Happy Days

Went back to Burger Shack for dinner with my little family last night. While Fuzzy stuffed his face with double patties and butter rice, Chubbs had a good time playing with the lady behind the counter, and eating his favourite biscuit of the moment.

Cheeky smile for the cashier.

After dinner, we headed to our favourite ice-creamery, Daily Scoop, for frozen sweets. Chubbs enjoyed his usual, a waffle cone, albeit in a rather novel fashion this time around.

On top of that, we also ordered a baked waffle with our ice-cream, and he ate quite a bit of that too! He's crazy for carbs!

Snatching the last piece.

Today, Fuzzy was on leave for us to run some errands, and so that I can visit an ENT (I nosebleed almost every other day. Record so far was 5 times a day). Anyhow, the doctor consultation went ok, no nose cancer, just a case of very enlarged and sensitive blood vessels, which get worse with pregnancy (to all older relatives- nope, nose-bleeding has nothing to do with "heatiness" at all). My only cure for the intense bleeds in cauterization :/ Don't think I'm so hot on the idea of smelling burning flesh just yet.

Lunch, after having my ear, nose and throat prodded, was comforting soup and bread at Cedele. I love their roasted tomato and red capsicum soup! Chubbs ate some bread, but had most fun grooving, as he shook a sugar sachet around.

To our amazement, he fell asleep in his new harness, against Daddy's chest when we were shopping around. Too precious!

On the way home, we played him his favourite YouTube clip of all time. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse's theme song and dance. I'm very tired listening to this already, as he requests for it easily 10 times a day :/ He dances along and sings, "Hot-dog!" at the top of his lungs. The best part for us :)

It's Been So Long

How long has it been since you left high school? For me, 11 years have elapsed. This is also when I last saw my ex-swim team mates. But through the wonders and convenience of technology (never thought I'd ever be typing this), five of us met up last night for a meal at Burger Shack. Chubbs held back tears as I left the house, and Fuzzy was in-charge of feeding the baby dinner that night :/

Big-boy Chubbs eating at the table without me :/

As we chowed down (I had grilled chicken, butter rice, and fries), the girls and I shared the goings on over the years, and took loads of fun photos.

For some reason, Cher was very impressed with San's pink camera.

In all, a great meet-up, and we promise to do so again the next time Hazzie, a stewardess based in Doha, is in town. I was thrilled to see Chubbs, and the huge grin he gave me in the car was priceless. I was told that he was not quite himself when I wasn't around; quieter and less cheeky. Poor thing :/ So I gave him a special treat of Arnott's teddy bear cookies, and he was a very happy boy again.

He especially loved it when Daddy sat next to him on his step, eating the same thing :)

First Taste

Chubbs started eating Natures Path's organic millet and rice breakfast cereal with milk recently, and it seems to be the only thing he willingly eats nowadays (apart from blueberries), and he will happily take this three meals a day if I allow him to. So instead of mixing the cereal with organic milk, I mixed some formula to go with his crunch for snack.

I put the formula in a fancy cup; he first took a sip of it neat, made a disgusted face, and hit the cup away when I tried to feed him more. I thought he'd like it better if I gave it to him with his favourite cereal. To my surprise, he spat the cereal out! Not even his favourite snack can trick him into swallowing a teeny bit of formula. What do I do?

I tried some of it; it is sweet, with a metallic taste. It's not to my liking either and there are definitely better tasting drinks out there. But he has to drink this stuff once I stop breastfeeding him (which is going to be very soon). So I'm left with no choice but to keep at it and pray very hard that he takes it soon.

In his cute pull-ups.

His response when I asked him, "Who's handsome?" last night.

Just a few minutes ago, when he was napping. He's lost some, no?

Uhhh!

I know it's hard for some of you to believe this, looking at me now, but I used to do a lot of competitive sports, and I watch bits of every sport on TV. Even sacrificing sleep by waking up early on Saturday mornings to catch a few hours of NBA before my parents came back from work. But I especially love watching tennis; the more the merrier. I am glued to every Open (from first round to the finals), and almost any of the ATP World Tour that they broadcast. If they don't show it, I Google it. So now that the first Slam of the year is on in Melbourne, I try to catch as many matches as I can, in between watching, feeding and playing with Chubbs. Needless to say, Chubbs has been exposed to the world of passing shots, volleys, forehands, smashes, etc. He has learnt how to bounce on his feet at the "baseline", a la waiting for a serve, and to my horror, learnt how to grunt, "Uhhh!" like Nadal when hitting a ball with his racket. Incidentally, Chubbs is a leftie too. In fact, on the day he was born, it was the U.S. Open finals and I was waiting to watch the Swiss ace play. As I lay contracting, I was still hoping to only have to go to the hospital after the match was over. Nope. Chubbs wanted out fast. Immediately after delivery, I asked Fuzzy, "Is there ESPN on this TV?" Nuh-uh. I didn't to see Federer win his fifth consecutive U.S. Open title :(

I seriously don't know why I am so taken with watching the game. I took lessons years ago, and besides being able to dish out an average serve and volley (I liked Pat Rafter then), I didn't play very well. Fuzzy, on the other hand, is an ex-Combined Schools' player, but he doesn't watch ANY tennis. Get this... it does not interest him one bit. He doesn't care who the players are, how to pronounce their names, where they are from, etc. He even finds my interest in it slightly annoying, and hardly enthusiastic about my life-long dream to watch Wimbledon live. Well, there are worse things to be addicted to, no? Anyway, nothing better to nurse a bad cold than 12hour-days of ESPN. Plus, I'm thrilled that my fave, Justine Henin, is out of retirement and playing the Open. Yay!

p.s. Fun fact 1- Chubbs started wearing XL diapers today. My son has a big butt and that makes him happy :/

Fun fact 2- He now helps me cart my groceries around in the supermarket.

He's Well and Good

The first few nights were rough. It's most difficult to watch your baby cry, know exactly what he wants, and also not be able to give him that very thing. He usually ends up falling asleep in my arms or with his face buried in my pillow (Mommys' scents bring comfort to little ones).

But the nights have been getting better. It takes slightly more than an hour for Chubbs to fall asleep without nursing and he sleeps through most of the night now (oh no, I'm jinxing it!), even though he still sits up in bed, whining/ crying when hounded by nightmares quite a few times every night. We say soothing words, stroke his back, pat his bum, hold him, and eventually, he'll flop over onto one of the pillows and put himself right back to sleep. Can you say, "Trooper?!"

I have noticed some changes in behaviour during the day, though. He is more attached to me now than before. He'd rather I carry him, than walk; which is very strange for a toddler. And he seems content sitting on my lap on the patio to share a snack. Just a week before, it would be almost impossible for him to sit with me for merely a few seconds. I guess he's getting less time with Mommy during the night and has learnt to make up for it by being closer to me in the day. I'm not complaining, but my back and arms are surely getting more toned from toting around his 12-kg frame.

I've Come a Long Way

This morning, I fed Chubbs runny scrambled eggs with an unknown amount of added seasonings, cooked on a possibly rusty skillet, with oil from an unidentifiable source, served on communal crockery and cutlery that were possibly washed with a mouldy sponge that hasn't been changed in a year. I have come a long way. But considering how picky Chubbs is with his food these days, I'm happy he at least ate a few bites. Best part, Chubbs survived the unsanitary and only had one tummy upset after that. Can't complain.

Armed with the energy to practise sword-fighting after brekkie.

Moving on to a more pressing matter, I have not had a full night's rest for 16-months. The perpetual dark eye rings haunt me in every picture taken, so much so that I've started to shun the camera. So at 16-months old, I decided it is finally time to start weaning Chubbs off falling asleep at the breast.

Chubbs wakes up every night about 2-hours after he falls asleep, hounded by nightmares. He seriously looks pathetic sitting up in bed, with an upturned mouth, trying his best to hold in his tears. Nothing we did could soothe him back to sleep because he is too distraught, and only comfort nursing works. Because of this, I don't sleep before 1am every night. I am usually awaken every 2-hours up for more comfort nursing. Hence, my sleep for the past 16-months has been in spurts of 90-min, four times a night. I'm utterly worn out.

So last night, when he woke up crying at 12am, we tried everything but nursing to soothe him. I carried him over my shoulders, sang and hummed to him, patted his bum bum, gave him massages, walked him around the room, etc. He cried in anguish for more than an hour; eventually falling asleep in a puddle of tears on my pillow. It broke my heart. He woke up again at 5am, asking to be nursed. I gave in.

I don't believe in Ferberizing my baby, i.e. letting the baby cry-it-out; leaving the baby (crying) in his cot, and coming to soothe him at intervals of five to 15-min. The mother is not allowed to pick the baby up, nurse him, pat him, etc., the the sound of her voice alone is supposed to be enough to soothe the baby???!!! I will be there every step of the way with Chubbs, because I want him to know that this process is as painful for him as it is for me; he will not cry alone. I'm not doing this just so that I can have a full night's rest, but I want him to have the independent power to put himself back to sleep when he wakes in the middle of the night, so that he can have more restful sleep. Also, Fuzzy and I want to give Chubbs a tee-tee (younger brother) to play with soon, and that can only materialise when he is no longer dependent on nursing for comfort, or to help him fall asleep. Hence, the necessary evil.

I have long nights and weary days ahead of me. I will be frustrated and cranky. Will someone please make me a t-shirt that says, "Sleep-training baby in progress. Steer clear."

It Will be a Great Year...

Because the first thing I tasted after the clock struck was Cape Mentelle's Botrylis Viognier. It was staggeringly good. Maybe it's the bit of alcohol working, but this year, I've decided to share my resolutions. Hopefully, the stress that comes with broadcasting this personal information on a public medium will help me keep to them better. Here goes...

1) Exercise three times a week- Having just given birth, was the excuse I've made up for the bulge under my belly button. But my 16-month old son can now dribble a ball around the house, and calls me on my bluffs, so I guess that lame excuse is out the window. And I know, that exercise should be an everyday routine. But let's be realistic. And by exercise, I mean anything that gets me off my *ss. Not necessarily marathons or swimming 1500m, but maybe a hike, some yoga, light weights or a slow walk.

2) Only eat things that are yummy and in moderation- this sounds simple enough? But just think of the times when you finish food for the sake of finishing it, or sharing food with someone because they can't finish on their own. And how tempting is it to devour a whole tube of Oreos or an entire tub of Haagen Daz? Well, this year, I will at least endeavour not to.

3) Cook more; minimise the intake of processed foods- I challenge you to read the ingredients list beside the boxes of food that you pick off the shelves in the supermarket. Do you know what all of them are? Are there chemicals, preservatives, colouring, unhealthy oils, etc? I'm tired of putting these additives in my body. So for the sake of our health, I will cook and bake from scratch. I know a lot of readers will say that there's no time, and cooking or baking is a luxury, but it doesn't have to be laborious or complicated. I get cakes in the oven in no more than 15-min, Chubbs gets freshly cooked blueberry spelt pancakes for breakfast, and at lunch, I boil soba noodles and tofu to add to miso soup, wakame and spring onions in less than 10-min. When I feel peckish, I make guacamole to go with corn cakes. This is real fast food. And it tastes real good.

4) Reconnect with old friends- marriage and motherhood became my life. And it was easy for me to forget people who used to matter, because I was so consumed with being the best mother to Chubbs and wife to Fuzzy. But I want to regain some balance, and rebuild old friendships. You guys know who you are, please give me this chance.

5) Read- Fuzzy and I have membership cards at Kino, Borders and Times; we buy a lot of books (easily 20 this past few months). Its difficult to commit to a book when I'm Chubbs' sole care-giver. But I will set aside time to indulge in one of my favourite past-times every night before bed. Here's the stack that I'd like to get through before too long. (p.s. I've already finished two books since the year started. Hurrah!)

6) Home-school Chubbs- perhaps not till he gets his PhD, but for the time being. I'll be reseaching on phonics, numbers, music, etc, so that Chubbs can be educated in the scholistic sense of the word as well.

7) Take time for myself- Right before the new year, I went for my first pedicure in 2-years. It made me smile. I'm going to start making time for massages, haircuts, afternoon teas and the like.

There are bound to be more resolutions as the year progresses. But this is just off the top of my head for now. Have a good one!