The Son was ill, He loves biting Daddy

They are not related, but SunshineKitten was ill on Thursday and Friday, and he also gets high from chewing on Daddy's finger.

The little boy had been coughing on and off for a few days and could not sleep on Thursday night. Daddy and Mummy (mostly Mummy) had to carry him in their arms before he was comfortable enough to doze off. He kept crying all the time because he was not able to breathe properly through his blocked nose. We took leave on Friday morning with the intention of bringing him to the paediatrician, but he appeared to have more or less recovered. What symptoms are there for the doc to see? Then he threw up a lot of phlegm just before I was about to go off to work. A frightening amount of phlegm. What's a little infant like him doing with so much phlegm in his tiny body?! We went to work anyway, trusting that he is able to breathe much better now.

Colleagues advised to bring him to the PD anyway, citing how infants his age develop bronchitis and asthma very easily. We rushed to a famed PD at Ang Mo Kio after work that night. The taxi driver shared the scares he's had with his son years ago. It seems that parents are destined to suffer for the sake of their offspring. From the way people tell us, we have the impression that it is an immutable law of nature. We spent over $120 to be told that he would recover by himself. We were given some medicine, which we had not yet opened because he really looked tonnes better, kicking and chewing vigorously, as he always does. On the other hand, if we had tried to save the money and it happened that he developed some illness that is more serious, we would feel terribly guity.

The other news is that he is now able to recognise his favourite people and is starting to wail when carried by unfamiliar people. His poor second aunt (who has lavished him with toys) was heart-broken when he was frightened by her. His happy daddy discovered that the little boy is delighted to have something to chew on, even if it is a finger attached to the hand of his daddy. The vigourous chewing meant that he is teething, and it is possible to feel them under the gums when you get your finger chewed on. Poor mummy, when the boy is unwilling to suckle. He is quite capable of chewing on her nipple when he is not in the mood to suck... Oh and he gave his daddy a very wet and sloppy kiss, or was that just drooling all over another surface? He was smiling so happily when he did that, but give him something to chew and drool over, and you will find him smiling.

This little boy has turned out to be the laughter in the lives of the extended family. We laugh with him when he is happy, and we lose sleep with him when he is ill.

6 months old

Our boy has now passed the 6 month mark and went for his final Hep B jab today.

He is now 8.5kg, 75 percentile
Height 69cm, 50 percentile
Head circumference 45cm, 75 percentile

He started eating solids last Tuesday, eating up to 3 tablespoons of Nestle cereal, or Nestle brown rice, or Healthy Times brown rice with his milk a day. His first fruit is apple, in puree form. Sunshine will be starting him on avocado tomorrow.

ninja in training

It is said that ninjas undergo grueling training to develop their abilities. To gain the skill to scale walls and fly over roofs, they train for years, jumping daily over a sapling that will over the years grow into a tree that is tall and mighty. And so as the sapling grows, so do their ability to jump high.

Well, that is what they say. This is not from the horse's mouth. This is not even second or third hand news. This is the stuff of myths and legends. But if this is true...

My son is getting heavier and I can feel my left bicep muscle cramping after carrying him for a while. My left arm will soon be larger than my right arm. Perhaps I will look like Arnold Schwarzeneger if I spend enough time carrying him around. Check back with me in 20 years and see if I have developed the ability to easily flip grownups around as if they are toddlers.

Flipping baby

Mum called up excitedly while I was at work and gave me a fright. She told me that my son has flipped over. Did he drop onto the floor and hurt himself? No, but it is the first time he flipped over all by himself while lying on his back, and she wanted me to know ASAP. Yeah she's so proud of him because he is not yet 3 months old and he is already able to flip onto his chest. She had to help him pull out his arm which was trapped under his body, but he could lift his head and breathe.

Well I'm happy for him, but I'm not surprised. He is already 6.79kg and 63 cm long at 12 weeks and his head is 42 cm in diameter. He kicks quite hard when he's hot and upset so I know that he is strong. But we will all have to be more careful these few days until we can be sure that he will not suffocate if he flips over at night while everyone is sleeping. I wonder how we can prevent him from flipping over when nobody is watching.

On another note, we had to bring him to the paediatrician on Saturday because he had been coughing the whole week. And coughing pretty loud for someone his size, but that's our boy. It was heartbreaking seeing how he cried when the tube was inserted into his nostrils and mouth to suck out his phlegm. He cried so hard that he had flecks of redness in his eyelids and foreheard. Sort of like burst blood vessels from trauma? The red flecks did clear up within a day or two as the doc said they would. But they are a testament to his trauma. What has to be done has to be done and I kept telling him that it was for his own good while I held his head steady during the suction. I know he won't understand what I'm saying, but I hope my presense will soothe and comfort him while all these strange things are happening to him. He took surprisingly well to the medicine I fed him using the syringe (0.8 ml ??) and I hope he will recover before we bring him back for followup.

Moving house

We have moved in with my parents as planned. We need help to look after the little boy when Sunshine's maternity leave is up, and we would not want to leave the maid alone with him at home the whole day even though she turned out to be very diligent and loves the baby as much as we do. We just don't want to take the risk after hearing all the horror stories.

It took us 2 days and a car to move our stuff to my parents' place. We had to transport Sunshine's frozen milk, our clothing, shoes, working gear, 3 laptops, baby's pram, our toiletries and surprised our parents with the amount of stuff we are bringing in on the first day. Why should they be so surprised when they know how much stuff my sis had? And we still have so much stuff at home (the house I bought with Sunshine) that it is still our home, and my parents' place is just a place for us to get through the week, and we look forward to going home for the weekend. Fortunately my parents are computer illiterate and there is no chance for them to find this blog...

Having a car is really a convenience on a rainy day. Taxis can do the same, but it takes more planning and preparation. It was the first time we drove a Toyota Corolla Altis and we could tell that it was a lot more comfortable than driving a Hyundai or Vaio. The boot is also a lot more roomy than the other cars I have rented previously, if I remember correctly. Sunshine and I were saying that we could get used to all these conveniences! But living in Singapore is not cheap at all and we would not assume that we can always afford such luxuries all our lives. Perhaps we will get a car if we have a second child. If we have a second child.

The poor maid had to adapt to a different way of doing things since my mum was quite particular about how some things were done. Some were for reasons of efficiency and some were personal idiosyncrasies, but when you are a humble servant you just did as you are told and you try not to get things mixed up. No wonder our MM frightened us by claiming that if we do not vote for them, our wives and daughters will have to work as maids in other countries. Having seen and heard how some people treat their foreign domestic helpers (the govt terminology for maids from Indonesia and Philippines), it is a frightening prospect indeed. When my son is old enough to understand, will he be proud of how we treat our helpers? Or be ashamed that we are treating a human being so poorly?

The birth of SunshineKitten

This post is backdated, as the next few will be. I'm trying to record down as much as possible before we forget the details. Perhaps the son can appreciate all these when he is old enough to read.

Birth of Isaac

7th Jan 2008

* Appointment with gynae. Advised to be induced since water level dropped.

* Admitted to hospital after 8, after a sumptious "last dinner" with Sunshine's family

Medicine placed at midnight

8th jan 2008

* Still only 2cm dilation next morning

* 7:20am water bag was burst manually, put on drip

* labour pains started at 7:40

* Gas relief from 9am, didn't help at all.

* asked for epidural at 9;30

* doc came at 10 and informed of risks, finished and left at 10:40

* At 1 plus, Sunshine said she was hungry :P asked to empty bladder and started pushing at 1:25.

* 2pm doc came in and put on boots and apron.

* born at 2:10pm 8 jan 2008. 3.175kg, 50.5cm long, head circumference 34cm.

Kicks

Finally, I can feel sunshine kitten kicking me. I was waiting for this day to come. This is so amazing. Initially I thought it was my stomach that move itself, so I told kopicat about it. He tried to feel my belly and said "Nothing leh, don't bluff me!". One day, both of us were in front of our laptop doing our own stuff. Kopicat somehow decided to put his hands on my belly. All of sudden, he also feel something moving. :-) But the feeling is very mild. So he is still very skeptical till now if sunshine kitten is the one kicking or it is myself. :-P

The very first time that I feel that sunshine kitten is kicking is when he was about 19th week. As the days passed, I can feel his kick more frequent. :-) These days, almost every morning and night, kopicat will put his hands to feel if sunshine kitten is moving. :-)

Global Warming

Today I felt exceptionally hot even though it is quite windy at home. Tonight Kopicat just came back from his in-camp training and realized that my belly has grown bigger. I told him I'm experiencing global warming and the cause is due to the sunshine kitten inside my body :-)

免死金牌

In the olden days when emperors ruled China, they give out tokens of protection to their agents. These tokens, known as 免死金牌, are given to those who are undertaking important missions, or to reward great services rendered. The holder of such a token is immune from death threats from other nobles and cannot be executed no matter how great his crime is. Thus such a person can go around interfering in the affairs of the nobles and make a great nuisance of himself, and be assured that he is safe from persecution. At least until the emperor recalls the token.

Sunshine had always been a naughty girl. I used to call her Little Miss Naughty, until she became the Sunshine of my life, but she is still as mischievous as ever. She delights in making a nuisance of herself, teasing and provoking a reaction out of me. Now that she has the 3-month old foetus as the token of protection, she will rub her growing belly and say to it, "SunshineKitten, see your daddy wants to beat me!"

More recently, she just rubs her belly furiously when she sees me coming after her for revenge. The last time she did that, I whispered maliciously into her ear that her token will expire 6 months from now, and I will have my revenge then.

See lah, the parents-to-be are still big children themselves, how to take care of the little kitten?

Maternity Clothes

Currently, the Great Singapore Sales(GSS) is going on, so we decided that this will be the best time to buy maternity clothes because they should be on sale. So yesterday we went to shop around and at one go we bought about 10 pieces of clothing! I can't believe with my own eyes. This is the first time that I bought so many clothes. They are relatively expensive An average top can easily cost between $40 to $55. The bottom are even more expensive, it ranges $59.90 and above. This shopping trip cost us about $400++ in total even after discounts. Can you imagine how much does it cost if it is not sales period! I really cannot believe that we really did that. However, we consoled ourselves that this spending is necessary.

Surprising, some of the maternity clothes that I bought are even nicer than my normal office wear :-P. Till now, I still feel heart pain with the amount that was spend. I think I still need to buy some more piece because it doesn't seem to be able to last me for 2 weeks of my clothings.

Today we pass by a shop called "Maternity Exchange". This is an interesting shop. They actually do renting of the clothes. If we like it, we could even buy it. Eg: A piece of top,it's rental cost is about $43. However, the rental period is only 4 weeks. I think this is a bit expensive. However, they do have a rental package that for 8 pieces of clothes at $33 per pieces. This price seem more reasonable. This is worth considering if you like the clothes range that they carry instead of owning one.

Ouch...

Oh no... I'm feeling a sharp pain at my stomach on Friday evening. This pain did not go off even on Saturday but it got worse. The moment I stand up to walk I can feel the pain and something it is unbearable. This really make me worried. So I immediately called my doctor to find out if there is any problem with me. The doctor told me I may have over-stretch myself and it will go off over the weekend . As a result , I was bed-ridden over the weekend and I feel miserable because I can't do anything at all!

I was wondering what could have caused the pain. Suddenly something struck me. I remember that I ran after the bus while going to work and walk very fast because I was late for work.
This really taught me a lesson to take things slowly and that I cannot rush around like before anymore. Everything that I do has to be half the pace. Even since that incident, I realize I have to take things easy. :-)

She wants her body back already

It's only 9 weeks (almost) and she is already telling the offspring that she wants her body back! It started when a friend was joking about telling her own baby to quickly come out so that she can get back her body. It sounded like something to look forward to!

We were at Suntec City today looking at maternity clothes on sale. We guess the pregnancy came at a good time, considering that the annual Great Singapore Sale is on now and we can buy some stuff at discounted prices before we actually need them. She did try on and was satisfied with some items that were at 20% discount, just that we had to rush home for dinner with my parents and did not want to commit to the purchase today. At just over 2 months, she can still fit into her old clothing. If she was already 6 months pregnant by the time of the sale, we would not be able to wait so long.

Trying out the stretchable clothing and be told how they allow for expansion, it struck us that she will get bloated up as the due date draws nearer. Her body will change and it is a little scary. Just a little, we already knew it will happen and we tell ourselves that this is part of life. We knew that getting married will change us and we have to sacrifice individual freedom but we still went ahead with it. We knew that getting a job will change us and mean we have to sacrifice the free and easy life of studenthood, but we still went ahead with it. Not that we had any choice. We did not have any choice either when we had to study for exams during student days, we just sacrificed TV and play time. In a lot of things, we just went ahead and did what had to be done.

Making plans for where we will do the confinement, maternity leave and whether to stay with my parents since they will be helping to care for our offspring, that is another hurdle we will have to cross eventually. One at a time please. As Sunshine says, just try to "enjoy" the pregnancy.

Tired

Sunshine was excited when I suggested that we start a blog so that we will have memories of this period archived down. SunshineKitten was the name she picked over KopiKitten. She was supposed to write a few posts every now and then, but she is just too exhausted to do anything much at the moment.

Apparently the first trimester is very tiring due to the body having to adapt to the changes. Going out of the house for a while wears her out and she hits the bed the moment she gets home. She hardly has the energy to surf and learn about what is growing inside her, though she is excited by what she does find. I had never seen her so weak, except for those times when she is very sick and more dead than alive. She is definitely not dead, it is just that growing the foetus is taking too much out of her at the moment. She is so looking forward to the next trimester when she can get some of her life back.

It's a family affair

Both families took the news with joy. Her sister brought down bags of maternity stuff for her and lots of traditional beliefs on what food to avoid, what acts are taboo and likely to cause problems to the foetus. Not that we believe all of it but it is good to know that people are concerned for us.

My mum asked older relatives for similar advise, not having had the chance to do so when it was my sister’s turn. My sis is a doctor by profession and would not refer to such folklore. This is my parents’ first grandchild to take our surname and naturally they would be more excited. It was also heartening for me to hear my mum speak of how my sister’s family can move back to their own home in Marine Parade to make space for us. Having had my room unceremoniously plundered by my parents and occupied by my sister when I got married and moved out, I’m actually relieved to know that my parents still intend to help me take care of my child when it comes.

And Kopicat begets.... SunshineKitten

We are still waiting for the impact of the news to hit us, and it probably will when we start telling people and they start getting excited for us. Why not set up a blog while waiting? There will be lots of reading to do and stuff to learn about. At the very least this can be a place for us to consolidate them. And perhaps someone else may find it useful.