Week 18

"In my new dress"

Mon (22 Oct)
This is the second time we have to postpone her fourth month vaccination due to her recovering from her cold. We went to see the GP to get a diagnosis, and he said it is just the common cold. I mentioned to him that she had watery poo the night before and he checked and reassured us that she is not dehydrated.

Her fourth month vaccination involves THREE NEEDLES. Ouch.. Her previous 2 vaccinations involved 2 needles each. So this would be an extra jab onto one of her thighs. Be brave, my little girl! Ok, I should say that to myself instead since I am the one with the phobia of needles. :(


Autumn is here
... and it is not very agreeable to Shean Wenn's skin. Her eczema flares up easily during this very cold and dry weather. I have to diligently moisturise her lest her skin becomes too dry and her eczema will flare up.

But oh, look how pretty she is in her pink dress that I bought! I can now finally dress her up in pretty tights and the little skirt **laughs gleefully**




Drinking Water
I have started her on this new water (drinking) regime - to give her once after her sleep in the day or after her bath. On Wed, Thur and Fri, she did not protest much and drank 2oz each time! I am happy! This was after Mrs Chip-Pea advised me on her method. Good one. I hope it is not just a one-off thing but also hope she will, in time, love drinking water (and not be like me).


What's next?
Since I have a long time more to go before weaning her, I thought I shall not lose out in introducing new things to her. I have started to bring out the Avent Magic Non-Spill cup and letting her try to take sips (by sucking) of water on it. She finds this very unnecessary! She will wriggle her nose in disapproval. So far, I have tried to make her get used to the cup at least and also to encourage her hand-eye-mouth coordination by showing her how to hold the cup and putting it in her mouth. She is learning well. :)

Holding the cup all by herself! Good job, baby!

Today, while on our way to the mall, she finally held the cup with both hands and put it in her mouth. Of course getting her to sip it is another task! I will be trying to teach her that in the next week. **fingers cross* Hopefully she will be able to learn to drink water by herself in no time! Oh! What a hopeful mom, I am.

Look mom! TWO HANDS!

Current obsession : Sucking fingers
Yes, she likes to suck her fingers or thumbs, depending on which one finds it way to her mouth. Sometimes while bottlefeeding her, she will grab hold of my hands, and want to try to hold the bottle. And then her hands will inch its way to the teats and then, her fingers will end up in her mouth instead and she will abandon drinking milk altogether! Hmmm.. really a case of finger-licking good - much tastier than her milk, I guess!

**Muacks muacks!**

Week 16 & 17

Photo edited by my friend ES
The photo above was edited by a good friend, ES aka pixel. Thanks ES! See the original photo here.


Under the weather
It was inevitable. The hubs came down with the cold for almost 2 weeks and within a few days, Shean Wenn has caught it from her dad. I was still alright then, but finally succumbed to the cold virus last week. And that was the reason why I did not update this blog. It was torturous, especially with a baby (although she is not feeling well) who is so energetic! She will still wrestle with me to NOT DRINK her water whenever I try to feed some to her. At the end of each session, I will be SO EXHAUSTED I will need to put her down and get a rest myself.

Now, 1 week later, I am slowly but surely recovering... thanks to Superdrug's Vit C effervescent which I diligently drink everyday. It is difficult to care for a baby when you are feeling under the weather.

A walk in the park
The hubs, SIL and I brought Shean Wenn to the park for a little walk after a buffet session (for the adults!) one fine Sunday. This is the Kensington Garden where there is a Memorial Park for the late Princess Diana. During this brisk (and brief) walk, we even managed to take a few photos.

At "The small field of flowers" in memory of Princess Diana


Sleeping
During the night - in specific, the midnight feed, Shean Wenn will usually fall asleep on her own when I put her down after the feed. She usually dozes off after a few small cries. I also noticed she will rub her head vigorously side-to-side before falling asleep. A quick check with Tobey's mom and she confirms that he does that too. And this "habit" makes the hair at the back of her head crumpled up like dreadlocks and created a little bald patch too!

During the day, she usually does not fall asleep on her own easily. There would be more protests (read : crying) or completely refuses to sleep on her own eventhough I can see that she is very tired. After a few cuddles from me, then she will be able to fall asleep on my arms.

But I am determined to "train" her to sleep - and without swaddling. I am not swaddling her anymore as she is slowly out-growing the muslin cloth. It is not an easy task. She likes the freedom of both hands out, but yet has not learnt how to not stir herself up everytime she moved them after almost falling asleep. At the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) state, one or both of her hands will just need to move abit, and she'll be jerked from her sleep and get startled. Then the process will repeat... sometimes she does not get to go back to sleep and will wake up wide-eyed! And if she sees mommy around, she will flash a big smile (and melt my heart)at her, if she does not, she will scream to get her attention... and if I do not get there in time, start to cry. Oh boy, what am I to do with her?

She finally falls asleep... Sshhhhh...


Watching telly
Since she has turned 3 months and 2 weeks, I thought it was the right time to introduce some television to her. My programme of choice was of course The Baby Einstein Series. At first, I showed her the Baby Mozart... and like me, she found it extremely boring! (She pays very little attention to it when I switches it on and prefers to look around her instead. This went on for a few days and I decided to give up on that video) Next, I put in one that Daphne, my SIL gave us. It was the "Animals in my Yard" - and after a few times watching it, I think she finds it quite interesting although she does lose concentration after awhile. But better than nothing! Sometimes she even shrills while watching it halfway. I am not sure if her shrilling is due to something she was watching, or she is just practicing her laughter! But boy oh boy.. does it put a smile on my face when she laughs. :)

The hubs sometimes will put her on his lap to watch various other programmes - Rugby, Football, news, and even our all-time favourite Top Gear. So don't be surprised if she grows up to like these programmes. :P

And one day, when I spread out the mat and put some toys there for her to play, she chose to stare at the TV instead! (It was some property shows I am so fond of watching) Hehe, hmmmm... I wonder if I should limit her intake of TV programmes?

All the toys but she chose to stare at the telly!


Week 17 Stats
Weight : 5.85kg (Lost some weight due falling sick)

"I'm the new bunny on the blog!"

DSC01062, originally uploaded by Tsu Lin.

Currently not able to blog as much... but will do so in the coming weeks.

Photo taken today after bathtime.

Baby Tobey came to visit

Yesterday, the chip-pea family came to visit us in London!

The night before, Shean Wenn was briefed by her daddy about her new friend who will be coming to visit. She listened attentively and made no fuss about it.

But when the Chip-Pea family consisting of daddy chip-pea, mommy chip-pea and baby chip-pea (aka baby Tobey) came over to our house at lunch time.. she almost greeted Tobey with a cry. Of course, this is the first time she is meeting another baby so up close and personal, besides the "other baby" at the mirror. I quickly soothed her and she was calmed down in no time. Tobey did not cry at all, he just looked at Shean Wenn quizzically. He has met many babies up close and is not shy to strangers. He quickly took to us quite easily.

Despite attempts to introduce the two babies, they continue to ignore each other most of the time. Here is what transpired :


Tobey : Hmmmm, what is this thing over here? It looks so soft and fluffy... Maybe I should touch it to feel what it's like!
SW : Oooh, my toys my toys! Is mummy gonna let me play with them?



Tobey : Okay, it IS soft! I like.... I should ask daddy to get one just like this at home. I wonder if it's nice to lay on it?
SW : Hmmmmm.... what is Tobey doing? You think he will wanna lie on the cushion?



Tobey : Ahhhh!!! SO SOFT!
SW : Ahhh.... so soft!


Most of the time, Shean Wenn was well behaved and was a very good host. She sat quietly on her baby chair and chatted with us about her day (while we were having lunch). She even let Tobey sit on her rocker.. for a brief moment. Tobey decided that he would be able to see more if he's sitting up right on the sofa, or on mommy, daddy or my arms! He is very inquisitive.

And look at what mommy chip-pea bought for Shean Wenn - 2 packs of flasshcards. Which are very useful and educational for teaching Shean Wenn to identify colours and objects. I have started to show her the different colours. So far, she just stares at them intently. I wonder if she is registering what I am saying. Hopefully in another few months, she will be able to point out or pick out the right card when I ask her to. We will see.


Thanks Mrs Chip Pea for the flashcards!

Mrs Chip-Pea wrote about it here.

When I grow up....

I wanna be an accountant!!

DSC00964, originally uploaded by Tsu Lin.

Ok, let's start with both hands... 1, 2, ...

DSC00960, originally uploaded by Tsu Lin.

**flutter flutter fingers**

DSC00961, originally uploaded by Tsu Lin.

3, 4...

DSC00962, originally uploaded by Tsu Lin.

Hmmmm, maybe I should taste them.

DSC00963, originally uploaded by Tsu Lin.

YUMMY!

Week 15

She perpetually amazes me by her ability to do "purposeful" actions. I observed her trying to rock herself when I put her on her rocker a few days ago. Have a look :



This means her neck muscles are pretty strong. Hmmm girl, when are you able to sit on your own, then?


She likes to be propped up in this position now. So she can observe more... very nosey little girl!

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The hubs came back from Tesco one night with Katie Melua's latest album : Price. An album packed with her usual jazzy goodness, albeit lacks a little variety, me thinks.

"And even when I’m walking straight
I always end up in a perfect circle."

Wonderful lyrics from her song "Perfect Circle"

But judging from Shean Wenn's response, I think Melua's a winner to her. (She smiles when I sing her KAtie Melua's songs)

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Last night I cooked this new recipe by Mrs Chip-Pea. DRUNKEN CHILLI PRAWNS. Yumms! Nothing like simple, easy to prepare dinners, these days.

Week 14

Taken on 2 Oct

The week 14 ended with Shean Wenn crying for almost two hours before her midnight slumber. It was 11.30pm on Saturday the 29th and when she woke up from her sleep, I changed and fed her. And for 3 weeks now, she will be able to go back to sleep on her own after the midnight feed. But that night, she must be having griping pains as she cried after her feed. At one point, we were so worried and desperate, as I was carrying and cuddling her for almost 2 hours then... we decided to give her 2.5ml of Calpol (for fever and pain relief). She does not have a fever, but it was to help relief her pain. And as soon as she finished taking it, she fell asleep! I looked at the clock and it was already 2am on 30th Sep.

The next day, the 3 of us went to Bluewater to do some shopping. Afterwards, we headed to our favourite chinese restaurant for dinner. I fed her as soon as we arrive in the restaurant. She was happily observing her new surrounding. But just before they serve us the main course, Shean Wenn started crying... she cried for almost 45minutes and the hubs and I had to take turns carrying her and having our dinner. There was one point where she was crying SO LOUD, the WHOLE restaurant turned to look at this small little baby who was creating so much noise. Both the hubs and I weren't perturbed by the onlookers and just carried on trying to soothe her. Poor girl, she must be having griping pain, come to think of it. We finished our dinner and headed back.
Shean Wenn and mommy before she started crying in the packed restaurant.

Some observations of her at week 14 (3 months and 1 week old).

WATER DRINKING
As advised by the NHS, breastfed babies do not need to drink water. But I supplement her feed with 1 formula. So I believe she does need to drink water. Have been trying to inculcate her to drinking water but here is how the exercise will go : Put lukewarm water into her mouth. She spits out. She turns her head in disgust when I try again to feed her using the bottle. I persist, she persists... this goes on till she decided that she is not winning. So, she "pretends" to drink.. her mouth looks as though she is drinking, but she is actually not! That girl is a cheeky fellow. And when she thinks I am not watching, she spits some out and it drips onto her bib/shirt which makes me even more annoyed (as I have to change her and wash the shirt!). Lately, when I persist even more, she will even "choke" on her drink, and not before she grimaces as though I am making her drink something undrinkable! It is both very funny and cheeky of her! In the end, I give up... and I looked at the bottle and see my effort, all 10ml of it (half of it probably went to her shirt)! She is such a cheeky monkey when it comes to drinking water. I do not have a photo to show as usually I let her drink during the day when the hubs is at work.

BABBLING
I always believe that babies do have a vocabulary that they understand (and not us adults) as I noticed Shean Wenn will use some words consistently. This week, she has added more to her vocab and she also delights us by babbling alot more during the day (and night).

PUTTING ON MOISTURISER
Since the paediatric dermatologist that we go to advises us to moisturise her as much as we can (due to her eczema), I will usually put on for her everytime during nappy-changing time. She will grimace when I put them on her face. She does not seem to like her face being massaged. (I have to massage the lotion onto her skin, apparently, it is more effective that way)

Now that my eczema has cleared up, I look so much prettier, no?

LOOKING AT THE MIRROR
When we put her infront of the mirror, she loves seeing her reflection! She will smile at the reflection, and at times, even laughed at/with it! Occasionally, she will smile and coyly look away or bury her face on my shoulder... before turning to have a side glance at the reflection again. I guess she likes looking at what she is seeing. :) Sometimes when she is crying, we will bring her to the mirror and she will immediately stop crying and start to smile. Many a times, she will also speak very softly to "the other baby".
"Hello! Aren't you a beauty!" Shean Wenn must be telling herself as she smiles at her reflection.

Pavement art : Julian Beever

Was mucking around in Facebook when I came across this. Utterly cool!





Julian Beever is an artist who specialises in drawings on pavements, walls and some fine art. I think his pavement drawings are the coolest as they are "Anamorphic illusions drawn in a special distortion in order to create an impression of 3 dimensions when seen from one particular viewpoint." Sounds like something I learnt in uni during our Optical Electronics classes.