Swim Video Up

It's not much, but I finally managed to upload it. Check it out at the post Baby's First Dip.

Groovy!

I was greeted with an announcement from derod when I came out of the shower.

"Your son can disco. And he'll round up each routine with the fingers in the mouth."

You be the judge.

Indulgence...

Gabe has started porridge this week. His first attempt was quite disappointing. He kept choking and wasn't keen in taking the food. It was actually my fault. You see, it's the first time I prepared baby porridge and was kinda unsure of the amount of water I should add, the texture the final outcome should be like, etc. So turns out, the first serving was not mashed up enough. It was corrected from Day 2 on and he has finished every bit of it. There's a certain sense of warm fuzziness inside when your son eats up the stuff that you have prepared. But ask me again three months later and I may not feel as warm and fuzzy anymore haha!

But the best part of gabe starting on solids is... the mother's indulgence on her obsession!

The father's obsession - camera angles...

The Can-Do/ Like-To-Do List

Reeeeeaaach for Things
Gone are the days where derod and I can plonk gabe on our laps at the dinner table and just eat happily away without needing to be watchfully alert for his sudden and agile movements. He reaches for anything that's within range, and attempts for others that are out of range. Once while out with gijioe and family, we were happily chatting away, unaware that he has gone on to grab some plants behind derod! The blending-in-with-the-kitchenware thing is also going on rather precariously. He has managed to turn halfway round to the stuff behind him and all the thermos flasks and water containers have to be relocated once he's up there on the work surface. Shoelaces have to be double-knotted, spectacles have to be held on to, dangling stuff have to be kept out of the way... you get the idea.

Hold on for Dear Life
Since the end of the 4th month, gabe has taken a liking to holding on to, or shall I say gripping, the two sides of his bathtub while enjoying the splashing inside. It gets to the point where he looks like he's clinging on for dear life, with hands outstretched to the max while lying down in the tub, with only his head above the water (supported by me), and looking rather serious unless I decide to break away from the bathing commentary and do some amusing contortions with my face instead. The cling is so strong that unless I break it before lifting him out of the tub, I'll risk taking the tub with me onto the towel.

Mmmm Mmmmm...
What you hear most often from him now. Oh, that or the screams. Yes, he has taken to expressing himself with loud screams or a sudden shout. He has scared kind grandmotherly neighbours who stop to play with him, only to be jolted back (literally) with the "enthusiastic" reaction.

Standing Up!
Gabe has progressed from simply bearing a little weight on his legs to being able to stand for more than 10 seconds, and sometimes, attempting to take a few steps forward. I don't think he really understands the concept of walking. It's more of lifting a leg in excitement and placing it down a short distance forward. With this new ability, he has also started stepping on my body when he's being carried. He'll "walk up" from my hip to my waist and most often, places his right foot securely on my left hip.

The Koala Stunt
I've started attempting carrying gabe at the side, with his legs wrapped around my hip. To my surprise, the boy knows how to grip his leg around to lend some support so that it's really much easier to hold on to him.

Leopard/ Worm Crawl
When not on his twos, our friend is busy rolling away. The king size bed doesn't seem large enough for the active one. When he has reached the boundary of pillows and cannot advance further, he'll move upwards in something between a leopard and a worm crawl. When trapped at a corner ie the lateral and vertical limits have been reached, he'll somehow pivot on his head and arms, dig his feet and knees onto the bed, twist and turn and somehow, manage to get his body parallel to the other side of the perpendicular (if you know what I mean) and on goes the trail of moving upwards again.

Appreciate the View from Above
I've discovered that the boy likes to look at human and vehicular traffic and since our flat boasts a rather good view of the cross junction below, I'd done a trial test of placing him at the window. Turns out our boy can entertain himself, for as long as half an hour at one go, just watching the coming and going. But of course, you have to give him something for his itchy gums. As this week has been rainy, what better to complete the view with some music from the Carpenters as one lazily watches the slow morning traffic. (Oh, you'd notice gabe has taken to sitting up on his own on his tweety chair.)

6 Months Old!

Believe it or not, it has been six months. The boy turned 0.5 yesterday. Got a series to show you. It's got nothing to do with him turning 6 months, but since I wanted to "announce" his month-day, it'll have to be put together with this series.

Presenting to you in sequential order... hee...

Getting ready for the night routine

waipo always says I "matt dai hao long ham" ie open wide the throat and cry

hmm... maybe I'll just take a break

think think... blank blank...

WAHHHHH.... need some comfort... fingers...fingers...

sniff sniff... need more comfort... not enough space!

"Gabe Says" in A Note to Ethan Gor Gor

Dear Ethan Gor Gor,

my mummy said that both our mothers used to write lots of letters to each other when they were young, so I thought I'd attempt a short note to you.

It happened today. "New toilet" syndrome (say it in cantonese), my mummy said. I was put in the rather over-sized t-shirt to go to church. I'm so sorry to be such a copycat, but as you can see, I'm pretty much at their mercy. By "their", I mean both my papa and mummy.

Papa had initially said that the words on the tee sounds a little arrogant, but when he saw the get-up mummy had put aside for this morning, he said a cap will really complete the look of a rapper. So mummy took out the denim cap auntie P2 bought for me and they promptly started snapping. (Terrible shots I'd say, considering that they didn't managed to capture the words on the tee!) For your information, this wearing of the cap sideways thing was started by ... believe it or not... my confinement auntie! Back then it was a mickey cloth cap.

Oh... I'm still not able to fit into the collared shirt you gave me at my first month old party, the one with the man on the horse holding a long stick in his hand. Will let you know when I manage to!

A grudging smile for all the effort of my parents

Dinner at Gabe's Great-Grandfather's

Gabe has the privilege of setting his eyes on only one great-grandparent, so we take him to visit his ah zoh quite often. The strategic location of gabe's ah zoh's place enables us to catch great views of any fireworks display so since it was the country's national day, derod whipped the camera out and managed to take some pictures of gabe with some of his elders.

Four generations: derod's grandfather, his father, himself and his son

Apple of ah gong's eye

With see gor poh

With sah gor poh

And of course, not forgetting our own family portrait

"Gabe Says" in Gifts of Apparel Warmth

This is my second cousin ethan gor gor. When mummy saw the shirt he was wearing and the words it bore, she coveted it. So went about the copycat move to get me one as well. You'll see me in it soon, so lock up your daughters. Ethan gor gor, let's you and me march down the street one day in our buddy apparel. But mine will look a little big for me. You see, mummy says she's cheapo and will only get stuff that's larger so I'll get to wear it for a longer time. Can't blame her... I seem to grow out of my things rather quickly.

Clothes are important. They keep me warm/cool and make me look nice. I've been blessed by many gifts of clothes and thankfully, they kill both birds with the same stone. Jemmy-gorgor's parents got this for me from the northern hemisphere. It's meant for kids who're twice my age, but it fits now so let's just wear it NOW! Thank you uncle ye and auntie sw! You can see how much I like it.

Since we have been blessed with gifts, so we also bless others. Mummy got TaS jie jie a really sweet set of top and bottoms and we're so glad to hear that she wore it at her first birthday party! Nice right? No wonder she's so happy *wink*. Happy 1st birthday to you ; )

Random Shots - 5th Month

Typical look after a meal of cereal

All dressed up and ready to go to church

What a life! Lying on mummy's lap and playing with papa.

Walk ... oops... bumbo like an Egyptian

Model in the making; natural pose

Early morning activity: gabe practices balancing on butt while papa still in horizontal meditation

Other kids find their thumbs. Gabe has chosen two instead of one.
Favourite stuffing - 2nd and 3rd on left hand, and where unavailable, the same two on the right hand.
Oh! And let's not forget the toe(s) grabbing stunt.

Blending in with the kitchen-ware as mummy busies herself nearby

Baby's 1st Dip!

We didn't mean for this to happen today; it was scheduled to take place only after gabe turned six months old. But derod came home unexpectedly early today, having taken half a day off, and suggested that we go and exercise since his annual regimental fitness test is around the corner. "Pity we haven't bought him a swim diaper," he had said, but the suggestion has already done the irreversible: in the words of the infamous bo-racter, I very excite!

So we packed up and took a short trot to the home of firstjohn419, who has very kindly extended to us the use of its pool. Clad in a pair of loose end shorts, gabe took his first plunge. Actually, it wasn't much of a plunge. The initiation began with toes dipped in water, followed by feet, then butt and then the body. As with his typical behaviour in unfamiliar surroundings (or to unfamiliar faces), he was expressionless and continued with that for some time. After a little while, gabe was placed tummy down and in no time, he realised the familiar posture (as he always takes on the bed when he rolls over) and began his usual kicks. At one point, he had decided to do his usual hammer-head-on-the-bed stunt but got a rude shock and pulled his head up with a startled look on his face. He never repeated that anymore. But he got rather comfortable later on, enough to do some babbling-commentary. It would have been an equally enjoyable experience for derod if not for the presence of two very curious boys, who followed gabe wherever he swam and even reached out to grab his legs and all. These two nosy pokers really scored badly with derod, who generally, is on the easy going side.

Anyhows, a video and some shots of the fifteen-to-twenty minutes in the pool. Enjoy!

He Ain't No Bugs

We were reminded by the pediatrician at our last visit (when gabe was five months old) that if he is responsive to baby rice cereal, to start him on potatoes and carrots. Gabe has been eating very well, currently taking four heaped tablespoonfuls of cereal at each meal, and most times he'd still open his mouth for more. And it'll all go down in about 15 minutes or less. He's easy to feed, and I thank God that he has inherited this from derod. Yeah... he's no doubt derod's son in that manner! I was a terrible eater, starting before the table was laid and still sulking at the unfinished plate after all the washing up is over.

I began my quest to try him on the two mentioned veggies when he was four and a half months old. Potatoes first, as advised by many baby cook books, since it has a mild taste and is probably closest to tasting like milk. Its preparation is supposed to be as easy as abc: just cut up the potato into cubes, steam them till they're really soft, pass them through a sieve and add milk to it if necessary till it reaches the desired texture. Sounds cool? Yeah! Until I tried it... the sterilization of utensils and especially the mashing through the sieve... it was a workout, no less. I had prepared a large batch and frozen portions enough for the next few days only to get endless chidings from my mum on how babies should be given fresh food at every meal, reminding me that my own nanny had cooked two meals of porridge over charcoal fire every day just so that I could be given the best of nutrition and to ensure that "wind" doesn't accumulate in my tummy due to such overnight food.

So I put on some determination and set out to cook a meal of potatoes for my son every day, and this routine went on for... one day. Back when this happened, he was not used to sitting on his own for a long stretch while I was busy preparing the food. Juggling between a crying fella and boiling water wasn't fun and that kind of put me off the endeavor quite a bit, not to mention the state I was in after the workout. So after consultation with experienced mothers, I decided to stick with baby rice cereal and upgrade him to two meals a day when he was ready. At this stage, gabe had already tried potatoes for about three days, perhaps sufficient to determine him not allergic to it.

But, with the visit to the pediatrician, I thought it would be time to try out the carrots and him being older, was able to sit longer and watch all the action in great curiosity. Carrots proved harder than potatoes and it was a greater workout, mashing the stuff through the sieve. But it all turned out as it should in a bowl and I fed it to gabe.

He gave that same "urgh!!!!" expression to the first taste of the orange stuff as he would to anything unusual. But that look persisted in the next few spoonfuls, and along with each one, a look that said all of the following:
1. I want to spit this stuff out
2. What is this disgusting thing? Think think think...
3. Should I even swallow it?

As if the above wasn't enough, he was rather unwilling to open his mouth to receive a next spoonful and at one point, kicked both legs in frustration. I decided to stop the ordeal and we're back to cereals haha. Well, makes both baby and mummy happy, since I won't have to go through carrots again too. We'll have another go at it in another form - when he hits six months, it can all be thrown into the slow cooker together with the real rice!

Priorities Revisited

I made a trip to the gynaecologist on Monday for a routine checkup. A trip as such would consist of 80% waiting and 20% consultation so I dived for the magazine table after registration and well, amidst catalogues of high-end watches and cars, some of which I've not even heard of, it would seem more interesting to pick up a copy of Motherhood. Unfortunately these magazines usually revolve around the same issues, cord blood banking being one of the latest, and it was sheer boredom that kept me flipping those pages.

There was one article, though, that caught my attention and reading it brought me back to basics. It was a story of a little singaporean boy and how he suffered from a lack of immunity. They gave a long scientific name, but it really just meant that his body was not able to give him the immunity that all of us need to survive. It started off with a cough that would not go away and other accompanying symptoms like fever, refusal to feed, etc and prior visits to pediatricians revealed nothing. At the alarming sight of the swelling of one of his arms, his parents rushed their first born son to the hospital where he was admitted immediately. Numerous tests brought them to the conclusion and they also showed that various organs were not in good condition e.g. one lung was inflated to the point of almost "bursting". They also found out that it was the BCG jab he received that triggered the downward spiral of his condition - what it would have done for the normal baby in kickstarting a process of his body producing antibodies in resistance and hence immunity, it crashed his entire system. The worst part of this was that the little boy was only five months old.

In the two years that followed, he underwent ten operations of stem-cell transplants, damage control (when his body and organs suffered attacks) and other purposes. The magazine wrote that his arms told of the countless needles that have pierced them. His father resigned from his job and his mother first took unpaid leave and later also resigned, to take care of him while he made his almost permanant stay in the hospital. Which parent could concentrate at work when your child is so ill? So, they went from dual to zero income but was blessed by donations from family and friends for the extremely high medical costs. Today, the little boy is in a much better condition but extreme care and caution must be taken due to his delicate situation.

What broke my heart was not just that this boy was only five months old when he began this ordeal, but also the few pictures they published along with the write-up. They showed a tiny bundle lying in a hospital bed, with tubes through his mouth, nose and hands. One of those shots saw him looking intently into the camera with large eyes, and yet what stuck out was the presence of those tubes again. No doubt, my heart would have gone out to this family if I'd read this two years ago but it caused a different kind of stir in me today. Perhaps it's the identification of a mother, or it could be because gabe is also around that age and I would never be able to bear it if my son went through such torture. I do not think that any parent will ever be able to recover emotionally from such an experience.

And it made me think. It was so natural of us to expect that our bundle of joy comes with all the right stuff, both the visible and the invisible. What came so natural to us was the assumption that our children will be alright, will grow into cutsey little babes donned in great looking outfits (making them even cuter), how fast they are at crawling standing walking, what we'll teach them at what stage of life, and in Singapore, what kindergarten and primary school to send them to... the list goes on. It made me stop. Stop to give thanks. Stop to appreciate that my son has proper features, ten fingers, ten toes, strong bones, normal development. Stop to remind myself that I should not take these for granted. Stop to pray that the Lord will watch over his growing, his coming and going.

Coming back to basics is humbling, and harder than anticipated. Such reminders are always welcomed to bring me back to the right set of priorities.