Showing posts with label Baby Development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baby Development. Show all posts

Wednesday, 28 January 2009

19 Months Old : A rebel?

1 comment(s)
At 19 months-old and my BABY DAUGHTER (she is and always will be our baby!) has already turned into a teenager! Grrr.... *exhausted*

She fusses, she screams for attention, sometimes she brushes you off.


During lunch today
I feed her a spoonful of rice saying "
Sek fan la." (Eat rice la) - my attempt at establishing "chinese vocab" in my young daughter.

She says "
Rice!" - so much for my attempts!

After a few bites, she demands "Chic-chen!" (translate : chicken). I obliged. She eats happily... then.. "SOUP!". LOL! Well, at least she likes her soups - that is a very good chinese habit. :D


Near dinner-time
Me busy in the kitchen. She comes and screams at the kitchen entrance, walks into the kitchen
(we have trained her not to do so, she is clearly testing her boundaries, this lady!), reverses out when I scream "OUT Shean! No coming into the kitchen".

She puts both her hands up in the air, frustrated that I am not giving her any attention. Punches the air/rolls on the floor/throwing her toys around in fits of tantrum. I stop what I am doing when she throws her toys, goes out and tells her firmly "
No throwing your toys. Pick it up NOW". She relents after a few scolding. I make her say sorry. She mumbles "Bor-wee" (sorry?).

These days, she also puts out both her hands and says "
Pou pou!" (a little accented, may I add.. meaning "Carry me" in cantonese), everytime I am busy.

The
terrible twos has started, hasn't it?


BEDTIME : Daddy putting her to bed
Dad kisses her good night and covers her with a blanket. He looks lovingly at his perfect-in-everyway daughter... and she says "GO!" and pointing him to the door!

Meng comes running to me, complaining of her rushing him out now. Heh!

(Shean Wenn's "GO!" ala "You're fired", Apprentice-style)



On another more visual note, here are some photos of us swimming after New Year's



Photos above : You can clearly see Shean Wenn in her "swimming chair" while Karmen is using her swimming tube which I MUST add, is such a great product for babies this age. It is essentially like a swimming ring, but designed so well that it has a clasp to open and close so you can put your baby's head in it easily, strap her on and she's on her way to great paddling motion!

On a side note, if you notice in the background of the photos, we are facing the O2 Arena (Millenium Dome for those who didn't keep up to date after leaving England in 2000 :P)

Photos below : Look how happy Shean Wenn is, using it! She was practically focussing ONLY on her kicks! See the bubbles splashing around us??? She was just kicking and kicking, stopping only to check her toes ;)

My friend Michelle is selling it (Suitable from birth to up to 18kg). Do drop me an e-mail at tsulinplusplus[at]gmail.com to enquire.


Saturday, 20 December 2008

Busy Bees

5 comment(s)
The past 2 weeks were so manic for us. I've been staying in London for almost 2 years (3, if you include the 1 year I was here before going back to KL again to work & prepare for the wedding) and this is the busiest I;ve ever been!

Since meeting Michelle & Kaka, and especially since Michelle got a car (yayy!).. the four of us have been going out alot during the weekdays. It was mainly for the two girls's benefit. What we did these 2 weeks.

9 Dec : Baby Gym
10 Dec : Went to Kaka's place for lunch and play
13 Dec : Michelle & I went to Billingsgate Fish Market to buy fresh fish. We left at 530am!
15 Dec : Museum of Docklands for Musical Monday
16 Dec : Kaka came over to play during lunch - I made the kids's lunch while Michelle brought Pizza for us!
17 Dec : Children's Garden (Steiner Playgroup)
18 Dec : BY came over for lunch and "interview" for coursework.
19 Dec : Messy Play at the local sure start centre, then off for lunch with the other moms.

And topping it off, I fell sick last Thursday and haven't been able to recover quite as fast due to my "hectic" schedule. I had runny nose & sorethroat and although have almost recovered, I still have a lingering ticklish cough due to my sorethroat and am now having a hoarse & sexy voice. ;)

When we met another mom, Jessica (mom to XinYi) who is a M'sian, we had even more activities - some of them introduced to us by her. She then introduced us to her friend and neighbour Jenny (mom to a boy Matt & girl MayLin). The other day, after our Messy Play, the four mothers, along with our five kids went for yumcha at a local chinese restaurant. Shean Wenn fell asleep in the car on the short 5 minutes drive there and I had to carry her WITH her baby carseat (she no longer uses this but I now use this to transport her in Michelle's car because it is such a hassle to install her toddler carseat) into the restaurant, and THIS resulted in a backache today.

Shean Wenn woke up halfway through lunch and she happily ate whatever I put on her bowl. And then, I turned away for awhile and she stood up and grabbed the hot water teacup next to Michelle and started to pour the water! I quickly grabbed it away from her and luckily she wasn't hurt or burnt by the water. What a near-miss... obviously I got a big nagging from the hubs when I relayed this story to him. Must be ultra careful now. Especially when Shean Wenn is such an inquisitive and fast-learner!

After their lunch, the older kids went down to play, running around the restaurant. The little ones looked on with envy and anticipation. I let SW down after she had finished her food and she happily ran around, playing with the other kids. I think she really enjoyed the company of the other kids. The five of them had so much fun in each other's company.

Here are some photos taken during Musical Mondays at the beautiful Museum of Docklands.



In the Mudlarks area : An area dedicated for kids under 5s. Shean Wenn spent a long time playing on their sandbox, and the sand/water/river bunk.
An "explainer" explaining about the various boxes in the mudlarks gallery to the enthusiastic kids!

Karmen on the scale - how cute!

During musical time, the organiser blew bubbles (as snow) as he illustrates a Christmas tale... the kids were ecstatic! SW as usual, observed quietly from her place before deciding her next step - JOINING IN THE FUN.



More photos of the kids's play to ensue (when I get it off Michelle because, poor me has no camera).

Saturday, 20 September 2008

At 15 Months Old

2 comment(s)
Little Shean Wenn is not so "little" anymore, sometimes when I look at her, she seems like an independent little person doing something so "grown up" and my heart will fill with pride and a little smile appears on my lips.

Statistics
Height : 77cm
Weight : 9.5kg

Speech Development/ Vocab : Bird, Flower, Bread ("Beed"), Fish, Owl. "Mum mumm" to indicate that she wants to eat. She understands "bathing" & "drink water" (in cantonese & Hainanese). She babbles ALOT and it usually sounds like a tongue-twister.

Walking : This is one area that we are a little concerned. I have noticed since last month that she still walks with a little "bow-legged"-ly. Bear in mind she has been walking since 11.5 months old, so it has been 3 months since she has been walking. Bow leg is a condition where her legs seems a little "crooked"/"bent" when she is walking (kinda like Incredible Hulk way of walking). According to websites, my friend Michelle and the Health Visitor (HV), bowleggedness can be a genetically inherited trait but VERY rarely is caused by Vitamin D deficiency. They also said it will usually correct itself after they turn 2 or so. Anyway, I brought her to be consulted by the GP as well (yes, I like seeking 2nd, 3rd, 4th opinions). The GP mentioned the same thing and said when she turns 18 months old, I can bring her in again to be consulted and see if we need to futher consult a Paed (as we need GP's referral to go to a private Paed).

Reading : Still loves reading. Sometimes when she is bored at home and I can't be bothered to entertain her, she will rummage through her toys and pull out one of her books and sit down with it to read (and if she sees a STAR, she will start "singing" Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with hand gestures. I say "singing" because it's still doesn't make sense as her lyrics consists of baabbaabaabbaaba baba). And after a few rounds of reading, she might bring her book to me and pat my thighs while pushing the book to me to ask me to read to her (usually she wants me to read to her her "In the Night Garden" (ITNG) storybook).

Television : OBSESSED WITH IT! OMG. Every morning after her morning milk (which her dad will make for her before he goes to work), she will run to me (I will be in my bed snoring away) and bug me to switch on the TV for her. I usually ignore her as much as I can, but she is a persistent little person! When I relent and come off the bed, she will lead me to the front of the TV while pointing to it as if asking me to SWITCH IT ON, now. When I switch it on and a song comes on, she will dance infront of the telly - her dance routine is swinging of hands, turning around a few times till dizzy, then clap hands! It's quite funny and I love to see her dance! She can almost memorize the ITNG song-routine, whether the Tittifers (birds) are singing - she will say "Bird" at this time, or if Makka Pakka is singing - she will be clapping her hands while turning round and round, or if it's the start of the show where she will use her index finger to circle the other palm (like how they do so in the show) when the song starts.

Potty-trained : Not yet. I am going to start..... hmmm... maybe next month. (I still haven't bought a potty).

Brushing teeth : Not yet. I am going to start... later.

Sleep : She is sleep-trained. BUT is quite a fussy sleeper. Can only sleep on her cot or our bed but cannot seem to fathom how to do so when she needs to (for example when she is very sleepy in the day, she should just sleep on the sofa? No, she can't. She needs to bug me to put her to bed in her cot).

Climbing stairs : She will do so at any chance when she sees a stairs or an opportunity to climb. She is a late starter in this climbing business (probably only started to climb at 12 MO, since we do not have stairs in the apartment) but she is diligent and very eager to practice when she sees one.

Food : She LOVES to eat BREAD! She will always sign for "mumm mumm" (putting her finger to her mouth) and then walk to the outside of the kitchen (because she has been trained not to go into the kitchen) and tells me "Beed, beed" (meaning bread). She also likes to eat whatever we give her when we go out to the restaurant. Although her appetite has waned a little since her fever last week, it is slowly gaining it back. She now kinda like to eat bland porridge.

Milk : 9oz twice a day and at night 4oz (sometimes skipping the night feed) depending on her mood. She will lie down on the sofa to drink while watching telly during the afternoon feed. I know, what a TV addict!

Hello/Goodbye : Will wave hello or goodbye and give a flying kiss when you ask her (and if she is in the mood to give you one). She will look very sad when her dad goes off to work in the mornings, sometimes only manage to give him a half-wave goodbye. And when daddy comes home (she hears the key on the door) and she will say (not shout) "Baba". If she is watching telly or eating, she will glance at the hubs and smile before turning back to concentrate on the telly or eating.

A neat-freak or an organised-mess? : Unfortunately, she did not take after daddy's tidiness but instead inherited my wonderful organisation of mess. Give her 1 minute and she will re-organise the toys from where it was to a pile of mess on the FLOOR. I have been telling her "Please put things back where they belong" (like how they sing it on Cbeebies), all falling on deaf-ears, I'm afraid. SIGH.

Social skills : Have improved alot, I must say, especially since meeting and being friends with Karmen. Karmen is now on a 3-week holiday with her family but when she was around, Karmen loves to give SW hugs when she sees SW. So whenever SW sees Karmen, they will both acknowledge each other, instead of K trying to give SW a hug and SW running away and screaming. I am very proud of this transition. Will surely bring her to meet more kids later. For example today when she was at the "Park & Farm", she saw another girl (a 4YO) she looked at her and tried to smile at her (the other girl didn't notice SW yet).

Friday, 29 August 2008

Speech development

4 comment(s)
It is so cute now that she can utter a few words : Flower (Fwawa), Book (Bookk) and Owl (OWL, yes the nocturnal bird), amongst them.

Everywhere she goes, anything she sees that resembles a flower, she will point to it saying "Fwawa" - flowers on her dress/mine, flowers in the park, flowers on TV, a photo of a flower, etc etc.

"Fwawa, fwawa", she says, looking at me while I nod approvingly. Then, she stood up and proceeded to stomp on them!

She also understands commands/sentences :
> Do you want nen-nen (milk)?? She will usually nod her head many times and walk towards the kitchen to ENSURE that I make it there and then.
> Do you want biscuit/mum-mum(eat)? (she can understand both) Again, it's a nod to this question.

But there is one command she will conveniently ignore - "NO!" - she can even imitate me doing the "No" (shaking my index finger side-to-side). I find it very funny when she does that!

Sometimes she will "sign" that she wants to eat (mum-mum) by pointing her index finger towards her mouth, sometimes she will say "mum mum", sometimes without it. When I see her doing it, I will usually ask her if she wants to eat/mum-mum. She will nod.

I don't teach her to sign alot (she will do it only if she wants to), but there is a programme on Cbeebies which she likes to watch where they will teach the babies to "sign". I am not sure if she picks up any signing from there, but she watches it intently.

Sunday, 3 August 2008

Confessions of a bookworm

7 comment(s)

(Click here for credits)

She really loves her books..

She will read them first thing in the mornings, or when she is bored during the day, and the last thing before going to bed.

This morning she woke up at 6am, I carried her out from her cot and lay her down next to me on my bed. Usually she will read by herself, babbling incessantly along with the pages. Today, she poked me with the book - my eyes almost went blind, my nose mercilessly being hit a few times. She wants me to read her a story. I am not a morning person, certainly not so between 5.00-7.30am (just let me sleep!). I grudgingly took the book (for fear of being blinded) flipped through it and mumbled "Doggy Wooow wooow and Bear Ggrrrrrr were playing ball on the beach" (I always teach her the animals by accompanying the sound that the respective animals make)- I hear her grumbling, as though unhappy. I opened one eye - OOOOPS, the book is upside-down. I flipped back the right side up and continued the story which I now know by heart... she happily responded with every of my word. After 2 pages, I fell back asleep and she left me alone, reading on her own again.

(Her favourite books - "In the Night Garden"'s Makka Pakka Washed Faces & All Aboard the Ninky-Nonk)

Sometimes at night, she will even hug her book to sleep! -_-"

Friday, 25 July 2008

13th Month Update : Viral Fever

5 comment(s)
(My sweet darling!)


STATS
Weight : 9.25kg
Height : Approx 73cm
(25th percentile - British Standard)

Just a day shy of her turning 13 Months Old (23 Jul), she woke up at 4am with fever. Her body was very warm to my touch and I took her temperature immediately - 38.5c. I woke up, gave her some water to drink which she took willingly. I fed her some paracetamol and put a cold towel on her forehead to cool her down. I did that for a good half hour and she went to bed with quite abit of fuss.
(23 Jul afternoon)


In the morning, I called up the GP (General Practitioner) and one of them spoke to me and asked me to come in should the fever not come down. At 430pm, I brought her along to see him (Dr Bat aka Dr Quack as he is the only one on duty) - he says it is most likely a viral fever but to continue monitoring her. And if the fever still remains high, to visit him on Fri morning. Her temperature fluctuated the next 2 days, usually getting worse in the evenings and night. During the day, it actually came down to normal (36.5c to 37.3c). Nights, night time is the worst. When her temperature soars, she will become very clingy and whiny - the consolation, I tell myself is that at least she is displaying her discomfort so I can tell she isn't feeling too well. The past 2 nights, I have been waking up every 2 or 3 hours to take her temperature (she will wake up anyway), and I will also feed her with either Ibuprofen or Paracetamol (with Diphenhydramine - an antihistamine) to stabilise her temperature.

To cool down her temperature, I did the following :
> Alternate between Ibuprofen and Paracetamol (with Diphenhydramine) every 5 or 6 hours according to the respective dosage. (taking into account her body weight)
> Gave her showers 3 or 4 times a day. Luckily she likes it!
> Dress her lightly (or even without a top, as it was very warm yesterday).
> Put wet towel on her forehead.
(Cooling down her body temperature)
(Today, not as hot as yesterday, so she wears a light dress)


This morning, her temperature went up to 39.3c (HIGH) and I again gave her Ibuprofen. I called the surgery again and went in to see a GP (this time I got who i wanted, I really like this GP) eventhough by then her temperature went back to normal (36.5c). The GP checked Shean Wenn and found that she had bad throat infection and that may be the cause of her fever, but she thinks it could be viral as well. Since it is a Friday, she precribed us an anti-biotic and told me to monitor her for the next 24 hours before giving it to her. If the fever subsided and does not peak up, I do not need to give her the anti-biotics anyway.

I noticed in the afternoon that she had some minor pink spots on her body. My friends Michelle and Mrs Chip-Pea told me it could be just viral rashes, or the Roseola (both common in children). Anyway, the spots did not persist for long, by evening it has subsided quite abit.

We will still continue to monitor her. At least now that the hubs is back (he flies off for business during the weekdays and comes back during weekends, for the past FOUR WEEKS), he can help me with the night duties. Although of course, we pray she gets better soon.

For me, the worse is the erratic meal time - I woke up this morning with minor gastric pain. And of course, my internet time has also been cut back to 20% from the usual. :(

Monday, 21 July 2008

Milestone : Self- Feeding

4 comment(s)
At 12 months, I can definitely see that my baby has a STRONG character. It's not a bad trait to have, although it can baffle me at the same time : "Where did she learn how to do that?".

Take mealtimes for instance : I strap her in her highchair, put on her bib and proceed to try to feed her a spoonful of her lunch. She shakes her head in determination (and refuses to open her mouth): No no no, mummy! No! (That is what I interpret her to be telling me). What this means : "I want to feed myself!" So, I let her hold her spoon, fiddle with her lunch/dinner. Then only will she be willing to let me feed her. The result of me letting her let have a go is a huge mess : food lands up everywhere - floor, on her seat, her clothes, her toes, ME! I don't mind, I believe she needs to learn to master this skill and I do not subscribe to suppressing her (wanting to explore, to learn new experiences) just for MY CONVENIENCE!
(Trying to feed herself - Job well done this time!)

Then of course, are the times where she really DEMANDS things to be done her way. How do I react to her tantrums? I try to contain my anger, I try not to shout at her to stop doing that. But sometimes, I err. I hope she is not picking it up from me :P Anyway, I am still trying to figure this out. They say these little ones are a mirror of what we are to them.

On a lighter note, some of her "demands" are reasonable : Like this morning, she demanded (pointing and taking down her crocs and passed them to me, while uttering "UHH UHH UHH", which i presume was "wear them for me??"). I obliged. She happily wore them around the house like it's her second skin. After a bit, she decides she doesn't want to wear them and sat down and peeled off the strap and... THROW THEM on the spot. I am still trying to work out how to teach her to put things back where they belong. Currently, she does help me out during the evenings when I ask her to help me put things away, but only if I tell her to.

"The crocs Grandpa bought for me!"

Thursday, 3 July 2008

Sleep tosser

1 comment(s)

She is a sleep tosser on the bed (tossing, turning, flipping from one side to another, turning 180degrees, everywhere) and I suspect because of this, she cannot seem to soothe herself to sleep if tied down, and is therefore a complete NIGHTMARE when she is out travelling with us in the car. The regulations here state that she must be in a carseat, so lately when she is out with us in the car, and she happens to be in a sleepy mood, she will scream her lungs out (trying to get to sleep but cannot)! ANY attempts to pacify her is met with utter defiance ; those flailng arms pushing away the book/toy/object-of-pacification.

For the first 11 months of her life, I had actually thought "Wow, what a relatively easy baby I have" and have given a few pats on my back myself. Travelling with her was not too bad, yes she did have bouts of crying in the car (once for 2 hours travelling from Northampton back to London) but she was younger and she was probably not comfortable. We got used to having her to behave and co-operate during short and mid-distance car-rides. She can also fall asleep on her own (like most babies do as they love to sit in a car).

Well, the day has come. And I believe the MIL and FIL are quite afraid of her tantrums in the car, the FIL commented "You are such a lovely girl when you are not crying!". They saw the worst of her unfortunately. It also coincided with her turning one, perhaps this is just a run-down to the "Terrible Twos".. and yes, I have read that "Terrible Twos" can start anywhere form 1 year old to 2+. Sigh.

Anyway, I digress : back to her sleeping habit - I don't know; not willing perhaps, when I should be training her to sleep on her own. Her being a sleep-tosser does not help as, if I were to force her to fall asleep on her cot, there is just not enough space for her to maneuvre!

Ahh, space. This is what we lack in our box-like apartment in the beautiful(sarcasm, if you must know), overpriced real-estate in Metropolitan London.

(Ssshhhhh, she finally goes to sleep. With her is her new soft toy, Iggle Piggle - from the "In the Night Garden" children's programme which she loves currently - a soft toy bought by the grandparents. On her left, a smaller doll, is one I made for her during the many Steiner playgroup sessions - it has been filled with luscious sun-dried Lavendars from the nursery's own garden! It looks ugly, I am crap at sewing, yes.)

Anyway, tonight I tried to put her to bed by plonking her in her cot - it took me 2 hours. It was a tug of war - she cries, stands up, calling for me. Me (cowering), sitting down looking at floor, trying to ignore her pleas. She, shouts more. Me, sing, talk - anything to distract her. She got distracted for abit. I tell her to sleep. She lies down, closes her eyes ("PLEASE PLEASE GO TO SLEEP" I prayed in my head), opens them again and climbs back up. *REPEAT CYCLE 30 TIMES*

Dare I try again tomorrow?

Monday, 30 June 2008

A tiger in our midst?

3 comment(s)
One early morning, I was woken up by a growling, a growl similar to that of a tiger, perhaps?

"Grrrrr grrrr grrrrrr..", the growling persisted. Both my eyes wide opened (it must've been 630am), I turned to my left and found Shean Wenn, sandwiched between us practicing her tiger cub growling. The hubs and I both smiled.

SW has just acquired this new skill and must have been keen to perfect her mastery of it. I usually read to her her animal book - "Monkey (pointing to the picture of the monkey), monkey goes Hoohoohahaha", "Duck, ducky goes quack quack", "Doggy, doggy goes wooow woooow", and so on and so forth.

Then last week when MIL first arrived, she also read and taught her animal noises. The Tiger growl stuck! >

So now,

Us : "SW, What does a tiger do?"
SW : "Grrrrrrr grrrrr grrrrrrr!"

Us : "SW, What does a bear do?"
SW : "Grrrrrrr grrrrr grrrrrrr!"
... uhh, ok.


Us : "SW, What does a duck do?"
SW : "Grrrrrrr grrrrr grrrrrrr!"

Us : "SW, What does a doggy do?"
SW : "Grrrrrrr grrrrr grrrrrrr!"


-x-x-x-x-x-


Saying that, she really has a good association with objects and parts of the body. For example, if you point to a picture of a fish on her book and ask her "What is this?" She will say "Fish". If you ask her where is her Pooh Bear (a soft toy bought by my cousin for SW), she will walk to Pooh Bear and grab him, sometimes passing Pooh Bear to us. If you open a book and ask her where is Elmo? She will point out Elmo to you. She can also identify parts of her body : Head, Nose, Toes.

Tuesday, 17 June 2008

Setting Boundaries

2 comment(s)
As they are getting to the 1-year mark, they tend to want to learn and explore the world around them - one of it being asserting their "rights". Shean Wenn is no exception, and sometimes she tries to test her boundaries. We, as first time parents, try as much as possible to nurture her to become a well-mannered, balanced and happy baby - not to misbehave, but there is always a balance between spoiling them or hindering their growth process and the line can be quite grey - to me, personally, I think it's all about trial and error and since not all kids have the same attributes, we need to approach with care when it comes to "disciplining". Since I think it is not acceptable to have bad manners!


DAY 1

During the weekend, hubs did a wonderful job teaching her about PHYSICAL BOUNDARY. As we could not actually put a safety gate across the kitchen opening, and she will scream her lungs out if I try to put her in her playpen... the hubs has resorted to teaching Shean Wenn not to go into the kitchen. Sounds like a tall order? I thought it was pretty daunting, but the key is persistence, consistency and very clear instructions to her.

At first, when SW goes into the kitchen, the hubs will give a stern warning "No, daddy says cannot go into the kitchen. Now, come back out here" and he stands outside the kitchen waiting for her to come out. He won't leave till she does. Or, he will carry her out and put her outside and tell her she cannot go in. He repeated this perhaps 5 or 6 times that evening... and she kind of got it. I told him that it will work if he is around, but when he is at work, it will not work! She will definitely come in when I cook.


DAY 2

The next day, sans daddy. She came into the kitchen in the morning while I was making milk for her. I tried the same tactic. She refused to come out, and sat there for awhile. She even threw abit of tantrum! I ignored her pleas and cries.. and she lied down on the kitchen floor, tummy on floor, eyes looking at me. Defiance! I showed her the milk and asked her to come out. After awhile, she came out.

In the evenings, I tried the technique 3 or 4 times and she finally got it.

DAY 3

This morning, she was hesitating if she should/could step into the kitchen. No way, missy! She has learnt well. Let's hope this will last!

(Hmm, your hand is inside the no-go zone, missy!) ("Argh, I can't step in!")
(Somewhat frustrated that she can't come into the kitchen)

Sunday, 8 June 2008

Little Miss Yoga (Instructor)

5 comment(s)
From the studio of Yoga-mistress Shean Wenn : doing The Sun Salutation


1. Start with this "praying" position (the rest of the Yoga World calls this the "Stick" pose).




2. Then, with a strong push : Exhale, lift from the hips and push back and up! The "Downward Dog".




3. Don't forget to smile!




Credits : For proper instuctions, please go to this site.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The past couple of weeks, she has found a new hobby. She does this everytime during nappy-changing time which is exasperating for us nappy-changers. Halfway through a nappy change, she would run away and do one of this Yoga poses and we would have to chase her down to finish the job! But once in her nappy, and she doing this, I find it just too cute. I love it when you run your fingers (like a spider) and "catch" her nose with them (your fingers).. and she would just burst out laughing....

(Part of the "Little Miss..." series)

Monday, 26 May 2008

Milestone : Walking

2 comment(s)
She is still cruising, but she cruises pretty well. Getting from one place to another very fast and effective with the assistance of furniture around. At best, she takes a few steps - slow steps, but defnitely taking steps independantly. Occasionally, she falls down, and sometimes without tears, she climbs back up and on her toes again.


Last week, I had an appointment in the city and the appointment involved some waiting time. (half hours, twice. Waste of my time, and it was near lunch time. HUNGER PANGS) Shean Wenn spent an hour sleeping in her stroller, oblivious to the hustle and bustle around her (it was a busy office). When she woke up, she was in a jolly mood.




Here is she using the stroller as a "Walker". I think it is time that we get her a proper walker. I had my eyes on a walker-cum-rider, at least to me, it gives more value because once they passed the "Walking" stage, they can use the walker as a vehicle and ride around the house.


I really like this Fisher Price Laugh and Learn, Walk and Drive "Car". But it's quite impossible to find it in the retail stores.


The other one is this, which is the FP Stride to Ride walker which I spied in Wollies selling for £20 (cheap, normal RSP is around £27.79-29.99).


Now, the difficult bit is actually convincing the hubs that we need this. He has lamented many times that our apartment is too small for another toy!

Friday, 9 May 2008

10.5 Months Old

6 comment(s)

Words recognition (expanded to now include the following):
1. "Twinkle twinkle little stars" (sing to the tune of "twinkle twinkle little star") - Shean Wenn will make the gesture of "twinkling stars" with both her hands and fingers when you sing her the song. VERY CUTE!

2. "Clap your hands" - usually she needs to be prompted by the song "Happy and you know it" to get her clapping happily. Sometimes I put on the CD with that song and she'll listen and wait till the part where they say "clap your hands" before she claps!



3. Duckie - I bought a bath time duck for her (not a rubber duck, but one with winding). When you wind the duck, the legs will kick thus creating some excitement in the bathtub for her. She likes to bite on its legs though(she is teething).

4. Elmo - We bought her a "tickle me Elmo" (Watch this video of it in action here - not my video, just something to show you) last year. When she was 4 months old, I showed it to her and she got scared of Elmo. NOW, now she laughs along, tries to pinch his nose, scratch his eyes, and always pushing him down (she's SO excited!). Once she even sat on him and he started laughing and she laughed along, wondering where did the laughter come from?! She loves watching Elmo laugh and she is happy to see him too.


------------------
Teeth : You can now see 2 incisors emerging from her gums (bottom). Slow and steady, these two!


Please, teething problems, away you go! Shooooooh!


------------------
BIG MILESTONE today :
As I was having my lunch, Shean Wenn was playing with her toys. Then she went into her playpen (I usually leave the gate open) and when she saw Elmo, she was so happy she started waving at him (I know I know.. she thinks Elmo is "real") and started to take a few steps towards it - 4 steps with NO SUPPORT! I am a proud mommy, me. 9th May is the day she took her first steps. Well i know she needs more time to practice before she can become truly independent in her steps, but this is a big milestone for her (me). **hugs self**

Wednesday, 7 May 2008

Shean Wenn's first playgroup

1 comment(s)
After searching for many months for a suitable one, I finally stumbled upon this parent & child group. And what a delight when I found it!

This particular playgroup is part of the "Children's Garden Early Years Centre" and is located within a university campus. The centre based their teaching on Waldorf Education. After reading up on them, I thought Shean Wenn would really benefit from this so I went for the first time today.


(At the waterfront - we had some spare time before the "class" starts)

The facilitator/teacher is Katie and she greeted both me and Shean Wenn at the entrance to "Maple Hut" (one of the 3 rooms of this children's centre) before telling me that she is planning to bake a cake for our meals later on!


(Infront of the children's centre : The wooden structure on the left-back is the building of the centre)


What I liked about Steiner Education (which the centre based its teaching/playing methods) :

>> This is a child-led, but structured play - with activities for the child aged 0-3 years old, and even for the parent!

>> Is based on an understanding of the relevance of the different phases of child development, split into 3 phases :


>> Sees artistic activity and the development of the imagination as integral to learning

>> Steiner Waldorf pedagogy believes that early childhood learning is largely experiential, imitative and sensory-based.The education emphasizes learning through practical activities.


The "structured play" programme mainly consists of the below :
"Free play" - kids play as they like, with the toys which are made of natural resources; ie made of wood, cloth or tins and they interact with kids around them if they so choose. The adults, in the meantime, contribute to the class by helping to "loose some wool" using two steel brushes putting the wool on one of them and brushing the two brushes against each other. It was fun, reminds me of "Kemahiran Hidup" (Living Skills - a subject taught in school) days. At one point during this time, Shean Wenn was chasing around (crawling) a boy who was pushing this wooden duck with flappy legs around the room. It was hilarious, she kept laughing because she is just so entertained by the duck.. and some of the moms were laughing at SW's antics saying she's just a cute baby.


(Riding on a wooden horse)
She was chasing a wooden duck similar to this one pulled along by a boy

Story time and "Circle time" - sit in a group while the teacher tells them a story while singing. We also did a dance around this pole (called "May Pole Dance" which is a traditional dance to celebrate the beginning of warmer weather or the arrival of summer) with ribbons. At around this time, the aroma of the yoghurt cake that is being baked in the oven filled the room. I was feeling hungry!

"Maypole"


Cleaning up time & washing hands- Instead of gathering the kids by giving "commands" which I expected from a "teacher", Katie's way of initiating an activity is by singing (as they believe in setting an example to the impressionable kids) what the class will be doing next; ie "Let's wash our hands, come come come. Wash away the dirt with soap... " (something like that).

Meal time - The table has been set and we each take a seat on the little baby chairs. I put SW on a chair as well. This is an important activity as well because it is teaching the kids socialising at the table. The kids got served rice crackers, raisins (SW was not given some due to her age), the freshly baked cake (Yoghurt cake) and some diluted apple juice. The adults got to eat cakes and spiced tea. Halfway enjoying her rice cracker, SW fell asleep on my arms (so cute).

Outdoor time - For kids to venture outside and just "go wild"! They were given a sun hat (hot hot day) and before long, they were running everywhere - jumping on the sandpit, carrying watering cans and filling them with water before pouring it on some poor plants! :) They really enjoyed themselves, I can see. I sat down on a bench with some of the other moms and talked.

*Ps : All the while, whenever there is a new activity going on, the facilitator/teacher will sing a song to prompt the kids (or the parents) to start this new activity.

(The class runs for 2 hours and costs £4)

After the class
Shean Wenn was still asleep in her stroller. It was a beautiful day so I went for a stroll along the waterfront and around the campus. The university was having a "Mayfest" Day - there's a stage with some bands playing, students milling everywhere and having their lunches on the grassy areas overlooking the waterfront, there were some food stalls, some art exhibition going on. The whole place was buzzing with activity!

(Further reading on the Waldorf Education : I did find some critics on the Waldorf education on the www, and although it might be a real concern, I believe at this age I can still "control" SW's cognitive development whether or not this method is "extremist". Giving this the benefit of the doubt, perhaps some Steiner Waldorf education centres has really overdone its teaching methods, by being extremist in its approach. We shall see. See here for context from one of its critics)

Thursday, 10 April 2008

9 Months 2 Weeks Old in photographs

4 comment(s)
Her developments the last 2 weeks have kind of plateau off. That only means she is reinforcing her current skills, in my opinion. She is still learning to stand, and still is hard at practice doing that.


Words recognition :

Since a month ago, she has been able to recognise or identify objects with what I say. It was quite a pleasant surprise when one day, while "filming" her (on the videocam) as she was pulling to stand in her playpen I had said "Where's monkey monkey?" (referring to her toy monkey which makes the sound "Hoohoo hahaha" when you press its tummy) - she, my little 8 and a half month old baby, turned around and looked for it and then crawled towards the monkey and grabbed it to play. Yes, I thought it was just a coincident. But I tested it a few more times that day and indeed she does recognise the word "Monkey"!

Another word she recognises (just today) is the word "Bear". If I put bear and monkey next to each other and say to her to get whichever one, she will choose the right one.



Reading :

She still likes to read! She is seen here trying to reach down to read the "electronic book" (ok, I think it's called an "interactive" book).





Hehe! Here being her cheeky self again - I hope she doesn't grow up to say that to me, of course!!

Wednesday, 2 April 2008

When mommy says NO.

3 comment(s)
For weeks now she's been practicing standing without support. Sometimes she holds onto something before releasing her grips and she then "free-stands" for a few seconds. The longest I think was 5 seconds. Short time for us adults, but for her, it's a great feat - And I'm proud of her.

(She wasn't holding on to anything on her right hand, and was trying to balance herself without support)


"Why...", you then ask, "is Shean Wenn not wearing long pants in cold spring (18 celcius in the room)?"

Well, I'll tell you, it is because this little girl was so naughty! Just 10minutes before that, I put her in her cot with a tub of her nappy rash healing cream to play (she was drumming it)... and went to the bathroom to clean up after her bath. Yes, she had just taken her bath - all clean and yummy smelling. And when I came out - horrors! Look what I found? And she didn't find it horrofying at all even when I gasped and told her in my sternest voice (while trying to hide my amusement) that "She should not do that! NO!"


"What did you just say mom?"


And yes, I had to wipe all the remnants of the cream off the cot and the floor!

Monday, 24 March 2008

She's 9 Months Old!

4 comment(s)

June 24th 2007 was 9 months ago... how time flies! Seems just only a week ago that I was in labour pain and trying to push her out of my system :) (And what a long labour it has been!)

(Shean Wenn and I at home)



SPEECH DEVELOPMENT

("Mommy, where are you bringing my food?")

She develops at a rate where I am trying to keep up. One day she loves reading, the next she just wants to babble and listen to me talk.

These days, her vocab consists of bababababa/dadada, mamama, mom-mom-mom-mom (eating), ter-ter-ter-ter, sher-sher-sher, etc etc.

I've noticed that she makes meaningful speech, although when I told this to Meng and Sis-in-law (SIL) Alicia, they dismissed it as she's just making "noise". Buy I really firmly believe that Shean Wenn does understand what she is saying.

For example : In the mornings (usually at 730am, yes, on the dot) she will cry her lungs out from her playpen (I put her out to play when she wakes up at 7-ish) crying "Mom-mom-mom-mom". To me, this indicates that she wants her milk. And I don't notice her saying mom-mom during other times besides meal-times. She will also say this during dinner time when she sees that I am bringing out her dinner.

Another example : She will call out to her dad when she sees him or hears him. When hubs calls out to her, she may even turn towards him calling out "dadadada/babababa".

Well, it could well be coincidence, but as her mom, I truly believe she is making meaningful speech here. Maybe this is what is known as "selective believing"!!


CURIOUSITY

Her curiosity is still bountiful! Just this morning, as I sat eating my very wholesome breakfast of sliced banana with cereals (at ground level), she came crawling and upon reaching me, held up onto my legs and stood up. She peaked into my bowl, at the same time licking her lips, and kept trying to bump her lips onto my bowl - trying to get a taste of what mommy is eating! I said "No, Shean Wenn, this is not your breakfast, you just had milk." She persisted. She put her mouth on my bowl, trying to sip my cereal & milk. How am I to finish my food like this? I hurriedly ate and made some baby cereal (oat cereals and avocado) for her.

"TECHNOLOGICALLY-INCLINED"

Looks like my little girl may just need her very own laptop soon (She does have a toy one, present from her grandparents). Look at how adept she is using the mouse and keyboard.


(Her favourite key on the keyboard is the spacebar)

 

tsulin + + All Rights Reserved Ros Designs