Cousin Natalie & Isaac

Remember when we were talking about Cousin Natalie's arrival? My sister's 3rd girl, Natalie, was born in the afternoon of 3rd of November 2007. Weighing in at 2.9kg, she is heavier at birth than her two elder sisters were. Both Rebecca and Isabelle were approx 2.7kg each.

picture taken on 10th November 2007
Isaac @ 3 mths; Natalie @ 1 week

Natalie was born with quite a lot of hair, same as her sister Rebecca. She resembles Rebecca a lot. Even her temperament was quite similar. So much so that my mum says it is like looking after Rebecca all over again.

picture taken on 10th November 2007 - Natalie @ 1 week

Natalie and Isaac haven't exactly played together yet - they're too young to really know how to play with together. Recently, however, we did place them together, to take photos hehehe, but look what Isaac did - he kept trying to touch Natalie, and even pulled her shirt, using it as leverage for him to turn and face her! hahaha...

As you can see, Natalie's still a little oblivious to what Isaac is doing! hahaha... Look at her mop of hair - compared to Isaac's sparse strands! But he certainly has a 'boy's face' and she a more 'girly face', isn't it? :)

above 3 pictures taken on 9th January 2008
Natalie @ 2 mths; Isaac @ 5 mths

And at 2 mths, Natalie's quite a good size - looks just slightly smaller than Isaac at 5 mths! Both Natalie and Isaac are fully breastfed at the moment. See, that's the benefit of breast milk for you. Isaac didn't put on much weight in his 4th month coz he's been drinking lesser milk, only this past week has he started to drink more. Well, more on that in another post ;p

Bumbo warning video

You've seen Isaac seated in the Bumbo seat in many a picture. It's really quite a cool concept - this molded pvc rubber thingy that can hold most babies' butt and legs. And it's quite useful too, keeps the baby still - I even cut Isaac's toenails while he sits in it. And his hair too, I cut while he sits in it.

Recently, however, the Bumbo seat was recalled by its manufacturers - so that they could put a warning label on its box, and add more disclaimers to its instruction booklet - something like that. Basically, some silly parents on the other side of the world have been placing the Bumbo seat - with their babies in them - on the kitchen counter top, dining table, etc.

Silly, isn't it. So, babies have been falling outta their Bumbos and onto the kitchen floor - cracking and fracturing their skulls. (Read more about it here)

Basically, think the Bumbo is fine. But you should never leave the child unattended, even for a short while. And you should always use the Bumbo on the floor (so that if the child falls - less distance to fall).

Anywayz, here's an warning video that we think should be included in the new instructions package for the recall.

Isaac's Christmas pressies!

Isaac presents... his Christmas pressies!!!

Hi everyone! This is my maiden post - presenting to you my Christmas presents! Mummy's been busy, so that's why we're late in posting this... But better late than never! Here's my first Christmas' hoard!

Popo got me my very first mobile phone. She got one for Natalie too, so we can both use it together! Need to read the instructions behind to see whether can change ring tone and put Mummy's picture as my wallpaper... hmmm...

Oh and I got a book from Kor Kor Justin, Auntie Wee Lee & Uncle Yee Fong! I love books!
Mummy tells me this is how she enjoys her books too. First, she takes a sniff at them... *sniiiifff* sighz... the smell of books is heavenly...
Then she slowly opens it up to read about the millions of worlds contained within... Ahhhh... Good method, Mummy!

Got this musical activity table from Aunties Minjie & Huey Huey and Uncles Teck, Jason & Michael! It's great! Seems a whole lot of fun! It's meant for little boys twice my age, but I think I can handle it. Love the bright colours!

My Moo Moo!!! hehehe Ee-ee Yew Hui, Ee-ee Yew Ling and Gugu Yew Yi gave Moo Moo my Ty beanie to me! I love him! It's got this great texture that's nice and towelly-smooth when I rub it against my face. Ee-ee Yew Hui says that when she saw Moo Moo - it reminded her of my Mummy!!! That's why she chose Moo Moo for me!

Let's see if Moo Moo tastes as nice as Mummy... hmmm...

Bleeaauughh... tastes a bit different leh. Moo Moo's an acquired taste. I now chew on him daily! Till Mummy takes him away from me to keep me from slobbering all over him... hummphh! return me my Moo Moo!!!

This mobile thingy is from our neighbours Kor Kors Ethan & Elliot and Auntie Angie & Uncle Joshua. It's cool! Now Papa can hang it in the car for me to look at when I sit in the carseat! Auntie Angie says Kor Kor Ethan specially chose it for me! Thanks Kor Kor Ethan!!!

Spider Spud!!! I got a Spider-Man Mr Potato Head from Aunties Weiqin, Cecilia, Suqing, Irene, Huijun and Baofen, and Uncles Eric, Alan, Yongjian and Bingquan. It's cute! but Mummy says I can't play with it yet coz the parts are too small.
WAIT A MINUTE!? Is this Spidey Spud for Mummy or for me!?!? I think it's for Mummy! She's the SpideyFan! hehehe... But nevermind... luckily I also like Spidey - must be Mummy's influence...
And Godma Pamela gave me this LeapFrog Spin & Sing Alphabet Zoo! It's fun! I was playing with it the moment Mummy helped me open this present. I just spin the wheel, and it'd tell me what is the alphabet and what animal starts with it, and the sounds the animal makes as well. Fun!
And this Pooh Bear onesie is my present from Lauren, Auntie Christina & Uncle Leslie. Mummy! Where are the socks that Auntie Christina got me??? these are not the ones!?

Okay, that's all folks!

Thanks very much for all the presents! I love them all and would treasure them and keep them in good condition for my little bros and/or sisters next time.

Thanks again!!!

Isaac :)

Like Papa like Isaac

picture taken on 5th November 2007

hehehe... like father like son... like Papa like Isaac... happened to catch them both in the same sleeping position... hahaha...

No, Isaac doesn't sleep with us in our bed. He has his own mattress that's beside ours. Just that at that time in October/November, when Isaac hadn't learnt to flip yet, on weekends when we sleep in, I'd be nursing (another term for breastfeeding) Isaac lying down. Then I would place him between hubbs and me, and sleep in a little more.

On these occasions, I noticed their similar positions and quickly whipped out me trusty camera :) usually, I remain nearby to keep an eye on them... Afraid that hubbs would accidentally elbow Isaac! which he has done to ME a couple of times in his sleep! hahaha... Luckily my head quite hard! kekeke...

picture taken on 16th November 2007

Sleep, Isaac, sleep!

This is the latest method we found that can make Isaac sleep when we're outside.

We realised that weekends really mess up Isaac's sleep schedule, and he can get very cranky when he doesn't sleep enough in the day. On weekdays that is fine, coz my MIL takes care of Isaac while we're at work, and she has the yao2 lan2 (my family calls it "the sarong") so she can lull Isaac to sleep easily by placing him in the swinging thingy.

On weekends, the problem is, we're always going out. We're like, meeting friends for brunch/lunch/dinner, going to friends'/relatives' homes for gathering etc etc So, Isaac gets distracted by the different environment and he is curious to the point that he wants to look at everything and everyone - and doesn't want to sleep. Or, finds it difficult to sleep.

We used to have a pretty tough time. Isaac'd cry and cry when he gets tired and frustrated but is unable to sleep. Hubbs'd have to carry him and rock him to make him sleep - trouble is, Isaac would CRY very very loudly and chee-cham-ly that everyone who's around us would be very worried and concerned as they're not aware that that's Isaac pre-sleep ritual.

Well, we think it's his pre-sleep ritual lah. Coz he's been like this since he was 2 weeks old. Even at home. Always crying before he sleeps, no matter what we do. Hahaha yes - can't find the solution to a perennial problem => proclaim it as "normal".

But I must say it IS getting better. At home, he doesn't cry as much already - oh yes, he's beginning to "recognise house" already. More on that in another post. And outside, we discovered that this method of slinging him gets him to sleep pretty easily.

Hubbs would sling him like that. But when we're outside, Isaac would be looking around at everything, right? So, hubbs would place his hand in front of Isaac's eyes, so that he can't see stuff and be distracted. Holding his hand there, hubbs would walk around (or stand and 'rock' side to side) and pat Isaac's bum with his other hand... and slowly but surely, Isaac will fall asleep. Then hubbs would have both hands free to do whatever he wants - read newspaper, eat breakfast... hold my hand while we walk around the shopping centre :)

Oh! forgot to mention - this sling you see in the pictures is given to us by my Sueh Ee - Auntie Constance, who bought it from Japan. Thanks, Sueh Ee!!! :)

Reader, yes reading!

I've always been an avid reader since young, devouring book after book of Enid Blyton and The Three Investigator series... so much so that I would not do my homework ;p As a result, my mum had to conduct "spot-checks" on me to make sure I didn't sneak off to Coronation Plaza to rent more story books to read. All this when I was all of 10 years old. hehehe...Well, I hope Isaac's into reading. We're ready for him! We've a whole library of books waiting to be read. Most of the books are mine. Some are hubbs'. He has a shelve I allocated for his books - his comics!!! All his chinese man4 hua4! hiaz!!! I don't mind Isaac reading manga, but I hope he likes to read PROPER books. if you know what I mean :p

Here's Isaac reading his first book. Looks a real pro, ain't he. This is not a "posed" picture okay. Caught him reading like that and quickly whipped out my camera to snap shots ;p

Then he gets tired and lies down to continue reading. Hiaz... That's how his Mummy's eyesight got bad and had to wear specs. Hope he doesn't make that a habit! kekeke...
Flipping pages like a pro. Am now feeling bad that he only has one cloth book (thanks to Aunties Minjie, HueyHuey & Uncles Teck, Eric, Michael, Junxiong) Shall try to buy more cloth books for Isaac boy! :)
And here one Isaac notices Mummy snooping around with her trusty Lumix!!! hahaha...

pictures taken on 8th December 2007

The boy and his alien

Hehehe... sorries... couldn't resist more laughy pix of Isaac in the bumbo with E.T. by his side...

pictures taken on 7th December 2007 (isaac @ 4 mths)

Isaac is 5mths old today!

Yeah! Isaac is 5 months old today!!!

BUT... I'd have to leave you with pictures of him a month ago - when he was 4 months old... (told you I was behind on blogging... ah well... will try to catch up soon, yeah...)

I took that picture, then thought:" Yikes! Isaac with ah pek black socks!" so I took off the socks before taking the rest of the pics... soooo much better without the backs socks! hahaha...

Incidentally, my niece Isabelle saw this picture and asked:" Why Isaac wear black socks?" and Rebecca continued:" Not matching one..." hiaz... kids these days... :p

all pictures above taken on 7th December 2007
Isaac @ 4 months & 1 day

Yeah! Isaac is 5 months old today!!! hhehhee... ooops... just saw the time - after midnight already... So... have to change the title liaoz... Isaac was 5 months old YESTERDAY!!! waaahahahaha...

BUT... I'd have to leave you with pictures of him a month ago - when he was 4 months old... (told you I was behind on blogging... ah well... will try to catch up soon, yeah...)

Isaac's First Encounter with E.T. !!!

This is Isaac's first encounter with permanent resident - E.T. - the uber retro extra-terrestrial. At first, Isaac just looked at E.T. ... then slowly, he warmed up to it...

Reached out for E.T.'s hand...

Took a sniff at it...

... and started to lick it!!! aauurrgghh...

Anyway, they quickly became best pals, confiding in each other secrets that they didn't wanna tell Mummy and Papa...


We do hope that E.T. would be a positive influence on Isaac though... think he would be lah... take a look at this video... kekeke...



all pictures & video take on 7th December 2007 (isaac @ 4 mths)

Isaac's physical stats log

Hiaz! Been so busy that I'm behind in blogging, as usual. Behind, as in, there're pictures to post and things to say that has to follow a time line before there are MORE things to post and MORE things to say! arrruuughhhhh... hahahaha...

Plus my memory is failing and fading faster than usual... they say its a side effect of motherhood. Ah well... My ex-boss used to say that I had a very bad memory - that he wondered what would happen when I became a mother. He's probably glad I'm not working for him now. HAHAHA... which reminds me... should forward him the link to this blog... :p

Okay, anywayz, have decided to keep a log on Isaac's physical statistics coz I really can't remember after some time...

Didn't have time to post this since 21st December - when his last height and weight was taken... that was the day I brought him to see the PD for his cough...

Basically, he gained 1 kg in 5 weeks! PD says very good... 90th percentile... so told us not to worry that he seems to be drinking less milk...

Date	Weeks	Weight	Height
21-Dec-2007	21	7.90 kg	66 cm
16-Nov-2007	15	6.89 kg	61 cm
24-Sep-2007	7	5.67 kg	59 cm
06-Aug-2007	0	3.22 kg	52 cm

Hydrotherapy on 16th Dec 2007

We brought Isaac for a swim at this hydrotherapy for babies place a coupla weeks back. He really enjoyed it! He was smiling most of the time and had a whale of a time kicking around in the water. This hydrotherapy thing became quite popular after it came out in the papers - click here for the article. It supposedly strengthens muscles and lungs and improves the sleeping patterns and bowel movements of the infant. The shop owner was also telling us that it stimulates the baby's brain and thus makes him smarter. Yeah, right. Ah well, we didn't really buy all that crap, we figured if that is all true, well and good. But if it isn't, it's alright, coz we're just taking it as Isaac's first swim.
Expensive first swim it is, though. It was $25 for a 20 minute swim (if your kid can last that long in the water - am told that some babies didn't take to the water very much, and came out after 10 minutes or so. That'd increase the effective cost per minute of the swim though!). They've a package you can sign for which is $100 for 5 swims (or "Buy 4 get 1 free"). There's also baby massage after the swim, if you want - chargeable of course - at $20 bucks a pop.
All in all, it wasn't a bad experience. The water is in the tub is lukewarm and changed after each baby. The float is also a special one for babies - comes in a few sizes. Looks kinda uncomfortable, but the babies all seem fine with it. We thought there'd be a long queue, but there wasn't, and it was quickly our turn. Check out the vid of Isaac playing in the water!



We had initially only wanted to bring Isaac to try it out for fun, just for one time. But in the end, we see him playing so happily in the water, that hubbs decided to get the package. Of course, reality sunk in once he handed the money over - some more we didn't know can just get the swim package alone and so we actually bought the swim+massage package at $180 for 5 times - i.e. Effective rate of $36 per session of swim+massage. But then, the package is transferable, so we can like bring our friends along and their baby can use our package. So, we figured, we'd already used up 1 session, so we're left with 4 more - just come twice, with another couple+baby each time, then use finish liaoz! kekeke... felt much better after that - defintely. definitely ;p



Ah well, the things we do for the kids; the money we spend on them. tsk tsk tsk. Think we should keep a running tab... and claim back from them next time! HAHAHA...

Starting young...

As I've been facing Chinese woes all my life... we're kinda determined to start Isaac young in learning the Chinese language... hehehe... See, he so young know how to read chinese liaoz... kekeke...