Bible Verse of the Day

Stimulating Fun and Learning!

March 18, 2008 in Entertainment, Ethan, Growing Up | 11 comments

Last Saturday, after months of procrastination, we finally took Ethan for the free trial parent-toddler class at a nearby childcare center/school.  We attended the 11:00a.m. session and it lasted for about 1 hour and 40 minutes.  As an afterthought, it probably would have been better had we gone for the earlier class…you’ll see why later…

At first Ethan was quite shy when we first entered the playroom.  The teacher was very friendly and encouraged Ethan to make himself comfortable, and very soon, he was busying himself with the giant lego blocks.  He also found a wooden hammer which resembled the one he had back home, so I suppose he was happy.

The parent-toddler class is broken up into several sessions of activity, the first of which is a freestyle play with toys indoors.  After that, all the kids adjourned to a shaded play area with various activity stations, such as the artist area (complete with easels, paints and paintbrushes), sand pit (scoops, sand toys and lots of sand), a creative corner (with play-doh, glue and paper cutouts), mini-slides, mini houses and a water station.  Much to my surprise, Ethan enjoyed being an artist, complete with the artist apron.  He didn’t seem too keen on paints and brushes when we had the Little Artists playgroup before… When he moved to the sand pit, he was a little apprehensive at first, perhaps because he had not touched sand before.  But soon he was so engrossed with scooping up the sand that he had to forgo the water station, because the time had come for everyone to move on to the next activity.

After we washed his hands (by the way, I absolutely love the taps that were installed for the kids: just the right height!), all the kids moved to the outdoor playground.  I love the special soft padded rubberized surface the playground was built on.  Kids can play around barefooted without hurting their feet.  Ethan immediately grabbed the basketball and held on to it for dear life.  That’s why most of the photos have him holding on to the basketball.  He refused to let go of it even while he was sliding down the slide.  Oh by the way, he also enjoyed doing some slam dunks on the mini basketball net!  How cute is that!?  Future MVP, perhaps?

Next up, the kids were all given some biscuits and water, given that they would definitely be hungry and thirsty by then.  Ethan boy had TWO helpings of biscuits (that’s two bowls), and finished every bit of it.  He really eats a lot but I just don’t know where the food goes.

I could tell Ethan was pretty tired then.  Pete and I were also very hungry too (that’s why we ought to have gone for the earlier class), but there was still one last activity remaining.  Everyone gathered in the music room, sang some songs and watched a video about the very hungry caterpillar (which made us even hungrier).  While most of the kids remained in the story-telling area however, busybody Ethan chose to explore the area and ventured up the stairs.

After everything was over, we all sang the goodbye song and the kids were all given stickers.  Ethan, who had to wait for his turn, was rather impatient, so he ran away at first without his sticker.  We had to take him to the teacher in the end, and she very nicely gave him a special teddy bear sticker 🙂

We have yet to decide if we want to enrol for the class though.  The parent-toddler class was a very good experience for Ethan and we could tell he really enjoyed himself. He’s probably ready for some good fun and mingling around with kids too now.  So we’ll wait and see.

Anyway, we had expected Ethan to fall asleep in the afternoon after all the playing around, but instead, it was Daddy who fell asleep!  Ethan only drifted off to dreamland at 6:30p.m.!!!  We had to wake him up to go out for dinner at about 8:00p.m.

Bizarre sleeping behaviour

March 14, 2008 in Ethan, Sleep | 9 comments


Scrap Credits
Emma kit quickpage and elements from retrodiva {designs}™
Sunshine and Daisies kit from Maria LaFrance
100% Tampons square frame from [ v.vv ]
Blue painted newspaper alphas from Manda J Designs

Peacefully.  Soundly.  That’s how Ethan sleeps in the morning.  Sometimes when we are ready to go out, he will still be sleeping, and when I try to wake him up saying “Wakey wakey”, he will grumble and whine, turn over and go back to sleep.

If only he could sleep this way through the night.  The strange night behaviour of his began last week.  One of the nights, Ethan suddenly woke up at 3a.m. and asked me to take him outside.  He wanted to drink milk and then watch some television.  I switched between Playhouse Disney and his two other favorite channels, Astro on Demand previews (channel 302) and Channel V (channel 714).  Then we watched some DVDs.  I tried to coax him to go back to the room to sleep but he didn’t want to.  Finally he fell asleep in my arms at about 5:30a.m.  It happened again two nights later, but this time round it was not so bad because he fell asleep after an hour or so.

Then a few nights ago, he would wake up screaming, and adamantly ask me to take him out again.  He would throw a huge tantrum if we refuse, kicking and screaming on the floor.  Once out of our room, he would lead me to the living room and then “throw” my hand towards the light switch in the living room.  Then he would “throw” my hand at the TV remote.  After that he would come and snuggle up to me and fall asleep.  With the TV on.

I kid you not.  Happened again last night.

Why does he do this?

The surprises never cease…

March 11, 2008 in Ethan, Funny Moments | 7 comments

Scrap Credits
Layout inspired by Fryske’s Digiscrap Desisgn
Sweet Serenity Papers & Alphas from Shabby Princess Designs
Kit “Memory” cross-stitch from Sueli Colbert
100% Tampons brackets from [ v.vv ]
Boxed words from Chantal

Look…What could Ethan be doing? Lately, he has developed a rather strange habit in that he has started to show a lot of interest in the Christmas doggie soft toy that his Ipoh Ah Ma and Ah Kong gave him over a year ago. Actually this love in itself is not weird, because Ethan was born in the year of the dog, but what is odd is that he likes the rounded tip of the doggie’s santa hat. Ethan would hold the dog, put the rounded furry tip into his mouth and chew and chomp on it till it is all wet. Then he would take the rounded tip and rub it all over his face, sometimes taking a whiff of it.

We think this could be a side reaction to him being weaned off the breast. What do you think? Well, it looks like I will certainly have to wash the doggie very very often now!

Head over heels in love with cloth!

March 7, 2008 in Ethan, Growing Up, Parenting | 13 comments

Cloth diapers, to be precise! 🙂 

I’ve been putting off my cloth diapering plan for Ethan for such a long time.  My original plan was to have him fully on cloth diapers as soon as possible.  And I am ashamed to say that I have been so bad at keeping to that.  Last year, I bought him four pieces of megacute cloth diapers, but that was about it.  Sometimes they would leak because of the way I put them on him and I would be frustrated.  So I kept putting my plan off.  And then lately, the diapers began to stink big time.  Even after just an hour of putting them on, the smell was rather revolting.  Which led me to suddenly remember that I probably need to strip wash them.

And strip wash the diapers I did.  After that, the diapers worked perfectly again and my love for cloth diapers was reignited!  And thanks to so many many emails back and forth with my diaper guru, Christene, I have learnt so many additional terms and jargons about cloth diapers to educate me for life!  I recently ordered more diapers, different brands this time, just to have a variety and feel of all of them, and of course to satisfy my insatiable appetite.

I got two diapers from Sandra for starters.  The first one is a My Precious Baby fitted diaper, with side snaps.  Christene recommended this for the heavy wetter, i.e. Ethan, and I absolutely LOVE this diaper!  My Precious Baby diapers are handmade diapers made by a WAHM in the USofA.  These gorgeous diapers are made from velour, which is 80% cotton and 20% polyester, and they look so LUSH!  My Precious Baby diapers have 2 layers of velour and 3 layers of thirsty hemp fleece sewn into the diaper.  There’s even an additional piece of soaker included for the sake of the heavy wetter.  What I really love about this diaper is how the colors and prints coordinate beautifully.  I ordered the purple and orange combo diaper with a zoo animal print soaker that matches the diaper perfectly.  I was fortunate that Ethan, being of small built, can still fit into an M size, because it was the only size available in this color combination.

Can you tell how adorable they look?  I fell in love with it instantaneously!  And I was pleased to note how trim the fit is!  Even with the diaper cover (fitted diapers need a cover by the way, but it is really up to individual preference), it still doesn’t look bulky.  This is really a diaper which looks absolutely gorgeous and is fully functional at the same time!

Then I also got one Drybees pocket diaper for Ethan.  These are fastened with velcro, so I wanted to evaluate them before I got some more to let Mrs Tan use during the time Ethan is with her.  I’ll have to say I am reasonably satisfied with this diaper.  It’s not as smooth and soft as Bumwear though, but putting it on is a breeze.  Unfortunately this has leaked a couple of times already, and I am now determining if it is because I got it in too large a size for Ethan.  One thing I have to say though…Drybees diapers come in fantastic prints!

Lastly, because I wanted to make up the minimum order of RM200 to qualify for free shipping, I also ordered some Wahmies cloth wipes, also thanks to Christene’s recommendation.  There were so many pretty prints to choose from that I had a hard time zeroeing in on my final selection.  I plan to use these as much as possible to replace the wet wipes, and in fact, while waiting for my order to arrive, I had already begun using wet cloth hankies when we go out, instead of using wet wipes.  These Wahmies cloth wipes though, are really softer compared to the conventional hankies, because these have flannel on the print side and soft cotton sherpa terry on the other.  What luxury! 

And now, I am excitedly awaiting another batch of diapers to arrive, all the way from USA, this time!  Yes, I know some people might say it will be time for Ethan to start toilet training soon, but why delay putting him on cloth diapers?  Besides, I am only now starting him on the big business toilet training, so he will definitely still need to be on diapers.  In any case, it sure feels good going green!

Ethan at 25 Months

March 3, 2008 in Ethan, Milestones | 7 comments


Scrap Credits
Rustic freebit kit from Marianne Wåhlberg Designs
Numbers: Alpha Black from Digiscrap.ch
 

Weight

Feels like 11 kilos, though I believe he is only 10.5 or 10.6kilos.  Eats non-stop but cannot put on weight much.  Must have inherited Pete’s genes there.

Height

Haven’t measured him recently, but perhaps about 85cm, at least?

Teeth

Sixteen (I think): 8 incisors, 2 canines (upper) and 4 pramolars (2 upper and 2 lower) AND I recently noticed the whites of his bottom two molars.  No sign of his lower canines yet (another thing he must have inherited from Daddy).

Motor Skills

  • Able to walk on tiptoe pretty well.  According to the baby guide book, a toddler is only expected to do this at 2.5 years. 🙂
  • Running strides are much bigger now, and it is becoming harder to keep up with him.
  • Loves to stand up on the high chair after he is *done* with his meal, making it very difficult for us to have a nice quiet meal outside.
  • Sometimes he is able to stand on one foot without support.  Still unsteady but getting there. 
  • Slowly but surely learning how to handle the fork and spoon without spilling.  Most of the time he makes a mess, but I have noticed a few times when he successfully fed himself.
  • Loves to hold the apple and bite on it, just like an adult.

Communication and Social Skills

  • Temper tantrums becoming more rampant.  When we are out and if he doesn’t get his way, he will kneel on the ground and start bawling.  At home, when we say “NO” to his demands, he will crouch on his belly and wail pitifully, sometimes to the extent of screaming.
  • Knows the signs for the following new words:
    • Dog
    • Bird
    • Fish
    • Cat
    • Fence
    • Mailbox
    • Florist
  • Words he has inconsistently said:
    • “Chi-toh” (“play” in Hokkien)
    • Okay
    • “bee” (change channel on TV)
    • Queensbay Mall …. (hehe…okay la, sometimes he says something that sounds like that when we are approaching the mall)
  • Can point to at least three body parts when prompted, his favorites being his nose, his mouth and his eyes.  Still loves pointing a lot, as opposed to expressing himself verbally.
  • Loves to look at toddlers and children who are older than he is, but is uncomfortable with younger babies.

Food and Feeding

  • Ethan is completely weaned from the breast.  Even after I changed his diapers in the baby room in Jaya Jusco, he did not rush into the breastfeeding room like he used to.  Takes about 3 feeds of Pediasure daily, each feed about 5-6oz, eating other solid food too.  I’m so happy his favorite is my homecooked claypot chicken rice!
  • Eating a lot lately, hopefully he’ll bulk up a little soon.

Toilet Training

Not toilet-trained yet, but I am starting to try and put him on the toilet seat when I see him straining.  I bought the Bruin padded toilet seat for him and he absolutely loves it!  I’ll be getting one for Mrs Tan to use too.  Yesterday, Ethan successfully did his business while sitting on the throne.  No mess!  And I praised him sky high.  Boy was he delighted!

Talking with fingers

February 29, 2008 in Ethan, Milestones | 9 comments


Scrap Credits
Template 41 from Jill & Jack ScrapDesigns
Emma kit from retrodiva {designs}™
Basic chipboard alphas from Dani Mogstad
Flower glitter from Pineapple Plantation Designs
Raffia stitched heart from Kim B’s Designs

Although Ethan cannot really speak in proper words yet, his communication skills in terms of signing has improved tremendously due to frequent exposure to the Baby Einstein DVD that incorporates signing, My Favorite Places.  He will now eagerly await the part in the program where the instructor or kid makes the sign for the appropriate word and often, he will sign the word even before the word appears on the screen.

As a kiasu concerned mommy who only wants the best for her child, I must admit that I am a tad worried that Ethan is experiencing speech delay.  They are some friends of mine who offer some form of consolidation and reassurance in that their own sons also went through the exact same phase.  It truly appears though that Ethan has lots to say, but it’s just that we cannot yet make head or tail out of what he is saying.  He understands what we say and can respond correctly, but when he needs to say something, he prefers to point or to lead us to what he wants to do.  For example, he will *throw* our hand at the fridge when he wants us to open it, or he will *throw* my hand at the milk bottle when he wants a feed.

I’ve also contacted a speech therapist in KL who recommended that we visit a local speech therapist in Penang.  I am hesitant because I do not wish to subject Ethan to (maybe) weekly therapy sessions.  If I can help it, that is.  Another suggestion brought forward, also by our pediatrician, is to expose him to as many of his peers as much as possible.  So we are currently looking into options for this as well.

Nevertheless, his ability to imitate and sign has spurred me to purchase a baby signing book and DVD.  Coincidentally, a few weeks ago, Pete’s good friend’s sister contacted me (blogging has many advantages you know!) and told me about her unique site, Baby Signs Malaysia.  She assured me that allowing and teaching Ethan to sign will not impair his ability to acquire speech, but on the contrary it would probably pave the way for him.  Just like crawling comes before walking, signing will come naturally before talking.  So I purchased the I Can Sign! Animals book + DVD from her last week (it was on offer at RM40; regular retail price RM60).  It contains a board book and a 20-minute DVD which teaches the baby the signs used for 6 animals, namely dog, bird, fish, cat, monkey and turtle.  I was excited to share this with Ethan, and when I did that evening, he was glued to the TV for the entire duration.  I know he loves animals so this was the perfect DVD for him.  He didn’t take to the signs at first but when I showed him the DVD again the next evening, I was delighted that he could sign dog, cat, bird and monkey.  Sometimes he still needs to be prompted, but to me this was definitely an achievement in itself.

I also bought My First Spoken Words: Babies, which introduces six words too, by playing the word as the baby turns the page.  Ethan took one look at this book, flipped it open and did some fiddling with it, and after a minute, we discovered to our horror that there was no more sound coming out from it!  We had to purposely drop the book on the floor to trigger the sound mechanism again.  SIGH.

Anyway, I really hope that Ethan will complement his signing with his talking soon.  I can’t wait to engage in conversation with this chatterbox of mine!

All we had was fun fun fun!

February 26, 2008 in Ethan, Vacation | 11 comments

The way Ethan took to our hotel room at The Royale Bintang Damansara was like a duck to water.  Made us feel as though we need to plan hotel trips every now and then, because we simply love the look of joy on his face.  Of course, he slept for most of the car ride, so while he was fully charged when we checked into the hotel, Daddy and Mommy just wanted to grab some serious shuteye.

Yes, we took a drive down to KL last weekend primarily to visit Ethan’s new cousin Collin.  When we reached the hospital, Ethan refused to enter the room where Collin and his mommy, Pei Gee were in.  Baby Collin had to be put on the bilibed because he had infant jaundice, and he was rooming in together with his mommy.  My brother Allan thinks it’s the blue light from the bilibed that scared Ethan away.  According to him, perhaps Ethan still had memories of his bilibed experience and was a little bit traumatized by it.  Ethan had breastmilk jaundice for about a month when he was a newborn and had to be in the bilibed for many many days.  Anyway, we all didn’t believe Allan at first but when the blue light was turned off after we came back from dinner, Ethan happily came into the room to look at baby Collin.  Coincidence?

In any case, Ethan had a really good time throughout our trip.  You can tell just by looking at the pictures…

In fact, he enjoyed himself so much that he was tired out and he actually fell asleep in my arms in Italiannies while we were having lunch.  Must have been the soothing jazzy music they were playing too.

Anyway it was back home to Penang after that.  Oh, and for the record, he slept at close to midnight last night.  I have no idea where he gets his energy from.

A wondrous journey

February 21, 2008 in Breastfeeding, Ethan, Growing Up, Milestones | 15 comments


Scrap Credits
Kit “True Love” from Sueli Colbert
Boxed words from Chantal
Delight Series Red Inked Alphas from Foxy Designs

I knew weaning Ethan would not be an easy thing to do. In fact, I started trying out various weaning tactics when he was about 15 months’ old, but I was not firm with it and he certainly did not seem ready to be weaned yet at that time. No amount of distractions, meal substitutions and coaxing could wean him from the breast, not even when I started him on formula when he was about 15.5 months’ old, and I was afraid the weaning battle would become a stressful, terrible one. One of my fervent prayers to God was to have a smooth weaning process for Ethan, where neither he nor I would suffer, for I really cannot bear to see him wail and cry as if someone were abusing him or something.

Anyway, on our way to Singapore last year, one of the senior flight attendants (who obviously used to be a breastfeeding mother herself too) told me her secret method of weaning her boy when he was 17 months’ old. At that time, Ethan was roughly the same age. She told me she used Bonjela. Applied it to her nipples and after a few rejections from her son, he was off the breast. It was as simple as that.

I didn’t use this method immediately after we returned from our trip though. And I can’t remember when I actually purchased a tube of Bonjela. But when I tried it the first time on Ethan, he made a face when he tasted the minty Bonjela, quietly and (dare I say) obediently walked away. That was during one of the evenings after work. I didn’t try it again after that, because I was pretty confident Bonjela works.

When Ethan was a little older, it became apparent that he was ready to be weaned. He could go without breast milk the whole day long while I was at work but somehow he still “needed” breast milk during the day on weekends. I realized then that I was the one who was not ready to wean him off. I realized that all I needed to do was to be firm with him and hopefully he would comply. Although I used the Bonjela method off and on, I was wishy washy about it and so it didn’t really work as I hoped it would. Sometimes when I used Bonjela during the weekends, and Ethan (the smart fella) would patiently wait till the effects wore off before cuddling up for a feed.

But when Ethan was one month shy of his 2nd birthday, I told myself that if I wanted him to be weaned, nobody could help me but myself. Only I alone can do it. And so I crafted a plan. I religiously used Bonjela, slowly eliminating one feed at a time in the weekends. Weaning him off the morning feeds was easy, but it was an uphill task when I began weaning him from the afternoon feeds. A bottle of Pediasure would usually be ready at hand whenever I used the Bonjela method, so I hoped he would get the idea soon enough.

Well, he was soon able to take his afternoon naps without breastfeeding…which was good, except it took him longer to fall asleep, resulting in a more tired Daddy and Mommy. I so took the ease of breastfeeding baby to sleep for granted, I tell ya. And it was a struggle to get him to sleep without the comfort of breastfeeding.

After he turned two, about a week before Chinese New Year, the Bonjela method had already successfully gotten Ethan off the breast from morning till after his nightly shower. He still needed to be breastfed to sleep at that time, though. He would wait till I had had my shower before he asked for a feed. So I told myself that I would continue with the plan after Chinese New Year, since it was not a good idea to make changes to the routine while travelling. I knew it was gonna be a hurdle to wean him from the breast for his nightly feeds.

But God is good, and He answers prayers. A few days before Chinese New Year, Ethan started to go to sleep without the need to be breastfed. I don’t know how and I don’t know why, but it just happened. Sometimes he would just cuddle up to me, just to be close to me and he would fall asleep on his own. He would still wake up once or twice in the night for comfort suckling though, but that did not bother me, because I knew it would be another obstacle I had to overcome soon. I figured I would cross the bridge when the time came.

However, one of the nights during the Chinese New Year break, he started to sleep through without needing his comfort suckling. He still wakes up sometimes, but he will just snuggle close to me and will fall back to sleep. It happened so suddenly that I didn’t even see it coming.

His last breastfed meal was on the night we returned from our hometowns in Ipoh and Taiping. After his shower, he came up to me with this loving look in his eyes, propped himself on my lap for a feed and after a few minutes, he was done. He gave me a “Thank you Mommy, I love you” look and went about his usual business. It was done in such an endearing manner, that I could not help the tears trickling down my cheeks. It was as if he knew our “contract” had ended and he was saying his final goodbye.

Oh sorry…well actually that was supposed to be his last feed, but I breastfed him again a few days later when he was down with fever… out of pity 😛

Anyway, it has now been a little over a week that Ethan has been completely off the breast. What started out as my labor of love became a loving wondrous journey that lasted approximately two years and a week. I thought I would feel a sense of relief because the weaning was now over and done with. But what I felt was a tinge of emptiness…as if something I had grown to love dearly is now missing from my life. It is a sign that my Ethan boy, my darling Mr Bulat, has grown up somewhat, and I am just grateful that I was able to give him the best nourishment a mother can offer.

My sleeping angel

February 18, 2008 in Ethan, Sleep | 10 comments


Scrap Credits
That’s Amore freebie from Cinzia Loosemore
Netter’s Alphas from Scarlet Heels
Brackets from Sun Porch kit by Amy Teets

Yesterday afternoon, while hanging out with Ethan at home, I witnessed a sleeping angel.  Ethan was sitting on the couch watching Baby Noah on the telly and I was flipping through the newspapers.  He hadn’t had his nap yet, and I knew it was about time he felt sleepy.  Usually he would look for me for a cuddle before falling asleep but yesterday, he suddenly crouched over on his tummy, found his really comfy position and drifted off to sleep, all on his own. 

What’s a blogger mom like me supposed to do?

He’s a fighter, baby!

February 14, 2008 in Breastfeeding, Ethan, Growing Up | 5 comments


Scrap Credits
Kit “Memory” from Sueli Colbert
Netter’s Alphas from Scarlet Heels

Last Monday, the first day of work after the long Chinese New Year break, when Ethan woke up in the morning, my maternal instincts told me something was wrong.  His body felt slightly warmer than usual and when I took his temperature, it registered a slight fever.  However, it went down about half an hour later after I gave him the PCM suppository.  But when we arrived at Mrs Tan’s in the evening to pick him up, we were told that he was still nursing a fever.  That day, Pete and I had not had our dinner prior to picking him up, so we decided to go to Old Town for Ethan’s favorite chicken koay-teow.  Unfortunately they had ran out of koay teow that day, so poor Ethan boy had to watch us eat.  He didn’t want anything else except the koay teow, the poor dear.  After dinner, we decided to just swing by a chicken koay teow stall and buy him a packet, but he wouldn’t eat it at all when we got home too.

His temperature had gone up to 38.2°C then, so I sponged him down with some warm Eucalyptus water, gave him another dose of PCM and changed him into his pajamas.  After a few moments of watching Baby Einstein, Ethan, who was way much quieter than usual, fell asleep in my arms.

The next afternoon, we decided to take him to see Dr Jessica, just to be on the safe side.  No doubt his fever had diminished, his appetite was back to normal, and he was grinning away that day, we still felt better if we got some reassurance from the doc.  Ethan was very cooperative throughout the entire checkup, staying very still when the doc took his temperature and checked his ears.  He only complained a little when the doc wanted to check the back of his throat.  In fact, he even obediently sat still on the weighing scale while he was being weighed.  When his name was called in to see the doc, he didn’t want to go in, but when we were ready to leave, he didn’t want to go.  In the end, we carried him out with him giving Dr Jessica a loud flying kiss.

Dr Jessica said he was all right, and the temperature could very well be a viral infection, which our boy had fought off on his own.  When we heard that, we were so proud of our little fighter there… 🙂 It really means a lot to me that he can fend off illnesses on his own now that he is no longer breastfed.  The two years of breastfeeding prove very worth the while.

« Older entries § Newer entries »