethan saw the 13-month old boy, he got all excited and screamed with delight. Pete put Ethan down on the floor and immediately both Ethan and the other boy started crawling around, playfully socializing with each other. There was absolutely no sign of intimidation or shyness, just plain innocence and good clean fun! They both “spoke” to each other in their own baby language and were contented just to babble on and on.

It was such a joy to watch Ethan hang out with babies his age. He must be kinda deprived since most of the time he is around adults who don’t comprehend what he says…. Perhaps it is about time I start a playgroup?

Botak Head

November 18, 2006 in Ethan, Milestones | 1 comment

Ethan had his first hair cut today. We took him to the Brothers Hair Saloon at Sungai Dua in the morning (when he’s less fidgety and in more of a good mood) to do the honors.

First we brought him into the saloon to familiarize him with the surroundings. Since Pete was also due for a haircut, I carried Ethan while he watched the skillful barber cut Daddy’s hair. Ethan was extremely excited with the new place and looked very inquisitive. He was smiling from ear to ear and flapping his arms in his usual cheerful self, so this was a good sign… hopefully he would be curious enough to try what Daddy is doing. Heh heh…

Once Daddy had finished his hair cut, we put Ethan in his Bumbo on the saloon chair and the barber proceeded to do the deed. Our Ethan boy has really fine and little hair (inherited from Mommy, nonetheless!), but it was growing too long and unruly, so we decided to shave his head.

He was (surprisingly) VERY cooperative during the entire experience. I held his arms down, just in case he started to cry and protest, but I was very proud of my little boy, who sat through the entire procedure calmly, with only a few instances of him turning his head left and right abruptly (biasala….)…. Nothing Mr Barber could not handle.

The shave only took about 5 minutes, but as it was finishing, Ethan got restless and started wailing… Thank goodness we had only a few more touch-up shaves to go!

We initially wanted a crew cut hairstyle for him (short stubbly hair on the scalp), but in the end, it was virtually BOTAK. Surprisingly enough, at night, Pete and I noticed that his hair had already begun growing! Talk about fast growing hair! Now his scalp feels like Astro Turf…

Here are some memorable shots to capture the moment:





Affection Indeed!

November 17, 2006 in Ethan, Miscellanous | No comments

It’s funny how different people show their affection. Most people hug, kiss and say “I love you” to each other.

You know how Ethan shows his affection?

“I love you Mommy” = opens mouth wide and chomps on Mommy’s chin, sucking fervently. Sometimes he chomps on my bare shoulder too.

“I love you Daddy” = opens mouth wide, grabs Daddy’s finger or thumb, and chomps on it. (Daddy’s chin has stubble, not so nice to suck)

Adorable, you think? Hah..only till he was like 8.5 months’ old
Painful? You bet. Since he has 2 lower teeth, there are marks whenever he “shows his affection”.

Mommy, I love you…..!!!

Achievements of a 9-month-old

November 10, 2006 in Ethan, Growing Up, Milestones | No comments

In a blink of an eye, our Ethan boy has attained a grand young age of 9 MONTHS!
Things Ethan can do now, as noted by his baby-proud parents:

  • Sit unaided.
    Ethan used to topple over after a while but he is an expert at sitting now. He can sit pretty well in his bathtub too, but usually he will fidget around and try to roll over in the tub.
  • Clap hands.
    Sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night, sits in bed and claps his hands. In the middle of the night, I tell ya!
  • Giggle adorably.
    Ethan especially loves it when we drop things (intentionally or unintentionally). He loves it when we attempt to juggle too! Lately, we discovered that he giggles when he sees me skipping around. All in all, if we imitate his actions, he will start giggling.
  • “Communicate”.
    He can say “Bababababa….”, “Wawawawa…..”. A far cry from “Mommy” and “Daddy” but well…..getting there.
  • Bear-crawl.
    I read somewhere that there are different types of crawlers. Bear-crawlers are crawlers who use their arms and upper bodies, lift their butts and drag their legs along to get moving. Apparently, bear crawlers move around really quickly. Pete and I can attest to that!
  • Stand with support.
    It is such a joy to wake up and see Ethan standing in his cot, holding onto the cot railing, and flashing us a huge, wide GRIN. Very rewarding indeed.
  • Do “cha-chi-kok”.
    Term used to refer to opening and closing of palms of hands. He normally does “cha-chi-kok” followed by hand-clapping.
  • Pass objects from one hand to another
    ….and then into his mouth!
  • Reach out hands to be carried.
    Usually accompanied by the very manja “uh uh uh”…now who can resist that?!
  • Pose for camera.
    If we bring a camera and call out to him while he is playing or crawling around, he will stop whatever he is doing, face the camera and SMILE! True model potential.
  • Eats his rusks independently.
    Sometimes banging it on the table and usually dropping it, but some of it does get into his mouth.
  • Peel off his diaper strap.
    ‘nuff said.

The Snail, The Butterfly and The Flower

November 9, 2006 in Breastfeeding, Ethan | No comments

Shopping malls in Penang are in dire need of proper nursing and breastfeeding facilities for the general public. Ever since I took on the role of a breastfeeding mommy, I have been visiting breastfeeding/nursing rooms whenever I have the chance to do so. Some are so icky that I have even spotted cockroaches lurking around the room. Simply disgusting!

That said, I would conclude that the award for best nursing room in Penang would probably go to the one in Parkson Grand, Gurney Plaza. It is brightly lit, with 2 stations for diaper change and 2 private curtain-enclosed breastfeeding cubicles. The color scheme is bright and cheerful with nature motives everywhere. There is also a sink with warm water for the convenience of everyone.

I find it extremely comfortable nursing Ethan in the nursing room here. The curtains provide the privacy a breastfeeding mommy needs, and Pete and I have been frequenting this nursing room ever since we started taking Ethan out shopping with us. It was really easy to breastfeed him undisturbed each time we were there, but NOW….aiyo, it’s a totally different story.

I think the change was apparent sometime when Ethan was 4 or 5 months’ old. Each of the nursing cubicles has 3 big wooden wall hooks, in the shape of a snail, a butterfly and a flower. Every time I nursed him there, he would be really fascinated with these hooks and be totally distracted, up to the extent that he would NOT drink his milk! We have tried covering the hooks with plastic bags, covering Ethan’s eyes with cloth and we have even tried using my nursing coverall….but all to no avail. He will only take his milk if he is extremely HUNGRY.

You know what? My breastfeeding friend at work tells me that apparently her daughter is also distracted by the same things. Hehe…. I suppose that’s the reason why nursing rooms in KL are mostly non-bright with no additional cartoons or motifs.

A Voracious Appetite

November 6, 2006 in Ethan, Food & Feeding, What's Cooking | No comments

Since starting off on solids when he was 6.5 months, Ethan has been taking all sorts of yummy food. But food which is only approved my Mommy and Daddy.

So far he has been enjoying:

Carbohydrates
Red rice, white rice, millet, wheat, oats

Vegetables
Spinach, carrots, pumpkin, potatoes

Fruits
Pears, apples, prunes, papaya, bananas

Protein
Chicken, and just last weekend, I introduced him to fish.

White pomfret, to be exact. And I am a proud momma to announce that my boy ABSOLUTELY loves it! It was a real joy to feed him his fish porridge. He would open his mouth WIDE in anticipation of the food, take in his mouthful of porridge happily and then clap his hands with GLEE after each mouthful!!! — and then start banging the table for more!!

Recipe for Happy Fish Porridge
Ingredients:
Red rice
White rice
Millet
Red dates (for flavor)
Steamed white pomfret
Steamed carrots (can also substitute with pumpkin, potato, ad lib)
Unlimited amount of LOVE

Method:
Cook rice, millet and red dates into porridge consistency. Mash white pomfret meat and add into porridge together with carrots or other vegetables. Serve lukewarm with LOVE to happy baby.

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