Category Archives: Milestones

First, it was the toast…

Posted by Misty Mom on 05/06/2008 4 comments

Yay, Arianna sudah naik pangkat!!! [Promoted in short]

I knew that at this age she should be venturing to more textured foods but I can’t help but be afraid in case she choked or something. And I guess that the first time she gagged on a piece of mushed carrot, I totally freaked out and took a backstep to grated carrots instead. But after awhile I realised that she wasn’t really choking but just her gag reflex getting used to new textures and this was confirmed by the childhood nurse we visited awhile back so all is good.

So anyway, since MIL keeps telling me indirectly how her boys were sucking and chomping on toast and lamb cutlets at Arianna’s age, I decided, albeit a little reluctantly, to let her try some toast. I knew it was time to move on to some finger foods and well……see for yourself :

Obviously rather proud that she has tried something new for the first time.

Ooo, look Mummy, I can squash it and it did’t squeek!!

What was left of the aforementioned toast which obviously has been better days! :P

All in all, she would have actually had a whole slice if half of it weren’t tortured and thrown on the floor. Which reminds me that I have to go get a huge plastic table clothe so that I can lay it underneath her highchair, she’s getting into the stage of throwing food even before she’s done so, hhmmm…..let’s just say that I spend a hell of a lot of time picking bits and pieces of food off my carpet. And this is just the beginning.

Mummy is slowly getting used to big baby food messes….

Sitting up!

Posted by Misty Mom on 11/04/2008 5 comments

Finally I found the time to blog about this major development! :) [Aida, you're a superwoman for being able to cope with 2 toddlers under 2, keep your home clutter free, feed everyone at home AND sew!]

Arianna has been sitting up for longer periods of time unaided since 9/4/2008 and all thanks to Nana who has been helping/teaching her to sit up. As you can see, she’s got a pretty smug look on her face – she knows she’s done something new and is darn proud of it too. All this happened while I was in the shower and it seems that she put on an ‘act’ for Mum and Ted too. *lol* Must have been quite a sight and I managed to catch a glimpse as her steam ran out too. Lucky Mummy!!

She’s been quite a twister but at the same time, she knows when she has to lift her legs up and when she can wriggle around. It’s really funny how she know the after bath wipe down. I normally wrap her up in her bath towel and change her in the room. So once we reach the room, I would lay her down, and tell her as I’m doing all the actions – “Clean ears….armpit up -wipe, wipe, wipe, other armpit up – wipe, wipe….wipe face…..now leg up – wipe the bum-bum!!!” and she always lifts up her chops on que! VERY, very cute….and of course, she always rewards me with a smile too. :D She loves it when I rub the baby cream all over her but with the humidity here, it makes her sweat even more so that’s more for bedtime.

On the solids front, Arianna is still taking the rice cereals although I’ve changed the flavours a couple of time and realised the she likes the oats and prune from Nestle the best. She is also taking rice porridge with either carrots or pumpkin with corn thrown in for flavour. Of course I also add in a piece of chicken meat for that additional flavour. Today, I put in 3 prawns and she loved it! Truly Daddy’s little girl. She seems to favour the savoury more than the sweet so I will have to keep an eye out for savoury cereals as well. I try to feed her twice a day but it’s tough to keep to a strict solids regime when we are always going out. So whenever we are out, it’s always cereal time.

I’ve been reading my little feeding book and they always say bf first before giving bub solids but if I did bf her, she’d be too full for solids so I have been feeding her solids first and then bf her when she goes down for a nap. And it seems to work fine with us. Also, I’ve been thinking of introducing formula milk to her for those times when we are out and bf is not in favour and the measurements that is supposedly for bubs her age is quite a lot and I don’t think she takes in that much bm at all!! Very confusing…..

MIL’s been grumbling about me not giving her meats. Is there a reason why I should rush these things? Is there a time line for introducing your bub to new foods? I know she is concerned but Arianna did start taking solids a ittle later than most bubs and I am in no hurry to introduce more things to her after all she did resent that mashed sweet potato and then went on strike and refused to eat after that. So, no thank you – ain’t going down that road again!

Plus, we don’t really have that hand processor here AND Mum kind of broke her blender so I’m sure another week or 2 without meats is ok. I’ve been thinking of sticking to rice porridge and adding other stuff to it like veggies and meats instead of the usually ang moh foods like stews and mashed stuff. I think that’s the Malaysian in Arianna. :) O well, we’ll see….

One more thing : Arianna weighed 8.45kgs on 19/3/2008…wonder what she weighs now?

[Back dated post] A religious milestone and a major development!

Posted by Misty Mom on 15/03/2008 2 comments

Date : 8th March 2008 @ 10.30am

Finally, Arianna has been baptised! :) What a blessed day it was but helluva stressful for me. I never felt that stressful before in my life. My chess was tightening and I was short of breath, makes you think that if this is what people experience when they get an anxiety attack…..man, I’m glad I don’t suffer from this frequently! Anyway, I think it was because it was an occasion where we were wholly responsible for. We had to prepare morning tea for the guests [about 20 odd people] and although it may not be something to be stressful about, I was. Sis made lettuce with cheese sandwich and chicken with mayo sandwich.

To be honest, I had never had lettuce with cheese sandwich before so I was a little skeptical about it but MIL suggested it so we made it. And I’m darn glad that we did coz it tasted awesome! It’s like having a vegetarian Big Mc – honestly!! Anyway, I was so glad that it’s all over now and being the best baby in the world that she is, Arianna was a champ. No fussing and no crying even when the priest poured water over her head during the baptism rite. I think it’s because the water was warm and back in the day, they used cold water instead. She only got grumpy after the mass because it was bedtime. She looked absolutely gorgeous in this little dress MIL bought her and more grand in the white garment my mum sewed for her. Simply divine and thank God everything went very well.

 

Arianna getting baptised and wondering why her warm bath was so short and that we only ‘washed’ her head.

 

My favourite picture as she is seen here intently concentrating on chewing her sleeves.

 

[L to R] Fr. Dominic Murphy OP, Sis [Godma], me with Arianna, Ted and Daniel[Godpa].

 

The Family : [L to R] Grandpop, Uncle William, Grandma, me with Kecik, Ted, Ss & Daniel.

 

Cousins bonding – Freddie and Arianna having a moment. We missed a shot of Freddie giving her a kiss. It would have been a Kodak moment, but with kids – watodo? ;)

Arianna had hit a major milestone as a baby. She has finally flipped over!! :D And the best thing is, she did it with both me and Ted there watching her. I couldn’t be more happy. All praise and thanks to the Holy Spirit. It was a miracle and I was so elate, I was speechless as how I was when I first saw her bottom teeth sprouting. Such priceless moments.

Now, since she’s been flipping over more frequently, I can’t leave her alone at all. Member now syiok that even when I settle her for bed, she will turn over and proudly smile to herself about her achievement then grumble and grizzle because she can’t turn back. Aiyo, teruk betui! So, in order to make sure she don’t turn, I have to settle her on her right coz she likes to turn to her left and so far, so good. ;)

More stories coming up later…..here’s a hint : What makes people make a double take and stare?

6 months today!!

Posted by Misty Mom on 12/02/2008 2 comments

My baby is 6 months today!!! And to celebrate, I thought I’d put my new found Photoshop skills [what little of it] into good use and came up with this…..

Whaddaya think? We were on our way to the post office to post my postcards. :)

1 day shy of 6 months

Posted by Misty Mom on 11/02/2008 1 comments

Despite being just a day shy of 6 months, we went to get Arianna’s 6th month vaccinations. It was bothering me more than it was her coz she had no idea what was happening. I bet she thought it was just the same ol’ routine of me dressing her up and that we were all going out for the day. To a certain extent, she was right.

Doc was pleased with her growth development. She’s up 75% percentile and to be totally honest, I have no idea what this mean and didn’t really bother to find out. As long as Doc is happy, I’m all good. Although I won’t deny that Arianna not rolling over or even trying to is causing a little bit of a concern for me. But since I know all babies are different, I’m sure she will roll over when she’s ready.

Current weight : 7.94kg

Previous weight : 7.44kgs

So that’s up by 500g since she was last weighed which was on 9/1/2008 – not too bad I guess, assuming this is the normal weight that babies put on from month to month. I do have to measure her height since Doc forgot to do that.

The whole vaccination went well, at least for me personally. The first jab, she cried but stopped quite quickly so without wasting time, Doc gave her the second one and that one, she really let fly and turned beetroot red and screamed! Lucky I told Ted to be ready with her bottle of ebm [expressed breast milk] which I had brought along. I realised that if she geram or whatever, I don’t want to subject my boobies to such cruelty plus the whole idea of muckering around and trying to latch her on while she was screaming wasn’t too appealing hence, the whole bottle idea. It worked the last 2 times so I knew it would be a charmer this time too and it was, trust the mommy instinct.

She pretty much stopped grumbling and all the minute I gave her the bottle and even let Doc carry her to weight her. Both Ted and Doc was surprised that she didn’t kick up a fuss seeing how he was the one who had caused her pain [the Doc] instead, she seemed to have forgotten it all and was giggling and smiling, and being very responsive to Doc. Talk about being such a forgiving baby!

Anyways, since she was dealing with it pretty well, we decided to stop and get some shopping done and managed to even fit lunch in as well although she was grumbling and grizzling a lot in the stroller but we let her be and soon she drifted off to sleep. Amazing how she is such a happy baby when she opens her eyes. 8 out of 10 times she always has a smile waiting for me which is so different from some of the babies I’ve seen. So many have woken up screaming bloody murder and so grumpy!! I’m blessed to have such a happy baby and I didn’t even eat much chocolates during the pregnancy [I remembered Aida's observation] although I must add that I’m slowly turning into a chocoholic now and I don’t know why this is.

So after the shopping, we came home and I fed her, and then to help her sleep as well as to ease the vaccination and teething pain, we gave her some baby Panadol. It seems to be working coz she’s asleep now…no, I just heard her so she must be up and hence, I must end this post for now. ;)

I see a tooth!

Posted by Misty Mom on 06/02/2008 4 comments

Words just cannot describe how I felt when I saw this tiny white spot on Arianna’s bottom gum yesterday. At first I thought it was just a trick my eyes was playing on me but when I stuck my finger and ran it on her bottom gum – O M G!!!! It’s a tooth!!!! :D *dancing dancing dancing*

I was elated, excited, screaming like a mad woman filled with joy – I even forced Ted to run his finger on her bottom gum even though he didn’t want too! lol All my emotions were so jumbled up, I still cannot explain to you that feeling. One thing’s for sure – the rush of emotions was damn draining. I was walking around the house with both my hands on my cheeks, going ‘ omg…omg…omg…..she’s got a tooth’ – serious like a mad woman delirious or high on coke or something, jokes aside!! I was on definitely on an emotional high. Hehehe….

Really cannot believe it coz part of me is so happy as this is a sign that she is growing up far too fast but on the other hand, I’m SO afraid for my boobies!!! Seriously…… Now I know why she chomped on me a couple of times and MAN, did they hurt! But now that I know she’s got them teeth [I feel another bump on her upper gums too but nothing coming out yet], I have this phobia about feeling her. Doesn’t mean that I’ve stopped or anything like that, just that I have this fear that I may be the one-nipple lady one of these days, you know?

Anyhow, it’s no surprise when I told MIL about the tooth and she exclaimed with happiness and pride that her grand-daughter sprouted her first tooth and said, ‘I told you so! All that finger sucking and chomping was a sure sign.’ but what she failed to see is the fact that Arianna has been doing that for as long as I can remember! In fact, evetime she grizzles and cries, MIL blames the teething. Obviously, teething gets blamed for everything when bub cries or seems uncomfy.

Speaking of teething, our journey with solids seems to be going backwards instead of forwards. I’m not sure why she isn’t as interested as she was in the beginning. I feel like stopping with the solids for now but I’m afraid that she will get hungry faster since she is growing and all that. So far, I’ve only tried the kumara, stewed pear and apple other than the rice cereal and I can dare say that she seemed to like the rice cereal the best. I might just go back to the basics and see how it goes. It is a little upsetting to see that she’s not as interested as I had hoped her to be.

Most mothers in my forum swear that once bub is on solids there is no turning back. Obviously my cheeky chops thinks otherwise….o well, still a fair bit early so I’m not giving up just yet – just need to hang on and see what happens.

Ps. Would you believe if I told you that Arianna hasn’t officially turned over yet??? I am getting a wee bit worried but at the same time, I feel like it’s a blessing in disguise since I don’t have to wrestle with her trying to get her nappy on. Although she does stick out her legs all over the place which is more than enough for me! =P

Yummy!!

Posted by Misty Mom on 23/01/2008 3 comments

Today I started Ella on Farex, some sort of rice cereal recommended by the childhood nurse. I mixed it with some expressed breast milk and boiled water so that it’ll be runny. I think Ella enjoyed it. :) She must have realised that anything put near her mouth must taste good because the minute the spoon was near her face, she opened her mouth. So obviously she has caught on to the idea. ;)

I’ll be giving her this for the next 2 days then up the dose to twice a day and then after that, try introducing her to mashed apple or pear or something la. Have to get that link off Aida again….she’s got SO many to share!!

On a happier and busier note, I’m slowly taking my time packing up stuff. The painters came in on Monday and Tuesday to paint our unit and it stinks of paint but coz I had all the windows open for ventilation, the smell isn’t too bad now. It was horrible on Tuesday – tau la, oil based paints smell like turpentine! Anyway, before the painters came, Ted and I packed up as much as we could and got out all the good glassware to store aside to assist in them moving our furniture around and have stored them at the in-laws. And now that the painting is over, we just heard that our loan and offer for one of the units we’ve been eyeing have been approved so YES, we will be moving house in about 6 – 8 weeks from now. :) Happy me!!

It’s really a wonderful feeling when you finally have your own home to decorate and paints and renovate and do whatever you want to it and whatever money you spend on it, is not wasted. That’s the only reason why Ted and I are not happy renting coz it’s all dead money. So today is a very good day for us. :D

Mummy’s little champ

Posted by Misty Mom on 03/12/2007 2 comments

Lots of claps for my little champ!! Ella did well beyond my expectations today. I’ve been dreading today since the time Ted booked the appointment with the Doc. I don’t think I stand alone on this matter. I mean, which mother wants to see her baby cry in pain right? But all said and done, pain or not, vaccinations is a must and it’s for her own good anyway so, suka tak suka, we went today to get Ella’s shots.

Not too sure if she knew where she was but the moment we entered the clinic, she went all frowny and simply refused to smile or ‘talk’ to anyone. We had popped by pathology to visit Grandma’s friend and although she was talking to Ella like mad, Ella simply ignored her. Poor thing really. If only she could see that dazzling smile Ella showers on me and Ted – she’d be over the moon. Sorry, Sherrilyn….maybe next time.

Ella must have recognise the place or sense that something horrid was going to happen to her because she was just so quiet. Although she didn’t fuss when Doc gave her the oral meds, she did cry when getting jabbed. Which baby wouldn’t?? But surprisingly, she didn’t turn dark red or screamed till there was no sound. In fact, she cried loud enough and settled down pretty quick the minute I have her the bottle. For the record, there was only ONE tear and even that didn’t roll down her bak pau cheeks….she sheds more tears when we don’t entertain her enough!!! Cheeky little vegemite…. ;)

You know, she refused to smile or take note of me all the way back home. In fact, she had on this ‘I dont like you and you’ve got to earn my trust’ look on her face all thoroughout the journey….poor thing, made me feel bad too BUT it has to be done. She’s got 2 months grace to get it over with before her 6th month vaccination and then it’s 12 months, 18 months and the last one is 4 years of age. Good thing she doesn’t need to get additional shots before we leave for Malaysia. Phew!

Doc said she took it well and it could be because I was prepared for the worst. I knew I had to remain calm or she would sense it and I knew what was coming anyway so we were prepared. Hence, I didn’t think it was so bad this time around. Another reason could be because she’s bigger now and it’s already her second time getting jabbed so the body must be getting used to it plus her thighs are bigger too. No need to say how worried and terrified Ted looked! lol Poor Daddy couldn’t handle it and was glad that I didn’t ask him to hold her as planned. :)

Growth rate is good. Doc said that she’s at the 90 percentile [what ever that means] and thriving well. She’s weighing 6.94kgs, up by 1.14kgs since the last time we weighed her.

I did ask Doc about solids and juices, and was told that we could wait till 6 months before introducing any solids since she is exclusively breastfed but could slowly give her starters after New Year. As for juices, no harm in trying as well but just a couple of teaspoon also after New Year….so it’s rather exciting and I can’t wait! :) This also means that she will be able to take solids when we are in Malaysia….Nanna’s gonna have fun cooking for u!! :D