MMR vaccination

MMR is a combi of measles, mumps & rubella vaccines to be given to either a 9-month-old baby or a 1-year-old tot & no in between. i forgot to ask our paed why is that so. anyone to clue me in on the missing puzzle? i believe big bro an was given this jap when he turned 1 but that was ages ago.

anyway, han had his shot on 19 march & dr told us to expect fever after a week’s time for the vaccine to take effect. however the fever came 3 days later & han’s body temperature was hot, hot, hot for a week! yes, a week!

han was fussing a lot. he’d no appetite for anything except breast milk. i wish i’d lots to give him. poor child! he’s also teething & isn’t keen to drink from his bottle. we've to spoon feed him water & formula milk - patience required!

he weighed 8.5kg on 19 march. i’m 100% sure he has lost some of that. i’m glad there was no sight nor smell of fever on him last night. in fact he slept soundly & so did we.

ah well, as long as he’s building antibodies within his system, never mind the hassle :o)

what big bro an watches

bob the builder
favourite character: naughty spud the scarecrow

mr bean
when watching mr bean, he’ll be asking 101 questions as to what mr bean is up to even when he knows the answer & has watched it a zillion times!

if ah ma or myself is sitting with him while he watches mr bean & we’re busy reading or doing some other things, he’ll plainly turn our heads in the direction of the tv & says, “watch this! watch this!” it can be distracting at times but cute that he wants to share his funny mr bean moments with whoever next to him.

madagascar
he has been into madagascar since the movie was out. grandma bought him 3 madagascar tees in blue, orange & yellow. he wants to wear it morning, noon & night!

madeleine
i’m pleasantly surprised that an actually watches madeleine with seriousness & concentration on his face.

pocoyo
his latest fascination is with pocoyo. i think pocoyo is delightful! i like pocoyo myself & would buy a pocoyo tee if there was any for sale!

little einsteins
an has been mentioning little einsteins to me. i must watch it.

babyhood to a tot!

graduation day finally came for han on 17 march! he’s no longer a baby! oh yeah!

when it was time to give han his pressies, we’d lil’ gifts wrapped for big bro an as well. always include the 1st born in everything - that’s what i’ve learnt after having han.

we celebrated our birthdays at kampung nelayan’s puteri & had a scrumptious dinner on board in one of puteri’s room lili. it was really cosy!

granpa was giving han his 1st taste of the sweeter things in life that evening. he kept starring at grandpa in hope of getting more cake stuffed into his mouth. kids’ food can be bland or blah! he must have had quite an experience with the super-duper yummy chocolate moist birthday cake & decided that chocolate is definitely a good thing. haha! i for one has a sweet tooth & love chocolate to bits!

pssst! i secretly shared my cornetto ice-cream with han once & we’d a blast! he ate most of the top part & left the cone to me. naughty mommy!

our party guests

grandpa & grandma

aunty jess, aunty lisa & uncle wee
(uncle nico couldn’t make it from brunei & missed out on a lot of yummy goodies! may be next time!)

uncle jeremy, ah ma, ah kong & ah ku* (*uncle in hokkien)

story time

i love children’s books. i can be in the children section of a bookstore forever. i love the simplicity of the stories created for young intelligent minds & the beautiful illustrations that come with it.

i bought 2 books for an the other day. both books are clearly transportation/occupation & construction site/machinery related. books that can interest him for a good long time.

the 1st book has this special window in every page. it’s a see-through piece, somewhat like an ohp transparency with realistic images of a work site – dump truck, cement mixer, crane, fork lift, etc. it was a rather costly small book but the creativity of the author & illustrator is brilliant.

the 2nd book teaches a child to ponder on the given situation & discover the best solution with the aid of a wheel. it’s not too hard for youngsters cos coloured clues are offered to match the solutions from the wheel.

an was glued to both books instantly. the end.

magical han

1 more week to my 1st birthday!

i'm a big boy!
i’m standing tall & walking proudly.
sometimes i try to run like my big bro
but he’s still too fast for me.
i’ll catch up to him very soon.
i still stumble but i can get up
on my own now & without help.
yeah! i’m excited to be 1,
the BIG number 1!

stay at home mom vs working mom

i was a sahm for 2 years & this is what i can share with you…

sahm pros:

1. every second is spent with your "angel/s"
2. you really get to see them grow in inches!
3. you bring them everywhere with you
4. you play, play & play all day long
5. you tend to take more precious pictures
6. you learn to look at things through their eyes which you’ve neglected for years
7. you learn to let go, trusting that GOD provides
8. you learn to live life to the fullest!

sahm cons:

1. less time for me, myself & i
2. some days can be difficult & exhausting

yup, there were days when i needed time for JUST ME. striking a balance is super important. everyone needs time to recuperate, be pampered. i’m all for that! i never regretted being a sahm.

working mom pros:

1. you get your space for 9 hours indefinitely (including lunch breaks)
2. you feel good contributing to financial commitments
3. you get a kick when you perform well at work, self-satisfaction i.e.

working mom cons:

1. you miss out on their growing years cos they do grow fast
2. you miss their “first” everything in life (well, almost!)
3. you miss them & are constantly thinking about their well-being
4. if & when you go out shopping during lunch breaks, you tend to head straight to the children’s dept
5. you tend to look at their pictures on your h/p
6. you tend to call home to "hear" how they are
7. it’s especially hard to leave them when they’re unwell (i can’t do it)
8. you think about being a sahm again (i know i do even when i love what i’m doing right now)

WWF in da house!

i pray for good health

poor han was just recovering from his cold & this week he’s having hand-foot-mouth disease aka coxsackievirus a16. i took 2 days off work to be with him, am contemplating on taking some more days.

these pictures aren’t pretty! han’s having lil’ red dots on his heels, some have turned into sores. the biggest sore is on one of his knees which makes it harder for him to crawl. the "pro" to not crawling is that he’s making huge efforts to walk cos it hurts his knee too much. thank goodness it didn’t spread to his hands & mouth. doctor confirmed it by thoroughly checking the insides of his mouth. if not, he can have ulcers & a sore throat, not to mention fever!
there’s nothing to take nor cream to apply for HFMD. horrible virus! it’ll go away in a week’s time or so. we’ll just have to wait for the sores to dry. it looks more like an active volcano about to erupt. sigh!

han has lost weight. poor poor baby! i honestly hope he gets well soon. no more cold, no more sores.

he’s still smiling despite all that & being his playful self. it really broke my heart to see him cry when i left for work this morning. sigh!

learn more about HFMD:
national center for infectious diseases
dr greene