::BABY:: Starting Solids

D just turned 6 months and is all ready to explore food! A good 2 months ago,we found out he was ready to take on the spoon and so I eagerly started him on some white rice cereals, which he liked very much! I brought home some brochures from the PD which provided some good info on baby food. I also went online to order some organic grains from australian rice mills. I was very eager to feed my baby! :)

 

The correct way of introducing solids is to give at least 3 days before introducing a new food. That is to aid in identifying any allergies. But the older generation doesnt seem to practise this concept.

D and I checked in to hotel grandparentslier during the easter weekend and my mum cooked him a different pot of porridge every day! Well, he seems alright so we ll probably not follow the 3-day thing anymore. We have done the optional allergy blood test when he was one month old and it was negative though, so I guess we are pretty safe to be adventurous!

 

Here's D during his Easter weekend! Checked in to Hotel Grandparentslier for some good food and company, and gave me some time off to sneak in a dinner catchup!

 

Look who's smiling in his gonggong's arms!

 

And eating his porridge! 

 

And has a new playmate! (Not sure if the feeling's mutual though.. the trauma of being chased by dashing cars driven by baby may still linger)

 

 We caught him staring at our food while we fed ourselves. There was taro pie on the table, so he ate some yam and made a funny face.

Baby D's Solid's Journey

4.5 months old

White rice cereal (Frisocream).

That's about the only thing we can feed a 4mo baby. Only thing is, it's a little sweet. I did the taste test out of curiosity because D appeared extremely eager. So I didn't feed him everyday.

 

5 months old

Barley grains (Organic powdered grains from Australian mills).

Most retailers sell baby food from 6 months +. But I managed to find some powdered grains (barley oat and brown rice) online that is suitable from 5 months.

 

6 months old

Banana

Pumpkin

Potato

Carrot

Threadfin

Yam

All prepared fresh and pureed or cooked in a slow cooker until mishy mashy. We haven't started on the greens yet. Spinach and broccoli are next on the menu! I hope our baby loves the greens!

::BABY:: D turns half a year old!!!

Nowadays, little man smiles at us spontaneously.

He has also perfected his little crooked smile.

 

It's more of like a smirk. Like a Duh! Let's entertain the adults kind of smirk.

But I would prefer to think of it as a smile ;)

The Smile that I found him perfecting in his dreams

 

We had a mini celebration for his turning half year old the other day.

This is my favorite picture of the lot.

The one with his perfect crooked smile ;)

Happy half year old baby!

Hope you like the Carter's smart phone that mummy and papa got for you (so that you also have a smart phone to play with when we get too engrossed playing Candy Crush heh)!

 

Love you!

::BABY:: Learning Milestones

Look who learnt to flip at 5.5 months!!!

 

And that made me realise how important it is to let my child develop at his own pace!

I must say D has been rather on the ball in his learning milestones. Those monthly checkups that we went to with a checklist to tick off went pretty well, except for this part. This lifting of head when placed on tummy part.

 

TUMMY TIME

 

Is the word. Every mummy whom I know speaks about it.  

Have a crying baby? It must be collic! Give tummy time!

Want to train neck muscles? Give tummy time!

Want to prepare them for crawling? Give tummy time!

 

The wonders of tummy time cannot be overstated.

 

We heard about it again during D's 3rd month checkup. When he failed one of the developmental milestones that he was assessed on in that month - to be able to lift head up 45 degree when placed on tummy. This was what he looked like during the test:

Didnt help that our PD made quite a big deal out of it. So for the next month or so, I set myself on a mission to train D for his next assessment at the 4th month - to be able to lift head 90 degrees when placed on tummy. This is what you get paid to stay at home for 4 months for. Seriously.

 

So I tried.

And I failed many times.

I read that giving a pillow to prop/support helps.

So there.

Many times the grandparents saw him in such agony, got heartbroken and asked me to flip him back.

 

I was heartbroken too! But I wanted D to 'pass' his test in a month's time!

More importantly, I wanted to be sure that given time and practice, my baby is able to support his own head.

 

So I continued trying.

 

Then I read that I should make the 'view' more interesting for him.

So I tummy timed together with him and tried to distract him with all his colorful books and toys.

He still wasnt very pleased.

 

I even let him tummy time on the play gym because I thought having a bear head to stare at may arouse some interest. Muesli cloth was put there for hygiene purpose because the dog just snuggled on the abandoned playgym.

But he wasnt interested in any bear.

He just wasnt pleased.

 

 

This went on for a month until our next PD visit.

Sure enough, we missed the mark again. But she was slightly more pleased that he had shown some improvement from the previous visit though still not satisfied.

 

Being an anxious first time mummy, I went on to google and found out that it was actually quite common with other babies too. It wasnt anything to be worried about!

And so, we didnt do tummy time anymore.

 

But on a more recent visit to a private PD, I casually told him D wasnt lifting his head up while on tummy yet. You know, just to be sure.

He tested his neck strength and told us all is fine with our boy.

 

Who knows 2 weeks later, look who flipped over?!?!?!

 

Baby D at 5.5 months.

It was a big hoohaa in the house that afternoon and I swear we would have popped a champagne if we had one!!! So proud of you darling!

 

But we have got quite a lazy bummer

 

That's our D, choosing to rest his head during most of his tummy time.

;p

 

So there!

Tummy time or not, you decide.

It is still up to individual babies to develop at their own pace.

Of course as parents, we should always be vigilant when certain developmental milestones dont get achieved, just to make sure it is not an early sign of something more serious.

 

If you are a worrywart, then get a PD who doesnt harp on every single thing by the book.

For us, this wasnt the only thing ours harped on.

His weight was also not meeting her expectations according to the chart of growth. Our D is in the 90th percentile for his height but in the 50th percentile for his weight. Average weight is acceptable what, right?! He is not underweight. But no, we were told he s should put on more to match his height.

No matter how I see it, my D looks ok. He's not the typical sumo baby but is also not scrawny.

My baby cannot be tall AND SLIM meh?!

Look! He also has got the michelin thighs what!!

 

 

I digress.

This photo was actually taken after some stranger we met peeked suspiciously at D's thighs while talking to N. He said my next baby will be a boy. According to him, one michelin line means boy. Really?!



::BABY:: Daymian at 4 months

I have been missing for too long.

Pardon me! Life hasn't been exciting of late and all I am doing is to cater to the needs of our 4 month-old 24-7. It involves repetitive tasks of milking, feeding and diaper changing. 

But since our baby has achieved several 'talents' during his growth journey, I actually have an internet checklist for each month to tick off his 'talents', I figured I should really pen something down to  mark his achievements.

Dear Baby,

I wonder if this makes any sense - the days seem too long and the nights endless for us nowadays; but I find you growing at such at amazing speed! It makes me cringe whenever I think of you losing all your babyness, that I give you the extra hugs and cuddles and kisses whenever I can. One day, you are going to grow up and reject my smooooches and no longer let me cradle you in my arms. Before that happens, Mummy is going to milk all your babyness! And that's why I always tell the grandparents to carry you even though the older generation believes in not doing so in order to have an 'easier' baby. 

In the recent 2 months, you have learnt to:

- establish eye contact

- smile at us

- grab things

- savour the yumminess of your hands

- recognise us

- recognise your food!

- Lift your head 45 degrees when placed on tummy

- chuckle (that's really new!!)

Here's a picture of you showing off your talent - grabbing on to your dudu and staring at the pump and bottle that was milking your food.

Recently, Mummy also found enjoyment in watching you watch papa do jumping jacks. You love it whenever you (actually it's mummy) join in the jumps! And you would show your gummy-iest smile whenever we do that, sometimes even breaking into a cute little chuckle. 

Too cute!

It was exactly a year ago that I missed the trip to Rome. But it was all for a good reason! :D Then till now, you are worth all the sacrifices :)

Love you baby!