I Want to Break Free...

I can hear the song playing in my head (this must tickle Fuzzy, because it is "old music"). Chubbs has been in Anglin brothers mode recently. He has tired wriggling his way out of his crib, his "potty", his rocker, my arms (a bit too soon eh?) etc... all from him discovering that he can flip over onto his tummy in less than a second (he has been training hard). Chubbs knows we are now extra vigilant, but still gives it his best shot, often letting out a war-cry beforehand. I applaud his determination.

 Attempt no. 113

 Waiting my chance...

 Now!

(Check out the focus in his eyes...)

Lunar New Year

 

 Gongxi gongxi...

Here's what CNY was probably like for barely 5-month old Chubbs (in his own words)...

1. Mommy carries me to a place I've never been, I go through the door and immediately get swamped by about 10-30 giant strangers, all of them shrieking excitedly at me. I have no idea what they are saying, and why are their voices so high and loud?

2. They take turns to carry me and bounce me on their laps. Being passed around from one giant to another makes me feel like my feed is coming back up :(

3. Then I get poked in the cheek and chin incessantly. Think they are trying to get me to do something. What could it be? This hurts!

4. The giants make this loud noise when they slam their hands together. They keep doing it! Am I supposed to be amused?

5. I'm sleep-deprived. My romper is drenched with sweat. I pooped. This is uncomfortable. Help!

6. I see mommy! I see mommy! Come get me!

7. Oh no... who's this taking me and bouncing me on her lap again?! My diaper feels squishy :(

Wash, rinse, repeat x 7 houses over the past 2 days

 A well-deserved break!

I stopped to think what it was like for Chubbs after I came home on after the 1st day of visiting and collapsed on the bed, dizzy with a splitting headache. We had gone on for about 10 hours straight. The heat, noise, travelling etc., was almost too much to handle. Don't get me wrong... it was great catching up with relatives and introducing Chubbs to them, but it was just too tiring. I was worried for Chubbs because he missed almost all his naps due to the tight visiting schedule, he didn't have his "potty" to poop properly in, and didn't feed too well with all the distractions around. Through all that, Chubbs was accommodating and he did not cry once. He played, laughed and talked to everybody around, soaking in all the festivities, only to crash in his car seat later on. Fuzzy and I are so proud of him. Really wonder how he does it.

 Out cold for 2 hrs!

In all, we had an action-packed CNY, with more activities to come over the next two weekends. Fuzzy and I were aching today from all that trotting around. Chubbs recuperated at home today with his toys and slept (and pooped) to his little heart's content.

 Let me sleep!

Size L and 1 Rung Down

Chubbs has graduated to large diapers... always makes us proud :) For a few weeks now, he has been doing no.1s and 2s in Mamy Poko Ls and they are serving us very well. Anyone trying to figure diapers out, we use Mamy Poko at night and when we're headed out, and Pet Pet at home in the day. Mamy Poko is a more economical version of Pampers, and Pet Pet is simply cheap and good.

Another big milestone... Fuzzy has lowered Chubbs' mattress by one notch. Chubbs' cherrywood crib has 4 mattress height settings so we can progressively lower the mattress level as his motor skills develop and he grows older, eventually converting to a toddler bed. Chubbs has learnt how to use the rails around his crib to hoist himself up and shimmy from one point to another (super dangerous). That's how he gets around for now, since he's still learning to crawl.

 Pulling myself along...

All the tummy time sessions have paid dividends and Chubbs is now able to flip over with one swift twist of his hip. He seems to enjoy this new found freedom of movement, maybe a little too much, as he has taken to doing push-ups in the middle of the night. Chubbs being top heavy, as all babies are, gave Fuzzy a scare last night when his "dua tao" (that's big head, for the uninitiated) was sticking out above the rails. Since Fuzzy has adjusted the mattress height, we can sleep peacefully, and won't find ourselves waking up one day to find Chubbs scaled over his crib.

 Before

  After

Now that baby is becoming more mobile, my hubby and I are starting to plan the logistics to child-proof the room. It's a stressful period and it's going to take a lot of time and energy to do make the place safest possible for Chubbs. But I think we will have endless fun once baby starts crawling, and scooting around in his walker. Plus we'll definitely get a good workout trying to keep up with him.

 You can't catch me!

More Funny Photos

 I feel so small :(

 Baby Tarzan!

 Where's Chubbs?!

 Couch potato :/

Early start...

 Cheeky cheeky!

Fuzz post...

LMG is back at work today and the Fuzzman is left to hold the fort... 

First we feed... (reenactment)

 

 

Then we let the food digest...

 'sup?

 Touch my toes... 

 Watching TV with daddy...

Then it's nap time! 

 Sleep is good...

Our First Family Dinner

Fuzzy and I try to do date night once a month. Actually, it is a bigger deal for me than it is for him. Since I don't step out of the house during the weekdays (except for evening walks with Chubbs), it's nice to dress up and head out into civilisation occasionally. Plus it's great to be lovey dovey with each other again, and take a breather with a glass of wine.

We usually leave Chubbs at home with his grandies and pick a restaurant that we haven't tried around our area, so that we don't have to be away from our baby for too long. But yesterday, we decided to let him join us on our excursion to a Japanese restaurant in Bukit Timah Shopping Centre. Fuzzy happily noted that this was our first family dinner together :)

I expected it to be a quiet place for a Saturday night dinner because of the location. Turned out, there was a party of 20 celebrating a birthday, and at least 15 other patrons in the little restaurant. So Chubbs got a bit more stimulation than what he bargained for. Despite that, baby was well-behaved; either fiddling quietly with his toys in the pram, or sitting on my lap watching restaurant operations.

We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, and I think Chubbs had fun too, judging from how he was smiling and playing with the staff and other customers. To ease baby into the dining scene, we'll pick less crowded, hole-in-the-wall places to eat for now. Then maybe in a few months, we can tackle dim sum on Sunday morning :/

Bring me along, please? I promise I won't cry.

Funny Photos

 Why is my nose so red?

 Gimme that toy!

 Sleeeeepy...

 Check out my chins!

 Good joke, daddy!

 Comatose

 Ditto

My Little Heat Pack

For the first time, Chubbs is running a fever after a jab. But Fuzzy especially loves cuddling him now because he is so warm and huggable. Sadly, we had to skip today's massage class.

Chubbs is clearly out-of-sorts. He is more subdued, moans and groans in discomfort, is less chatty, and is asking to be held more. Guess this oozy feeling is really foreign to him since he hasn't gotten a temperature before. He's still smiling though :)

We were initially reluctant to feed him the infant panadol and thought he would sleep the fever off last night. He didn't get better this morning, so we gave him a dose and he took it without fuss. I'll encourage him to rest more today and pray that he will get well soon.

hot pics...

 I'm sick and you do this to me?!

 Burp no. 1000!

 I'll feel better after this nap.

4 Months!

 Hurrah!

4 month old Chubbs is 7.2kg, 63.5cm tall, and took both his vaccinations today without a whimper. So far, his jabs have gone down well, with no accompanying fevers after. Let's pray this time's the same. Doctor noticed a slight heart murmur in Chubbs though, which is quite worrying. We'll monitor him and if the condition persists, he might need to go for a scan and see if there's a hole in his heart.

Chubbs has "grown up" quite a bit over the past month. He can grab onto moving objects smaller that ping pong balls, he jabbers on non-stop, laughs and smiles readily at anyone (even strangers on the street), puts any/everything in his mouth, protests when I take toys away from him, gets frustrated when a toy is too heavy for him to lift, is learning to crawl and sit up and tries to "stand" on our laps.

Fuzzy and I fall in love more with our little angel each day, as his sweet personality starts to surface. He has also grown emotionally very secure in our love. He doesn't cry in the middle of the night when he wakes up (unless he needs to be fed). I hear him, but hold off picking him up immediately, because I don't want to rouse him unnecessarily. He will lie in his crib, gurgle to himself and fall back asleep on his own. Guess it's because he knows that we are nearby, and all he needs to do is call, if he really needs us. If he wakes up earlier than we do in the mornings, he coos and plays with his toys, knowing that I will attend to him soon. He squeals in delight when we kiss him and greet him "good morning" everyday.

Fuzzy and I cherish every moment we spend with Chubbs because he is growing up so fast (I am putting away his clothes that are too small already). Every precious laugh, smile and coo is a miracle. Sometimes I can't even bear to put him down to sleep :/

It's exciting to watch Chubbs get bigger, but a part of me wishes he'll stay our little baby forever :(

 Look ma, no clothes!

Hobbly Mommy

Chubbs' undergoing a growth spurt. Which means he is feeding every 2-3 hourly, and waking up at least twice in the middle of the night for extra feeds, i.e. he's back on a newborn schedule, i.e. Fuzzy and my blissful 7-hourly night sleeps are temporarily put on hold.

Two nights ago, I fell asleep on the couch while feeding Chubbs at 3am. I woke up, saw that he has drifted off to sleep, and decided to carry him back in his crib. I took two steps and fell to a mangled heap on the ground with Chubbs. I didn't realise that my left leg had gone "dead" when I was sleeping and hence my ankle gave way when I put weight on it. There was a loud "crack" (from the ankle) as I fell on my bottom. First thing I checked was if Chubbs was alright and yelled for Fuzzy. My little angel slept through the fall, cradled in my arms (thank God) but woke up when Fuzzy put him in his bed. The commotion must have startled him.

The amazing thing was, Chubbs just lay quietly in bed for about 1-hour as Fuzzy proceeded to fix his damaged wife. Baby seemed to know that something was amiss, and he had to be on his best behaviour. He wasn't grumpy, and didn't fuss or cry. He just lay there, cooing to his stuffed-animal friends, and let daddy help mommy without interruption. That's my boy...

Now, I'm nursing a purplish, swollen foot and hobbling around in crutches. I've been relegated to the sofa, with the remote control, a book, my phone and packets of double-coated Tim Tams. But evolution is a thing to behold. I have learnt to rock Chubbs to sleep on one foot (giving myself shin splints in the interim- wonder if that's worse) and will hopefully learn soon, to tackle the stairs while carrying baby and crutches.

Sleepy Chubbs...

 In daddy's arms.

 Traffic police? :/

Baby Massage

Fuzzy and I brought Chubbs for his first baby massage class today. I was initially apprehensive because I expected it to be over-crowded, not in-depth enough, too rushed etc. Plus I couldn't predict how Chubbs will behave over the 2-hr session.

But it turned out to be a hit with Chubbs! He loved it and was the only baby who didn't cry. I was very surprised that his attention span kept up. We were extremely proud of him because we knew how tired he was. Chubbs woke up early and skipped two naps to attend the class. He was still his usual smiley, laughing self despite his fatigue and remained receptive to our touch. Although mid-way through, Chubbs decided to say hello to all his new friends in class, and broke out in a 5-min long, loud cooing session over the instructor's talking. It was very cute.

I recommend baby massage to all, as it thoroughly relaxes baby and bonds parents and baby. This first half of the course, we learnt to massage baby's legs, arms, tummy and face. There are rhymes and fun tunes to sing along as you massage. Chubbs seemed to take to that.

All the infants were happy, drowsy and content at the end. Most fell sound asleep. Massage's health and psychological benefits are endless (for both baby and parents). They are covered in lots of material online and in books. KK and Thomson both offer courses, and I'm sure private institutions do too.

Fuzzy and I will make an effort to massage baby every night before bed. I figure it will help him sleep better. Second part of the course is next Saturday... we are eagerly looking forward to it and I'm sure Chubbs is too.

 Post-massage bliss.

Gallery

 Popping buttons!

 Striptease...

 The shirt says it all.

 Snoozing with Barkers :)

 I love milk!

 Staring Slimey down!

 ditto

2009

 Happy New Year!

2008 was a life-changing year for Fuzzy and I. We were blessed with the 2 greatest things (to me)... marriage and parenthood. I wake up and thank Fuzzy (almost everyday) for proposing, and giving me the miracle that is Chubbs. This is a great place in life to be :)

We have a lot to look forward to in 2009. Chubbs crawling, walking, running, teething, weening, talking... It's all going to be very exciting. I will work hard at being the best mother I can be, and remind myself daily that I am shaping my son's life. Chubbs has definitely made me a better person, because I'm more conscious of the things I say, and do with him around. I believe the best education begins with me setting a good example. So far, he has taught me to me more gentle, loving and forgiving and I'm going to make every effort to keep this up in 2009. Also, I want to be a better wife to Fuzzy. I endeavor everyday to be more patient, to communicate with him better and be his constant love, support and strength.

Cheers to a brand new year! I pray that our family, and yours, will be blessed with endless joy, laughter, peace and good health.

Warmest wishes from Chubbs and his pals!