The First Bargain

I've started to give Sean fresh milk just before his final breastfeed. It's because I don't think my body is producing enough. Just several days ago, Sean kept waking me up every few minutes. It was because there was very little milk and he was hungry all the time. I had no sleep whatsoever. I had to cancel work that day to nurse my headache from the lack of sleep.

Anyway, last night I was chasing Sean here and there trying to feed him a 5 oz cup of milk. I had to chase after him around the room to spoon feed him! I got irritated and stopped for a while after only getting 1oz into him. It took me another half an hour just to get him finish 3 oz.

Just then, he was at the table wanting the bottle cap of our water container. I said if you want it, you have to finish the milk. He whined some more. So I took it off and gave him but kept repeating that he had to finish his milk to play with the cap. Eventually, he took the cup and sucked the last 1 oz of milk on his own!

Ha ha.. Now that I know that he understands and can obey instructions, there's going to be a lot of bargaining around.

Dreams about cars

Sean dreams about cars..... Often.
He goes "brrrmmm...brrmmm...brmmmm" in his sleep.

I wonder what of cars he dreams about?
His dreams of cars last really long sometimes! =P
When I watch him dream, I can't help but smile at the varied expressions that appears on his face. =D

The price of a balloon

Last weekend, we parked in front of a party shop that sells balloons. Sean immediately wanted to enter the shop. When we pulled him away he cried unhappily. When we got back to the car, we had to go through another crying spells. Sam hates rubber balloon, but since they sell foil balloons, he relented and said, let's go in.

When I saw the prices, I blanched.... the foil balloons are so expensive! The cheapest and plainest balloon is RM12 each! But we saw a Lightning McQueen & Mater balloon, so I took out my wallet and paid up, while wincing at the cost of the balloon. I was RM 18 poorer..sigh

But when they filled the balloon with helium and passed it to Sean, his face lighted up with such joy that whatever reservation I had about the balloon disappeared.

Price of balloon = RM 18
Price of joy = priceless!

As a parent, each smile and joyful expression of your child is so priceless, that I felt I've been given a gift instead. =D

I went to the cinema!

I finally got to see a movie in the cinema yesterday!

Our friend Vince, treated the KDT bunch to see Indiana Jones The Kingdom of Crystal Skull in the gold class theater for his birthday. What a great treat! I felt like it was my birthday.. ha ha ha.. I actually got to see a movie in the cinema!

The reason we haven't been in a cinema for such a long time is not because we couldn't make the time, but we've felt bad about leaving Sean at home while we enjoy ourselves out. Sam says that Sean sometimes cries until he chokes and vomits when I'm not around.

But this was our good friend's birthday and we wanted to join in the fun =D. And Indiana Jones is my favorite all time movie. The timing was great too. It was a 6.30 pm show. I got Sean to nap a bit late at 5.15pm and we managed to sneak out of the house by 5.40pm.

We had a great time, but rushed back after the cake.

Breastfeeding @ 20 months

What is it like to breastfeed a 20 month old?

He needs his "nee-nee" first thing in the morning and last thing before he sleeps. It's like "good morning" and "good night" to him. As well as various time throughout the day, of course. There really isn't a schedule because he asks for it whenever he wants it.

But when I come home from work, the first thing he says when he sees me is "nee-ne"!!!! He doesn't nurse for long though, just a minute or so. It's his way of connecting with me. I wonder when he will call me "ma ma"or "mummy". Does "nee-nee" equals to "ma ma"? I hope not! =P

It's not just sustenance for Sean. It's also a source of comfort and connection for him. It's extremely useful when he falls and hurt himself, which happens fairly often ever since he started walking. The breasts are like magical objects that are made for comforting and soothing. It's so effective, that I wouldn't know what to do without it. I'll probably have to find other ways to soothe him.

He does acrobatics when he nurses. He lifts his body up and his leg flay about here and there. His whole body moves about while his mouth is attached to me. I wonder what goes through his mind when he does that. It's just so funny, sometimes. =D

Breastfeeding gives me a wonderful feeling of contentment and love, especially when we are at home with no distractions. All is well and the world is at peace. We have a wonderful bond between us. It makes our relationship seem extra special.

Unfortunately, such closeness also brings it's disadvantages. He has become extremely clingy the last few months. When he was younger and we used to bottle feed him with expressed breast milk, we could leave him at home in the evening with the in-laws. Now, it's almost impossible.

Some evenings, I can't even turn around to do something without upsetting him. He gets angry when I turn my back or get out of the room without him. Sometimes, he clings to me like a monkey, not allowing me to let him go. At night, he can't sleep if he is not on me. Let's just say, I haven't been in a movie theater since I was 8 months pregnant. That's almost 2 years ago!

Despite these "restrictions" on my freedom, I'm letting him wean himself off on his own.

I know my body isn't producing as much as it used to. Sometimes when Sean nurse and there isn't milk. He goes "nee nee nee nee" and twists his wrists left and right (to indicate "no more"). I know I'm going to miss the special moments when he finally weans off and doesn't need his "nee-nee" anymore.

I don't know how long more it's going to last, but I'm going to savor each moment and enjoy it to the last moment. When it's done, then it'll be the next step of Sean's growth and there'll be new things to experience.

Breastfeeding - summary

Two of my best friends, Eny & Jessica have given birth to beautiful baby girls recently. I've been encouraging them them to breastfeed fully. This reminds me that many of us new mothers have had a lot of difficulties adjusting to this aspect of motherhood.

I haven't blog much about my breast feeding experiences. It's because it has become something so natural that I have never thought of writing it down. I can't remember all the details in between, but I thought I should jot down some thoughts before it ends.

The first few months of learning to breastfeed was really difficult. I felt as if his appetite was more than I could provide. I was forever pumping to increase my milk supply. Sean was a grazer during the day, which meant he drank little but often. There was very little sleep for me because he drank most of his milk at night. Even now, he still needs to nurse at night.

I pumped and nurse until my wrists were in constant agony. That's the problem with using a manual pump. The AVENT manual is great at getting the most of the milk out, but it strains on the wrists. I was often awaken by sharp pains. At 7 months, I decided, my wrists couldn't take any more. So I stopped pumping and started nursing exclusively. Luckily at that time, Sean had started his solids.

I used to find it hard to breastfeed in public. So I used to bring expressed breast milk when we went out. I still find it difficult to breastfeed in public, but we manage with breastfeeding in the car on our way to and fro places. It took a while to adjust to nursing exclusively, but I was just happy that my wrists were no longer stressed by the constant pumping. It took 3-4 months before the wrists were no longer in pain.

I had thought of weaning when he was 1 year old. But we were doing so well and he was so healthy. Sean was rarely sick. Including his current cough, he has only been sick 3 or 4 times. And each time, it was because someone in the house is sick and passed it to him.

When he was 18 months, I thought of weaning him again because he was starting to treat my breasts too casually. =P When he wants "nee-nee", he would attempt to pull my clothes down or up to get it. I tried here and there to introduce him to different formula or fresh milk. Unfortunately, he doesn't like them. The only time we can get any milk into him is when he is distracted with TV, a book or toys. Even then, he had to be spoon fed. He never knowingly drinks any other milk on his own accord.

In the end, I decided to let him wean himself off.

2 Weddings and a Grumpy Toddler

It didn't start well. I was lacking sleep from the night before because Sean tossed and turned the whole night on me. Sean has a cough and has not had enough sleep for the last 2 days, which makes him extra clingy and grumpy.

Two of our friends happen to have their weddings on the same evening. Since one is Sam's BJJ student and the other his high school mate,we had to go for both. It would have been ideal to be able to leave Sean home for the weddings. Unfortunately, my in laws don't seem to know how to handle Sean in the evening for more than 2 hours. We know that we can't go home early since we had to attend both weddings, so Sean came along.

We went to Albert & Serina's wedding early because we didn't want to be caught in the KL jam. Sean is an active boy and need to be able to run around to expand his energy. Unfortunately, The Banker's club, where they have their wedding dinner, do not usually allow children in. Hence, it wasn't a child friendly place. He kept running towards the table that held the wine glasses! So we had to carry him most of the time. We waited one and a half hour before the dinner start. So by the time we got to our seats, he was rather grumpy. But he played quietly with his Cars magnetic book for a while until I notice a smell. Okaaayyy... he poop. So off I went to the toilet to change him.

This is when things started going really wrong. I took his pants off. There was no changing table in such a place obviously. But I was glad that he was occupied with playing with the wet tissue packet while I wiped him and put on a new diaper. Just when I was about to put on his pants, I noticed that his poop had leaked inside his pants, and it wasn't just a little patch. I hadn't brought an extra pair of pants.... Aarrrgggghhh!!!!!

I really should have. When I was getting the bag ready, I almost brought an extra pair along, but my bag was already full. Since this has never happened before, I thought it was unnecessary. But OH YEAH...it had to happen when we have to attend 2 weddings!

So I tried my best to clean the pants with the wet wipes. While I was doing that, Sean was happily pulling at the toilet roll. The toilet was littered with toilet paper. Then he touched his soiled diaper and touched his poop. Aaarrrrgghhh!!!!

You know, when these things have to happen, they seem to happen at the worst time. Anyway, I managed to get him cleaned up and washed my hands thoroughly.

But when we got back to our seat, he refused to get into his chair. He just turned into total grumpiness. He wanted out of the place. Nothing could appease him. He was unhappily wriggling in my arms and my dress was falling off. Sigh.... It was such a nice wedding and we would have thoroughly enjoyed it at any other time. After Sam had given his speech, we took photos with the bride and groom and our friends. And then we took off.

But not yet.... the night hasn't ended yet.

We had to brave the KL jam to go to Eastin Hotel for KC & Li Lian's wedding. We couldn't go home to change his pants because we were already very late. Sean's pants smelled distinctly of poop. I was already dreading it. But despite the fact that we had no baby chair for almost 1/2 hour, the karaokes music was deafening and the rather drunk singer/MC talking nonsense, Sean enjoyed himself! He ate some mushrooms and noodles and he danced to YMCA. We quite enjoyed ourselves too. I had to shout to be able to hold a conversation with Karen, but I was just happy that Sean was happy. But of course, it didn't last long. Being an active boy, he wanted out of his high chair and started running around. So it was time to go home.

Oh... Home Sweet Home....

What a relief to get him out of his smelly pants, have a warm bath and wash my hair of the smell of smoke. I am still dreading the fact that he touched his poop. Although I cleaned him as well as I could, what if it wasn't cleaned enough and he ingest harmful bacteria? Fingers crossed. I hope no harmful bacteria is attacking my baby now.

Sean@ 20 months

When he was a few months old, I used to read up milestone charts to see if he was growing accordingly. But after he turned 1 year old, I stopped checking regularly. I realized that each little child will grow in his own time. As long as he is growing well, is healthy and is a happy little boy, I'm not worried. As I write this, I feel blessed that Sam and I are able to spend a lot of time with Sean as he grows each day.

Height: approximately 87cm - measured with tape while he's asleep, may not be accurate.
Weight: approximately 14.15kg
Teeth: 16 teeth
New words: "tchou" - open
"tsszztt" - toothbrush/toothpaste
"wu wu" - dog/cat
These are his own baby words, not taught by us, so they aren't English.
I keep trying to teach him the right words, he's just not listening to me. LOL =P.

Milk: He's still breast feeding. The only way to get any other type of milk into him is to distract him with TV, books or toys and spoon-feeding it to him. He will not take it in a cup, or with a straw or in a bottle with teat. Even then, it doesn't always work. Will blog more on this on a breastfeeding topic.

Food: Still as picky as ever. He doesn't really spit, but just opens his mouth and let whatever food he doesn't like fall out. After that, he refuse to eat anymore. Hence, he gets hungry at irregular time, like at 11pm and wants to snack.

Behaviour:
He can go up the stairs on his own, but I'll follow him from behind and hold on to his shirt, just in case he slips. When going down the stairs, he holds onto the railing and I hold his other hand.

He hasn't been dancing vigorously when he listens to music anymore. He just sways from side to side. I miss the dancing though, he's just so cute when he does it.

Whenever he sees a car drive pass our house, he will put his hand up and wave.

He always give flying kisses whenever we leave any place, whether or not we know the people. LOL.. This has made him very popular at some of the eating places we frequent. The Indian waiters at Raju crowds around and tease him every time we go, especially if we go during non-busy hours.

He loves group hugs and kisses. He goes "Mmmmm" and open his arms wide. This is our cue to both hug and kiss him. Sometimes he will push Sam and my head together to make us kiss and then he joins us.

He loves jumping onto my back for a little piggy ride.

He has been very clingy recently but I think it's because he understands what's going on more. When he follows Sam to send me to work, he'll kiss goodbye from the car without a fuss. On the few occasions we have to leave him with the maid, I tell him that I'm going to work and he has to stay home with bibi. He will nod and stay quietly with her. Not all the time, of course. =P

Last week when my PIL picked me up from tuition with him. A few roads away from where I teach, they asked him "Where is Mummy?". He pointed to the correct direction and knew which road to go to. He also knows which house I teach in. But they were too early, so they decided to go somewhere else for a while. When they drove away without me, he cried because he expected me to come out.

He finds a lot of things funny. He gives a grin with a funny crunch nose look to show that he finds something funny. When we laugh at something he laughs too. I'm not sure whether or not he understands though.

Favorite Activities: * Watching TV, Top Gear & Cars.
*Play puzzle - I leave the puzzle on the table or the shelf all mixed up. When he sees it, he'll correct the puzzle and put the correct pieces in the right spots.
*Play with his cars or push things around and pretend they are cars.
And of course, mess things up.

Favorite Book: "Out for a Spin" Cars Magnetic Book.
When he saw this book a few months ago at MPH, he held onto the book and refused to leave the bookstore. So we bought it. But there's a big sign that says " WARNING! Not suitable for children under 3 years as foam pieces may break of and cause a choking hazard." So we hid it from him. We let him play it a few weeks ago for a few days under strict supervision, but at that time we felt he wasn't ready for it. So it went into hiding again.

I got this out 2 days ago to let him play with it. He loves it. He even wants to go to sleep with it! It's not really a book, more of a toy in the form of a book. It's also a puzzle. He's learning how to put the pieces back in their correct spot. It's not as easy as it looks. He can be entertained for a long time. Although he doesn't chew on the magnetic foam cars. I still feel the necessity of watching him while he plays with it, just in case. Thus, I only let him play with the book when I'm around.

What's funny is that I realized that his new favorite character is The King. He holds onto The King more than on Lightning McQueen.

New activities started very recently:
Playing with wooden block. Not that he plays with it. He just likes to topple any constructions. And I introduced him to finger painting 2 days ago. Like scribbling, this doesn't seem like something that comes naturally to him.
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2nd Wall Done!

The second wall of the cardboard house was actually done 2 weeks ago, but I forgot to take a picture or blog about it. The dinosaurs are taken from Sean's book "Harry & the dinosaurs says Raah", which used to be his favourite book.

Below the bucket of dinosaurs is Lightning McQueen on a race track with animals as the spectators. It's supposed to be many cars but I just couldn't make myself squat and draw many tiny cars, so I cut out teddy bears and animal heads from wrapping papers as spectators. Good enough! =P

I realized the track line isn't correct but after I was done with it, I loathed to do anymore work on it. Maybe the next time when I'm inspired to work on it, Ill correct the track line. But that may never happen.... ha ha ha.

Sean @ Play - Making a Big Mess

WANTED for being a little rascal!

Out of all Sean's activities, the one he really loves to do is to Make a Big Mess! He goes "abuja buja buja" (not sure what it means =P) and makes sweeping actions with his arms, sweeping everything in sight into a big mess.

We've bought him a wooden block set, in hope to teach him to do some constructions, i.e. stack a block on top each other. I'll be showing him how to arrange the wooden blocks, then he comes and destroy it with a big laugh *roll eyes*. He also loves to put cards into boxes and then tipping the boxes and pouring the cards onto the floor. Then he'll take out all the books from the shelves and spread it out on the floor. He thoroughly enjoys himself when he makes a big mess!

Our room looks like a small hurricane passes it everyday, yup.. Hurricane Sean. I wonder if most little boys are this messy?

Sean @ Play - Books & Cars

One thing that I am happy about is that Sean loves books. He is not always interested in listening to a story but he loves looking at picture books, especially those that has to do with vehicles. He can spend many quiet minutes flipping and looking through his books. I like looking at him reading because he looks so serious about it, as if he is concentrating really hard. =D

Sean's current favorite book is "Look & Find: Thomas & Friends". He picked it himself at MPH a few weeks ago. It's not about cars at all, but he likes vehicles anyway. I don't think he enjoys the TV show that much, but this particular book is a wonderful picture book, filled with colors and activities.

When it comes to cars, his eyes are super sharp. He seems to be able to find pictures of cars wherever we go, even tiny ones. We would be flipping through the newspaper of magazine, and he would say "brrmmm brrmmm"... I said "Where?". Then he'd point to a small picture of car in the corner of the page.

We bought a few car magazines for our reading pleasure as well as for him. I'd point to all the different cars and ask him if he likes them. He's rather picky about what cars he likes. He likes them sporty and red.. ha ha ha.... It's probably because of all the Shell Ferarri cars that he has. Whenever we get him a new car (other than Ferarris), we will let him pick and he always chooses red color.

The other day, as he was flipping through the Top Gear magazine. He saw a photo of Jeremy Clarkson, the host of Top Gear. He got excited and started to vigorously point at his picture and said "brrmmm brrrmm" I asked "Who's that?" He said "brmmm brrmmm" and pointed at the PC monitor where we watch old seasons of Top Gear with him. Ha ha ha.. Jeremy Clarkson should feel honored. My son is a fan.=P

Sean @ Play - Scribble & Paste

I've been encouraging Sean to draw but he hasn't been that interested. He does a few scribble here and there but isn't excited by it. I guess he still finds it hard because he is not holding the crayons correctly and my attempts at teaching him the correct way to hold a crayon has not gone well at all. He had trouble holding the long crayons. So I broke them in half. At least he finds it easier to hold the crayons now.

I don't want him to draw on the wall so I redecorated two of the sticker boards on the wardrobe door. I wanted them in bold colors so they catch his attention. I'm hoping that this will prevent him from decorating other parts of the room. So far it has worked. All I do is tape a piece of A4 paper on it so that it can be replaced whenever it's too scribbled up ...or torn out!

I'm not expecting him to be able to draw a circle or a square..nothing that advance. All I want is for him take a piece of crayon and scribble away happily for 5 minutes. On a piece of paper of course, not on the wall, table or floor.. ha ha ha


This is Sean scribbling on the old sticker board. Sometimes he scribbles vigorously, sometimes he makes lazy strokes. I carry a small booklet and crayons in my bag. Just in case. He does a quick scribble on a page, then turn another page and does another scribble. That sums up his attempts at drawing. When he's in the mood for more, he turns pages and makes a mark on all of them.

He is still into stickers. Unfortunately, Sean has a habit of putting the stickers into his mouth. So Sam and I are deciding to limit his stickers for now.