Oh.. I am sick again

When wai po tucked me to sleep last nite (2 dec 08), she suddenly feel I was feeling warm. So qiao tat mommy just came back and then took my temperature.. it’s 37.8-37.9. so mommy, daddy and wai po quickly finished dinner then rushed me to the KK hospital to find out what’s wrong with me.

When we reached there at about 845pm, the queue was long. After we cleared the pre-consultation and registration, we went to the waiting area, there are so many babies and small kids pasted the same cooling pad as me…the queue was moving so slowly and I began to feel tired and wanted to sleep. Mommy carried me over shoulder and walked around and I started to feel drowsy… but I missed my bed, my pillow and my blanket. So she decided to put me in the stroller, I finally dozed off inside.. maybe I am just too tired.

see, i still look cute with the cooling pad.

when my number was finally called at 10pm plus, i was extremely tired. being woken up from my sleep is one thing, the other thing make me angry is that the doctor kepting talking to daddy abt his dengue rather the focusing on me. "who is the patient here?' so i screamed to show my dissatisfaction. when he finally turned and checked on me, i was extremely cranky, i cried screamed and shouted to the point of hysterical. but the doc simply walked off and asked daddy mommy and wai po to pacify me. then he used the tongue presser and made me gag... i felt so uncomfortable and puked. in the end, he just gave me some paracetamol and tat's it.

for the next one day or so, my fever hasn't subsided. it went down after i took medicine, but it shot back when the medicine wore off. then mommy and daddy got worried again and sent me to the thomson medical centre to see another PD. after doing urine and blood test, can only show i got some viral infection.

when the situation didn't get better, daddy and mommy decided to send me in the hospital for monitor. call them gan jiong spider. after spending two nites at the hospital, i am finally well again. ooohhhh... i dun want to be sick again.

i still played as per normal while the adults are so worried over me

do i look like Harry Potter with that scar?

My new sleeping pattern

Recently I realize I can sleep better sideways…esp on the left side. So every time mommy or wai po put me to sleep, I will turn to the left side and fall into dreamland very fast.. but the downside of it… I will turn and turn and ended up on my tummy, then I will lift up my head and wake up.. and since I dunno how to flip back by myself and then will scream for help…. Mommy said the record so far is I can wake up up to 4 time a nite.. It certainly causes some interrupted sleep for wai po and mommy.

more and more new toys

Daddy and mommy bought a few toys for me.. hahaha

1) The fisher price activity walker
As they said the traditional walker is not good for babies development, mommy is eyeing for this for quite long time. Finally tat day we saw it on offer at toys R us and immediately bought for me…but I dun think I can start using it yet.

2) ring stacker
This is to improve my motor skills leh.. the last time we went to see the PD, he said my motor skills development maybe slower than the rest of the babies due to my big size.. mommy is determined tat it won’t be true.. so hopefully this will help. Anw, now I am only interested in biting the rings.

2) leapfrog learn and groove activity station
Mommy bought this preloved one from the forum and carried it all the way from yew tee back to bishan alone. Now it has become another activity station for me as it trains me to stand up.. hahaha tell you a secret lah.. actually mommy was eyeing a evenflo exersaucer.. but too bad…

me eating teething rusk in my new exersaucer

biting the microphone on the exersaucer
me and the mag mag (chewing rather than drinking)

Baby Darren is Sick

Today (24 Nov 2008) daddy and mommy brought me for the review cos for the past week, I was down with urinary tract infection and was on antibiotics. It all started on last Monday morning at 230am, i cannot fall asleep cos I felt warm even in the aircon room. So I tossed and turned and kicked away my blanket… mommy woke up several times to pull the blanket back…but I was still fidgeting away and felt so uncomfortable that I started to yee yee orh orh… then mommy must have sensed something wrong with me cos she took the thermometer to measure my temperature… oh it’s 37.9. she gave me one dose of the paracetamol and put the cooling gel pad on my forehead. Daddy was saying to rush me to the hospital, but mommy said to monitor first. After the medicine, I was still tossing around, but after a while, I guessed I was just too tired, so I finally fell back to sleep.

In the morning, the temperature shot up to 38 degree again, daddy and mommy quickly dressed up and rushed me to the paediatrician. After a few questions by the doctor, he asked the nurse to do a urine test for me. As I am only a baby and has no control over when I want to pee, the nurse put a little plastic bag around there and ask mommy to monitor… so now we just had to wait for me to pee.

me with the gel pad stuck on my forehead.

Meanwhile, it’s past my nap time liao and I really felt sleepy but cannot sleep. So I screamed to show my unhappiness. Mommy, daddy and auntie, no choice have to take turn to carry me walk walk.

Finally I pee-ed. And mommy called the nurse to do the test for me. She did the dipstick test twice and confirmed it’s urinary tract infection. So we went to see the doctor again, he gave me the antibiotic and fever medicine. For the rest of the week, mommy used the syringe to inject the antibiotic into my mouth… but I dun like the medicine even it’s syrup with strawberry flavor.. I always spit out the medicine… mommy is the bad guy who is holding the syringe… when I see her, I know she is going to feed me the awful medicine.

Luckily it only lasted for one week. At the review today, the urine test is clear… yippee.. but as a precaution, dr suggested to do kidney ultrasound and MCU… I dun understand all those jargons but mommy has heard of MCU before as one of the aunties in the forum has posted the procedure before and is painful...

Sigh… more tests for me…

my new stunt

my new food

soon after i turned 6 month, mommy has let me try a few more food.

1) the sweet potato puree

2) the potato puree

3) banana

4) a little bit of apples, grapes and the teething rusks loh...





I really like the sweet stuff, especially the sweet potato puree and the banana... wish mommy can give me more of those ...

Wai Po and daddy also say I am very good with the teething rusks wor... just like my chinese zodiac sign (rat).

Although I only have 2 small teeth now, I can use them to slowly nibble nibble & finish the whole teething rusks on my own wor.

Yup, that's me with the teething rusks...


Wai Po sometimes calls me a "say lor pei", which is the dialect for greedy person... but that's because I got a figure to maintain mah ...

I am 6 months old

hi all, today I am finally 6 month old... meaning i am ready for a whole lot of new food out there.. hehehe... and new toys and new adventures. being a big boy now... mommy said i have to be responsible of my own behaviours... hmmm... i am not sure what it means, but... i will try my best to be good boy... see my new image for the 6 month. handsome? tat's my new style!

but look at this pic! mommy strip me naked to take this... the "du dou" was given by my great grandmother to bless me with long life. see the two little cute mouses on it? tat's my chinese horoscope as i am born in the year of rat.

hmmmm.... mommy!!! shy shy lah.

incidentally today is also one of my uncles' wedding, in the moring, mommy and daddy brought me to the morning's tea ceremony as i was given an important task --- to jump on the marital bed!

the cute little girl is my elder cousin... u want to see me in real action? see the video below... i didn't look quite happy inside as i am really confused by so many pple surrounded me and i can't take nap.

it's SOLID time

Last week mommy brought me for another jab. now i am 11.2kg and abt 71-2 cm bah... cos the nurse at the clinic said no need to measure height until 9mth assessment, so mommy secretly put me on the meausring tape when the nurse is not at the counter. hehehe...





dr ong also surprised to see how big i have grown, keep saying it's 1.5 year old's weight. so he finally gave me the green light to start me on solids. mommy has been so excited and has a long long plan for me to try out different foods.





for the past few days, i have been eating cereal for some times. hmmmm....maybe i am still not very good with swallowing, i kept spitting out the cereal but swallowed the milk. and frankly i got a bit bored with cereal.





finally, today mommy let me try a new food, the pumpkin puree. it looks delicious as it's orange in color and mommy put in a nice strawberry-shaped bowl. although it's the first time i tried it, i fnished half of the portion. quite an achievement for first timer!

tat's how my pumpkin puree look like... yum yum rite.....

see me in action!

i am a dancing KING

recently i just discovered that i love to dance! mommy told me tat early in the morning everyday i will really swing my butt and legs. and with my eyes closed somemore! daddy always teases me that i am disco kid. tat however, caused mommy several days of black eye ring.

see the real action

I went swimming

daddy and mommy brought me for my first swimming today. but i was nervous though, i clasp my two hands together so that i won't drown. even though the auntie there, daddy and mommy kept telling me to relax and be a brave boy, i still feel insecure floating in the middle of the tub alone. Initially i am still ok...




but after a while.....

anyway, i tell you hor.. swimming is really a tiring and hungry exercise for me. immediately after the swimming, i fnished one whole bottle of milk...and now i am soundly asleep... mommy hope that i can finally sleep through the night after a tiring day...keep her finger crossed.

FINALLY i can flip on my own

today i made a huge milestone in my growth, i FINALLY can flip on my tummy on my own. Mommy is relieved cos many babies at 4mths plus can flip on themselves already, and I am oredi 5mth plus.

but but... i've been trying hard for the past few weeks. maybe cos of my big size, i always got stuck at the butt... then mommy or wai po have to give me a little push then i can flip... today after my two hours of beauty sleep, i finally gathered enough energy to flip on my own. the first time, daddy was shocked... and called out to mommy. since mommy missed the first time, she flipped me back, then i did it again... mommy was totally pleasantly surprised.

first trip to the airport

today, mommy and daddy brought me to the new T3 cos wai po and wai gong are going to Shanghai for one week. we are sending them off as well as to explore the new T3. I am going to miss wai po cos no one to carry me to "orh orh".

T3 is really huge and spacious and i am curious abt the new surroundings. Hope mommy and daddy can bring me more often.

see ma, i am ready to eat solids!

After hearing so many May08 babies started eating semi-solids, I am also eager to try and telling mommy by showing I am interested in whatever she eats during meal time. So finally, this morning, wai po made me sit on her lap, and mommy scoop a bit of porridge water from the bowl to let me try. hmm….tastes differently from my usual milk…so maybe I only took a bit then see how. Then mommy scoop a bit more. Uhmm… it doesn’t taste that bad… so maybe I drink a bit more….mommy put the spoon near my mouth again, I opened my mouth and this time, I find the porridge water tastes quite nice actually and I drank all on the spoon. When mommy took the spoon away and told me there is no more, I wailed “ mommy, I want more!” so mommy gave in and scoop a bit more to feed me. After I drank and realized there is no more, I screamed again”mommy, I am hungry, and I want more!”

mommy told me once I go for my jab next week and the doctor give the green light for me to start semi-solids, she will let me try all the nice food that she is eating… sound exciting… I can’t wait for the next week to come! But wait, I dun want to get “tuk” again.

mommy, spend more time with me!

It’s another quarter end closing and mommy has to work late again. So she missed a lot of my achievements during the day which mommy is very sad abt it. By the time mommy reaches home, I am oredi in my lala land. And in the morning, she has to rush to get ready to work and has no time to even carry me. So now I only recognize my wai po and the auntie (aka the maid) who are with me all the time during the day. Daddy and mommy become vague strangers who Mommy is very sad about this and seriously consider switching to a less taxing job so that she has more time to spend with me.

As i am getting more curious about my surroundings, mommy also realized now is the time to start me with some brain development activities. Actually mommy is already quite slow liao. I know some of my baby friends in the May baby forum oredi started long long ago.

my new toy! leapfrog counting pal...

I can hold my head high

The other achievement I have achieved during the 4th mth is tat I can lift up my head high when put on the tummy. Initially, i was quite lazy to do so when mommy flip me on my tummy, i would knock on the mattress instead. Or not moving at all. If after some time, i would start screaming if mommy doesn't flip me back. in fact after she does so, i feel so tired that i actually start panting.. hahahha but these few days, when i am on tummy, i can lift up my head and look around.

i am curious to explore the surroundings.

Wai po tried to make me sit.

Daddy's contribution

Daddy has been reading the blog and finally decide to do his bit of writing up. so here he goes:



Here are Daddy’s thoughts on baby Darren.
It is now day 2 since Daddy has been out of a job. I am enjoying the time that I have at home with baby. Watching him turn, watching him cry, watching him suck his little fingers, every moment is so precious.
Baby has been a good boy at home and has been sleeping most of today. The times when he is awake, he is playing on his favourite play mat and looking around. Sigh, I wish that these moments will never end.
Over the past few days, baby has also become more curious. In the past, he will sleep soundly on his bed after his milk and his lullaby. Now, he would prefer to have daddy and mummy to talk to him and bring him around the house, look around, and talk to him. Anyway, if there is something that baby behaves like daddy, it is the way that he loves his TV. Baby likes granny to carry him and watch TV. Now, baby and granny are watching the Taiwan TV serial (Yi Nan Wang) that is on from 4:30 on weekday afternoons.
As I am talking now, baby is sleeping soundly in granny’s arms and enjoying his pacifier in his little dreamland (zzz).
Sweet dreams my boy … I hope that I can always be there for you.

my two little teeth

I have been drooling a lot for quite some time and i like to put my fingers into my mouth to poke around. mommy and daddy thot i might start teething liao… but didn’t really see the white pearlie coming out from the gum. wai po said it won't be so early. but my gum really feel itchy.

on 11 Sep 2008, just two days after i turned 4 mth old, mommy see a little white thing sprouted out from my lower gum. So cute. each day, the little white tooth grows a bit more. then the other one also started appearing. And for the first time, i dun like the milk bottle when mommy inserted the teat in. only when mommy let me suck suck then i quieten down and finally started drinking again.

So the gan jiong daddy went to guardian to buy the teething gel. Mommy put a little bit on her finger and put on my gum. But it doesn’t seem to work.. cos i still prefer my own little finger.

the 4th month and still growing fast...

on 6 sep 2008, daddy and mommy brought me for jabs again. at pediatrician's clinic, the nures weighed me and now i am 9.855kg and 67cm tall. The nurse auntie commented that I can break the record for a 4 mth old baby.

and When Dr Ong gave me the injection, he even commented that he has not seen a 4 month old baby weighing 9.855kg. hahhaha...

but i oredi am not drinking as much as before. now wai po and mommy only gave me milk every 3 hours and each time 140-150ml. How come i am still puttin on weight so fast?

Do i look like the little michelin man?

Maybe the other indication tat i am too fat is that now i am wearing clothes for 9-12mth baby or if the cutting is small, sizd 12-18mth. Mommy is busy buying new clothes for me as i am growing out those at home. she even started buying those meant for 18-24mth baby.

Mommy's buying spree

mommy has a newfound hobby - online shopping! here are a few of the items she bought for me

The playmat mommy bought from the bulk purchase from singaporemotherhood website has arrived! Think a lot of mommies bought the same alpha yellow bear design. So now it's my new playground.

me and my pooh friend on the playmat

The other good buy from the website is the cloth book, one is with the animal sound and the other one is for all the machines that move. So sometimes we just sit on the sofa. mommy and wai po will show the book to me. darren seemed to be interested by the sound, but only for a short while….

see, i can read.

another one is the leg warmers. suppposed to cover the legs when in air-con places so that the legs won't feel cold. but i dun really like them as they are too tight for my fat thighs.

the leg warmers are too tight for my fat thighs.

some of my firsts

Just when mommy wonders when I can start turning. One morning, i turned to my side when mommy just went out of the room for a while. And while in tat position, i was still happily sucking his fingers.
see... i can turn myself.

I can sit too!

first tear captured on camera Watching tv with daddy.

like father like son... OR like son like fater?

Mommy is going back to work

Fast forward to the 3rd month, mommy has to go back to work soon. although mommy really can't bear to leave darren, work is work.

the last friday before mommy started working, she brought me to have my vaccination. to our surprise, i am 8.84kg on 8 Aug 2008! tat's really huge! even the PD said I am overweight.

then mommy brought me to see the auntie doctor who delivered me. the nurses at the clinic were all amazed by my size. i just felt puzzled why suddenly so many pple crowded me. but the auntie doctor also said i am overweight. think mommy is thinking how to make me grow at the slower pace.
Little muscle man.

Finger-licking good! i am the new spokesman for KFC.

Mommy officially went back to work on 11 Aug. everyday she has to carry the pump with her so that i can still drink breastmilk.

Mommy and me, just before she is leaving for work.

Mommy says she is sad cos everyday she only get to see me in the morning for a while before she rushes to work. by the time she reaches home after work, it's almost time for me to sleep. and if she works late, i am oredi soundly asleep, she can only stand at bedside and look at me sleeping. I hope everyday is weekend so that i can be with mommy.

The little giant

I've continued with my binge drinking. that's what daddy called cos i would just drink as much as i could even though i am full then throw up later. so mommy says the days just went by like tat.. bottle-feed then latch on, then throw up.... then feed again cos the tummy was empty from the throwing up. sometimes it's so scary tat i threw up like a little merlion.

mommy finally got very worried and brought me to see the PD. at the PD's clinic, surprising, my weight continued to climb. at 2mth + 3 days, i was 6.5kg. Dr Ong said "well done!" hahha. but still, he gave me some medication because i am little colicky. but guess i am fine, as long as i am gaining weight... i am growing well.

I dun really like tummy time, but mommy put me in this position everyday after my bath.

See my little play ground!

Doing shoulder massage for my daddy using my strong legs

the neverfull

Mommy can't really remember what exactly happened in the 2nd month. Days seemed just passed with feeding, pumping and more feeding.

Suddenly, baby darren began to drink a lot. i also dunno why, my stomach seemed not full even though i just finished 120ml, so i cried for more milk. mommy gave me a new name, called "neverfull" cos i can cry for milk every 1-2 hour. the most memorable event is that mommy brought me out with her to the salon then dinner. within the 6 hours we were outside, i finished 4 feedings of 120ml!

see, i am so hungry that i can even eat my own napkin!

I want to hold my own bottle!
Oh... where is my milk???

This is mommy's favourite picture of me. see my sunshine smile.

The Little Botak

Daddy and mommy decide to shave me botak shortly after one month. my hair will be used to make into chinese brushes. and thanks to wai po for the good bargain, i got one set of brushes which daddy and mommy said will give me as wedding present when i grow up. and an extra one for myself. but after the shave, mommy suddenly regretted cos i got a lot of hair and my hair was so smooth and silky to touch. and mommy keeps regretting that they shouldn't allow that uncle to shave my eyebrow and i got very nice shape.

just before the shave and i still dunno what i will be going through later, still happily sleeping

I've become a little botak, but i am still blur abt what's happening to me
that's my precious hair

The First Month

The first month, or the first one week was quite traumatic for us as new parents.

firstly, the baby. when darren was discharged, the nurse oredi informed us abt the slight jaundice appearing around the cheek area. upon returning home, as my milk has not come, wai po tried to give him the pre-mixed formula milk from the hospital. but everytime, little darren only drank a bit, abt 10 to 20ml, and he was taking forever to finish that little bit. Darren was so sleepy that he didn't even wake up for milk most of the time. so the very next day, we went to his PD, Dr Ong WH for check up. when he opened up his diaper, there was little reddish dot there which the doctor said the urine has crystalised. it was a big worry to hear that as he is on the verge of dehydration. so Dr Ong suggested we go to the parentcraft to let the nurse there to help us. and at the same time, he drew some blood for jaundice test.

Wai po trying hard to feed me but i am just too sleepy


when we went to the parentcraft, the nurse helped me massage the breasts and pumped out the first milk - colostrum. To my surprise, the milk has already come and quite a lot too. meanwhile, they also tried to feed the baby via bottle as well as cup.

that afternoon, the jaundice report also came out and the jaundice level has gone up which also explained why he was so lethargic to drink. The nurse at the PD's clinic asked us to continue to monitor him as well as going back for review in two days' time.

tat evening, my confinement lady came. auntie Jin Hua took over the duty of feeding little darren, yet she also had not much success in doing so. he was still drinking so little. that nite, hy bought an electric pump for me. and since then, i started the routine of being a cow and religiously pumping milk every 3 hours.

when we went for the 2nd jaundice review, the result was even higher and since baby darren was still not feeding well, the doctor suggested to admit him for phototherapy as well as monitoring of his feeding by the nurse. so there we are, back at TMC. This time round, we opted for single room as well so that while Darren was having his suntanning at the nursery, we can stay with him and passed milk to the nurse to feed him. and the amount of milk he drank increased too, maybe due to the fact that he was under the light all the time.

Baby Darren under the light

when darren was discharged, the jaundice level went down but was not fully gone yet. so we still got to monitor him. so basically the next week was in and out of PD's clinic for jaundice level. The worrying part is even after the first session of phototherapy, the jaundice returned the next week which the doctor commented it could be due to the breast milk. so being kiasu parents, we sent him back to TMC for another round of phototherapy. it was so uncommon that even the nurse at level 4 (the children ward) recognised us. however this round of phototherapy was not very successful. the jaundice level only went down a bit. since darren was drinking well and appearing well enough, the doctor discharged him to be monitored and do sunbathing at home.

while baby darren faced the problem with jaundice and poor feeding, mommy was not so well too. when mommy was discharged on sunday, she brought home a little urine bag as well as the bladder muscle was not fully recovered from the delivery. After the milk has come, she also faced a whole lot of problems associated with breastfeeding. first of all, the engorgement, then the little blisters on nipples due to wrong technique of expressing. on top of all, the mastitis! mommy wasn't even aware of that untill Mrs Wong saw the breast when we went to the parentcraft. anyway, mommy became the regular at the parentcraft centre until the nurse there recognised her.

however the topmost problem we faced is that baby darren refused to latch on. initially it was your poor feeding. then the confinement lady auntie jing hua bottle-fed you so that mommy can rest. so by the time mommy was well enough towards the end of the confinement, you screamed so loudly everytime mommy tried to put you to breasts. so much so that we almost gave up. we can only tried to latch as often as possible so that you can get used to it. yet, everytime we still had to feed you through bottle.

mommy has really no idea how she survived the confinement month, with so much discomfort from the confinement traditions as well as the pain from engorgement. but the sweetest return she got is that baby darren finally started to drink more. toward the 3rd week, it really delighted us so much that darren started drinking 100ml per feed. and he started putting on more weight.

finally, it's the full month! it was an achievement to both the mommy and the baby after so many things happened. and it's really something worth celebrating for.

our family photo at the full month celebration

Baby Darren is on the magazine cover!