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 :)

baby gourmet

You might be able to tell that I enjoy cooking. One of the pleasures of being a SAHM is being able to take care of Aidan's nutritional needs. Introducing each food one at a time and slowly to him. Everything I make is NO sodium and little or no fat.

Baked cheesy potato and cod.

Seperated before freezing for later use.
Pasta and beef bolognaise.

Before blending into smaller and more manageable bits.
Chicken and vegetable macaroni
Made with previously prepared stock.

I can't wait for Aidan to be old enough to taste my bakes or when he is ready, to prepare the bakes together =)

First real swimming

Took the opportunity to go swimming at Fairmont since they have such nice pools. Hotel pools are the best! Took some time before Aidan enjoyed himself but only when he was able to cling on to the wall of the pool. He was the happiest there.

See his first toothy grin captured!

Feeling insecure despite being able to float with the help of floats.

When he started to thrash, sometimes he would flipped over like this and then flipped back up again. It's actually quite funny to watch. Oops...

Aidan on his floating car and looking serious. lol...

I can't wait to bring him swimming again. Will have to look for friends who live in condos. Any volunteers? :)

Aidan at the Fairmont

We were at the Fairmont last weekend. Aidan loved the room. The moment we went in, he was all smiles and giggly. The bed was large and comfy and the sheets clean and crisp. He was all over the bed when we set him down. It's funny how he seems to be able to appreciate fine living.

Room with a view

Some of you might be familiar with the model/actor Mark Zee also of SG's TV show The Bachelorette fame. Daddy says Aidan looks very much like him here. Do you think so?

Tuesday with Uncle L

I've always wondered when we would run into Lailee at Vivocity since he works around there and we go there at least once a week. Today, we finally bumped into him just after we had our lunch. He walked us to Harbourfront where we'd have our gym lesson soon.

Aidan has quite a few new classmates. Now the class is rather big and it could get out of control sometimes. As this is a level 3 class, some of the kids were much bigger than Aidan and many of them could already walk. I believe Aidan is the youngest of them all.

Does this boy look like an olympic gymnast wearing a leotard? So cute :P

Aidan: a textbook baby

One of the first things I did after I learnt that I'd conceived was to get books. No, not the "what to expect when you're expecting" type of books (these info are easily available on the internet and http://www.babycenter.com/ is an excellent resource) but the babycare books.

DH and I knew all along that if we were to start a family, we'd be doing it pretty much on our own. This explains why I'm a SAHM because we have zero help and I definitely do not want to leave my baby alone with a domestic help. So I need to learn how to care for a newborn and how to raise a baby in less than 10 months!

Hence, the term textbook baby. We didn't even hire a confinement nanny. It's just DH, me and the textbooks, no kidding. Of course, it's somewhat like sitting for a practical exam by studying the theory, so you can imagine how inadequate we felt. Aidan, when he was a newborn was as predictable as Melbourne's weather (they say you can experience up to 4 seasons in a single day). So alot of the times, we were frantically flipping through the pages and found no answer. However good these books are, they won't cover every single aspect. Before Aidan came, I was pretty confident and thought I was well-prepared but with every few baby steps I took, I met with an obstacle. (ok I digressed)

The book I found to be the most helpful was Tracy Hogg's "Secrets of The Baby Whisperer". I followed many of her advice/routine plus a few of my own baby mantras (to be elaborated) and so far, I find Aidan to be pretty well-trained in several aspects.

1) He'd managed to sleep and wake up at the right feeding times. So he'd never stayed awake all night.

2) By the 6th month, he could sleep throught the night for 8-9hours a stretch.

3) When he was breastfed, I didn't have to latch him on for comfort sucking because I didn't feed him on demand. That left me some spare time.

4) His meal times are pretty standard and I don't have to guess if he's crying because he is hungry.

5) He always sleeps in his cot, in his own room.

6) He has no problems falling asleep on his own. He doesn't need to be rocked or held to be able to sleep.

7) He doesn't need me to be around all the time. He is quite comfortable playing or entertaining himself. I don't have to bring him with me on my toilet breaks!

8) He could sit in the stroller when we go out and never needed me to carry him.

If you've heard stories from mummies of a newborn, you'll know that they would be so envious. And yes, if you ask me, I think we did a fairly decent job :)

I think it also helps when it's only the two of us. He doesn't have eager grandparents around to spoil him or pick him up the moment he cries. But sometimes I feel sorry for Aidan especially when I brought him for his jabs and I saw that other babies have their set of parents and grandparents to accompany them while Aidan only has poor ole me.