Week 16

My baby is finally 16 weeks old( 4 months)!!!!!!!!! :)

Over the weekend, we didn't get to do much as SK had to work. On Monday, we took Tobey to SK's office for the customary 'bring your new baby in to show us' stunt. It's only fair as his colleagues actually showered Tobey with so many gifts! And also a lovely bouquet of flowers for me after my delivery ( I wanted to post this flower pic up long time ago...kept putting it off as it reminds me of the difficult first weeks)

Back to the main character...Tobey warmed up to SK's colleagues quite quickly. Initially, he was quiet, then when they started letting him hold their fingers, he started to see them as friends as he kept trying to put their fingers in his mouth. Lots of smiles and laughs as well. They thought he looked too tall and too big to come out of me (according to one of them I was petite..HAHAHAHAHHA) and that he looked more like a 8 months old baby rather than a 4 months old. We also managed to go to McD as I was craving for some. I saw this grotty old high chair at a corner and decided to let Tobey sit on it, as the chair looked pretty safe.

He enjoyed being on it but I took him off after a minute as he was still abit wobbly in that position.

I discovered that Tobey finds the "A-Boo-Chuk" game hilarious! It's a simple game - one of us would hide our face behind our hands, say "a-Boo", wait a little and then open our hands whilst saying "chuk" loudly to provide that element of suprise to the baby. We tried that game on him when he was a few weeks old, but to no effect. But this time, he would giggle and laugh each time we "A-Boo-Chuk" him. When we hide behind our hands, and wait , he would try to pry our fingers open impatiently as he don't want to be shocked! These are some of the faces he pulled



Funny boy. Oh, we've done some trial run sessions in feeding him solid, just to see what he thought of it. Basically just some rice cereal or some Farley's Rusk mixed with his usual milk to a gooey consistency. He loved the rusk and just tolerated the rice cereal. In fact, each time I took the spoon away from his mouth to scoop more rusk, he protested, as he thought the rusk came free-flowingly from his spoon! Towards the end of the meal, I just gave up and let him have his magic spoon....One thing I noticed, he would still want his milk at the end. I guess he sees these feeding episodes were just another one of mummy's crazy games...he'll understand more when I incorporate it into his routine this coming week.



What else....oh he started to drool alot, dunno why. His sleep pattern became more erratic as well. He still starts his sleep at 9 pm but would still wake up twice between 9 pm to 9 am. SIGH! Nevermind, I shall be patient..at least until he's 6 months old. His sleep stretch is now between 5-6.5 hours. It would be nice if he can go without for longer. I roughly measured his height the other day and he's measuring about 70 cm.

Week 15

Over the weekend, we went to London to visit friends. Tobey's first time to London. He also met 2 years old Dominic. Cute Dominic touched Tobey's foot and quickly ran back to his dad, so funny! It's a shame that we stay so far aways from them, else, it would be nice for Tobey to have a 'big brother' to teach him the ropes ;)

We also managed a trip to Abington Park in Northampton. It was serene and it's nice to stay away from the malls for a weekend. But SK is adamant that I should bring Tobey out to be amongst many people, or to people watch. So, I'll have to bring him to the mall in Milton Keynes again tomorrow. Thank God it's a weekday. This time, I don't plan to stay out with him for long. I am also too lazy to walk much. Probably just plonk ourselves in Costa or Starbucks to people watch.

This week I witnessed Tob's first flip to his front. It happened after his bath yesterday. He was on the bed and I just went away for a split second to get his lotion. When I came back, he was doing it, turning to his left side until his tummy touched the bed. He got his left hand stuck though. Most probably just a one-off as he's not that keen to practice and would scream at us if we try to roll him around. Well, hopefully he'll make that part of his activity when he's ready, in his own time. Speech wise, he's been babbling more as well.

He's showing signs of readiness to wean to solid food, such as

• Holding his or her head up and controlling head movements.



• Sitting well when supported.



• Making chewing motions.



• Doubling his or her birth weight.



• Less interest in his milk
  



• Attempting to put things in his mouth all the time.
  



• Displaying curiosity about what we eat.
  

It's not recommended by the health profesionals in the UK to introduce solid to an infant below 16 weeks of age. Such a bummer as I am very sure he's ready now. I'll probably do several testing sessions on Week 16, just to see how ready he actually is. Week 17 will be THE week. We've got all his weaning utensils, rice cereal and Farley Rusk all stocked up in the cupboards, ready for his new adventure!

Week 14

Nothing much has been happening, out little charmer has been...well...charming every stranger that comes his way. He's been very generous with his smiles, even to strangers. When in shopping malls, crossing the road or in the shops, I'll often get some 'awww's and 'hehe's. That's Tobey working his magic!

It's been a busy week. We had a small dinner party, visited Birmingham (Tobey first long distance), went to Milton Keynes shopping centre (just mummy and Tobey) and the usual outdoor walks (it's more like chilling out in the garden nowadays... LAZY...hehe).

Tobey has also been showing his short temperness. Usually to his dad in the evenings, when he's whining for his bath and bottle. He would gnaw at his dad's chest and shriek at the same time! SCARY. Good thing it's only to his dad ;)

Week 13

The weather has been extra kind this week. We managed to spend alot of time outdoors. I took Tobey to town on my own for the first time this week. It was managable and I would certainly do it again. We've also spent some time in the garden where I attempted to introduce my son to whatever lifeform I can find in the garden. Not sure whether he absorbed any information, but he sure did enjoyed putting things into his mouth. Over the weekend, our little family went on our usual mini adventures as well. Oh, we bought a rug for the hall where Tobey usually play, in preparation for winter.

This week, Tobey improved on his movement. They are now more 'purposeful', for example, when he's sleepy, he would rub his eyes with the back of his hands instead of rubbing using his fist. Or when he touches his feet, he would touch only the toes. He also developed this weird habit of scratching on surfaces. He would scratch his toys, the sofa, US, and whichever surface that catches his attention.

I've been introducing him to flash cards and alphabet booklets. His attention span for those kinda things is rather short. He prefers putting them in his mouth. I don't mind, as I mentioned, it's just introduction to some learning materials. However there's this poem book that I try to read to him daily, that he loves. Most of the time he would sit through the whole reading and stares and gurgles at the colourful pics. He probably finds poems 'calming'.

I hope that in week 14, the weather will once again permits us more time to be outdoors.

Curry mee

instant one of course...but soon, very soon I can have the real thing in M'sia. Can't wait!

Rash update

As a result of his dry patches/rashes




We planned to put his mittens back on, but took it off again as he couldn't suck his thumb with them on (thumb sucking is his new found passion btw). But big mistake, he scratched them whilst asleep and resulted in THIS!



ARRRRRRGH! So heart sick! That was when we closed our eyes and put his mittens on disregarding his protests....at least until his rashes subside. It did, thankfully. That was after me being obsessed with keeping his skin moist and ensuring his nails are well trimmed and filed.

This pic was taken this morning

Gosh! hard being a mum.

Victorious!

Preparing to go out no longer just involve taking a shower, decide on what to wear and hop into the car. It involves packing the nappy bag with enough disposable nappies, wipes, disinfectant spray, a change of clothes, a blanket, a muslin square, pacifierS, nappy rash cream, plastic bags, a toy and of course the obligatory bottles, formula, hot water for feeds. Then come the loading of his gears into the car. The car seat, the stroller and the baby carrier. We would then ensure Tobey is well fed, burped and changed into suitable clothing.

I remember clearly the first trip out we took with Tobey. It was nerve wrecking.

It was to our usual shopping haunt. Our main focus was on him, everything around, the shops, the sales, the people, the weather, the fashion were lost on us. They were just some blurry images that we passed as we pushed our stroller along. For me, it was like a trip that marked the start of normalcy, the finish line that signified my readiness to rejoin the outside world. What used to be just another boring trip before Tobey’s arrival became literally a life-changing event. We knew if we can endure the first trip without breaking down, the subsequent trips would gradually get easier…and hopefully one day it would be a breeze and we would actually enjoy shopping again. So we took off every weekend without fail. To the park, to the shops, to restaurants, we even try to do evening walks on weekdays; weather permitting of course…each trip taught us more on how to manage a baby whilst trying to achieve other goals. On learning Tobey’s preferences on the stroller, on the carriers, on crowds, and more.

Glad to say that today was the day we 100% enjoyed ourselves fully without the slightest doubt of our competency to attend to Tobey when being away from the safety of our home. It felt as though we were back to our pre-child couple days, except now we are actually with child and have his needs to attend to along the way.

We were out for 5 hours today. Tobey was a gem. He slept when he wanted to, he sat up and look around between naps, he smiled and laughed.

I am positive that all three of us enjoyed ourselves.