On the road to recovery

Eliza's getting better, thank God. She still coughs a bit sometimes...and it's a little heart wrenching to hear her cough halfway through her sleep.

One good thing out of this coughing week is that she has taken to drinking more water. Maybe it's because her throat felt dry and water soothes her throat. She also figured out how to drink from the Nuk Sippy cup, though she isn't too keen on it these few days..or more like my mil doesn't let her try it. I'm still trying to get her to drink from a straw, which doesn't work with her MagMag cup. She did drink green tea when we were at Ww's grandparents house. His aunt let her try the drink from the straw..(ie let it drip from the straw) and then let her try sucking it up from the packet. It was successful! but Ww stopped it quickly cos the drink is so full of sugar..and erm..can babies drink tea? My SIL was saying that she got her 3 sons to learn to drink from the straw using Yakult. so...the sweet drink trick works ah?

One new thing:
Eliza learned a new method of rejecting medicine. Long ago when she had to take medicine, she responded by crying, and we could get her to swallow the meds. After a few times she realized that when she cries, her mouth opens, so she learnt to close her mouth so that we can't get the medicine in. Now...she doesn't swallow the medicine and she tries to cough/spit it out. It's a battle at medicine time, but we found her really smart/cute with her reactions to taking medicines.

3 days of work and i miss Eliza. the past 3 days, Eliza will wake up with me when my alarm rings, also because it let it snooze, so it rings at least 3 times from 7-730am. Sometimes i can't find my hp and the music wakes her up. oh well...so much for letting her sleep in. once she finds me awake, she'll join in the welcoming of the day.
gotta work this friday too, which is extra income la..but for some strange reason, i feel like i'm gonna miss her loads. especially when it has been difficult leaving the house without her crying. I think it's more of a how-come-you-go-out-and-don't-bring-me-along cry as my little gal has become the Flower-leg queen.

Days of Eliza:
We went to Jumbo to meet my parents old friends from Ireland. tadaaa...and we were at Raffles Place...gosh feel like i haven't been there for ages.

Family photo...


little giant in the CBD...(Eliza's looking at the birds)


Walked past Central where there were these 'lanterns' on display...found the Pig one!

On satruday, we went out with the boys (aka Eliza's cousins) to Hort park. We left quite late as Eliza and me took a long nap in the afternoon and didn't wake up till 430pm. The weather was perfect, probably it was cos it was in the late afternoon to evening time. Wish we could hang around longer, but the sun went down really fast...told Ww we must drop by there one day for a walk through all the parks there.



The boys were trying to walk the maze....

On sunday they dropped by again, after their swimming lessons. This time it's just play at home.

Eliza's trying to see what Cousin Augustine is doing...

Voiceless

Eliza's almost voiceless. She sounded hoarse crying when we were at the PD today. Got a flu bug tho it wasn't a runny nose flu bug. She got a dry sore throat and stuck nose. So it's meds again. bleah~ it's the 3rd time she's on antibiotics. At least it's not so difficult to feed her, i felt it has gotten slightly easier. hmm...

But a good thing is that she's been quite happy and as curious as ever...

Exploring daddy's laptop bag...


Peeling off the cards on the wall when she's supposed to take her nap...she peeled off 2 cards today.


Playing on her own in her room.

I find that she's more able to play on her own while i...watch tv, read a book, do housework..we were hanging out in her room this afternoon, trying to watch the "teach your baby to read" video (of which i think she only watched a few minutes, turned to join in the singing for a while and went on with her exploring). the new discoveries for mummy is that...
1. Eliza will happily explore on her own, take out her toys (ie the people on the bus & the blocks in that cart), pull herself up to stand with the help of the low ikea table, Lack; check out the tv, attempt to pull out the cds
2. Pulling her away from the cds works. At least for today. She got tired of me pulling her away everytime she attempts to get something out from there.

Pray Eliza gets well soon...it's bad at night when she cries, i hear a hoarse cry...almost voiceless. poor gal.

Why Eliza couldn't sleep the past 2 days

Yes, I'm rationalizing.

So why?
1. She is getting sick. Today during our day out, she was coughing. Not the deliberate coughing out some sounds but it sounded like she was trying to get stuff out of her throat. And after her nap, she sounded hoarse, i could clearly hear the phelgm. Here we go again...sick Eliza. Why oh why??
Now how did she get sick? Did someone pass it to her? Did she not drink enough water? Was it because she was out in the sun (seemingly suggested by my mil)? Was it cos she was heaty, esp eating all the snacks?

I'm praying Eliza gets well soon. It's not fun being sick.

Managing expectations and rationalizing

Mummies understand their babies best, don't we?

Then again, with all the books telling us this and telling us that, with well meaning friends and family advising on all kinds of ideas, we set ourselves up for frustrations. I admit that i do place some expectations on Eliza, only to be reminded that our lil girl is a baby and that she's as unique as fingerprints. I had more expectations in the earlier months when i read things where baby should be this or that, you should do this or that. It's only when reading a range of books with different mindsets, that i was able to see in-between and choose or let things take it's course. It's also when i catch glimpses of how our heavenly Father parents us, His children, that i understand things a little better, let go a little more.

Talking about frustration, it happens when our babies don't do what we hope them to do. It's not those developmental stuff like crawling or talking or skills. For me it's more of the little little things, and the only one i can think of now is, sleep. I can't say Eliza's a bad sleeper, but there are several occasions when getting her to sleep frustrates me to bits. I do try to get prepared to send her off to sleep when she shows the first signs of tiredness (scratching face, yawning), unless it's a really boring environment, my curious little ball of energy will be raring to go, even in her familiar bedroom. The play in the evening doesn't help her prepare for sleep, but it can't be helped somestimes cos it's when Ww & me are back home and we really are so happy to see her. Last sunday, i realized that it has taken me a sermon to get her to fall asleep. She was sleepier than usual cos she slept late & woke up early and was yawning away even before 9am. I didn't really want to keep her awake, cos i know she will surely be cranky by the time service is over. This evening it has taken me 1hr to get her to sleep...with the help of milk.
On the two occasionas, she has dozed off, her eyes drooping, but for some reason, which i think it's her brain telling her to stay awake, she started crying and wouldn't stop till i brought her to a lighted place with fun things to check out. Oh my lil sleep-resister. She got me so frustrated that i had to tell her sternly that it's time to sleep. Then again, many times i can't help laughing at her playfulness. She was so determinded to crawl out of the bed, she even got down our bed on her own! (and our bed kinda high) gessh! So this evening, finally slept at 930pm. Her first signs of sleepiness? 730pm. Now i wonder what they say about putting yr baby down to sleep first at the signs of sleepiness is right. hmm...

Then again, there's this indecision of whether i should let her sleep in a more independent manner. the playpen is out for getting her to sleep. it's a PLAYPEN. though it's also a cot. my bed has some 20% rates of getting her to sleep, after many roll-a-bouts. Carrying her has some 45% rates of getting her to sleep. It all started when she can't sleep due to her runny nose, so we'll carry her upright so she can fall asleep. It's been a really nice position to sleep nowadays, just that she'll slide down to my chest, do her face rub and 10-15minds later, hopefully, fall asleep. 35% success rate of getting her to sleep, is milk for bedtime. the easiest, i would say.
all the talk about putting your baby in the cot to let her fall asleep on her own, i start to wonder if it's a myth. I recently went to A's place for baby playtime and watch her 4mths+ son fall asleep in the playpen, watching the mobile. I am amazed! I can't remember how i got 4mths+ Eliza to sleep already, but i think she was more figety. Ok, all babies are different.

Maybe i should just hope she outgrows the drinking milk to sleep and carrying to sleep. I wonder if i should try her on the yaolan. I suspect she'll attempt to crawl out of it.

On rationalizing
I realize that being a mum makes you rationalize everything about your baby, until you run out of ideas. like why doesn't she eat, why doesn't she sleep, why does he sleep so much, why she needs milk suddenly at 4am...and the list never ends. Sometimes there are many possibilities for the situation, but i think it's just something we do to assure ourselves.
We say a lot of it when we report to each other about our day with Eliza, what she did etc etc etc. She didn't drink so much milk because...She can't sleep because...she did this because...

Then again, I think it helps us understand our little girl better. If the same thing happens more than once, it confirms that occurance. and slowly that understanding of her is built up.

Mid-autumn festival weekend

I think it's because of her little nap, a good milk meal and lesser people around bugging for a piece of her, she is a little friendlier after church.


lucky ladies....manage to carry Eliza. (a lil break for mummy! :P )


Eliza clapping her hands...if you're happy and you know it "clap your hands"...@ great-grandpa's birthday celebration. hmm..where are the people?


Playing with cousin Alger...this is one of the series shot..like this one in particular. gee..should have pushed that mattress behind away...


too hype up to sleep...yesterday she discovered that she can peel off those cards on the wall...oh she's actually trying to scratch the blu-tack off from the wall. thanks ah Eliza.

Photos

We had a busy weekend last two weekends...and one of them was the Nov mummies gathering! it was fun meeting up with mums whom we 'chat' online, and their babies. Too bad Ww couldn't join us, else maybe i might have eaten more while he carries Eliza..hehehe, the food was so yummy! heh..greedy me. Eliza was at her usual "mummy-don't-go-out-of-sight-or-i-will-freak-out" moods so she was quite niam2 to me.

Here some of the photos taken by one of the mum's hubby, which were really cool.

Eliza makes faces...

and more faces...


ay..ok i'm done with making faces...


mmm?


all mummies! was a lil hard to get everyone in, and also some babies were napping. wonder what it will be like if we could have those magazine cover kinda photo shoot of all the babies, napping and awake..it will be quite a nice mess. but it will be cool too..maybe on their bday bash?

Just last saturday during our leaders' cell.
Eliza joins in after napping through half the cell, and after some rough and tumble on the sofa, mummy gives her an apple to play with. It entertains her all the way till her dinner time. By then she has mangaed to eat through the skin and was happily enjoying the sweetness of the apple.



One sunday at my mum's place.
Eliza checking out my piano. i've been thinking of the bringing it over to our place but the cost is just stopping me. it's not cheap to move a piano from house to house!

budding pianist?

So you think i can play?


Last saturday at Ww's colleague's housewarming
It was a really beautiful home, done up really like a condo showflat. Amazing. This is the day bed which is the focus of the front doorway.

Eliza checks the daybed out...


and returns to look for mummy again.

My hilarous lil girl

it's been about 9 months plus and there's so much change we see in Eliza. there's also so much i feel that she's been learning. no longer is she a helpless little baby, but she's becoming her.

She's so funny really, she makes us giggle and she giggles so we giggle with her.

Recently she is...
- clapping her hands. well...she doesn't exactly aim palm to plam very accurately but one hand will be 'clapping' the other hand's wrist.
- really eager to go out. not that she wasn't to start with but..like today, i've changed, packed my bag with her, she saw my mil & fil changed into 'outing' clothes she knew we were going gai-gai. we planned to feed her before going out but she just didn't have the heart to finish her milk, she'll drink and stop and drink and stop. when my fil finally carried her out of the house, the moment he stepped out, she gave a shout of delight. no, not a squeal, a shout! really, so funny to hear her excitement.
- very mobile. she tries to cruise around the sofa, coffee tables, climb up and down the study room low coffee table, crawl up and down the mattress which she has amazing mastered the art of going down legs first, finally knew how to get down our bed legs first as well.
- still taking things out of containers. like this toy bus which goes by the theme of "The Wheels of the bus go round and round...", she'll take out the four 'passengers' from the bus..all the time she sees them

Updates

It's been really fun being with Eliza. I suspect she'll grow up to be quite a fun-loving gal. I know most babies her age are getting really curious about their world and so is Eliza..my ever curious baby, even in the kitchen, a familiar place, her eyes will be darting to see what's new to play with and she'll lean towards it even when you're carrying her. She's so determined you just have to go there. Sometimes i wonder if she's gonna be quite a head-strong kinda gal next time.

I love Eliza's excited moments:
- When we are getting ready to go out, as in all dressed up and the main door is open. She'll squeal, kick her legs in excitement and she give her classic mi3-mi3 eyes grin, which looks like this:

if she does get out of the house to gai-gai, she does her lil dance of excitement again when we are out of the house. we all unanimously agree she have hui1 ka1 (aka flower feet in hokkien which means to love to go out)
- she gets excited when we play all kids of peek-a-boo with her and she'll play it back with us. (towel over our head / book covering our eyes / hiding behind a door...)
- she gets excited when we give her a new toy she really really wants (ok every baby will anyway) and i enjoy her excitement with her

It's really really fun. and it gets better because...
- the frustrations of weaning to soilds is more or less over (as she loves eating now...including the food we put into our mouths)
- she's easier to put to sleep, especially when it's milktime + naptime is around the same time, the milk knocks her out and saves me the time letting her roll all around till she falls asleep.
- she's not that difficult to understand. she whines, she 'ehs', she lunges to where she wants...we more or less understand what she wants. even when she woke up this morning at 5am rolling all over us in bed but not crying i could sense that she wanted to drink milk.
- she is quite content to be occupied with things to play
- she doesn't rouse so often from her night sleep from 9-12pm timing
- she's really responsive and will show affection towards us. ie she'll be playing and halfway thru she'll go to daddy and lean on his thigh, as if giving him a hug. she'll place her head on my chest and put her arm at my waist in an affectionate way... and she'll be up after a few seconds to play again.

Then there are the challenges:
- wondering when we can wean her off the pacifier at night
- having to be patient through all the repetitions of telling her 'no, you cannot touch this' or 'no, you cannot eat this' AND be consistent at it. i'm waiting for the day she can learn it. she'll still go head on towards whatever she wants and is insistent on having it, if she doesn't get it or if you snatch it away from her, she'll cry the house down, it's those fierce angry "why didn't you let me have it" cries. the more peaceful way is a one-for-one exchange, though sometimes i run out of exciting things to let her play with.
- watching her now since she's so mobile. this morning while i was still groggily asleep, she has already woken with daddy and when she saw daddy go out of the room, she wanted to follow and crawled to the bed edge and....her bump, and few seconds later her cry, woke me up. she didn't really cry very long though, Ww says it's a 6/10 intensity cry and it probably lasted less than 3mins. oh dear oh dear. poor lil gal. i wondered if i should bring her to sleep with us now that she'll fall off the bed, but i think it's cos she's awake and not that she was sleeping and rolled off the bed. still, we'll see, we'll see. somehow, she has learnt to climb off the mattress legs down first (yes she did it on her own last sunday!! got me so excited and proud of her), hope she'll be able to learn how to get off our bed legs down first, i'll try to teach her over the weekend.

There's so much i wished i could pen down but i somehow get amnesia when i sit in front of the computer, i wonder what i need to do.

Days of Eliza:

I was trying to get a shot of her excited while she's playing...really cute!


One day i'll upload the video of what she was doing. somehow, she'll always sing into containers like these...and this is a big container. she does get quite excited when she does so.


finally she holds her own bottle on her own!!!


it's hard to put her to sleep in her cot aka playpen. ok..maybe that's why it's called a playpen..gee. we've raised the playpen a little higher so that it's easier for us to put her in to sleep and so that she can reach the edge to stand up, however, it leaves 2 sides with gaps which she sometimes finds it fun to play. here she's trying to reach for something inside...i can't remember what it was...


this is the other fun part of the playpen where i put her shoes, books and toys. here's Eliza checking what fun and new things are in there...


i was washing clothes on saturday morning and knew her time on the walker is up, so i left her to crawl the kitchen floor..and she discovered the washing machine.

i'll post the video too..sometime...i hope i remember...

yeap mummy's little helper..trying to get the water out of the pipe??