Thankful Tuesday: Having healthy and thriving children

Today, Arielle turns three months old. In addition, the last of Anya's rashes finally cleared and her appetite has also picked up. As I reflect upon the past week battling with a difficult and sick child, I am prompted to be thankful for the ordinary. For when comparing trying times with ordinary mundane days, the latter can actually be enticing to have.

So, here is what I am thankful for this week:

# For every new morning that I wake up in.

# That we are blessed with two lovely, healthy girls.

# That baby girl continues to drink her milk well.

 

# For the evenings when the weather allows us to go for a walk around the estate.

# For the warmth from the little bodies that I cuddle.

# That the toddler's appetite is picking up - slowly but surely.

Before she dig in.

After

# For that 30 minutes to one hour of companionable solitude that The Husband and I get on most nights after the girls have gone to bed and before our own bedtime.

We are having grateful gatherings on Tuesdays. Do check out the entries of the rest and join us. :)

Roseola

Rashes all over neck, face, back and torso

 Anya has caught roseola, or what is commonly known as false measles. Typically, one will not know that a child is down with the viru until nearing the end because the onset presentation is fever (that lasted for a few days) with vomiting, diarrhea, irritability and/or loss of appetite - which can be mistakenly diagnosed as stomach flu as was the case for Anya. It was only after the fever subsided that rashes started popping out, and with that, arouse my suspicion that stomach flu might not be the correct answer.

To be honest, the virus itself is quite manageable. Yes, Anya threw up a couple of times and had really poor appetite. All we need to do in response is to clean up a few more times, go easy during meal times and ensure we give her lots of snacks and fluids in between. For a few days now, she has ate meagre amount of rice and noodles and instead, been supplemented with fruits, dried fruits, cereal bars and biscuits on the side. On top of that, we have to sponge her frequently during the first few days to help bring down the fever. This translates to us having to wake up in the middle of the night to do the sponging which was fine by me since I have to be up to express milk anyway. 

At the clinic

 The dreadful part here is the mood swings that come with it. Boy! I have never seen my child like this before!

Right now, we are having major crying fest in my little household and I am up to my neck coping with her. Quietness prevails only when Anya is asleep. The moment she wakes up, we get tantrums, meltdowns and howling every 5 minutes. She is implacable, extremely  clingy and whiny and is edging very closely towards being manipulative with her cryings and 'booboos'. We are keeping our fingers crossed that it will be temporal and her misbehavior will fade off together with the rashes gradually. Hopefully, The Husband and my sanity are still intact when she is back to her normal self.

Let sick baby sleep

Thankful Tuesday: Life's little pleasures

Here's what I am thankful for in the past one week.

From http://chinesemov.com/media/2012/LOVE-p1.html

# A great movie that had me laugh and cry together with the actors and actresses. It has been a while since The Husband and I caught a movie and even longer while that we watched a Chinese movie.

# A new read from one of my favourite author. In between expressing breastmilk sessions and before bedtimes, I have been reading it and had finished it in 3 days. A page turner always equates an enjoyable read!

# Thoughtful bus drivers who made sure that I have settled myself and the child in my arms safely onto the bus seats before moving off.

# A stroll in a hidden gem where there is an expanse of rustic scenery. It felt as if we were transported to another country. 

# A piece of heaven that came in the form of a tub of tiramisu. 

# Little milestones from little ones. Baby girl has rolled over (even though it is a fluke), is able to raise her neck when on her fours, and giggles at playtime. The little girl, on the other hand, now tries hard at speaking in full sentences, is getting better at keeping her toys after play, and is having a blast at her kindermusik classes.

# Cookies that came out nicely from the oven. Baking failures always result in wastage that I hate to see. 

Little pleasures, as insignificant as it may seem to others, always makes one's life sweeter. Writing this week's grateful post is certainly a breeze. :)

What are you grateful for this week?

Making progresses

Just this morning, baby Arielle did a little flip. 

The Helper had left her on the play-mat while we were having breakfast. Just a little earlier, I was observing Arielle flaring her arms and kicking her legs at the stuffed animals hung above her and telling The Husband that it would not be long before she roll over. Then, The Husband went to the bathroom to gel his hair while I was feeding Anya. The next minute, I heard Arielle making strange muffled sounds, turned around to see and there she was, lying face flat beside her original position. I shrieked, causing both The Helper and The Husband to drop all that they were doing and charged out, thinking that one of us had broken a bone or something. 

Heh! I was too surprised. After all, she is only 2 months and 3 weeks old. So there I was, lying my head on the floor beside her, peering at her face, and my little trooper was grinning at me as if she knew she just did something great. 

 

In any case, until she does another flip in the very near future, I will take it that it was a fluke. Moving onto another bigger progress....

Right from day one, feeding Arielle was an uphill task. Sometimes, she was sleepy; Sometimes, she seemed colicky. Then other times, she did not seem hungry at all. And most of the times, she was all of the above. I would think that I could handle it well since this is our second child. I wish I could say so but the reality was I was quite the opposite of the picture of coolness.

It has probably to do with the fact that our firstborn was (quote The Husband) "a milk gulping machine". At same age, Anya was already downing 140mls. In 10 minutes flat. Then cry for second helping. Occasionally, we even had to do a third helping. So, it was a stark contrast when the second baby came along and took at least 1 hour to drink barely 120mls.

It came to a point where I even wondered if something was wrong with her and wanted to bring her to the pediatrician. But The Husband assured me that she is growing (I could not tell) and to wait and observe. So that was what we did, though I still have panic attacks every 3 days when her milk intake dipped ever so slightly. However, as you might have read from the last Thankful Tuesday post, I was more assured after her 2-month check showed that she was growing well. 

Still, I was constantly hoping and praying that the situation will improve because we are truly having a hard time feeding her. 

How hard is hard? - you may ask. Well, most of the times, we have a shot at getting her to drink her milk only when we are cradling her in our arm, standing or walking. It was hard work. It required loads of patience, perseverance and very strong arms to feed this baby.

So, two nights ago, I had a brainwave moment and suggested to The Husband that we change the teat of her milk bottle to one with a bigger hole. Sure, we were concerned that it is still early days but we thought it is worth a try. If she choked, we'll simply switch back. 

As it turned out - It was the solution.

Woohoo! No more aching arms!

Thankful Tuesday: Another health scare

This time round, the scare came in the form of bloody stools. I know it can mean a wide range of things. It can be as mild as 'heaty-ness' to as serious as cancer. At first, I ignored it. But soon, I was alarmed because.. Okay, I am trying not to be too graphic here. Let's just say it involved trickling blood and all. So, I decided to go through the public health care system and saw a doctor at the polyclinic for specialist referral since we were bringing Arielle there for her two-month jab. 

The doctor who saw me believed that fissures was the main culprit and assured me that it should not be anything serious. However, I should still go to a specialist to do a scope. Amazingly, they managed to book me an appointment at Tan Tock Seng two days later when the wait was usually minimum three weeks. Praise God for favours! I was really glad as I dreaded the feeling of being in suspense and would prefer to have a peace of mind asap. 

Last Friday, I went down to TTSH on my own. To be honest, I was feeling a bit nervous and felt out of place as the other patients were all senior citizens. The nice Chinese lady doctor did a check and then a scope. Her diagnosis? It was caused by hemorrhoids (I have hemorrhoids after giving birth to Anya but had left it alone since I was not bothered by it much since Anya was six months old). Since I am nursing, she did not prescribe any medication. Instead, I am to be very watchful of my diet to avoid constipation that may aggravate the condition. Once The Husband knew about that, he made sure that I stop eating those CNY goodies and stocked up loads of fruits that are believed to ease constipation. 

I am so thankful that it is nothing serious. Health is really precious. I am learning it the hard way. Still, I am thankful for the lessons as I believe God planted these events in my life for a reason. I am more and more conscious of what I put into my mouth. These days, I make sure I drink at least 8 glasses of water, on top of other fluids such as beverages and soup. I have switched from white bread to wholemeal bread, I cut down on gastronomic indulgences.

Okay, let's move onto a lighter note. The other things that I am thankful for this week:

# Pretty blooms gifted by The Husband to chase away the blues and worries.

# Knowing that Arielle is growing well despite the little milk she drinks. At her two month check, she is 5.5kg!

# Anya sleeping on her own bed instead of cot. Now, this actually happened a few weeks ago but we wanted to be sure that she was consistent in it. Out of the blue, one evening, she said that she wanted to sleep on her bed instead of cot. It was a pleasant surprise for The Husband and I as we had not mention the bed for a few months now nor has she gone near it. And since that fateful night, she has been sleeping on it! We have adjusted the cot's height since and Arielle has been taking her naps there (with Anya's consent, of course!). 

# A prayerful child who lay her hands on our heads (The Helper, myself and then The Husband) one night and prayed for us. She would shut her eyes tightly and murmur a whole string of unintelligible phrases and then end off with 'Amen!'. The next morning, the migraine that has been plaguing me in the last few days left me.

# DVDs that educate and edify. In this case, our child (and us) get to know more about Jesus in moving pictures.





What are you thankful for this week?

Learning mandarin

At 22 months, Anya is communicating with us predominantly in English. This is a result of The Husband and I speaking to her in English even though she hears us speaking to each other 50/50 in English and Mandarin. 

Over at The In-laws, they communicate with her in Mandarin. Still, Anya always replies them in English. The MIL has been cautioning us not to put off teaching her Mandarin lest she has difficulties catching up when she reaches schooling age. So we have been trying to teach her to identify things around the house in Chinese.Here's an example of dialogue where I was trying to teach her Mandarin. 

Among the leftover Lunar New Year goodies that we are clearing out (i.e. stuffing our faces with them), there is one item that Anya particularly likes to eat. It is none other than 山楂 (Chinese hawthorn). 

Seeing how much she likes them, I believe she would take an extra interest in learning how to say it, so here was how it went:

Me: "Anya, this is called ' 山楂' in Chinese."

She: *eyes fixated on the one I'm holding in my hand, smiling widely in anticipation*

Me: "Anya, can you say ' 山楂'?"

She, in a whiny voice: *still smiling while pointing at it* "Anya wants...." 

Me. thinking that it will be helpful to break down the words: "Okay. Can you say ' 山'?"

She, in a funny accent: " shannnn.."

Me: "Say 山 again."

She, eyes never leaving the item: "shannn..."   

Me: "Now, say '楂'."

She, again in a funny accent: "zhhhaaa.."

Me: "Say 楂 again."

She: "ZHHHAAAAAA..."

Me, feeling slightly excited that things are going so well, beams and exclaimed: "Good job! Now, Anya, say *pauses for effect* ' 山楂'..!"

She, catching on the excitement: "YEAH!!!" *Proceeds to clap, jumping up and down*

Okay. At this point, I am not so sure about being an effective bilingual but I sure think that she can be an excellent cheerleader.  

Something old, something new and something handmade

Among her toys, there are 3 particular ones that are a hit with Anya recently. They are balls (something old), a wooden cake and tea set (something new), and Eeyore's bus (something handmade). 

She loves tossing the balls into the air, watching them roll into a distance - sometimes, giggling when it happens as if it is the funniest sight she has seen. 

Every now and then, The Furkid joins in the fun by chasing after the balls. When it happens, it usually results in a lot of adrenalin rush in both child and dog as one shrieks while the other barks excitedly while running all over the flat, colorful balls flying in the air. Alternatively, one of us adults will get involved in a game of catch with her. 

And also, err.. using them to decorate baby sister??

Among the three hits, I think this is my least favourite because it is tedious work, rounding up 100 balls five times a day. Sure, Anya helps in keeping her toys, but then currently, it requires a lot of nagging prompting on my part in order to get her into it.

A pretty wooden box that contains... ...

TA DAH~!

The cake and tea set was purchased a few days ago. It seems that every children that I came across enjoy the whole song-singing, cake-cutting act at some point or another. It is no different for the particular one that I gave birth to. So, the other day, I was at the neighbourhood mall with her for a haircut - a disastrous one as you can see, when I chanced upon this pretty set on sale at half price.Quite a steal!

Since the set was lugged back a few days ago, we have all held numerous "parties" for Eeyore, Rabbit and Anya, "drank" copious amount of imaginary tea and "ate" countless slices of cakes. Even when she is playing on her own with the set, she would run up and down, serving us tea and cakes and looking pleased as punch when we exclaimed that the cake tasted heavenly or that she makes really good tea.

The cardboard bus was a fruit of labour of both The Husband and myself. He did all the cutting out of windows and doors, made and drew the wheels while I did the rest of the drawing and pasting of 'window panels' (I proudly proclaimed that it is air-conditioned). We were both mighty pleased at how the bus turned out. The only thing that I wished we could improve on was the wheels. If you have an idea on how to make the wheels turn, drop me a comment! I love the hear it! 

As you may have deduced, Anya's favourite mule has been super busy. One moment, he has to attend tea parties; another moment he has turned into a bus driver. We have specifically named the bus as Eeyore's under Anya's request and The Husband even purposely measured and cut out the door to fit the mule. So, our little girl has been pushing the bus around the house, transporting her stuffed toys, balls and what-nots. We also attached a sash that came from one of my old blouse so that Anya can pull the bus along like her caterpillar. She, however, had other ideas and has improvised by wearing the sash at her waist and pulling the bus like.. erm... an ox ploughing the fields.

P.S. If you are wondering why Anya was wearing her Barney pajamas in most of the pictures, I don't blame you. Well, she likes them so much that she has been wearing them three to four times a week (We do the children's laundry 3-4 times a week). Actually, if she can have it her way, I'm certain she will wear it every night.

Favourite read of the moment

 Okay, technically it should not be classified as read as there are no sentences to spell out a storyline. Instead, this big book contains a hundred words in pages of beautifully illustrated pictures in vibrant colors.

A Christmas gift from Aunt Yue and Uncle G, this book was love at first sight for the little girl. She was attracted to the pictures and was quick to point out the things in the book that she already knew. Dog! Baby! Milk! Bus! Banana! 

 It appears to me that having the pictures revolving round a family of five including a daddy, a mummy, a little girl, a little boy and a baby (oh! Plus a dog and a cat) helped to pique her interest.

These days, she no longer just point out items; she seems to be building stories of her own. Her current favourite page shows the family at the breakfast table. "Mum-mum (eat)", she would say as she flips to the page.

"Anya eats" she says, pointing at the little girl.

"Mommy feeds Arielle," she explains, pointing at the baby on the high chair.

A few times, she also pointed at the cup of spilled milk on the floor and said in a small voice, "Milk dropped. Sorry." Allow me to explain this. Some weeks ago, The Husband scolded her because of her increasing counts of misbehaviour on the highchair, including tossing cups of milk onto the floor. She had bawled her eyes out on the highchair for a good one hour before finally managing one word of "Sorry" and meaning it. That incident left a deep impression in her, imprinting the meaning to apologise in her. Sounds a bit heart-wrenching but well, you gotta be cruel in order to be kind sometimes.

Anyway, back to her favourite book. Recently, I discovered that the illustrator drew a little rubber duck in every page of the book. We have made use of this and turn it into a games of "Where's the duck?" that Anya enjoys tremendously.

We thought that it was a really good book to like, allowing her to expand her vocabulary and imagination at the same time. So, I went into a bookstore when I was out the other day and came home with another one in the same series. This time, in a thousand words. Oh, and you get to look for rubber duckies in the new book too! :)

Can you spot the rubber ducky?

Thankful Tuesday: A hectic week

The past week has been a myriad of activities. There was the gathering with friends on Wednesday. On Thursday, we had a meeting with our cell group and church leaders. Then, there was another gathering on Saturday, this time with relatives (the last of our CNY visiting this year). We also enrolled Anya for a Kindermusik class which started on Saturday morning. And on Sunday, we all stayed in while The Helper went off for her first rest day since she came to work for us six months ago. Yesterday evening, we trooped down to Ikea to shop for yet another storage solution for the mounting toys and knick-knacks that come with growing children in the house. Last but not lest, The Husband and I met a good friend for to catch up over dinner on a whim this evening.

Hectic it may be; I am at peace. These two days, there is a renewed harmony in the family that has been absent for a while. It felt like between The Husband and I, we sorted out our thoughts and are less susceptible to the stress and snappiness that comes with parenting two young children. I sure hope this peace and harmony prevail for a long while!

Here's what I am thankful for this week:

# Conversations during the various gatherings. Much as I enjoy my girls, it is nice to talk to adults, other than The Husband and helper, for a change.

# To know that God and His people will not give up on us even when we were set adrift. It is great knowing that we have a supportive church community.

# The availability of a kindermusik class 5 minutes' drive away from us. Although there was a little episode where she burst out crying when the little boy next to her accidentally knocked her down with his hula hoop, I think she enjoyed it otherwise and is looking forward to the next lesson.

# Pretty ponytails, adorable little hairy heads and funny headgear that put a smile on our faces.

# A dedicated and caring vet who conscientiously returns our phone calls, giving us tele-consultations for our furkid's chronic health problems.

# One-to-one moments with my girls. As mentioned on previous post, such moments are very cherished now that there are two of them.

# Having that aforementioned sense of peace and harmony.

# Friends who aren't parents themselves yet but  put in so much thought when gifting our children.

# A timely article that indirectly reminds me that children should not be the central focal point of my life. As Gary Ezzo explained, CCP or child-centred parenting will be suffocating and crippling on both the child and the parents. Not to mention also - detriment to the marriage.  

What are you thankful for this week?

Out and about with my little companion.

Yesterday, we had a dinner appointment with a dear friend who is back for CNY from Beijing. Now, allow me to digress a bit here. The friend suggested eating at "Ah Loy Thai" in Shaw Towers. I must admit she made a great recommendation. It was good authentic Thai-Chinese food at affordable prices and surprise, surprise, no MSG (I think so, cos I was not thirsty at all after that.)! I am certain this place will add onto our regular favourite list.

These days, going out requires a great deal amount of planning and thinking ahead. Who to bring along? If not bringing along, what is the babysitting arrangement? Do I have to bring out the breast pumps? If one of the girls or both girls is/are tagging along, what to pack with me? Is The Husband coming back to fetch us? If not, how to get there if the kids are with me? Anyway, I shan't bore you further with the planning part.

So, after some deliberation, we decided to bring Anya out and leave Arielle at home with The Helper. When we were at the bus stop, it occurred to me that this is the first time I am out with Anya alone since Arielle came along. After that, I was struck by how much she has grown behavourial-wise. At the same time, I was also filled with nostalgia - now that there are two, these one-to-one moments are especially cherished. 

It is interesting how much she has changed. She is able (and willing) to walk further distance than before. We alighted at the bus-stop in front of One Raffles Link and walk all the way through Marina Square to Suntec (where we met The Husband) and then further to Shaw Towers with minimal carrying. To some extent, she now possesses the maturity to have better behavior. For example, she is less fidgety on the bus, contented to look at the moving scenery outside, people-watch the other commuters and read her book I recall it was only a couple of months ago when I had to wrestle a hyperactive imp (I was with a bulging belly, what's more) on the bus. 

She took a keen interest in her surroundings and notices details that she never used to. She appraises her own reflection in glass railings. Occasionally, she says 'hello' and waves at strangers who looked her way. Other times, she would shy away by hiding her little self behind me when they tried to catch her eyes. Through her eyes, I start to notice things that I never bat an eyelid at. Sleek-looking home appliances whose functions I never knew existed displayed at electronic store, trucks on the roads, the various floor surfaces that we stepped on along the way. 

One thing that especially caught her attention was the huge water feature at the drop-off point of One Raffles Link. She stopped in front of it, staring at it in awe, riveted. I must have passed by that feature a hundred times, and have never taken any interest in it. But when I stood there with her, hand in hand, looking at it properly for the first time, I must admit it looks darn grand.

I thought it was really sweet the way she kept asking for Daddy - she must have gotten very used to the idea of having both of us around together whenever we are outside. A few times, she almost wanted to go the opposite direction from me but decided to follow me instead when I told her we should go my way because Daddy is waiting for us at the end. When she finally saw The Husband, she was thrilled and ran straight into his arms shrieking, "Daddy! Daddy!". That drew a few smiles from fellow passers-by. 

Here's some snapshots that I took of my little companion: