Colin moments - 大便

Colin decided someday that he doesn't want to get his butt washed after pooing.

Past conversations...
Me: Colin, go and wash your backside..

His responses to my command:
- Don't worry about my 大便 mummy!
- Don't talk about my 大便!
- Later...
- I'm not done yet~
- *hides from our line of sight*
- *pretended he never hear*

Our conversation today...

Colin: Mummy will you play with me?
Me: I won't play with you until you get your backside washed.
Colin: It's okay. I can play with myself.
Me: .....

After awhile.. he asked for help tk seperate 2 lego pieces.

Colin: Mummy will you help to take out?
Me: I won't help until you wash your backside..
Colin: All right... *continued to play by himself*

Then he wanted to show me the big lego house he built.

Colin: Mummy, look at the big house!
Me: I'm still waiting for you to wash your butt before I play with you..
Colin: Finally gave in and went to get his butt washed!

After he got his butt washed..

Colin: *flashed his backside at my face* I washed my backside mummy!!!
Me: Oh yeah! Now I can play with you!
Colin: *Big smile*

Ahhh... what a tough nut to crack.

Father's Day 2015

Colin was unwell during the last week of school and didn't manage to make father's day gift. So I decided to make something for our awesome father while he napped...

Colin was  very excited when I told him that we were going to make something for daddy.

Colin's 3rd birthday

COLIN TURNS THREE!

Yes! Happy 3rd birthday to our dearest Colin boy! Time flies! Mummy made the banners for your and daddy helped to put it up!

You requested for triceratops birthday cake which was impossible to buy off the shelves. Mummy had to order a cake and specially requested for the cake toppings to be removed. Went to the toy store to buy little dinosaurs to place on top! :) You were very happy when you saw your cake!

You were a little apprehensive when everyone started singing birthday song for you...

Then started to enjoy the attention and got cheeky!

After the song finished, you went forward to blow the candles without prompting. We didn't even had the chance to ask you to make a wish! The flames went off in a single blow..

Our precious cheeky boy with his cake and new dinosaur toys by the side. Oh, mummy got your a dinosaur shirt too~ ROAR!

Just you and mummy while daddy gets the knife.

You and cousin Alexis mei mei. It's amazing to see how you 2 like each other so much. You will ask mei mei to drink water and take good care of her. Is it a big brother thing? :D We hope you will be this nice to Louise mei mei too!

We got you 2 matching sunglasses! So adorable!

Group picture with mummy's friends who babysit you pretty often. We are glad you like them too!

As you enter into the 4th year of your life, we hope you'll continue to grow up healthy and happy. These are the 2 most important things in life..

Birthday trip to the Zoo!

As usual, you requested to head to the zoo when we asked you where you would like to go. We got there at 10 plus in the morning and let you decide what you wanted to see that day. You picked rhinoceros, hippopotamus and elephants. We saw the crocodiles, zebras, lions, sea lions, white tigers and animal show along the way. Since it was your birthday trip to the zoo, daddy let you ride the pony and the carousel!

You were really excited to go for the pony ride, so excited you ran off to the ticketing counter yourself to buy your pony ride ticket. I had a hard time managing you while waiting for your turn to go onto the pony since patience is not something you’ve quite mastered yet. You hopped onto the pony without hesitation and went for your round. Daddy and mummy are still very puzzled why you were more afraid of kiddy rides. Isn’t a real animal more scary?

On our way out you wanted to ride the shark on the carousel, we managed to persuade daddy to let you go on the ride. Again, you ran off by yourself to the ticketing counter to buy tickets. You decided to sit on the dolphin in the end though! It was very difficult to spot mummy when you went round and round and round.. haha

You were a happy boy until the ride ended. Not because the ride ended, but because you realised there was your favourite dinosaur triceratops, and you did not get to sit on it. Too devastating for your little heart to handle. A passerby asked you why you were crying and your brushed her away rudely said “Go away!”.

You managed to cool down after a while.. in fact, quite a while… and the happy boy came back! We didn't manage to see the Koalas cause the queue was about 45mins, plus you've already seen koalas in Taiwan Zoo.

You slept on the way home and woke up just in time for your favourite food - cheeseburger from McDonald’s!

 Dear Colin, not everything will go according to your plans/ways/wants in life. We hope that you will learn to balance your expectations and deal with disappointments when it comes. May you grow up strong on the outside (already are) and inside!


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Singapore Zoo tops our 'to-go' list cause it's a big area for Colin to run around, look at the animals. Sometimes we just head straight to a particular show and back, other times to the Kidzworld for Colin to interact with farm animals and play at the water playground. We signed up for membership a year ago and have been visiting the zoo every month!

Little requests

Colin started stating his requests at a very early age. Usually to ask permission to have adult food and sweet treats, watch Barney, head to kiddy rides or playgrounds... basically neverending requests. We usually fulfil his request (sometimes delaying the approval) since it's nothing outrageous. 

Today, he made a request to drink milk on the sofa when I informed him we should head to the room for milk and afternoon nap. He arranged the cushions and laid down, all ready to drink his milk after saying: "我要睡这边." I agreed let him have his milk. My reward? A happy boy who drifted to dreamland towards the end of his feed. His first time dozing off on our sofa.

Goodbye pacifiers

Came across Colin's favorite pacifiers during clean up and decided to throw away all these for good. :)

Goodbye pacifiers

When we decided to offer Colin the pacifier (to save my poor nipples and everyoone's ears), I knew that someday we would need to wean him off too. So I began listening to others.. I've heard a few methods others did and picked one that might work for Colin.

(1) Tell the child that the birds came in and took it away, or make up any other interesting stories.
(2) Go to a toy store, get child to pick a toy of his/her choice, pay for toy with pacifier.
(3) Explain to the child that he is a big boy /girl now and does not need a pacifier anymore. Then get the child to snip off the pacifier teat and bin it.
(4) Wait for the child to be ready and give up at own will.

I picked option 3. And this was how we weaned Colin off his sleep partner (aka pacifier).

One fine Monday evening in Jun 2013, just a week or 2 after he turned 1 year old, I decided it was time to wean him off his pacifiers, which he has been sucking since...he was 4 day old. I sat him down near the dustbin (with some trash inside), looked at him in the eye and explained to him that he has turned 1 year old was a big boy already, and that big boy means no longer a baby, only babies needed pacifiers. Then I told him that we are going to cut and throw the pacifier away, and that he will learn to sleep without it tonight.

So I proceeded to hold the scissors with him, and together, we snipped off the pacifier teat. I let him try sucking the pacifier but he could not do it cause the teat was too short. Then explained to him that we were done snipping off the teat, the pacifier was spoilt and it was time to bin it! Opened the dustbin lid and he threw it away. I look at him in the eye again and told him that he threw away the spoilt pacifier so that he will remember.

Here comes the test - BEDTIME. He had problems dozing off without sucking the pacifier. Cried and cried to tell me his frustration, and his scream-cry lasted for 2.5 hours. I carried him and explained to him what he did earlier, how he snipped off the pacifier teat and threw it into the bin. Dad came home halfway, got frustrated, and wanted to give his pacifier back. I got frustrated as a result but did not give in. The saving grace was a new toy (given by one of our guests during his birthday party) to distract him. He kept pressing the buttons of the toy to hear the songs. But I think Colin fell asleep cause he was tired out from all the crying.

Learning point: The most important thing was not to get softhearted and let the pacifier re-appear. Cause then the kid will think that crying like mad will eventually bring back his pacifier. Which makes it even harder to wean the next time.

Following day, I was prepared to receive the scream-cry for his morning nap but to my surprise, he was totally okay, as if he knew that crying won't make his pacifiers come back. He played with his new toy, pressing and pressing for music until he fell asleep. The same thing happened during his noon nap and bedtime... and there, goodbye pacifiers! :D

Colin is almost 2

What? Colin is almost 2 years old? We have been through quite a bit (actually, ALOT!) since my last update.

Colin started attending childcare (Wesley Child Development Centre) in January 2014 and he fell sick as often as he attended school. For every day, or week, he went childcare,  he would be home the next 1 to 3 weeks recovering. See, the issue was that other parents send their barely recovered kids to ensure virus continuity, and the younger ones with little immunity almost always gets it.

What's worse? We can't fault anyone. The childcare accepts children as long as they do not have fever or hfmd. As for parents, there is only this much leave a working couple (without childcare support) can take to look after their sick kid. So their kids resumes childcare once fever subsides.

When Colin started childcare, everyone was working. It was a very bad time (impossible) for Edward to take leave, I didn't have leave cause my job then was a new one with limited benefits. My mum had to ask my uncle to stand in for her at work so she could look after Colin. Life got better after lunar year because my dad decided to retire. So he was the one looking after Colin when he's sick. In the end we withdrew Colin from childcare cause we couldn't bear see him sick so often (he was barely well and losing weight for the whole 3 months).

Less than a month after my dad became the main caregiver, my neighbour commented that Colin is getting chubby again, looked much better.

My dad has always been great with kids and he surprised me even more by preparing nutritious food for Colin. Colin on the other hand loves his grandpa to bits. They play with each other all day.

More about Colin in school

Initially Colin often held on to the metal gate, jumped and cried for us not to leave him in childare when we said our goodbyes. It progressed to no cries when his favorite person, Alice, the centre's admin, welcomes him at the gate. Then to no crying goodbyes at all. Picking him up from childcare progressed from crying (what took you so long?!!) to smiling, or sometimes not wanting to go home.

During the meet-the-parents session, Colin's teachers told us that he is sociable, loves music and dance, loves readimg books, sings and speaks a lot, physically strong, good psychomotor skills and very active. He is very messy during meal time cause he would empty his cup of water onto the table and start swiping with his hands. They often found him washing hands (playing with water) at the toilet sinks too.

I could tell Colin enjoyed childcare. It's a pity he had to be withdrawn.

Books Colin chose during the mobile library event. His teachers said he was so drawn to books he sat down and read by himself! 

2 months on...

2 months into my role as a stay at home mom, which meant that only 4 months before he goes childcare, and before I look for abother job.

His schedule is pretty much the same.

He is been off pacifier for 5 weeks already. Yay! I look at his old pics and went "How weird he looked with pacifier! Blocks his smile!". The pacifier was a nipple saver through the days when Colin was comfort sucking at my breasts till it was all sore and bloody and cracked. The pacifier also helped him sleep better..but we often had to wake up in the wee hours to ransack his cot in darkness to put the pacifier back into his mouth as it always dropped out during his sleep.

We went through the first nasty molar teething stage. Those pearlies you see were a result of many cranky, fussy moments and crying nights. More to come cause there are 3 more molars emerging!

I've stopped cooking for 2 cause we decided it wasn't worth our effort to prepare, cook and wash up with a attention seeking baby hailing for company (mainly hugs and cuddles). I will go to the coffeeshop nearby to pack the dishes to go along with homecooked plain porridge. Colin's dinner is still prepared by me. He's also been on porridge cause of his diarrhea (he gets diarrhea whenever he teeths!).

We go for morning walks around the neighbourhood when the weather permits. He loves to socialise with dogs, cats and people. Sometimes people will just touch his cheek, pat him on the head, or sweep him off the ground into their arms. I feel like the baby belongs to the community?? They don't bother to ask if I minded them touching him. Some days I bring him to the playground for him to master the art of climbing. He loves the slides! The higher the better - our adrenaline junkie junior.

Sleeping had improved tremendously! I hope it remains like this forever. He has progressed over the weeks. During pacifier days, he will soothe himself to sleep immediately after his feed in the cot. The first week without pacifier, he screamed and cried his lungs out before settling down. 3 weeks later, he transformed into a sleep angel. I just need to sleep on my bed beside him (in his cot), he would giggle, smile and hold my hand..then doze off. There were times he refused to nap, but eventually settled down. For night time, I will turn off the lights after last feed and do the same thing. He will say "byebye" to me before I turn off the night light, then reach out his hands and feel for mine in total darkness.. then sleep! Sometimes he would call out for me, "mama?", and I usually replied, "Yes Colin?", which often sent him into giggles again.

Sweetest moment of the day.. to know my presence is enough comfort him. 

Teething

A good read on teething..

Colin's 7 and 8th teeth are emerging!

Under the weather

Daddy and son both feeling unwell.

Colin was super super cranky. I don't blame you cause nobody likes a blocked nose and an inflamed throat as a result of coughing. Am relieved you finally managed to doze off after hours of carrying and patting.

Daddy was cranky too. Got triggered by the slightest things. I din't blame you too cause nobody can think straight with a fatique body and a banging head.

As for me, almost falling sick but hanging in there. I need to hold everything together.

Get well soon both of you (all of us)!

First fall

What happened to your usual wake up cry today? You woke up silently and crawl over a big fat pillow and fell off our bed. I came into the room and shouted to daddy "Baby fell!!" the moment I couldn't see you on the bed. Daddy rushed in immediately too!

Spotted you faced down on daddy's side of the bed and hurriedly scooped you up with an achy heart. You cried and cried for the first time. Took me a few minutes to calm you..

Glad to see your happy self when you stood on your own feet (we can never understand why you love standing so much).

So this was your first fall, and many more to come. You are growing up so fast dear Colin. We love you, always.

Baby Diary 1

Week 1, you....
Woke us up often, like every hour, for precious milk.
Cried for unlimited carrying and rocking.
Was pacified by pacifier when you were 4 day old (we were amused by your sucking power).
Slept like a baby.


Week 2, you....
Spent almost half a week under artificial sun (phototherapy) for your jaundice.
Cried loudly for carrying all day.
Started sleeping through the night, waking up only for feeds at 12am, 3am and 6am.
Sang in your own language.


Week 3, you....
Started having lots of nose dirt.
Wailed for our attention to carry you.
Enjoyed a new way of sleeping.
Had a hard time sleeping during the day.
Smiled. :)


Week 4, you....
Still had a hard time sleeping in the day.
Started to make your carrier's arm tired faster.
Wailed loudly and faked cries for carrying.
Threw tantrums - refused feedings!
Stuck out your tongue and played with your saliva.


Time flies. It's been a month of parenthood for us.

Happy full month our dear baby boy. May you continue to grow longer(taller), healthier and smarter! Daddy and Mummy loves you.

Before and after

I miss being pregnant.. Having a life inside me felt amazing. His kicks, punches and hiccups were a constant reminder of life's miracles. I would say that the 41 week journey was filled with mainly excitement, joy and anxiety. I'm thankful morning sickness wasn't a friend of our pregnancy! Haa.

Will he be enstrangled by the umbilical cord? Have 10 fingers and toes? Cleft lips? Normal ears? Healthy? Look like daddy or mummy? Tall? Short? Smart? These were just some of the questions I had in my mind.

Now that Colin is out, our once peaceful world has been conquered by baby cries, milk, pee, shit and interrupted nights. Really thankful our nights aren't exactly sleepless because Colin nurses quite routinely at 12am, 3am and 6am since week 2. So we get some sleep if Colin sleeps immediately after his feeds. Hope it stays that way :D Of course, on some nights he just wanna be cuddled or sleeping with us.

Our cute little sticky cheeky boy!

Humpty Dumpty

Hubby's version of this classic nursery rhyme.

Humpty dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty dumpty had a great fall
All the king's soldiers and all the king's man
Couldn't put humpty dumpty back together again

Dear Colin, your daddy isn't very good at this. But at least he has his own version. :) There are many other funny ones! Ahhaha

Oh, and this is mummy at 21 weeks.

Baby Language

Expecting a new addition in your family? Hope this video will help you understand the little one better! :)

 

Learning from others

Read read and read. I know one will never be 100% ready to be a parent for every child is unique. I can only prepare as much as I can to provide the best I can when the time comes, which I have been doing so since 2005 after my ex-colleague gave birth to her first kid. :) Seeing how she tried to cope with her first kid was an eye opener for me. So I was determined to arm myself with more knowledge and started deciding on what I would do if this... and if that... and if...

I've long decided to do hypnobirthing, get a pupsik pouch sling, weighed the pros and cons of cloth vs disposable diapers, learned about kiddo problems (middle child syndrome, twin's personalities, ADHD, autism...) and how some parents made their 2yr olds break their habit of sucking their pacifier, why tummy times are important for baby, how to develop their motor skills and other intelligences, and lots more... Although I don't know when I will be a mother. :D I just pray that day will eventually come.

Today I realised that I've skipped the most important step, which is how a couple, the foundation in the family, goes through the ups and downs of pregnancy - the emotional rollercoasters, physical and mental challenges, different thoughts, habits, needs and wants, and preferred method of getting things done.

That led to a new area of reading! First up! An article by Robert Allen Savage for parents to be. Have a good laugh from a dad's point of view! :D
http://www.helium.com/items/1876067-what-to-expect-during-pregnacy


Second article - The Psychological Side of Pregnancy by Brenda Hunter.
http://www.troubledwith.com/Transitions/A000000622.cfm?topic=transitions%3a%20having%20a%20baby