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Growing Up

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Still not well :(

March 2, 2007 in Breastfeeding, Ethan, Growing Up, Parenting | No comments

Ethan woke up this morning coughing and sneezing even more than he did yesterday; I even detected some phlegm when he coughed.  We fed him his Rhinathiol and Polaramine, despite his fierce protests… it always tugs my heartstrings to see him cry and scream like that when we try to feed him medicine 🙁

After dropping him off at the sitter’s (with instructions to give him more milk and water, and to wipe his nose), I called Dr Jessica to inquire what could be wrong.  She reassured me that the symptoms for his illness would tend to take a turn for the worse on the 3rd or 4th day, before becoming better.  As long as he wasn’t wheezing (which was a sign of bronchitis), there should be nothing to worry about.  She also said I could bring him in for a quick checkup in the evening if I wanted to be further reassured and for her to check Ethan too.

I then called Mrs Tan, our babysitter, and she proudly proclaimed that Ethan had finished his entire morning feed of 5oz of EBM at one go and was feeling better already.  In fact, he was taking a nap when I called.  I was glad. 😀

After work, Pete and I took Ethan to see Dr Jessica, who again confirmed and reassured us that his lungs were clear.  She cautioned us, however, that if his breathing was rapid (more than 40 breaths per minute), we should inform her.  She instructed us to continue with the medication and hopefully with the breastfeeding, he would be all well tomorrow.

Dearest darling Ethan boy, Mommy and Daddy are praying that you will get well soon!

Down with Fever :(

February 27, 2007 in Ethan, Growing Up, Miscellanous, Parenting | No comments

Ethan came down with a fever this morning.  38.2 degrees.  Not sure if it’s accurate, cos I didn’t have the time to get an ear thermometer yet, so I had to use the underarm mercury thermometer method.  We took him to see Dr Jessica, and she confirmed that the bacteria from my cough had spread to him before his flu got better.  His fever had shot up to 38.4 degreen then.  So unfortunately, she had to put him on antibiotics.  She prescribed Axithromycine, which is from the same family as Erithromycine (the antibiotics that I took), and Ethan was to take it for 3 days.  She also prescribed Rhinathiol (for cough) and Polaramine (for flu).  Paracetamol also, but we were also provided with the suppository option, since Ethan rejects medicine taking orally. Sigh…

Tried giving him the medicine… he blew the medicine out.  Then when we shot it straight down his throat, he gargled the medicine and refused to swallow it.  We also tried alternating the medicine while feeding him soup, but our boy was not willing to be outsmarted.  He would check the spoon to see if it’s clear (i.e. soup) or red (i.e. medicine) before taking it.  So… it was certainly a chore to give him the medicine, and heart-wrenching too, I might add.

I hope he gets better soon.

One-year Checkup

February 9, 2007 in Ethan, Growing Up | No comments

We took Ethan to see Dr Jessica today for his scheduled one-year checkup. We decided to go during the night clinic at GMC; from experience, we need not wait too long at the night clinic.

We were ushered in after about 10 minutes’ wait 🙂 Ethan started playing with the blocks in Dr Jessica’s office and smiled happily. She asked us about his progress: what he could do and say…and then took his height, weight and head circumference.

Ethan had his MMR (mumps, measles and rubella) vaccination today too. I nursed him while Dr Jessica administered the jab (studies have proven that the trauma from the jab will be significantly lessened if given during a breastfeeding session). Well, Ethan boy bawled immediately as the needle went in…poor baby… and yet, less than 30 seconds later, was his cheerful self again.

Doctor told us to monitor for 5-7 days as he could develop fever from the jab.

Mixed Feelings

February 8, 2007 in Ethan, Growing Up, Milestones, Parenting | No comments

Yesterday evening when we picked Ethan up from the sitter’s, she proudly announced that Ethan had begun to take his first baby steps. Although still wobbly, she said that he was holding on to a chair and then very gingerly let go and took a few steps towards her!

Pete and I were ecstatic! Imagine, from a non-mobile infant to a crawl-everywhere-and-opens-and-closes-all-doors baby and NOW to a soon-to-be-free-roaming toddler! Wow… next milestone! Check!

However, I can’t help but feel that I would sometimes miss out on important milestones like these, being a working mom and all. So even though I am jubilating over his first few steps, I am a little sad that I wasn’t there to see it. C’est la vie…

Ah well. Maybe, hopefully… I will be there to witness the first few REAL steps, not the unstable ones. Hehehe…. me being my kiasu self now.

Oh, by the way, yesterday evening after we brought Ethan back home, I saw him take 1.5 steps from one side of the cot to the other! So I’m happy. Hee.

Walker Danger

January 30, 2007 in Ethan, Growing Up, Milestones | No comments

Last Friday, Mom and MIL *ambushed* me and asked what was the reason we didn’t put Ethan in a walker. A couple of months back, Pete clearly told his Mom (my MIL) to NOT buy a walker for Ethan. Anything can buy, except a walker.

Why do we insist on NOT placing Ethan in a walker?

There are several reasons, and they are best summarized in an excerpt from my Baby Weekly email:

When my son was a baby, walkers were thought to be a great way to help infants learn to walk. Since then, we have learned that walkers are actually detrimental to normal development. Because a baby in a walker can get around easily, their urge to move across the floor is satisfied, so many aren’t motivated to learn how to crawl or walk on their own. Walkers also strengthen the wrong muscles: the lower legs are used almost exclusively, while the upper legs and hips – used most when walking – remain relatively weak.

In addition, children in walkers have more accidents. Approximately 25,000 children are treated in hospital emergency rooms in the United States each year for skull fractures, concussions and other injuries related to baby walkers. Most baby walker accidents (about 96 percent) involve children falling down stairs. In 69 percent of the cases, an adult was with the child at the time of the accident.

In response to these accidents, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and baby walker manufacturers have developed new safety standards. In order to meet the new standards and be certified by the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, a walker must be too wide to fit through a standard doorway and have a gripping mechanism to stop the walker if one wheel goes over a step. Instead of a traditional baby walker, try a modified version that has no wheels. These allow the baby to swivel, but are stationary.

Ethan is now *learning* to walk.. just cruising and standing unsupported…but not YET walking on his own. So at this point in time, it is inevitable that people would surely ask:

“How old ah, your baby? Can walk already ah?”

When SOME babies cannot yet walk when others the same age can, the question of why walkers are not used will arise. Well, now you know… but if you still have doubts, just do google up “baby walker danger”.

The End of the Romper Era

January 24, 2007 in Ethan, Growing Up, Miscellanous | No comments

Yesterday Ethan’s sitter presented him with a suit of t-shirt and pants. She said it will make him look like a big boy and that he can wear it for a LOOOOOOooooong time. She also commented that he should SOON stop wearing rompers because he outgrows them really fast.

Hehe… we actually like to dress Ethan in rompers, because being the active baby he is, rompers are truly convenient as his tummy doesn’t show no matter how much he crawls and moves around. We do let him wear regular t-shirt and shorts too (of course, sitter doesn’t know that), but we are trying to put in more mileage for his rompers before he gets too big for them.

Ah well… looks like our sitter is dropping HUGE hints that Ethan should *upgrade* to 2-piece-wear soon.

The Gift

December 22, 2006 in Celebrations, Christianity, Ethan, Growing Up | No comments

This morning, I received a poignant reminder of what Christmas really means in the form of a song from my brother’s entry in his Multiply site.

Who needs Christmas presents?… We already have the gift.

A truly wonderful song which I am going to share with Ethan when he grows up.
Check it out here.

Musical Inclination

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

We always think of Ethan as a musical person. Even while I was still carrying him in utero, I played music whenever I could. Classical music was his favorite and I could feel him kicking inside whenever we listened to the music. In fact, after he was born and I played the exact same tune, he would smile contentedly, as if he could remember the feeling of security the music brought.When my Mom was helping me out after delivering Ethan, she too sang to him often. It helped soothe and comfort him. And let’s not start about him being attracted to the TV every time I switched the channel to MTV.

Lately, apart from the Christmas carols, Ethan has also taken a liking to dancing to music. I would carry him and hold him while moving around to the music. He can’t walk yet, but I can hardly wait till he can, so that I can teach him to dance with me… I can really tell that he loves it when we “dance” together. His favorites are waltzing to Johann Strauss’s The Beautiful Blue Danube and doing the sexy rumba to Andrea Bocelli’s Besame Mucho. Oh by the way, Pete claims he has two left feet, so it’s just Ethan and me dancing most of the time.

The Beginning of Speech?

December 21, 2006 in Ethan, Growing Up, Parenting | No comments

Lately Ethan has taken a liking to blubbering, i.e. puckering his lips, making the “brrrrrruuuuu…” sound (aka blowing raspberries), and using his index finger to flick his lips up and down. Then of course he will indulge in the baby blabbering. Occasionally we do catch a few words like deh-deh (Daddy maybe?) ….., mum-mum…, beh-beh (waving buh-bye) and just a couple of days ago, something which sounded remotely like “Mummeee….”. (yay!)However, it is unfortunately an unwritten rule that girls mature faster than boys, and also that the fairer sex is more adept at picking up languages. Just a few days ago, I met up with a fellow breastfeeding mommy friend of mine for lunch, and she told me that her daughter (now 15 months’ old) can already count from 1 to 10! Amazing!

Well, we don’t know when our boy will start having conversations with us, but we certainly can’t wait… for now, we are constantly speaking to him like we would to another adult, and he would listen attentively, even laughing on cue sometimes. It’s true that babies can understand and mimic what adults say fairly easily, especially at this age, when their brain is like a sponge. Therefore, we need to remind ourselves (and also those around us) to be careful NOT to use words which we do not want him to pick up at this tender age. You’d be surprise what babies these days can absorb…

Now until that precious first word is spoken, we’ll have to content ourselves with:

Me: What did you do today, Ethan?
Ethan: Wa wa wa…bababa…..brrruu, bruuuu……!!!
Me: Wah….really? What else?
Ethan: Mamamummmm…..vavava…..bruuu, bruuuu…..!!!
Me: Have you learned to say “Mommy” today?
Ethan: Brruuuuu…bruuuuuu….!!!! (showing a toothy grin)

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.

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