BB @ Trial Classes

Some SMH mummies are organising trial classes at various baby learning centres. We joined in some of them to let Yuan2 have some fun :)

Staccato
http://www.staccato.com.sg/index.shtml
Date : 24 Jan 2010
Time : 11.30am-12.15pm
Location : Turf City
Fee : $30
Mag arranged this trial class for SMH May09 babies -- total 6 babies attended (Le Xuan, Vera, Justin, Jayden, Qian Hui and Yuan2). Too rush to feed Yuan2 cereal, so we fed her FM200ml before leaving the house at 10.30am.

Classroom setup
An empty room with windows (daddies were standing outside to observe the class)

Class format
With classical music in the background, the teacher intro various musical toys using flashcards and the babies get to play with egg shakers, glockenspial(similar to xylophone), scarf and toy piano(the highlight).

Review
Personally I find that the music is too "serious" and the teacher was unable to capture the attention of the babies.

Genius Space
http://www.genius-space.com/
Date : 30 Jan 2010
Time : 11.30am-1pm
Location : Pheonix Park
Fee : $40

The trial lesson was arranged by SMH Apr09 babies -- Yuan2 joined in so that we can compare with the previous trial lesson @ Staccato. Yuan2 woke up early from her nap and we fed her cereal at 9.30am. We reached GS at 10.50am and observed the Genius Tots class -- the kids were happily jumping ard to the music and each came out of the class carrying their art work.

Classroom setup
An L-shaped room -- one part is with table n chairs for snack time n art work and another part is mat with a large mirror (parents with babies sit opposite the mirror so that we can see the expressions on the babies' face during the class).

Class format
Tr Aida & Sue warmly welcomed us to the class. The 1st 10 mins was free play -- they lay out toys on the floor to let Yuan2 explore. Another 3 baby boys joined in shortly -- Kai, Esan & Caleb.

Part 1 - Letter B
Tr Aida brought out a box covered with shiny cloth. The babies were fascinated with the shiny cloth :) The boys were stunned while Yuan2 tried to crawl to the box. A big brown bear emerged from the box (in the form of hand puppet) and went ard to give a kiss on the babies' cheek -- so cute to see the babies' facial expression when the bear was up close!

Part 2 - Touch & Feel
A card with letter b in the form of valvet, beans etc. were passed to the babies. We hold onto babies' finger to "write" the letter b and whispher the "brr" sound to the babies' ear.

Part 3 - Eye co-ordination
Next the big brown bear re-appeared with bells around its neck. The babies' eyes followed the bear's movement -- moving left -> right -> up -> down with varying speed. All the babies did excellent!

Part 4 - Photographic memory
Tr Aida showed the pic of a pink triangle to everyone. Then she came up to each baby with 2 pics and asked the baby to choose. Correct pic was on the left and all the babies got it right. Next she showed a train and this time the correct pic is on the right -- yeah, the babies got it right, too!

Break : We brought the babies to the toilet to wash their hands followed by snack time. Yuan2 gobbled down the stars from the bowl(in the process spilled most of it on the table). Haha, Caleb and Kai "tabao" some snacks in their palms to the class!

Part 5 - Art work
Paper boats were placed on the floor and babies crawled forward to grab one. Yuan2 was a bit cranky at this time(she was hungry) and refused to crawled -- I juz pick up a boat for her. We proceed to the table and put on a bib on the babies. We put the babies' hands onto a plate of wet blue paint and imprint on the white paper provided -- this is the sea for the boat :) As I knew abt this messy part -- so I only let Yuan2 used 1 hand (easier to control). Gosh, the boys were making a big mess on themselves n their mummies! Caleb put his finger in his mouth and there was paint all over his mouth! Tr Aida assured us that the paint was non-toxic & washable and reminded us not to use the words D-I-R-T-Y and M-E-S-S-Y infront of the babies *haha* Yuan2 was fascinated -- haha, she must be thinking "why did my hand turn blue?" & "hmmm, what is this sticky thing on my hand?". We brought the babies to the toilet to clean up.

Part 6 - Foreign language
Babies sat infront of a TV to learn abt Spanish. Hmmm, Yuan2 was stoned and stared at the TV -- we seldom let her watch TV and that explained it!

Part 7 - Music & movement
Tr Aida played various tunes on the keyboard and got us to participate with clapping, singing and carrying the babies up/down/left/right etc. And the class ended with a happy note :)

After the class, we changed her diaper and feed her FM200ml -- and she poo-ed while cruisng along the bench (TK said she stopped and held on to the bench -- that's the time she pooed).

Review
Each part of the class is 10-15 mins -- Yuan2 seemed interested and participate with lotsa clapping n yakking. Tr Aida is able to capture the attention of the babies *very impt* I liked how the class was conducted -- except the foreign language part. We signed up for 1 term to enjoy the promotional price -- $370 for 10 lessons (new price is $440 for 10 lessons).

P.S. Now, Yuan2 still remember the big brown bear -- at home, we have a teddy bear and she will snuggle her face on it :)

Kindermusik
Date : 31 Jan 2010
Time : 1-1.45pm
Location : Tanglin Mall
Fee : $30

The trial lesson was also arranged by SMH Apr09 babies -- Yuan2, Le Xuan, Nigel & MY joined in with another 8 babies. Yuan2 woke up from her nap at 10.45am and gobbled down her cereal. We arrived at Tanglin Mall at 12.30pm -- juz enough time for me to grab a quick lunch at food court. TK went for his lunch while we were in the class.

Classroom setup
A big empty room.

Class format
We sat in a circle and introduced our babies in a sing-along manner. The rest of the class was alot of movement with babies -- carrying up/down/left right, use the feets to touch another baby's feet, use egg shakers, play with drums etc. There is a 1 min of slience where the teacher switched off the lights. And the class ended with swinging babies -- Yuan2 actually dozed off there and then! She zzz in the stroller for 1 hr after the class.

Review
Yuan2 was cranky for most of the lesson -- think she was sleepy or the class was too crowded. With so much movement with babies, I was tired! I find that the teacher cannot engaged with the babies.

BB @ KKH A&E again

After the trial holiday @ Conrad over the weekend, Yuan2 was down with cough and runny nose on Monday. We brought her to see PD and he gave the usual cough n runny nose medicine. However, she had slight fever of 37.5 degC on Tuesday morning -- I decided to stay home to look after her. The fever kept going up & down ard 38 degC throughout the day -- each time she took paracetamol, her fever would subside but went up after the medicine effect wear off. By evening, her head n body were very warm. After her dose of paracetamol @ 8pm, she went to bed and her temperature were back to normal. However, her temperature suddenly shot up to 39.8 degC ard midnite. We decided to send her to KKH A&E.

The lobby was filled with many kids down with fever n cough -- guess the flu season is back. It was our turn soon and the doc diagnosed her to have bronchiolitis -- Yuan2 was put on nebulizer to open up the airway and took chest x-ray to confirm her lungs r cleared. We were brought to the same area where she had tubes inserted thru her nose to suck out the muscus -- for a moment, i dragged having to put her thru that again! breathed a sign of relief when the nurse said it is nebulizer. But she resisted when the mask was put on her nose -- I had to grab her hands while TK held the mask over her... So heart wrenching to hear her wailed! So glad that 10 minutes were over. She was given another dose of paracetamol to bring down her fever. After 30 minutes wait, doc reviewed her condition and she was good to go home. She zzz in the car on the way home and became fully awake when we reached home *faint* We were so glad that her fever subsided and I stayed with her through the rest of the nite (or early morning)...

What a way to spend the early hours of my birthday! What I wish for is a healthy and active Yuan2 :) Oh, darlg TK cooked a yummy lunch to celebrate my bday -- ginseng chicken with stuffed glutinuos rice plus 12 red roses (hmmm, i asked him y not 13?!) :)

P.S. I felt guilty for Yuan2's condition -- if we had not bring her to stay @ Conrad, she would not catch a cold and worsened till bronchiolitis. Haiz, my parents advised me not to bring Yuan2 to Japan...

BB @ Trial Holiday

We are planning to bring Yuan2 to Japan to celebrate her 1st birthday in April -- mummy/daddy can join a cool climate marathon and Yuan2 can enjoy sakura bloom at the same time. As Yuan2 sleeps in her cot since birth and never sleep anywhere else, we decided to have a trial holiday -- to test how she adapts to new environment. With recommendation from a colleague, Conrad is having Januray Sale -- we managed to book a business king room with breakfast for $180++ for the weekend of Jan 9-10.

Spending the weekend in the heart of Singapore sounded fun :) I came up with a packing list -- haha, TK said I was practically bring the whole house there -- except the baby cot :P Friends and colleagues advised to bring minimal -- so that we can see how well baby adapts. Ok ok, I shortened the list to the essential.

On Saturday, we fed Yuan2 her rice cereal and off we head for Conrad. Check in was smooth and we were settled in the comfy room. The room has a great view of the bay and the baby cot was nicely setup. It was small compared to Yuan2's cot @ home but she had fun cruisng ard the cot :) And she loved crawling on the king-size mattress and playing with the bolster -- but the bed frame was very high and dangerous if she fell off *gosh*

We had lunch @ Paulener -- TK was craving for pork knuckle (it was HUGE). Went well with Erdinger and buffalo wings & potato wedges *yummy* Yuan2 was too distracted to finish her milk @ the restaurant. So we head back to the hotel room -- she finished her milk and took a nap in the cot. TK & me enjoyed lazing on the bed and watching TV. We went for a walk to check out the pool -- decided not to let Yuan2 swim there as it was such a hassle to shower her.

A little mishap happened -- I was pulling the curtain to let Yuan2 have a better view and jumped when I stepped on something sharp. Gosh, it was a piece of broken glass that pierced through the room slippers! We quickly informed the hotel staff and they came up immediately. They applied antispetic wipe and checked that the small cut was ok. We found more pieces of broken glass behind the curtain -- they asked the housekeeping staff to do a thorough vaccum of the room. The on-duty manager apologised profusely.

We head over to Marina Square for shopping and then had dinner @ SCGH -- another yummy dinner *slurp* Yuan2 was very naughty -- refused to sit on the stroller or high chair. Maybe the aircon was too cold. In the end, we had to take turn to carry her while one of us eat :( To tire her out, we went for a stroll by marina bay -- Yuan2 was fascinated with the people n lights and stayed awake *surprisingly* We finally returned to the room at 9pm -- after wipe down and changed in to her sleepsuit, it was time to put her to bed. Think she "ren chuan" and refused to zz in the cot. I had to carry and use the beansprout pillow to cover her face -- then she slept in my arms. I put her back in the cot at 10pm. We hope she could sleep through the nite and turned in shortly.

We woked up with Yuan2 wailing at midnite -- she refused to open her eyes and kept crying. We turned on the lights and kept calling to her -- finally she opened her eyes and we managed to calm her down. However, she seemed uneasy with the new environment. We put her in between us on our bed but she woke up many times through the nite. At times, she felt warm like feverish. Blur mummy didn't include medicine in her list! Finally, she refused to go back to sleep at 5am. Haha, we were the first to arrive at the executive lounge for breakfast at 6am! As we have a baby, we were given a secluded room -- gosh, it was soooo COLD... After breakfast, we went for a morning walk to Merlion park. Yuan2 enjoyed being bjorned and watching the spraying water from Merlion :) Her temperatur was OK after exposure to the sun.

The next task was to bath her -- first time I bath her elsewhere. I filled up the bath tub with 1/3 full of water and placed a towel as anti-slip. I went in the tub with Yuan2 -- she sat on the towel and happily splashing n playing with the toys :) It was actually very fun! TK was on standby with towel to wrap Yuan2 after her bath. All was done smoothly and it seemed easy :)

Yuan2 took a long nap after her bath -- TK & me lazed in the room, eating fruits and reading newspaper. When she woke up, we went over to Millenia Walk for a quick lunch before checking out. Upon hearing that we were checking out, the on-duty manager quickly came to meet us -- she apologised again for the "mishap" in the room and gave us a bear & chocolate as a token.

It was a tiring weekend -- we came back panda eyes!! At least, we are prepared that such things will happen on our Japan trip -- Yuan2 cannot sleep well in a new environment. Or maybe we should try to let Yuan2 sleep between us instead of in the cot -- she will feel more secured. Now, the question is : are we ready to bring Yuan2 on her 1st oversea's trip -- 1 week+ of sleepless nite?!

BB's 1st New Year Celebration

We are very happy to celebrate with Yuan2 her 1st New Year :) Last year, I was preggy and slept early @ 10pm and missed the countdown & fireworks. This year, we managed to catch the countdown & fireworks -- felt so fortunate & happy! Would be better if Yuan2 is awake to share the special moment with us :)

New Year Eve @ Sky's Place
It had been ages since we had family dinner together. Sky invited us to his place for potluck dinner -- he would whipped up a few dishes. I volunteered to cook korean fried tang hoon. Shy bought satay and Sis bought stingray & gong gong. With all the kids gathered together, it was chaos *haha* Jayden & Yuan2 were crawling ard while Hui, Ying, Dino & Davier were running ard.

My sis's helper Yanti watching over the crawling babies -- Jayden n Yuan2 :)

New Year playdate @ home
We invited Claire & Le Xuan & their parents to our place on New Year Day. 3 babies r a crowd *haha* They were happily playing by themselves -- hmmm, not so socialable to each other yet! It was a nice cosy get-together -- we mummies talked abt kids stuff while daddies enjoyed chatting abt non-kids stuff :)

Yuan2, Le Xuan & Claire playing together

Babes with their daddy -- oops forget to take one with the mummy!

Click-4-Klick Charity Event
On New Year Day, our running pal, Kelly, ran continuously for 30hr to raise fund for President's Challenge 2010.

http://click-4-klick.blogspot.com/

TK intended to run 1 round of Macritchie Reservoir with her on Jan 1 evening but there was a heavy downpour that prevent us from going down. The next morning, we brought Yuan2 to Macritchie Reservoir to witness her crossing the finish line. As we turned into the carpark, we saw her going for her last lap. After parking the car, we gave chase -- thinking that we should be able to catch up with her. Erhmmm, we walked and walked but couldn't see her n her entroupe -- gosh, she must be walking pretty fast! We took a short cut thru the trail and managed to reach the zig zag bridge 10 mins before her cut off time at 9am. What a great feat for the new year -- we salute her for her achievement!

Kelly still looking good after 30hrs of running...

Kelly(after her shower) with TK and Yuan2 :)

BB swim

On Jan 3, we brought Yuan2 to the newly open branch @ North Point -- to try out the big pool that can accomodate 4 babies. 2 other babies were sitting on the edge of the pool -- crying each time their parent put them in the pool. They looked on with envy when Yuan2 entered the pool and swam leisurely. The pool was filled with lotsa toys and Yuan2 grabbed 2 toys while kicking ard. I like this pool coz it is deep enough for Yuan2's feet to touch the base (when she tip-toe) and she has more space to move ard.

BB @ 8 month

Our little princess is 1 month older -- she is now a bubbly and active 8-mth old baby :)

Yuan2 stylo milo with sunglass :)

Yuan2 cheekily stick out her tongue!

Oops, Yuan2 caught accepting bribery from Daddy...

BB milestones
Since she started crawling, she is enjoying her newfound freedom and busy exploring IFC and our home. The caregivers "complained" laughingly that Yuan2 liked to crawl to the younger infants and shaked their bouncers and pulled their socks! Gosh, we forsee that she will become a bully in time to come *haha* Sometimes, she will do sweet things like crawling to a younger infant, put her hand over her shoulder and hug -- with their face side by side *ooohhh*

Yuan2 crawling over parcels

As her back gets stronger, she is now able to sit upright and unsupported. However, when she loses concentration, she will fall back or sideway... The first time she lost balance while sitting on the edge of bumpermat, she fell back and hit the back of her head on the hard tile -- TK couldn't rescue her in time. Luckily it was juz a scare and she was fine after crying it out. The second time, TK managed to pull her in time before she fell sideway *phew*

Yuan2 sitting unsupported -- a bit wobbly at first...

Juz 1 day before she turned 8mth, she achieved another milestone by standing up -- she pulled herself up by using the Vtech Walker *clap clap* Since then, she has been finding things to help her stand up -- be it chair, table, sofa, human leg etc. Guess babies like to repeatedly do the same thing -- till they progess to the next milestone :) Practice makes perfect!

Yuan2 standing up with support -- look how happy she is :)

BB @ Meal Times
Yuan2 tried porridge with pumpkin and spinach but she did not like it. Maybe the taste was more bland as compared to rice cereal. We decided to let her continue with rice cereal till 9mth -- will intro fish and chicken porridge to her then.


It is getting more difficult to feed her on the nursing pillow as she will flip and crawl in the mist of feeding -- make a big mess on herself and the pillow. This week, we start training her to sit in high chair during cereal time. The key is still feed fast and make sure the food is warm. So far, she is able to finish the whole bowl of cereal when mummy is feeding her :) But she will bully daddy -- blow bubbles along with the cereal flying out, turning left n right so that daddy cannot aim the spoon properly etc... Haiz, TK need to be more patient with Yuan2...

BB @ Xmas Parties

Ho Ho Ho, the happy holidays season is here! This is Yuan2's first Xmas -- we brought her to experience the festive atmosphere @ Orchard Rd :) Haha, she dozed off in the stroller and miss out on the Xmas lighting! We had 3 Xmas parties -- fun with many babies n gift exchanges...

IFC Xmas Party
On Xmas Eve, IFC held a Xmas Party for the babies. Each parent prepared a gift (<=$10) for gift exchange. The caregivers were dressed up as Santa Claus and the kiddo enjoyed the singing n dancing. Yuan2 was elated to be in the older infant play area and busy crawling & exploring the toys.

Babies happily dancing with Santa Claus :)

Yuan2 happily exploring the older infant play area

Yuan2 got this pink dog for xmas gift exchange -- matched her pink dress :)

Yuan2 rambling in the cupboard *haha*

SMH May09 Babies Xmas Party

Next party after IFC was @ mummy angeline's place. Wow, the place was packed with mummies & babies! It was hilarious when we placed the babies on the bumper mat! Here's to recap some funny moments :-

1) chang xuan cried out loud when le xuan pulled her curly hair -- mummy poohwei had to remove the red korea headband...

2) vera cried n pushed yuan2 -- mummy cheesecake asked baby vera not to push... but yuan2 was sitting on vera's leg *ouch* sorry, baby vera! yuan2 was changing direction -- she will crawl, sit, turn side n continue crawl...

3) i gave yuan2 a box of clorets -- she enjoyed hearing the shake-shake sound... and this box was passed among the babies feb_mum, i think it was left at ur place...

4) chelsea's toy was passed among all the babies -- erhmm, yuan2 chew n drooled on it so much that i had to wash it! sorry, mummy ibite..

5) clumsy yuan2's daddy accidentally knocked shermin with his bum -- shermin fell back on the back of sofa but din cry.. sorry, mummy shers! 6) greg n chelsea had a crawling competition for baby biscuit -- chelsea won n greg cried (coz that's his baby biscuit)!

Babies all over

Yuan2 munching on a toy

Presents for gift exchange...

Yuan2 wanna munch on the wrapper!

Pinky girls -- Yuan2 & Le Xuan

Xmas Lunch
We invited Ee Sze, hubby n Baby Qian Hui to our place on Xmas Day -- I cooked a simple Kimichi Miso Hotpot with Chestnut Kamameshi Rice :) When we placed Yuan2 and Qian Hui on the bumpermat, both girls were happily playing the toys. When Yuan2 saw Qian Hui playing happily with the Vtech Sit & Stand Walker, she crawled over to "disturb" -- ha, thot she dun like the toy! Maybe the toy becomes more "attractive" when there is "competition"! Both babies were tired soon after n took a nap while we parents got to enjoy tiramisu dessert in peace!

Qian Hui happily playing in the Rocking Jitter Buggy

BB @ 7 month

Time really sped by -- our darling princess is 7 month old this Monday! Getting more active and changing diaper is becoming more challenging -- she will flip and reach out to grab the diaper cream n wet tissue box...

Yuan2 in new clothes :)

Yuan2 wriggling out from doraemon waverider -- she juz cannot sit still :)

Yuan2 with her new toy -- FP Rainforest Jumperoo :)

BB Milestones

Yuan2's latest sporting interest is doing "push up" -- in her attempt to crawl :) One morning, I burst out laughing at the sight of Yuan2 doing push up -- she "reversed" till the end of the cot and kept on pushing -- hands straight, lift up butt and push back *haha* When she got tired, she would flop face down on the mattress for a rest and then repeat over again!

For that 1 week, she was on "reverse gear" -- will find her stucked at one corner :) Next she progressed to curb the reverse gear and managed to stay put -- lift her butt higher and dive down on the mat :P She was not confident to lift her hands up -- for fear of losing balance. We try to help her to move forward by demo how to crawl -- practise moving her hands n legs. We entice her with her favourite toys -- sometimes, she will scramble or do the commando creep to move forward to reach her "target"!

Finally our efforts pays off! This week she is able to crawl forward -- it is such a joy when she crawls to my open arms :)

P.S. There is a saying in Teochew -- sit @ 7mth, crawl @ 8mth and walk @ 9mth. Seems like Yuan2 has skipped the milestone of sitting unsupported to crawling. Haha, she cannot wait to be mobile like other babies @ IFC!

Yuan2 doing her flying-man n yoga-cobra poses

Yuan2 doing her daily push up exercises :)

BB's Fun Time with Daddy

When I feed Yuan2, will put her on the nursing pillow (so that angle is elevated) and entertain her with songs singing or story telling. If her attention is off, she will be wriggling ard n refuse to drink. One night, TK did the last milk feed while I was washing baby clothes. FYI, he doesn't sing or tell story. Strangely, I started to hear TK making aeroplane sound. When I went out to see, LOL! He raised the bottle high up and "fly" to Yuan2's mouth along with the aeroplane sound! New pattern from daddy and Yuan2 happily sucked a few mouth and waited for the next "landing" :) Hope Yuan2 dun expect mummy to make the aeroplane sound when I feed her!

TK has his way of playing with Yuan2. His new trick was to carry Yuan2 in Tazan style with MIM sling -- look at how Yuan2 was enjoying fun time with Daddy!

BB @ Meal Times

I am enjoying baby food making :) On weekends, I will make rice cereal for 1 week supply and veg/fruit puree for 1/2 week supply and freeze it baby cubes. Mid week, I will make veg/fruit puree for the next 1/2 week. So far, Yuan2 enjoyed all the puree that I made -- she had tried carrot, brocolli, sweet potato, potato, pumpkin and avocado :) Next will be porridge -- hope she will like the new taste n texture!

Usually, I am the one feeding Yuan2 her rice cereal + veg/fruit puree. The few times that TK tried feeding, Yuan2 would start crying after 1 spoonful and not finish the food :( Last weekend, TK finally managed to feed Yuan2 all the rice cereal -- his method was to feed fast so that Yuan2 dun hv time to cry *haha* Yeah, must have confident when feeding baby -- let them know who is the boss!

TK feeding Yuan2 brown rice cereal with brocolli puree -- leftover half a bowl.

Yuan2 had her first taste of Baby Bites -- she tried to shove the whole biscuit into her mouth!