A Little More To Life: April 2008

Last day as a SAHM, baby can sit unsupported

Tomorrow marks the end of my days as a SAHM, as I start on my new job.

Baby gave me a nice present today ~ he can sit unsupported for 3-5 minutes. So happy I managed to capture it on camera :) (5mths 1week and 2days old) According to his health booklet 90% of babies can sit unsupported for more than 5 secs when they are 7.5mths. Cool...

Also he can
- bear some weight on his legs for 1-2mins when we are holding him under his arms loosely. 90% can bear weight on legs for a few secs when they are 6mths old.
- laughs out loud without being tickled.. in fact he gei gei laugh to attract our attention to come play with him!!! Cheeky fellow

FisherPrice Jumperoo & Leapfrog Baby Learn & Groove Activity Station

Ethan can hold his head steady now, and it is about time for us to get him a walker. Actually heard that exersaucer is much better than walker, as baby will learn to walk instead of tiptoe and charrrrrggggeee! Hehe but the price of an exersaucer is many times of a normal walker. So as not to let Ethan have a deprived childhood, we decided to let Ethan try out the jumperoo & exersaucer at Mothercare... and took some photos as evidence... hehe... so cheapo rite :p... come to think of it, last time no exersaucer or jumperoo we still managed to learn to walk normally too mah??? Anyway can't wait for the Great Singapore Sale to start, then can get a walker for Ethan. He's so bored repeating the same old activities with mommy already, he not bored, mommy also bored :p

Dunno wrong height or what, his feet couldn't reach the ground, we had to help him "jump"

Alamak, wrong height, his legs was dangling in mid air...

Anyway... see this "xi xing yan jiu" fellow, already look bored liao... keke

Babylegs

Just thought of capturing Ethan's 'enclosed' feet before he grows out of this phrase...

Check out the Babylegs mommy got for him! To keep his legs and tiny feet warm in air con places. Very convenient just slip on when its cold... much better than blanket, cos he keep putting the blanket to his mouth. Cute design right? Attracted lots of attention when we bring him shopping at AMK hub today.

http://www.babylegs.net/
Can't find in local shopping centres, so order from local online stores:
http://www.bbtinz.com/
http://www.babybeans.com.sg/catalog/index.php

Hehe... Ethan sticking out his tongue

And his mega watt smile!

Goodness till the last drop

It is so amazing how the body can be trained to produce milk as per the frequency of the pumping sessions, now I can stretch for long hours without feeling engorged but supply dropping like crazy. My intention was to stop breastfeeding once I start work, but knowing that BM is the best food for baby, abit 'bu she de' to deprive him. I still hope to maintain at least 1x feed per day until Ethan is 6mths old (i.e. 3 more weeks to go... shouldn't be too difficult bah, altho tiring for me lar)

SAHM

One of the mommy in forum summarised the happiness and woes of a SAHM so well...

"I think those who said SAHM "eng" hor, must be either without kids, or their kids very big liao and they forgot how tough it was to take care of them by themselves, or they have maids or MIL/mothers to help take care, or they have never taken care of bbs alone full time ....I have no help at all after my confinement, and only me and my hb in the US, so being a full time SAHM, and face Ethan 24/7, really very "bo eng" ....Ethan is high demanding kid as when I put him down, he will cry. My arms breaking liao ...he likes to be in sling, so sometimes I put him in sling and do cooking, do some housework, type email , and not forgetting still have many bottles to wash and sterilize ...I can hear my whole back "cracking" liao ..haaaa....actually I rather work than to stay at home taking care of kid full time, but when I see him grow each day, there is a sense of satisfaction because it's something that I get to witness first and Daddy second (I will tell my hb what Ethan does each day) ... like from grinning to smiling, and then to big laughing, from sucking his finger to sucking his toes ...from blowing small bubble to blowing big raspberries ...haaa....and these are the small little things that bbs do, and it's so heart-warming to see our bbs developing each day and learn new things and we get to witness them first hand, and each time when Ethan does new thing, I will quickly use camcorder to tape down the moment...I being SAHM also no choice, no help here mah ...having said that, I still hope to get back into work force soon and put Ethan in childcare when he is slightly older ... looking after kid is very taxing, and satisfiying too , I agree .... "

Ethan...5 months!

Some development milestones achieved this month:
- flip from back lying position to front
- steady head
- bear some weight on feet
- much better motor skills
- stick out tongue with phssssh sounds
- bite his lower lip
- grab anything comes near
- grab his own feet

For his 5th mth bd, Ethan's mommy dig out this toy which Ethan received for his full month celebration, it is actually meant for 6+mths, but KS mommy thinks maybe can give him some headsup... keke

Daddy bought alot of books for Ethan at the recent Popular Sales, and mommy is trying to teach Ethan how to flip the pages... look cute holding book boh?

Same here, cultivating him to become a bookworm...

Seldom take his side view, which to mommy is interesting to look at too

Swimming disaster

Yesterday we brought Ethan swimming at Punggol Plaza again... this time with his grandma, aunt and cousin... to show off his swimming skills. But it turned out to be a total disaster. Once the float was put around his neck he started crying... and the orchestra continued even when we put him in the tub, in fact even louder. We concluded that he was hungry, with his last feed being close to 4hrs ago. He was quickly wrapped in a towel and fed. He greedily gobbled up the milk in 5mins. After finishing his milk, we thought he is ready for his swim, then he peed on his daddy and the floor. After cleaning him briefly, when the lady try to put the float at his neck, he cried out very loudly, and even more loudly when he was placed in the water... aiyo! He still continue to cry even when we take him out of the water. Don't even allow us to put him down, so bo bian have to quickly, anyhow put on his diaper, give pacifier and walk out of the shop with only a blanket around him, and he fell asleep almost immediately.

We have learnt out lesson... before taking him for a swim, must must must let him have his nap first and his milk. Else it'll be a nightmare... guaranteed with a chop!

Recent Photos of Ethan

I'm practising my pose for graduation photo...

Oh Great! My first solid would be chocolate ice cream with whipped cream and fruity stars! Yummy!

I'm the leaf amongst the roses

Ethan can flip & says boooo...

This is for record purpose, Ethan managed to flip successfully on his own on 4th April 2008, 4mths and 3weeks old.

He also learnt how to say "Booooooooooooo...." with lots of saliva. Think is he will speak soon since he has realised he can use his lips and not just his tongue or throat to make sounds. Some credit must go to mummy who used fingers to move his lips when he was making the "aaaa...." sound the previous day... so "aaa..." become "maaaa..." Hehe, perhaps he'll know how to call mama before dada... ;)