Happy Announcements

2 announcements to be made. First, I passed my driving test on my 1st try! Woohooo...Now I can use DH's car when he's away on his trips.

Second, we're flying off on our first trip abroad with our little boy. Daddy was so excited he couldn't sleep last night hehe...ok, will be back soon enough with hopefully loads of pics. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Aidan, the dog terror

Yups, as you'll see, Aidan is chasing after and terrorizing Milo the dog. The poor dog had to run away and hide under the table but not for long as Aidan easily crawled under the chairs and table to get to poor Milo.

Crime Scene no Investigation

Crime scene 1

Crime scene 2

And the Culprit??? Of course it's the boy in both crime scenes!

It's not funny ok! This is what I do everyday, follow him around and clean up after him. When he's done, he'll look around and move on to the next place.

An Infant no more

So now Aidan is officially a toddler. He has turned one, he can walk well, he seems to understand what we say to him and certainly has a mind of his own! That last point is the one that I'm most wary of. He is already trying to push the boundaries, trying to see what he can do without Mommy saying 'NO", trying to get his way by manipulating our emotions. I am waiting, expecting him to throw his first major tantrum anytime now.

So the D word looms in my mind all the time. Discipline. It's a fine line. To show we care, love and yet we're no pushovers. I do not want to raise an ill-behaved brat and over-indulgent parenting will guarantee that. But I do not want to be an over-controlling, strict and no-fun parent either. So it's time to hit the bookstore again and get those books. Meanwhile, this site is a good read and guide for now.

http://parentcenter.babycenter.com/0_the-discipline-tool-kit-successful-strategies-for-every-age_1475318.pc?scid=momstodd_20081125:2&pe=2UcMLRM

Aidan's first year (video)

I have a million reasons for not blogging for so long but decided not to give any. We made this slideshow for Aidan's party but couldn't find a way to upload it on this blog. So when Daddy got his new macbook, I made him redo it on imovie and then onto youtube. That took a pretty long time if you know Daddy (read Mommy had to issue her ultimatum hehe ;P)

So here at last, is the video. Aidan's first year. Hope you enjoy it.

Aidan's first birthday

Finally had some time to write this post and upload the pictures. First birthday! Kind Aunty Lena offered to host this event at her place. The kids had a great time (I hope!) So did I, albeit it was really tiring! So thank you Aunty Lena and Uncle Ernest!

I wanted it to be more like a children's party so I invited mainly families. There were 28 adults and 14 kids!

Chilling out by the lovely baby pool with some gym matesHaving fun

Cake cutting

Family Portrait

End of event with his loot

Present opening time at home

Didn't know that a child's party on such a small scale could cost so much money! In future years, we'll have to be much more careful or we might just do away with a party altogether!

For parents planning a party soon, this cost breakdown might prove to be helpful.

Catering + Function room =$600

Mini eclairs + cream puffs + Cake= $170

Toy rental/Winnie the pooh slide= $100

14 personalized party packs for kids + some room deco = $100

Balloons = $100

Total damage = MORE THAN $1k!!!! *faints*

A Year on...

It's the week of Aidan's first birthday. I keep trying to think back on the same time last year and trying to remember how I was feeling then. I remember how very pregnant (read:fat) I was, skin on tummy was so tight that I constantly felt that I was going to burst. I also remember the little jabs that he gave from time to time. He was a good boy in the tummy and didn't gave me any painful punches at all! Either that or I was well-insulated with my fats.

Time really flies and I can't believe that my baby has grown so much. He's a baby no more but a budding toddler now. Sometimes I wish that I could just catch onto moments and hold them that way forever. (If only, I have Hiro's power to freeze time) Well, I'll just have to be satisfied with pictures.

I didn't take many pictures when I was preggers. Mainly those from the Japan trip.

This was taken the very night before my scheduled C-sect. We went for dinner at Streeters the tapas restaurant which I think is now closed.

A year on, see how much Aidan has grown. Pictures of now and then.

About 5 days old.

Pic taken in Jan 08.

Wobbly Walk

My little aidan is quite good at walking on his own now! Yay!

Bad October

October's a bad month for us. I fell sick twice. Caught the dreadful cold, took me many days to get well. I wonder if it's due to age that I seemed to recover slower than before. A week later, Aidan got the bug and the next day, I got it from him. Geez, I have zero immunity, I tell you. I always tell DH that if there's some epidemic, I'll definitely be saying "bye bye".

Anyway, it's Aidan's first major cold. He hadn't got a fever but it was still very trying for all of us. That night, we could hear him breathing hard from the next room. Terrible nasal congestion and we couldn't sleep as we kept trying to listen, afraid that he'd not be able to breathe.

Could be due to his meds that caused Aidan to be constipated 2 days later. He was walking by the bed when he suddenly stopped, looked at me and cried inconsolably. One moment he was fine and the next he was howling. He has never cried so hard before with big drops of tears rolling down his eyes nor for so long. At least 30 mins. It certainly broke our hearts. We felt quite useless and everything we did seemed futile. We tried to accelerate the process by bringing up his legs, rubbing oil on his little tummy to lessen the pain. Finally, daddy undid his diapers and helped him squeezed it out bit by bit as our baby strained while I held his little hands and strained with him. Who knew a constipation would render 3 people exhausted.

Mugshots

Haha. We tried to take a picture for Aidan's passport photo with hilarious results. These reminds me of those strips of pictures you get when you take them in those photo booths.


In the end, none of these works. A few that I thought might do, didn't because half of his face was cast in shadow. Bad lighting as mommy knew nuts about photography.

BEWARE: Teething Biscuits

No, I don't think they contain Melamine. But try at your own risk! This is what you will get at the end of just 1 cookie =)


Hehe.... A mess is guaranteed. I've tried 2 brands so far with the same results. Sure it does last a longer time than normal biscuits because they are tough and takes a long time to melt off. Your baby will quite enjoy it though I must add, in an agonising way because it's so difficult to eat. Aidan looked like he was wrestling and devouring it at the same time.

The tough part for the mums is that it's so difficult to clean off. They are so terribly sticky that it's hard to get it off the face and clothes. You will also have to clean the crumbs off the table, chair and floor.

I don't think I will give him that again. Not unless I am so bored that I have nothing better to do.

No threesome in bed

The downside to having your baby sleeping by himself, in his cot and in his own room is that you'll miss him terribly at night. Maybe it's because when asleep, he looks so angelic that you forget that bundle of energy that would make us exhausted in the day. Perhaps it's because you just want to share that peace and quiet with him that is never there in his waking hours. Or maybe it's because....well, who can resist those chubby and succulent thighs! hehe...

So being one of the rare mums who could get her baby to sleep on his own without fuss every night, I was surprised to find myself getting envious of mummies who have their babies in bed with them. So we couldn't help but tried to bring him to bed with us. We tried thrice. All three of us ended up not able to sleep. Aidan was confused and kept trying to sit up then fall over as he was half asleep. Used to the space he had in his cot, he would roll, turn and flip around and mostly ended on top of us. We were either too amused or too afraid of crushing him that we couldn't sleep either.

Sigh...so much for getting him to sleep on his own :)

Aidan's first sounds and now

Here's a clip of Aidan making his first sounds around 5months. I miss his first cooing very much, especially compared to the shrieking sounds he's making now.

Sorry you have to watch it upside down. Please let me know if you know a way to turn it around.




I am kinda worried.

I know it's very likely that I'm overly anxious. After all, children develop and meet milestones at their own pace. The thing is, most babies would have started making consonant sounds like "baa, maa, gaa, goo" around the age of 7 months. By 10 months, they should be uttering sounds like baba, dada indiscriminately. I'm quite positive that I've not heard Aidan producing any consonants. He still coos sometimes, making vowels sounds like "ooh" and "er" and "ah" but even then, it's not too often. When he is feeling chatting, he mostly makes "aaaaah...." and he likes changing the pitch and length. Either that or he shrieks.

I made an effort to speak alot to him from birth. Anyway, most of the time, I'm alone with him so if I don't speak to him, who do I speak to? I have conversations with him and I read too. Could it be that he isn't around people much? I don't really know if I should be concern :(

Aidan and the (faux) Bull dog

What's this ugly thing you're putting me next to?

Don't bite me
No response? Hee....Pull your ear!

Pardon me please. I wanted to put these pics up but have nothing better to say :P

Pushin' n Walkin'

Milkshakes, anyone?

Yes, milkshakes for Aidan. It adds a more interesting flavour to his usual milk. He loves it and will finish up every single drop of it. If you'd like to try it for your baby, remember to press it through a sieve after blending before serving. Not necessary if your baby is drinking from a cup.

There's nothing wrong with fingers sucking

If I hear another person telling my baby to stop sucking on his fingers, I'm gonna lose it.

Babies are born with almost no control over any bodily functions. The only thing they are born with is the strongest urge to suckle, for their survival. Later on, they learn that sucking gives them extreme comfort and hence they use it to self soothe and regulate their own emotions. Isn't it amazing that at this age, they are able to find the ability to do this by themselves? It's nature. Babies start sucking their thumbs in their mothers' womb, for crying out loud.

We tried to give Aidan the pacifier but he never took to it. He prefers his fingers. I realise Aidan suckles when he feels tired and irritable, when he is in a strange environment, or when he meets someone that he feels uncomfortable with. So if he sees you and he starts sucking on his fingers, you are probably the problem. Hah!

Trying to stop a baby from using a pacifier or his fingers is like telling you not to scratch yourself when you feel the itch. It's cruel, not to mention that you are depriving the child of his basic needs. It's their coping machanism and you can't force them not to use it!

I can't stress enough on the psychological damage of any sort of deprivation. In this case, this oral fixation will surely come back in the form of something else later on. I should know, I studied child psychology.

I can tell, from observation of him and other children, that Aidan has a stronger need than most for this. When he was in my belly, he could be seen constantly moving his mouth everytime we took the scans. The first time I saw him, he was moving his mouth. That's just how he is. I am his parent and if I'm not worried, I don't see why others should. Let him grow out of it at his own pace or until I feel he's ready to be weaned please.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Celebrated DH's birthday last weekend at Ristorante Da Valentino. Great Italian cuisine with a bunch of good friends make DH a very happy guy.

Forever 30!!! =P

Noticed my braces free smile? hee...
Realised that we forgot to take a group picture! What a pity!

Thank you Aunty Lena for making the special arrangements :)