Cedric @ 5 Month Old

Cedric is 5 month old!

At 5 months of age, he is developing well, and is hitting his milestones at an encouraging pace.

He knows how to lean his body towards his favourite persons when they offer their hands and say "bao bao".

He is an expert roller. He can roll from one end of the bed to the other end in just seconds, sometimes a few rolls at once. 

His favourite toys so far are his hands. Recently he developed a taste for his legs. 

He can sit with support since 4 months old; when unsupported, his sitting can only last for a few seconds.

He is now practicing to crawl. He can lift his buttock up, knees on the floor, hands supporting his chest for a mini push up. I think he has got his basic posture for crawling right, but still needs more practice and exercise to strengthen his hands/legs muscles, as well as to perfect his hands/legs coordination for crawling.

He is better at expressing himself now. He has developed more variety of tones and sounds to express his different emotions. And he loves it when people talk to him. Sometimes he babbles back as if he is having a conversation with people.

He is playful and cheeky. Sometimes he can be mischievous too. He bites sometimes, and look at me with a cheeky smile. Or he pulls hair, licks your skin, followed by the same cheeky smile, as if he is saying: Gotcha!

He still wakes up for his night nursing every night. On a good day, he wakes up 1 time at 2-3am to nurse. On a not so good day, he can make noise almost every other hour and demands to be comforted. I am still not ready to let him cry it out, so let's see how he progresses next couples months.

Cedric @ 5 months old:-

Weight : 7.2kg

Length : 64cm

Head Circumference : 43cm

Father & Son Time

Hubby's job requires him to travel quite extensively. 

He is almost always on the move. Most of the time, he will be away 3-4 days a week, sometimes he even needs to work over the weekend.

So when he is at home, I always appreciate the quality time he spends with me and baby Cedric. 

I'm sure baby Cedric enjoys his daddy's company very much too!

Hello baby!

Nen Nen time

Pom Pom time

Daddy loves baby

Happy birthday daddy!

Us!

A Date with My Boy

Cedric's sleeping pattern turns upside down since 2 weeks ago when he started rolling over.

Many times at night, he struggles to roll over in his dream. Sometimes fall back asleep face down, which made me so worry of SIDS initially, and kept turning him back to sleep at his back; sometimes he wakes up just to find himself stuck at the tummy down position, and cries for my rescue.

The situation has been going down hill since.

He used to be able to sleep from 10pm for a 4-5 hour stretch, then had a 15 minutes feed around 2-3am, followed by one or two shorter 2-3 hours sessions, until he woke up around 8am.

Now, on a good night, he wakes up every 2-3 hourly to nurse. On a not so good night like yesterday, he wakes up almost every 30 minutes-1 hour, crying for attention. 

I am not the biggest fan of the "cry it out" method of sleep training, so usually I'll pick him up and feed him when he starts to 'ih ih ek ek' and roll like a ball in his cot. 

But after a few weeks of serious sleep deprivation, I feel like a walking zombie - I am totally wear out and exhausted!

I am wondering whether this is the so called 4-month sleep regression, a phase when babies who undergo tremendous cognitive and physical development start having trouble sleeping.

Some sleep training experts opine that baby's night waking is a bad habit that needs to be corrected, and baby wakes up in the middle of the night not because of hunger but to cuddle. 

But my instinct tells me that baby Cedric is really hungry!

You see, my Cedric boy has been so busy exploring the fascinating world during the day that he is often too distracted to nurse properly. When I am feeding him, he is always on and off the breast, looking around, smiling at me, kepochi checking who's opening the door, what's the show on TV etc. 

And his milk intake at babysitter's place has reduced significantly from 20oz to only 12oz! 

I guess I am just not yet ready to start sleep training my baby boy. And I believe when he's ready to sleep through the night, I will get his cues.

So for now, I choose to "enjoy" my night duty, and take it as a date with my baby boy - an intimate moment with just the two of us. 

And I hope tonight my boy and I will have a more relaxing date, so that both of us can have some rest. 

OK my dear baby boy?

I am very sleepy mommy....

Bugs War

The flu season is here.

The first to fall sick at home was Ah Yee - patient #0.

After a few days, I became patient #1. I had sore throat, followed by high fever, runny/stuffy nose and cough that lasted for 10 days.

Then one after another, Ah Fen, Ah Ling and hubby are sick too...

Oh my god, my home is filled with germs!

It was a torturing 10 days...

I tried not to take any medications as I am still breastfeeding Cedric. So everyday I took mega dose of vitamin C, make sure I take enough fluid, and tried to have some rest.

Being a breeding ground of the germs myself, I was so worried about spreading the bacteria/virus to Cedric...

Cedric was only 3 months old. I really can not imagine my little boy suffers from the slightest discomfort...

So the best thing I can do for my baby was to continue breastfeed him as much as possible. 

Most probably Cedric have already been exposed to the germs even before I had my flu symptoms. My breast milk will be his best defense against illness, as it is packed with antibodies that is specific to the bacteria/flu that I'm suffering from.

Touch wood...so far my boy is doing well, actively learning to roll over with no sign of flu.

I am praying hard that the breast milk will help prevent Cedric from getting sick, or if he does get sick, I hope it will help him to recover fast.

Kudos to the golden liquid - breastmilk! It is definitely the ultimate weapon in the war against bugs!

Baby Hair Brush 胎毛笔

Cedric's baby hair was shaved on his full moon day. 

The baby hair collected was sent to a baby souvenir shop called Babywise to be made into baby hair brush. 

Some people believe that writing brush made from baby's hair is a gift that can bring good luck and intelligence to the baby, hence another name for this baby hair brush is scholar brush (状元笔).

To me, it symbolizes another phase of Cedric's life, from being in the warm and comfortable womb of mommy, to this challanging and sometimes cruel world. 

Whether or not Cedric becomes a scholar or extra intelligent being is not the most important thing, but I wish my Cedric boy will grow up to be a brave and loving man in the future.

I am imagining...

On his wedding day many years in the future, the day when he'll leave home and be the center of a good girl's world...

His daddy and I will present this gift to him, and tell him how much we love him, and how he'll always be our little Cedric boy...like when he was just born...

This is a gift of love from daddy and mommy...

Before shave

Half way shaving

After shave - popo helped me to put on a cap to hide my botak head

A gift of love from daddy and mommy

My Parents, Cedric's Grandparents

My parents stayed in with us for the first 2 months after Cedric's arrival.

Both are first time grandparents.

During the 2 months period, my mom was transfromed from a kelam kabut grandma that goes blank whenever baby cries, to a multi-tasking & all experienced baby sitter. 

My dad, from being baby-holding-phobic (according to my mom, he never carried me nor my sisters when we were baby), to his first, second, and countless times of carrying and comforting Cedric when baby cries. 

Cedric's Gong Gong &  Po Po

Another thing my dad learned during his stay here is how to use a computer. 

My sister Yee bought him a laptop a week before they go back home. Now my dad has an email account, he plays facebook, reads newspapers online, watches movies from PP Live etc. He has become a computer savvy!

After they returned to hometown, dad's new found hobby is to check for Cedric's new photos and videos on facebook everyday. So my sisters and I can expect his call if he doesn't see new baby photos being uploaded every few days.

My baby Cedric is being blessed with the love of his gong gong popo.

And me, I think I might need to have a Chinese version of my blog in the future, so that Cedric's gong gong popo can be a part of the kid's growing up journey.

Cedric @ 11 Weeks Old

Time flies...my baby Cedric is 11+ weeks old now.

The toughest 2 months have passed.

I think I am now a better mother compared to 2 months ago, in the sense that I understand Cedric more, and he too knows me better day by day. In other words, we are better partners now.

So, before he cries for nen nen, I'll pick up his hungry cues earlier and offer him mum mum right away.

When he is tired and ready to oi oi, I'll comfort him and sayang him to sleep, wishing him a sweet sweet dream.

And he definitely loves his diaper changing station. Everytime I put him there, he will give me a wide smile, and start talking his alien BB language to me.

Oh, my cutie baby boy...he is generally a happy boy nowadays.

He loves to smile, loves to talk, loves to play, and loves to be carried upright like a big baby. I think he is a baby that can't wait to grow up. And I think his daddy can't wait for him to grow up too, so that they can go swimming and play badminton together soon.

I am enjoying my every second, every minute and every hour with my little lover everyday!

Mommy loves you so much my Cedric boy...

Booster For the Heart

Day 18 of my confinement month...

It has been a very challenging period, both physically and mentally...So challenging that I sometimes lose control and cried, followed by episodes of constant worrying and feeling blues...

I basically worry about everything everyday...

Is baby getting enough to eat?
It's time to express milk again, and I'm late!
Who is going to take care of baby after the confinement period?
Will the day care centre staff take good care of Cedric?
If I be stay-at-home mom, will hubby be able to cope physically, mentally and financially?
What about our business that just started to grow?
Should I continue my CLP study this year???

All these question marks and uncertainties suddenly seem so real and haunt me so greatly, that I find myself drowning in the sea of negativity...Maybe this is what people meant by baby blues? Or postnatal depression?

When I am fighting very hard to be better, and to be my own old self again, one thing that always manage to soothe my empty soul is the show of love and care by people I love, and people who love me.

It is like a booster for my heart, so that I have the energy to keep going and continue going...

Gambateh!!!

Jia You!

Booster For The Heart