Week 29

As you can clearly see, bathing sessions are still a hit for master Tobey...



Crawling has progressed from backward crawl to a few steps FORWARD! Yipee! Speed of crawl depending to target object. Fast for remote controllers and superfast for exposed electrical wire.


He also can sit himself up from a lying down position. The combination of these two newfound skills enable him to cruise the space around him. This morning I found him under the table looking cheeky and smug...


before asking for help to get out...

I chose to ignore him a little, hoping that he'll try harder to figure his way out, but can't resist this pleaful face

Tobey also mastered the ability to pull himself to a standing position and stand for long period whilst supporting himself on something higher. He's currently practicing walking sideways when doing so.


Oh, I cut his hair as they were getting into his eyes. I did a bad job, but what to do, no guts to let the barber do it. Off went his baby curls, broke my heart. Well at least now I won't be faced with the question of " baby boy or girl?"

SLEEP RANT

This boy of mine has always been a terrible sleeper. The first few weeks of his life saw me rocking him for hours only to get him to sleep for several hours. Plus he almost NEVER sleeps in the daytime eventhough he's suppose to be a newborn. Also, he hated his cot. We introduced him the pacifier out of desperation for some sleep of our own. Then there were the short stints of the sarung and the swaddling. We then discovered that he likes sleeping on his side, just aided by the pacifier on his cot. We were overjoyed. He was doing 9-9 with two waking-up sessions for milk until 5 months old. Then he dropped one then both feeds within several days. He then did 10-12 hours straight without feed and just several "eh-eh" which just required me to put his pacifier in and he would fall back to sleep. THEN came the big timezone shift back to Malaysia...and his sleeping pattern became bad to shite! Now, he would go to bed around 10, wakes up around 2am for feed and has like a gazillion "eh-eh" sessions, each time he drops his pacifier!!!!!!!! I didn't wean him off pacifier ealier as I believed that normally babies would learn to pick their own pacifier up and put it back in their mouth around his age. But this boy refuses to do so even when he's perfectly able to. Grrrr! Good thing that we are both on holiday and can take turns to nap in the afternoon, if not I don't think we can function throughout the day. Quoting the character Squidworth from Sponge Bob Square Pants "...even my eyesbags have eyebags..." We tried everything, from feeding him food with higher energy content to changing his going to bed time....NOTHING works! He left us with no choice but to eliminate the need of the pacifier. This is because he needs to learn to fall asleep on his own without the need of the pacifier. Hopefully then he will stop his "eh-eh"-ness for good and just wakes up for his one feed if her needs to. So last night was the first cold tukey night...he cried persistently for 2 long hours. Both SK and I just sat outside the room trying to stay strong and not reach for the damn pacifier....he cried till his voice turned coarse and finally gave up and fell asleep. One STUBBORN boy! Tonight will be cold turkey night two....if we fail this time, it will be only when we return to UK in February that we'll attempt another time....which will be much harder as knowing Tobey's stubborness, he will wail the house down...well at least it would just affect us then and not other working relatives in the house. Urgh! why can't he just zzz without all the drama!

Week 28

What have I been doing this week? Same old, same old...

Played with several more baby friends/relatives...


Don't think I like sharing MY toys...


Practiced standing in my bathtub...


and walking in my walker...Now I can go to mummy whenever I wish...kekeke


and of course, going out my mummy and daddy...

Oh, someone pointed out, I look like this dude on my nappy pack...

I don't think so!

Week 27

This week has been a busy one for little Tobey. He met a total of four different baby friends and relatives. First was baby Jaydon, SK's cousin's baby boy who is 11 months old. Baby Jaydon can walk already! When Tobey saw baby Jaydon crawling and walking so well, he kept staring and kept trying to take one of his leaps and crawl backward. Tobey only let Jaydon played with his toys for a minute before taking it away from him again.Hmmm...worrying. The second baby was baby Isaac, born on the same day, month and year as Tobey. It was a dim sum outing, so both babies just managed to steal some glances at one another whilst the adults were yapping away. Tobey was well behaved in the restaurant. Then there were baby Juan, 2 1/2 years old (actually more like a toddler) and baby Bhalraj, 10 months old. All three played well together. Both 'big brothers' took turns to play with Tobey's toys whilst Tobey watched on as if trying to track the whereabouts of his toys.



In terms of development...I can't really describe them in words any longer. It's more of a character change and an increase of understanding of the happenings around him, of his carers, of his toys. More expressive when conveying his feelings and intentions. On the downside, his demand for attention, not only mine, has spiraled upwards until at times I felt like just ignoring him. It could be due to him teething or the drastic change in surroundings. Whatever it is, I hope this is just a phase...for I am SO TIRED!

Back in Malaysia (Week 26)

Tobey's journey on the plane was the most excrutiating experience for both him, me and SK. The night before the flight, both SK and Tobey started to feel unwell, and it only got so much worse on the flight. Tobey was too uncomfortable to settle down to sleep, so throughout most of the journey, I had to try to soothe him. It was AWFUL to see my usually happy baby to be so uncomfortable and unhappy. I will never want to put him on a flight again when he's unwell. Fortunately, once we landed, he recovered pretty quickly (except for the lingering phlegm...grrr). Even his dry rash went away. I just love this weather.

Oh, Tobey took his first plane journey with his baby friend Shean Wenn (baby Shean was a gem on the flight, such a sweetie). As usual, both of them clicked!


Tobey is having a ball of a time, basking in the constant attention of both sets of grandparents, uncles and aunties. As usual, he charms and it works. We managed to bring him out most days and he enjoyed looking around and getting attention from shoppers. Total strangers in shopping mall and restaurant seem to think that it's ok to touch his face or just simply stop and stare really 'closely'. SK suggested we should let him wear a t-shirt that says "Can look but don't touch" ;P

In terms of developement, he is making progress in learning to crawl. However, he is moving backward instead of forward. Still has to master the use of his knees. He also started to press on his cot rail or bath rim to try to stand...at the moment it's more of a squatting position.

Week 25

We went to Southampton for an overnight stay. Packed half the house along. We even brought the steriliser along! Tobey slept on a single hotel bed surrounded by pillows as the travel cot's base provided was too low. Woke up once during the night and had a tough time getting back to sleep. I bet it's because he's aware of his change in surrounding. All in all, it was a good first trial. Packing will be much easier the second time around.

He was a good sport throughout our exploration of that town and it's surrounding. Even when his stroller encountered a long stretch of bumpy old rocky-pebbled path on our way to the port. Charmed several shop assistants and shoppers with his smiles ;)

Week 23 & Week 24

These two weeks Tobey has been busy 'sociallising' with his baby friends. Week 23, Tobey went to visit baby Sam. Baby Sam is extremely adorable and inquisitive.
Both babies played along fine. You know, they pulled each other's shirts, shared toys, tried hard not to touch one another.....just incase people get the wrong idea.

However, on Week 24, baby Shean Wenn visited Tobey. Bear in mind, this is their second meet-up after they first met up on Week 18

They shared toys....
Tobey 'sayang'-ed baby Shean ......(actually I watched him like a hawk as he used to like to scratch faces)

and he even pecked Shean several times!!! Both babies actually sat and 'baby- talked' to one another for quite a while. Incredibly cute!

Now now now...Is it me or this boy is starting to show preference within his social circle :P

In terms of development, he's advancing in his finer motor movements, for example he is now able to move his wrist around when manipulating objects instead of moving his whole hand. We also witnessed him showing some gentler and more intentful actions. For example, he would gently touch one of his toy on the keys on his play xylo-piano to obtain a quieter note and the next minute he would decide to just hit it with full force to hear the outcome, before keeping still to ponder (on presumely the difference), and then continue his play. When SK and I sing, whistle (SK, I can't) whilst playing one of his musical toy, he would become very excited and would make alot of movement. Hopefully, when he's older, we can dance together! We realised he's outgrown his all his toys and we will need to get him more sophisticated toys to further encourage and to accompany his learning enthusiasm.

Week 22

This week Tobey got his BCG jab at the hospital. This little one looked at the needle going in and didn't even make a sound. He then kept looking at the nurse. I guess wondering what had she just done to him. He regained his appetite and most times ate all his lunch and dinner. As a result, he could go abit longer without food at night. I pray to God that this will last as that is one area that he's always lacking, sleep stretches. He needs his long sleep to rest properly. Of course, that will make me a better rested mummy as well. But if he decides to take longer afterall, I will accept it, as long as he's happy and healthy.

As you can see in the picture, nowadays he reaches further to grab objects and discovered the joy of bouncing whilst sitting down, especially on the mattress. Both of this developments see him tumbling to his front and back more often. He needs to learn to crawl.

His baby babbling produces more syllables nowadays, which amuses us till no end. Can't wait to hear his first word :)

Just pics

Current most favourite object...

.....colourful magazines. He will flip, crunch, hit, fling and taste it (which I'll try to stop) until the magazine is all soft and wrinkly....then he'll throw it to the ground and reach for another toy.

Week 21

Tobey was down with a cold from Tuesday to Friday. It wasn't nice as he still don't know how to clear the phlegm from his throat or to blow his runny nose. And he woke up quite often in the first two nights crying from the discomfort of his throat. We halted all his solid food intake and up his liquid intake. Thank God by Friday he's almost back to his old self. One thing I noticed about my son is that he has a positive spirit. Despite being so uncomfortable, he didn't really complain much but continue playing, albeit in a slower pace, and continue giving us his warm smiles.

The 'Trick or Treat'ers weren't that hardworking this year, hence we have quite an amount of leftover halloween sweeties. Tobey was excited beyond words when we allowed him to play with them



("Hmmm..I think there's more sweeties under the tin")

Week 20

Hi everybody! This is me, Tobey...

Let's see, this week my parents got me a new toy for my cot, it is Tigger from the Winnie the Pooh cartoon, I like! It has a springy tail that I can swing about!

(Tigger and me, best friends forever)

and I've also been practicing holding my own bottle. So far I can only hold it when it's half full.

I've also fell in love with one of my old toy.....my animal mobile.












I like to shake and swing it until it's all tangled...


and then get mummy to come untangle it for me...hehehe














I think I am slowly becoming a 'big boy' as nowadays, I don't really like to take my afternoon naps. I rather play with my toys. It's hard not being able to talk yet. So when I don't feel like napping when mummy put me in my cot, I'll just try to sit up with all my might and wiggle my way out. Drives mummy up the wall! kekekekke... I overheard mummy telling daddy that she'll let me set my new nap time from now on. I agree. Good stuff.

Well, till next week, take care all.

Love,
Tobey

Week 19

This week Tobey mastered the art of sitting unsupported when he concentrating on what he's doing (not when he's focused on his toys). He learned that if he's tumbling to his sides, he could use his hands to push himself upright again, and when he's tumbling backwards, he can head forward to avoid falling on his back. He's still practicing hard and relentlessly every chance he gets! During nap times, when he's got other ideas other than napping (like chewing on his toys), he'll try to sit up (It'll be interesting when he can climb down his cot). Sometimes, I had to resort to literally pressing him down (with all my might, as he's one strong boy) just to keep him horizontal. This boy can get really stubborn and this newfound skill of his (or rather ab strength) enable him to choose play over nap even though he badly needed some sleep! A bit like mommy.

He also managed to flip from front to back in his play cot. This came as a surprise to us as he hasn't really champion the skill of flipping from back to front yet. SK defended his dear son by saying that there's no benefit for him to flip from back to front,but by flipping from front to back he can actually get into a restful position. I think that's just the father in him talking. In my opinion, my son just hates to be on his front as it stops him from getting to his thumbs comfortably.

Current favorite habit would be swinging his toys really hard left and right until they flew off onto the floor. Can't wait to see what's next :)

Firsts

This weekend, it's Tobey's first propper attempt on the high chair...lasted 30 mins, I am happy!

and first time allowing us to keep a hat on his head throughout a trip

Chili Prawn

Thanks to Mae Pranom Brand- Chili Gravy for Fried Fish...a sauce that actually gives you want you expected of it.