Friday Five: R is for...

:: Rapid learning: I am always amazed at how quickly toddlers pick up things. Lil J has been fixing his own Duplo creations, doing lots of play cooking, and learning lots of new words. This week, he decided he would take care of his stuffed toys. He started washing them in the play sink ("puppy poopoo alot, wash bum bum"), running to the toilet to "dry" them on our towels ("puppy clean now!"), then cooking for them on the stove ("monkey, hot soup! J blow!") and feeding them. He would then bring them to his bed and pat them to sleep, while singing the alphabet song to them. It also means he picks up all sorts of things from his brother, who tries to get him to do naughty things like throw his toys about!

He loves stacking up the flowers and tells me "dog is driving!"
Even if they topple, he will declare "J fix!" and stack them up again. 

He likes to dress up, like his brother.
Once his hat is on, he declares "Go market! Buy fish!" and heads to the door!

:: Reluctant learner: Junior J is still very particular about what activities he would like to do at home. Books we read have to be about dinosaurs or animals. He doesn't want to try to form letters. Neither does he want to learn how to read. He's been down with a cold, and has been even more unwilling than usual to go outdoors, and has been pretty whiny and cranky. However, this boy has one thing he simply loves and will not say no to. Painting. Give him a brush and some paints and he will happily busy himself for the next 30 minutes or so. Which is why we've been doing more painting these days:

:: Recycling: And speaking of painting, we've been trying to do more crafts with recycled materials. We just bought a new sofa, and kept one of the big boxes... which Junior J declares he wants to transform into another natural history museum. I'm rather glad since this project would probably keep him busy for a week's worth of afternoons! (He has dropped his nap, so keeping this boy busy while I put Lil J down for his nap has been quite the challenge.)

:: Reorganizing: Meanwhile, when time permits, we've been unpacking the last of our boxes. And trying our best to declutter. One major project I'm trying to tackle would be to organize all the learning materials and art stuff that we have, so that everything is easily available when we need it. Its been really slow-going (who has the time to pack on top of the usual child-minding and chores and cooking?), but at least our home is slowly looking more presentable.

:: Reflux: It seems that age makes the process of pregnancy tougher, and this 3rd pregnancy has been the toughest thus far. I've been having rather bad heartburn on and off (something I got sometimes when expecting Lil J), and the sciatica and Braxton Hicks contractions have been most uncomfortable. We're only at week 24 though, so we have some way to go, so I'm just taking it one day at a time!

How was your week?


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Wordless Wednesday: Bun in the oven

I went off to cook lunch for the boys, and came back to find something baking in their kitchen oven. (This boy loves getting into all manner of tight spaces!)

PS: I am taking a break from "Thankful Tuesdays" this week, and am not sure if I'm going to continue with the linky. Do drop me a note if you still would like to link up! :)

Linking up with:

 

Wordless Wednesdays: Stripes

You have to admit it, only those under two can wear rainbow stripes and get away with it! (This was taken one morning in Copenhagen, when the sun was deliciously streaming into the room.)

Linking up with

Weekend Wanderings: One

Dearest Baby J,
This weekend, you turned one. One! Time with you seems to speed by faster than the way you zoom for that piece of dropped pasta on the floor (which you are really quick at doing). You arrived quickly, this tiny thing in my arms. Somehow the months have slipped by, while I was busy chasing after you while you tried to eat sand at the playground. I've lost track of time, and you amaze and remind me with each new milestone that you achieve that you are growing up, too quickly, too soon. How did one year past so fast? And how does one squeeze one year's memories in a letter? I can't, so I will write just about this weekend.

This weekend, we gave you another haircut. Which you weren't too happy about. You squirmed and wriggled but Papa managed to trim your hair. You are the squirmiest baby we've ever met and are not content to sit still in somebody's lap (unless we have a book).

This weekend, your brother made you a birthday cake. One of the things you can now eat, among the many things that he says you can't, until you're grown-up like him ("when baby J grows up, he can eat chocolates/cake/ice cream!").

Junior J making Gâteau au Yaourt (Yoghurt cake). We got our recipe from here.

This weekend, you played with your brother. You love hanging around with him, no matter that he takes your toys and sometimes pushes you around. You're a forgiving little fellow and love it when he reads to you ("That's an apple, baby! An apple!"). You cannot help but giggle when he does, even though you have no idea what the joke is about. I am so glad that the both of you have each other, and I'm so blessed to have the both of you.

This weekend, you read books. And pointed. And said "star!" and "tootle!" (turtle). And chewed your shoes, and exclaimed "shoooooo!".

This weekend, you smiled, even though you've caught the bad bug that has been plaguing your brother and I. You've been coughing and drippy and feverish, and I've had to type this while carrying you for most part of the night. You've vomited twice, but nevertheless, you're still able to give us that grin of yours, which makes these sick days feel more bearable.

I hope you'll get well soon, my little boy. Then we'll be able to have another celebration for you... Meanwhile, I'm praying that the sick days will pass more quickly, but the growing up days, more slowly!

Love,
Your Mama

Thinking Thursdays: Our museum (and 8 months)

It was the usual morning.  Me trying to get the boy to eat breakfast (he takes ages!), and then dressed to go out for a walk.  He whines "I don't want to go out!", which is something that happens almost everyday... so we end up staying indoors (I was just too tired to pile layers on the two of them!) and making this (while baby J crawled around and tried to chew cardboard boxes):

For now, its going to be a natural history museum.  It might become a house or cave next time.  Who knows?  Lots of possibilities out there!

And this little boy turns 8 months today:

2/3rds of a year!  Time flies... so fast that I've yet to even start filling the pages in his baby album yet.  Right now, he's a fast crawler, and is learning how to move from sitting to crawling.  He loves to get under the table, and likes to chew on radiator piping.  He's on two meals and loves sweet potatoes.  He adores his brother.  I really love this stage, where they are smiley and curious, yet not too destructive or defiant.  Can't believe that we'll be having a toddler on our hands in a matter of months!    

2 months

Dearest baby,

You just turned 2 months!  The first month was a time of adjustment for all of us, but I must say you were relatively easier to feed, so it came as no surprise to us when you put on quite a bit of weight.  (It's very satisfying to see all those chubby folds on your arms and legs!)  When you are hungry you like to stick out your tongue, or even suck loudly at your little fist, which amuses us very much.

Look Baby J, this is Trunky!

This past month has seen you starting to become a rather sociable little creature.  You've started cooing and gurgling at us, especially when we talk to you, and we find that irresistible.  You also hold conversations with the toys in your baby gym, and can lift your head to look around you.  Your brother now showers you with kisses everyday, and likes to hold your hand (but he sometimes tries to disturb you with a whack or two, or he would shout at you when you are napping).  Most of the time though, you two get along really well, and he would sing songs or talk to you while you coo at him.

All dressed for bed, in hand-me-down jammies.

You are able to fall asleep on your own in your cot sometimes, but most days I end up putting you in the carrier for your naps while i go about doing the housework.  I'm glad that your feeding frequency at night has decreased, and you occasionally go 3.5 hours between night feeds.

Your jaundice cleared up recently (no more poking at the polyclinic, yay!), thank God!  And most of all, we are thankful for the big blessing we have in you, little boy!

Love,
Your Mama
(who has resorted to journaling your milestones here since she has no time to do any layouts!)

Weekend wanderings: Confinement

While Junior J has been having a good time running around with his Ah Kong and Ah Ma at playgrounds, and having a splashing good time at the pool with his Papa... I've been stuck in confinement.  Not that I'm complaining of course, since Baby J has been keeping me up every night.  Whatever the case, its been nice snuggling with our newest family member, and marveling at how tiny those toes are...

We've been getting to know his little quirks too.  He seems to save most of his poop til after 12 midnight.  He poops projectile motion fashion, and once managed to spray Mama, the bed and Papa's pillow with poop (the first time this has ever happened in my few years as a mom!).  He makes these funny bird-like noises that we find adorable.  He's rather skinny, and so mittens don't seem to stay very long on him... and he has these amazingly long nails:

Junior J has been vacillating between loving and hating his little brother.  One moment, he's trying to beat him, the next moment, he's willing to give him little kisses.  So we're praying hard he'll be able to adjust to Baby J's presence soon...   

Have a blessed week ahead!

Baby J's birth story

Its already been 1 week since Baby J arrived!  Time really seems to have zoomed by.  Thought I should pen down his birth story before the post-pregnancy amnesia sinks in...

Those of you following this blog would know that the Braxton Hicks contractions for the previous few weeks were pretty strong (and we had a few false alarms too).  I wasn't too sure how to tell if it was going to be the real thing or not, and hubby kept asking me "How far apart are they?  Are they regular?".  Last Thursday, the contractions were coming on and off at a rate of 2-3 an hour, and I think I freaked my hairdresser out by constantly timing my contractions while he was trimming my hair (good thing I did get that haircut, since we ended up at the hospital the next day!).

Friday (21st Oct) rolled by, and the contractions were still pretty frequent.  My gynae did a check that morning, and told us it was going to be soon, probably the next day, or even that night itself!  Then she told us some bad news: she was going to be in KL to give a talk on Sunday, so she would have to arrange for back-up if I happened to need to deliver on Sunday.

What followed was a whole flurry of activity.  We decided to go for a nice lunch with Junior J (just in case it was Mama's "last supper" before she had to go on the confinement diet), then it was back home for the boy's nap.  We had to rush down to the hospital after the boy woke up, to sign the forms for the cord blood banking (we had totally forgot to arrange for this!).  Little boy insisted on playing at the playground after that, and since the contractions seemed to be getting more frequent, I decided to sit in the car to rest while waiting for them.  I started timing them properly, and realized with a start, that they were actually coming at a regular interval of 7 minutes!

We decided to risk it and went to drop off the boy at my parent's place (initially I had hoped we'd be able to put him to bed first, since he was used to us doing so), gobbled down dinner (my mum would have been most upset if we didn't eat since she had cooked for us, and even tried to make us "tabao" fruits along to the hospital!), ran back home to get some stuff, and rushed back to the hospital again, reaching there at about 8 pm.

Half an hour later, we were all settled in and I got my epidural (yes, I'm a ninny wrt pain, and anyway, the hubby says all his female anaesthetist colleagues opted for epidurals, which more or less vouches for the safety of the procedure).  My gynae popped by, did a check, and thought it'll probably take awhile, and left.  Thinking it'll be a long wait, the hubby settled down to clear some urgent work, while I was googling about how to push (again, it's post-pregnancy amnesia to blame).  Time passed rather uneventfully, except for the time I rolled to my side, and Baby J's heart rate started to drop dramatically (but that was remedied once I rolled to lie on my back).

Then at about 10 plus, the nurse did a check, and decided it was time.  She called my gynae, and then I was asked to wait until she arrived.  She came, and the pushing started.  A couple of eye-ball popping pushes later (I thought I was going to burst the capillaries in my eyes), and Baby J arrived, just slightly after 11 pm!

All in all, I'm really thankful that God saw us through those 9 months, and:

:: That the whole labour process was pretty quick this round (a friend commented that it took a shorter time for me to give birth than for her to finish her beer!), and recovery has been much faster as well.  I'm still not back to normal, but at least I was able to get up and about the next day.

:: That the epidural worked pretty well.  I had the minor side-effects like shivering, nausea and a slight headache, but the pain relief this time was really effective.  I was rather worried about this, since in Junior J's case the epidural didn't cover some of the pain, and they had to give me a second one... (it was supposedly what tends to happen to the spouses of anaesthetists, where pain relief procedures seem to go wrong!)

:: We managed to settle Junior J under my parents' care before going to the hospital (one of our initial worries was that we'd be unable to get them by phone when the time came), and even though it was his first time ever having to go to sleep without papa or mama being around, he was a champ and didn't give his grandparents any problems (in fact, he reportedly told them what to do in our usual routine!).

:: For the quiet week we had, since this round we decided to have a "no visitors rule" for the first week (save for very close friends), to let us settle down and allow for Junior J to get used to his brother's presence.

:: For our parents' help in taking care of Junior J, helping around the house, and my mum, who has been helping in the chores and cooking my confinement food.

So we are still one small happy family, but this family just got a lil' bigger!