Little Matthew's World

Matthew's House Rules

2011-10-29T18:13:00.000-07:00

Inspired by the mother character in the drama serial, I gave Matthew 5 house rules.

Then he gave me 3.

1. Cannot be angry, must be happy

2. Cannot hit him

3. Must address his daddy properly. Cannot call "oie"

Kids way of expressing love

2011-06-23T04:59:00.000-07:00

Read an article about
http://www.todaysmotherhood.com/2009/09/kids-way-of-expressing-love/
Kids Way of Expressing Love and fondly recalled what M said.

While walking to school, he said, "Mummy, I will ask Santa Claus to give you a present." when I was talking to him about privilleges such as buying toy cars.

A few times, he would get me a piece of tissue paper whenever i sneeze non-stop. Once, he even stopped watching his favourite Disney Cars cartoon to get me the tissue on his own accord.

Feeding animals trip at the zoo

2011-05-23T04:44:00.000-07:00

Feeding giraffe, turtle and ..some marine mammals which I forgot their name.

1st week of school

2011-03-27T11:46:00.000-07:00

First week of school

1 March, Tuesday

- my brave little boy went to school without tears.

- he kept saying "i'm too late to go to school" even though we were there early.

2 March, Wed

- my brave little boy without tears

3 March, Thurs

- I sent my boy to school without diapers. He cried buckets of tears and doze off shortly.

- I believed that he did not sleep well due to stress for 1st day of school

4 March, Fri

- My little boy, brought to school by Grandma, cried buckets of tears and fell asleep for 1 hour.

7 March, Mon

- Still cried

8 March, Tues

- Still cried

9 March, Wed

- did not cry anymore

10 Mar, Thurs

- I brought him to school and there were no more tears

11 Mar, Fri-

- No tears

After 11 Mar, Fri, he said he enjoyed going to school.

13 Mar - 20 March

- school holiday

21 March, Mon

- No tears too even though there was a change of teachers

Happy kid attending school since then =)

Singapore Flyer

2011-03-01T08:20:00.000-08:00

27 Feb 2011

After watching Chingay with Little M, we were also given discount vouchers for Singapore Flyer @ $10 per pax. Therefore, we decided to bring Little M, who has been always saying out loud excitingly whenever we drive past Singapore Flyer for a ride.

Polliwogs

2011-01-30T08:45:00.000-08:00

Daddy bought a value pass for Little M at Polliwogs. $110. So much for a playground treat. I would rather spend $180 for an annual zoo pass. Here is he inside the pool of balls.

First theatre experience - My magic treetop

2011-01-30T08:27:00.000-08:00

24 Jan 2011
I brought Little M to esplanade to watch his first play, the Magic Treetop. It was targeted at kids from 2 to 4 years old so I thought he might be able to appreciate it. There were lots of kids with teachers from childcare centres as well as those with their parents.

It was quite interesting for me but Little M did not seem to enjoy it very much. The play lasted 40 minutes and in the midst of it, he requested to go home twice. Fortunately, that was towards almost the end of the play so we left together with the rest. Otherwise, he would have made a scene and we would have no choice but to make our way out.

At the end of the play, I asked him if he enjoyed it and he said yes. Anyway I already bought tickets for the next play which is in Feb. Hopefully he would like it.

18 Jan 2011- update on M's reflux

2011-01-25T08:09:00.000-08:00

18 Jan 2011

Little M did his ultrasound with total cooperation while watching cartoon network. The ultrasound showed that his condition has improved. The doctor even asked me if he had undergone an operation.

I do not know if it is the TCM at work improving his condition or if he is just out growing it. Whatever the case is, I will still continue to bring him to his TCM tuina sessions.

7 Jan to 8 Jan 2011 -Locked inside at Crystal Crown

2011-01-25T07:56:00.000-08:00

We stayed over 1 night at JB Crystal Crown with Vanessa. We had 2 rooms with a adjoining door.

Vanessa came over to our room and was applying cream on her bleeding toe when Litte M went over to her room and close the door.

Shit! The door had a round knob which Little M was unable to turn. So I talked Little M into going to the front door, pull down the handle and open the door. But alas, Vanessa had latched the door from inside. I could only hold Little M's hand and talk to him through the ajar door.

We called the hotel staff and fortunately, they had an electric saw which could cut open the latch.

Before they managed to saw open, Little M got anxious and started crying. Little M was also smart enough to stay away from the door when told as the hotel staff were cutting the latch.

What a scare. What if the hotel did not have an electric saw? Would they have to call the police? God knows how long the police would take to arrive.

Chalet @ downtown east (Dar's 34th birthday)

2011-01-04T05:50:00.000-08:00

We stayed at Downtown east for 1 night to celebrate Dar's birthday. Invited his friends and family over for a bbq.

Matthew had fun taking the train, carousel and the ferris wheel the next day. That was his first night staying outside and he kept saying that he wanted to go home. After some coaxing, I told him that wherever Daddy and Mummy were, that would be your home. That ended the conversation and he did not pursue the matter anymore. Dar said that this line was very mushy.

Christmas Gifts

2011-01-04T05:25:00.001-08:00

I have been telling Little M about Santa Claus and if he were to be a good boy, he would get presents from Santa on Christmas Eve Night.

As per his wishes, these are what he received.

Daddy's Christmas Gift - Ipad

2010-12-13T09:29:00.000-08:00

Matthew's Room

2010-12-13T09:10:00.000-08:00

I have been telling Little M that I would get him a car bed if he managed to sleep by himself. This boy loves car.

So last week, when he managed to sleep by himself in our bedroom, I kept my word and brought him the car bed.

It arrived on Monday, 6 Dec. Since then, he has been sleeping by himself in his room. Of course, I still had to accompany him till he fell asleep. The first two days, he was not used to the bed and got up real early. After that, he has been sleeping all through the night. I am so glad to get my room back.

Feeding Goat at the Zoo

2010-12-03T07:44:00.000-08:00

This is the 2nd time we've gone to the zoo. This trip was planned two months ago as it was part of the Grandparents Day programme which gave out free tickets to pre-registered participants. It was supposed to be a group of us, Mummy, M, myself, Sis & her family. However, M's cousins got HFMD and could not attend. Fortunately, my mum still wanted to go hence the 3 of us went ahead.

We saw lots of animals and watched the animal show performance by dogs and cats. Not exactly a show that I expected cos I was thinking more of other animals instead of domestic pets. After the show, we walked into a Goat feeding time and purchased a pail of vegetables for M to feed the goats. M was so happy feeding the goats and was jumping up and down happily.

After that, M and I got changed for some water fun at the water playground. Followed by ice-cream and collection of our goodie bags. What a delightful day even though it started pouring heavily when we were about to leave the zoo.

Sleeping alone

2010-12-03T07:39:00.000-08:00

M is already 2 years old and I feel that it's time for him to learn to sleep by himself.

So for several weeks, I have been telling him that he's a big boy and should sleep by himself. I showed him a Brochure from Full House Furnishing featuring car beds for children and told him that if he were to sleep by himself, I would get him a car bed. He would have to sleep by himself in his room, which we call it the playroom now.

Yesterday on 2 Dec, he finally agreed to sleep by himself and said goodnights to Daddy and Mummy. Another milestone for my boy. =)

Kusu Island - first boat trip

2010-11-16T17:06:00.000-08:00

This is his maiden journey (excluding the boat ride at the zoo when he was asleep.

Saw tortoises, prayed, had lunch, bought a toy and even pooped in Kusu to leave as a memorial.

It was such a scorching day for me.

M did not really enjoy the boat ride and was rather quiet.

Cars, Cars and more cars

2010-10-05T11:53:00.000-07:00

M loves cars. He can spend a long time playing with cars on his car mat and with the hot wheel garage. He has learnt about traffic lights, zebra crossing, types of vehicles and that a mechanic repairs spoilt cars.

Nursery songs

2010-09-28T17:09:00.000-07:00

Headcount of nursery songs that I have heard my boy sing

English

1. Rain rain go away

2. Twinkle Twinkle little star

3. Alphabet song

Hokkien song

1. Black sky

Chinese song

1. wei wei bu yao ba

2. liang zhi lao shu

Quite surprised that he started singing when he was turning 2. All of a sudden, he started singing songs that I sang to him sometime ago but had not been singing to him.

2nd Birthday

2010-09-24T08:38:00.000-07:00

Cake 3

Cake 1

Little M's 2nd birthday was full of cakes

Cake 1 at home with Daddy's friends.

Cake 2

Cake 2 at Grandma's place and Cake 3 the day before

Full of presents from Mummy

1. Hotwheels garage

2. Playdoh breakfast set

3. Ikea car playmat

4. Remote control fire engine

1 set of hot wheels cars from Uncle CY

Thomas the train from daddy's friends

Jigsaw puzzle from Aunt Carol

Brave boy at his first dental visit

2010-09-03T13:14:00.000-07:00

Little M's first dental visit at Q & M Clementi. He did not cry at all. I made the appointment for him as well when DH wanted to see the dentist. I had only 2 days to prep talk him about the dental appointment. The story book that I bought about visiting the dentist was at my Mum's place hence I could not read to him. I could only tell him about the dental chair and the light and that the dentist would ask him to open his mouth.

Luckily for him, he cooperated with the dentist perfectly. Sat on the dental chair and wore adult glasses to block the lights. Dentist counted his teeth and told me there were 4 more to go. Kid's teeth tend to decay very fast and would have lots of pus hence regular checks every 3-4 months would be strongly encouraged. Once tooth decay, which is brown or yellow, sets in, it decays very fast and many antibiotics may be given to the child. Since Little M is already on antibiotics, it is best to monitor his oral health. Dentist also said that his teeth were closely aligned and chances of him needing braces in future is very high.

Next, the dentist polished his teeth with some paste to make his teeth strong. Little M was a bit scared when the dental chair moved back to seating position and he was asked to rinse his mouth. He froze and was leaning back on the chair in a half squatting position and did not know how to spit his water into the basin.

Dentist praised him for being brave. She said that normally kids would cry once she put on her gloves.

DMSA results - 17 August 2010

2010-08-17T07:59:00.001-07:00

Kidney scarring on the left side.

Kidney function

Left side. 43.7%, right side 56.2%

Hives due to sleeping with Mico

2010-08-08T01:53:00.001-07:00

Matthew is allergic to Mico's pet danger.

Found out this after 2 months and banned Mico from coming into the room. Since then, he's allergy free. Thank goodness.

Stuntman

2010-08-08T01:42:00.001-07:00

DMSA 4 August 2010

2010-08-08T01:10:00.000-07:00

Little M only cried when we left the room at the request of the nurses to put in the IV plug.

They tried to insert the IV plug at both hands but failed because his veins were too short.

Hence the IV plug was insert on his feet.

Prior to the scan, he had to fast from 8am. Luckily he did not ask for milk or water in between. Before the scan at 11am, we tried to make him sleep but failed.

Fortunately, he obeyed instructions from the nurse to keep still and was given 5 sweets as a form of encouragement. Otherwise, they would have to sedate him, which may have some side effects.

My brave boy, who is turning 2 soon, was strapped onto the machine and laid very still. After a while, he fell asleep while still strapped onto the machine. The radiologist gave him a Mac toy as a reward.

For a boy who is turning 2 year old to do his DMSA and keep still without sedatives or sleeping, he has done a great job.

Hay Dairies - 21 month old matthew

2010-06-15T09:41:00.000-07:00

Intending to let Matthew drink goat milk, I asked DH to bring us to Hay Dairies.

Turned out that Matthew rejected goat milk after a sip.

There goes my plan to switch to fresh goat milk.

However, before bed time, Matthew said" baby goat". Looked like he had fun afterall.

Fishing at QianHu

2010-06-05T12:34:00.000-07:00

Doting daddy brought Matthew to Qianhu to feed fish and catch logang fish.
Went to Hay Dairies after that but it was closed.

Big kiddy ride at West Coast Plaza

2010-06-05T12:33:00.001-07:00

The Cut Pacifier - 17 May 2010

2010-05-18T06:23:00.000-07:00

I came across many ideas of how to get my toddler to wean off his pacifier.

Methods include rubbing chilli, vingear, cold turkey (deny him off it), gentle coaching (u're a big boy) and cutting off the pacifier.

I have this book that teaches him that big boys do not take pacifier and have been reading to him for quite some time.

My original intention was to wean him when he turned 18 months. But I thought mum couldn't wean him off so I bought new pacifiers for him.

Weaning him off pacifiers seemed a waste of money since I just bought new ones not long ago. I wanted to cut off the teat on the pacifier but did not have the heart to cut the thing that I bought with my hard earned money.

So yesterday at 20 months old, I suddenly decided to cut off his pacifier, just like how I suddenly decide to cut my hair at times.

When he asked for the pacifier, I gave him his partially cut teat pacifier. At first, he tried sucking it and it kept falling out. After a while, he said "Tutu huai" in Mandarin and I said yes while smiling to myself. No fuss, no yelling or screaming. Not even at night. When he asked for it again, I simply repeat what he told me "Tutu huai" and showed him the spoilt pacifier.

Today at grandma's place, he asked for the pacifier and we took out the same one to show him. Then repeated the word "Tutu huai". Again he did not make any fuss. After a while, he discarded the pacifier at the side of the fridge and I could not retrieve it.

Hopefully, that will wean him off the pacifier.

Clementi Sporty Baby 2010

2010-04-25T10:35:00.001-07:00

M & Dad looking intensively at the whistle blower waiting to start

Having gotten something for last year's event, I decided to try our luck again since it's quite near Mum's place. No luck for prizes this time round, not even lucky draw. Seriously, if not for the fact that the CC is near Mum's place, I would not even have enrolled. To go there to 'compete' for 5 mins at 10.20am and wait till 12 noon for the results is way too much waiting for a toddler.

Anyway, here's the fun we had.

Bang - Van accident (10th April 2010, Sat)

2010-04-15T05:05:00.000-07:00

Dar's van was rudely 'kissed' by a lorry on 10 April 2010, Sat at about 12pm
Matthew was in the van and cried for a short while.
Broken glass flew to the front of the van and things from the dashboard flew all over the place.
Fortunately, Matthew was in his car seat, with the seat belt on, unhurt.
As for Dar, his glasses flew off but fortunately, he was also unhurt.
Had my colleague not changed shift with me, I could have been sitting at the back of the van.
I might have been lying in the hospital and would not be typing this now.

When I went to Mummy's place to see Matthew after work, Matthew tried to relate the incident to me by saying "Bang Bang"

Kids being kids, they forget easily. No nightmare at night.

The van is under repair for 2 weeks and we got a toyota car (auto) to drive in the meantime.
Thus have been enjoying the car these few days.

Part of the family

2010-03-30T09:11:00.001-07:00

A new aquarium on the last day of CNY 2010.
An additional task to do before I get out of the house.
1) Get ready Matthew
2) feed Mico
3) Feed Fish
4) water plants

Cyclist Matthew

2010-03-30T09:02:00.001-07:00

At west coast park

Red Packet Tally and Little Tiger Boy

2010-02-22T07:32:00.003-08:00

Attempt to make food more appealing

2010-02-22T07:24:00.000-08:00

I love shopping at Daiso.

My latest purchase - Rice scoop in shapes and animal cutouts that allowed me to do this.

Little M had a smile on his face when he saw this.

CNY fun

2010-02-22T06:45:00.001-08:00

Reunion dinner at maternal grandma's place. Jiale catering

CNY day 2. Water fun at Vivo

CNY with cousins

MCU (18 Feb 2010)

2010-02-22T06:39:00.000-08:00

M did his MCU on 18 feb. They inserted a green tube into his penis and pumped in radioactive dye. He was wrapped like a mummy on this rotating board and placed under an x-ray machine.

I could only hold his hands while they did the procedure. Occasionally, they would rotate him left or right. He had to pee in order for them to take the x-rays. He was quite a brave boy as he did not cry continuously. I consoled M by holding his hands and singing to him. He loves music. I just hope that his reflux is the lower grade type.

Matthew's Frog leash

2010-01-22T07:08:00.000-08:00

Shiok Shiok at our usual pool

2010-01-22T07:05:00.001-08:00

Condo Swim

2010-01-22T06:56:00.001-08:00

Daddy's Birthday

2010-01-22T06:54:00.001-08:00

First visit to the Zoo - 27 Dec 2009

2010-01-22T06:45:00.000-08:00

Christmas Party

2009-12-29T09:20:00.001-08:00

Zoo 1st visit

2009-12-29T08:30:00.000-08:00

SSO babies Prom

2009-12-29T08:19:00.001-08:00

A little bit too young to enjoy the concert thus Matthew was fussing.

My sandals strips came off and I could not bring Matthew to the front to play.

Anyway, only children were allowed to be in front.

Still, the mummy enjoyed the concert.

A little grown up

2009-12-07T08:09:00.000-08:00

With grandma still in the process of recovery, we asked our 2nd sis-in-law for help to look after Matthew for the afternoon while I went for my exam.

I thought that it would be quite a disaster but it turned out to be fairly decent.

Matthew was a tyrant. He refused to nap, demanded for biscuits, fruits and my sis-in-law's chicken rice. Refused to eat his own porridge.

Thankfully he only started to cry non stop only at 6plus.

I reached home to a sticky boy who I could not let go for almost 20 minutes.

When he was assured that I was finally home and would not leave him, he started to enjoy himself and played with his 3 cousins.

Even pushed 2 of them around the house on his toy cars.

When it was time for them to leave, Matthew was a gentleman and a great host.

He walked them out of the house, took the lift with them and we parted at the lift lobby.

I thought he would follow his cousins but he just stood at the lift lobby while they left. When I urged him to enter the lift, he did so willingly without any fuss.

Self Feeding

2009-11-20T13:51:00.000-08:00

Matthew can totally feed himself.

Unlike other food, every mouthful of yoghurt went into his mouth.

Housework training

2009-11-20T13:50:00.001-08:00

Walking Mico

2009-11-20T13:39:00.000-08:00

Clementi Baby Show 2009- 1st runnerup

2009-11-20T13:10:00.000-08:00

I had wanted to let Matthew know how cute he is when he is a bit older.

So I enrolled him for Baby Show in Clementi with the hope of getting a trophy.

Our scheduled time was 9.50am and we went there on time, only to realise that the doctor was late due to an emergency case. Matthew was B12 but the queue was only at B5.

I wanted to bring Matthew to the playground nearby as there were no other programmes in the CC for us except movie screening. But after dillydally, Matthew fell asleep on the way to the playground. Hence I brought him back to mum's place to zzz while I switched on the TV to enjoy my rare treat of watching TV drama.

I was getting a bit lazy and enjoying my drama that I toyed with the idea of skipping the baby show since Matthew was asleep anyway. However, Matthew woke up at 11.30am so we decided to bring him back. They called me just before I stepped into the CC and we were seen shortly by the doctor after that.

Doctor asked about the words he could say(he said apple and ah ma), asked him to walk to grandma and lastly asked him to highfive, which he obliged. Doc also commented that his hair was cute. That was it and Matthew got 2nd prize.

The gift basket was decent and I did not expect much out of the prize. I was aiming for the trophy anyway. Received a surprise when I went home and saw a stack of NTUC vouchers. $130 to be exact and $20 pizza voucher. Quite happy that Matthew earned some money at such a young age and could give us a treat using those vouchers. I gave those vouchers to my mum to buy household stuff. The following week, we happily spent the pizza voucher too.

My little Winner

Doctor's Report

2009-11-01T09:24:00.000-08:00

Phew, Matthew was almost warded.

He was still having fever for UTI after 6 weeks of antibiotics.

Had to undergo blood test, urine test and ultrasound.

His blood test and urine test results were borderline.

The ultrasound showed that the kidneys were normal but there was a mild thickening along the urinary tract.

He would need to repeat the tests again on 15 Dec.

2 days later, Doctor called to say his urine culture showed that Ecoli was still present in his urine.

Therefore they changed the medicine to trimethodprin

Altantis Playgym-here we come

2009-10-26T09:56:00.001-07:00

The entire place was ours. A small setup but considering that it is near my place and within walking distance, it is great.

Kindermusik and Playdays

2009-10-21T22:15:00.000-07:00

We went for trial at Kindermusik and Playdays.
Both classes were good but Matthew was not very well behaved.
He threw temptrums when I carried him to join the class when all parents carried their child to dance to the music.
He preferred to walk and played with the toys instead of joining the class.

I think he would prefer the gym classes. Will look out for a gym class instead.

Baby Tuina

2009-10-10T06:27:00.000-07:00

Matthew had diahorrea and lot of wind in his stomach.

Mummy suggested Tuina and I found Shan Dong after surfing the net.

Rushed there at 7.30pm yesterday as they closed at 8.30pm.

He cried all the way during the tuina.

We were given some medicine and a paste was applied onto his belly button to remove wind.

The diahorea stopped and he passed out lots of wind.

We went for another session of tuina today.

This time, he did not cry and seemed to enjoy it.

I also went for tuina as I had backache.

After taking the medicine and the tuina, Matthew and I felt much better.

Conclusion. Tuina is good.

Lunar Birthday Celebration with Mooncake

2009-10-02T13:00:00.001-07:00

Zhua Zhou - 1st Lunar Birthday

2009-10-02T12:41:00.000-07:00

Randomly gave baby these things for his Zhua Zhou.

I was in the kitchen getting the packet of sweet when I saw him examining the items on the floor.

Prior to that, I already gave him him a biscuit.

He took that biscuit and placed in among the items.

Played with some coins.

Picked up the scissors on the right hand.

Took the bottle of Medicine and gave it a shake.

Put it down the coins on his left hand.

Picked up the stamp before moving off with these 2 items.

Final items picked: Scissors & Stamp

Seal/stamp: Has Authority, Politician, Judge etc.

Scissors: Soldier, Policemen, careers in the airforce, navy, infantry

Conclusion: Some high ranking military man

筆墨 : 會成為作家、畫家

Pen and Brush: Writer, Artist, Publishing

印章: 有權勢，會做大官

Seal/stamp: Has Authority, Politician, Judge etc.

算盤／計算機: 會當商人、會計師，適合從商

Calculator: Merchant, Trader, Broker, Financial Officer

錢幣: 將來會很富有

Coin: Will be extremely wealthy

雞腿: 有福氣，表示一生將不愁吃穿

Sweet/biscuit: Prosperous, A life of satisfaction

尺: 表示將來可成為設計師、建築師

Ruler: Architect, Product Designer, Land Development Surveryor

蔥: 代表聰明

刀劍: 能當軍官、警察

Scissors: Soldier, Policemen, careers in the airforce, navy, infantry

聽筒: 適合醫護工作

USB cable/Medicine: Health Services, Doctors, Vets, Nurses

Tie - White collar worker

1st steps- 23rd September

2009-09-26T13:21:00.001-07:00

Mum called me at about 7plus pm on 23rd September to tell me that Matthew can walk.

10 days after his 1st birthday, he has started to walk a few steps unassisted and steadily.

12 months old Tried and Tested

2009-09-18T09:44:00.000-07:00

Baby Signs

1) milk

2) bye

3) five

4) eat

5) fly kiss

Physical

1) shake head to say no

2) walk a few steps unassisted on the mattress before falling

3) can point to tell us what he wants/where he wants to go

4) can press the lift button to the correct floor.

5) can feed others and himself finger food.

6) Turn sumersault

Intellectual

1) Recognise stars, moon

2) Recognise animals - dog, cat, bird

3) Recognise fruits - apple, strawberry

4) Knows parts of body - Head, eyes

Mental

1) good memory. Knows where biscuits are kept

Emotional

1) Can kiss others

Matthew's 1st purchase - A toothbrush

2009-09-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

Matthew could not sit still while Mum, brother and I were having dinner today.

As usual, we took turns to eat and bring Matthew for a walk.

Mum brought Matthew to the value shop and they saw a row of toothbrushes.

Matthew grabbed 1 toothbrush and refused to let go when asked to.

Mum had to take out $2 and give to Matthew to pay the shopkeeper.

Everytime I bought anything at NTUC while carrying Matthew, I would always tell him about paying the cashier.

All the training at the cashier counters of NTUC worked.

Matthew understand how to shop and pay for things.

Happy 1st Birthday

2009-09-15T12:50:00.000-07:00

A potential DJ- Spinning CDs

2009-09-06T08:40:00.000-07:00

Throwing Temptrums

2009-08-28T07:02:00.000-07:00

Home Made Toys

2009-08-25T08:14:00.000-07:00

For Thrifty mummies like me to keep babies amused

1) Shakers

Put red beans/green beans/rice inside empty mineral water bottles as shaker. Baby can shake the bottle and press the bottle.

2) Stackers

Evenflo milk bottle caps can be stacked. For stacking games.

3) Drum

Butter Cookies tin to use as drum. Different things hitting the tin makes different sounds.

Can use hand, toothbrush, chopsticks etc

Can also play the passing game by rolling from one person to another

4) Opening and closing the lid

Round yoghurt containers. Open and closing the lid is fun.

Square ones are more difficult for babies

5) Bowling

Empty medicine bottles/mineral water bottles with some rice/sand to serve as pins and a ball to roll.

6) cooking

with pots and pans from the kitchen

7) slotting coins into piggy bank

A late 11th month old photo

2009-08-25T06:50:00.000-07:00

Camera error leading to loss of my 11th month old photo.
Had to retake.

I can point

2009-08-10T08:25:00.000-07:00

Matthew learnt to point recently.
He likes to point to request for fruits at the altar and biscuits.

Words Matthew can say
Star
Apple

Funny pictures

2009-08-03T09:39:00.000-07:00

Broken skin from crawling

2009-08-03T09:36:00.000-07:00

Learning to Stand

2009-08-03T09:33:00.000-07:00

1 August 2009

Matthew started to stand numerous times without holding onto anything.
Once, he tried standing on my bed and walk 2 steps before falling.
Almost fell flat on his face but luckily I caught him in time

A Touching Act

2009-07-23T01:09:00.000-07:00

My mum's next door neighbour gave an Aussie Kangeroo stuffed toy to the neighbour A who lives next to the lift landing.
Now Neighbour A lives alone, has either Down Syndrome/Austism and cannot walk. She gets around by dragging her bum around.
She came to mum's place to give the Kangeroo to Matthew instead.
We live 6 units away and she had to drag herself pass 6 units along the common corridor before she could reach Mum's place.
What touches me is that despite how little she has, she can still think of giving the stuff toy to my little baby. I am also amazed that she knows where we live.

No school till Nursery

2009-07-23T00:55:00.000-07:00

Mummy, Matthew and I went to visit the childcare centre today.
After the visit, I made up my mind not to send him to childcare centre when he turns 18 months.
I feel that Toddlers do not learn much at the childcare centre.
The childcare centre only offers full day childcare, 7am to 7pm.
Even attending primary school is not a full day thing.
Since grandma can give him tender loving care, why not continue this way till he is ready for nursery.
By then, I will send him to 1/2 day nursery.
The book by Steve B, Raising Babies: Why your love is best has played a part in my reaching this decision.
I will do my best to teach him myself after work. Thinking of following this book.

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Resources-Early-Childhood-Classroom/dp/1401825540

Matthew wants to follow me to work

2009-07-23T00:54:00.000-07:00

Matthew has started to cry and wants me to carry him whenever I leave for work.

My first visit to Fidgets

2009-07-20T23:04:00.000-07:00

and it's free of charge for babies below 1 year old.

Mummy's Bday

2009-07-10T08:16:00.003-07:00

So difficult to take a proper picture together.

See what I mean

Bullied by Daddy

2009-07-08T06:34:00.000-07:00

9 months

2009-06-15T07:05:00.001-07:00

Standing in cot

2009-06-15T07:01:00.001-07:00

Dangerous act

2009-06-15T05:44:00.000-07:00

Standing on his rocker chair without my knowledge

A typical meal

2009-05-30T02:36:00.000-07:00

Fish porridge

Naked baby at 8 months plus

2009-05-30T02:00:00.000-07:00

Chasing from 1 room to the other trying to wear diapers and clothes after a bath

Cruising and being scolded

2009-05-27T08:01:00.000-07:00

27 May 2009

Matthew can stand with support very well by now. His bed has already been lowered to the lowest level.
He understands when I scold him and will cry very sadly (those with tears)

Daddy's request

2009-05-18T06:05:00.000-07:00

8 months old

2009-05-13T07:27:00.001-07:00

13 May 2008

Very difficult to take picture for an 8 month old.
Did not get very good shots today.

Matthew learns to open plastic cupboard

2009-05-13T00:15:00.000-07:00

As usual, I doze off while taking care of Matthew.
Left him crawling about in his room.
When I woke up, I discovered the last drawer of the Toyogo container opened and the contents spilled out.

Few days later, I caught him doing the same thing and decided to film a video. Also changed the contents to his toys instead so that he would not be playing with stuff that he should not be handling.

Yesterday, I found him opening the 4th drawer from the bottom! I never thought that his feat would extend to the upper drawers so soon especially he still cannot walk. Took out all the handtowels and bibs.

More about TCM

2009-05-13T00:10:00.000-07:00

10 May 2009

Brought Matthew back to see TCM after his medicine was finished.
Given another 2 bottles of the medicine. I think higher dosage this time.

After his puking incident, I refused to feed him the medicine and depended on Mummy to do it.
But on my off day (tuesday), I looked after him myself and decided to try feeding him.

1st syringe went in after some struggles and some snacks. But i could not give him the 2nd syringe for fear of him puking.

In desperation, I decided to add into his milk and he drank it all without any fuss. Hurray! It would be such a breeze for me.

Need to bring him to NUH on Thursday, 14 May

Forum reply by SMRT

2009-05-03T05:13:00.000-07:00

SMRT replied on 2 May 2009.
Not answering to the point.
Sis said that they are asking me to exit and re-enter.

My options are
1. To continue to pass baby over the gantry and bring stroller to office
2. Use carrier just like before and pass baby over the gantry.
3. Ask passerby to push out to Mum
4. Guai Guai pay the fare and exit the gantry
5. Buy Matthew a child card to let him exit the gantry to my waiting mum

Home > ST Forum > Online Story
SMRT: Dangerous to pass babies over fare gates
I REFER to Ms Ang Siow Hui's Forum Online letter, "Made to pay MRT fare for baby stroller" (April 23).
Our current policy allows children under 0.9m in height free travel if they are accompanied by a fare-paying passenger. Following Ms Ang's feedback, we have investigated the matter and understand that our station staff at Clementi MRT station had advised her not to pass her baby to her mother over the fare gates. This is due to safety reasons, as it is dangerous to pass a baby over the fare gate to another person, especially in high-traffic stations. Passengers who are travelling with infants in strollers are advised to use our bi-directional fare gates for a safer and more convenient exit.
We have reminded our staff to encourage passengers travelling with infants to exit the station properly to avoid any dangerous situations.
We are sorry for Ms Ang's experience and seek her understanding on this matter.
Bernadette Low (Ms)
Manager, Corporate Marketing and Communications
SMRT Corporation

TCM

2009-05-03T05:08:00.001-07:00

3 May 2009

Brought Matthew to see Chinese Physician since the NUH appointment is on 14 May.
Poor Matthew was given 2 bottles of black syrup mixture and he puked everything out, including his milk after while taking the medicine.

His eyelid was still very red and kept rubbing his eye. I hope he can wait till the eye specialist appointment. Otherwise, I may need to bring him to A&E, which is discouraged now because of the swine flu.

Just Mummy & Me

2009-04-28T07:12:00.000-07:00

New Stroller

2009-04-28T07:02:00.001-07:00

Thought about it for so long before I decided to buy a stroller.
Love my stroller a lot.

Found an old photo

2009-04-25T19:29:00.001-07:00

Matthew Baby. Less than a month old. Full of hair

Update about stroller issue

2009-04-25T19:28:00.000-07:00

LTA reply

PAYING MRT FARE FOR STROLLERFEEDBACK NUMBER: 821081We refer to your email of 22 April 2009.We would like to inform you that the matter comes under the purview of theSMRT Corporation Ltd (SMRT). We will, by copy of this e-mail, refer yourfeedback to them for their attention and reply.Should you need to contact SMRT on the matter, please refer to theircontact details below.We thank you for writing in.Yours sincerely

My first forum letter published

2009-04-22T23:08:00.000-07:00

My letter has been published on the forum.
Only 2 lines with my name and the topic.
At least it is being published at the ST forum online.
Zaobao called me this morning and conducted a telephone interview.
I hope it will be published tomorrow.

http://www.straitstimes.com/ST+Forum/Online+Story/STIStory_367122.html

Home > ST Forum > Online Story
Made to pay MRT fare for baby stroller
I AM a working mother with a seven-month-old baby whom my mother takes care of while I am at work.
I usually take the train from Redhill MRT station, and pass my baby over the gantry to my mother at Clementi MRT station without tapping my card. Then I continue my journey to Yew Tee. In the past few months, this arrangement worked without any problems as I carried my baby in a carrier.
Occasionally, I used a stroller and would ask the MRT staff to open the gantry to allow the baby and stroller to exit. This went on without any hiccup until yesterday, when an MRT officer told me I needed to tap my card to let my baby and stroller exit.
Previously, I was never told that I needed to pay for my baby and stroller to exit the gantry. This is inconsistent customer service.
According to SMRT regulations, children below 90cm in height do not need to pay to ride the MRT. My baby is only 70cm. Does this mean I have to pay the MRT fare for my stroller?
Can SMRT please comment

Should I be paying MRT fare for my stroller?

2009-04-21T20:50:00.000-07:00

I am a working mother and drops off my 7 month old baby to my mother’s care before I head to work.

I usually take the MRT from Redhill, pass my baby over the gantry to my mother at Clementi without tapping my card. After which I would continue my journey to Yew Tee. For the past few months, this arrangement was without any hiccup as I carried my baby in a carrier.

Occasionally, I used a stroller and would ask the MRT staff to open the gantry to allow my baby to exit. This went without hiccups until today when a MRT staff, Naseer Peer told me that I needed to tap my card to let my baby and stroller exit.

Previously I was never told that I needed to pay for my baby and stroller to exit the MRT gantry. Obviously this is a case of inconsistent customer service.

According to the SMRT regulations, children below 90cm do not need to pay for the MRT ride. My 7 month old baby is only 70cm tall. Does this mean that I have to pay the MRT fare for my stroller? Or is the intention to force me to step out of the gantry.

This is quite ridiculous. Have written to LTA, SMRT and ST Forum. I hope ST forum will publish my letter tomorrow.

Pigeon pumpkin egg balls

2009-04-17T19:19:00.000-07:00

Having a hard time trying to put eyedrops on Matthew.
Now that he can crawl, he is very active and will not sit still.
Even changing diapers is a problem.

Luckily, the clever Mummy bought a box of Pigeon Pumpkin egg balls.
I gave him the biscuit and he was busy savouring it that he allowed me to put eyedrops on him.
Also very useful during the MRT ride when he grew fussy.

Name of Bacteria

2009-04-17T06:15:00.000-07:00

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the name of bacteria present in Matthew's right eye.

We went to KKH to see Dr Yong on 13 April, Monday and was given an eye ointment. The test results, which took 3 days, showed that it was another bacteria from what Dr initially thought. Hence Dr asked me to go back for another prescription. I thought I had to pay another consultation fee, which was what happened previously with Dr Mary Daniel.

Was pleasantly surprised that Dr Yong saw us but cancelled the consulation so we did not have to pay. I was then directed to the eye centre to make an appointment since the earliest PCC could give me was in July for Dr Lam.

Was even more pleased that the receptionist at the eye centre decided to ask Dr Lam if he could see me immediately and much to my delight, he decided to see us.

What a relief when Dr Lam said that it was nothing too serious and I should massage his eye duct daily to open the eye duct and prevent bacteria growth again.

Did not spend as much as I though. Although it would have been best that I could have walked into the eye clinic with the open appointment date I had without going through PCC.

Well, all is well with Matthew. I am so glad.

Caden & Matthew

2009-04-13T04:58:00.001-07:00

7 months old

2009-04-13T04:52:00.000-07:00

Matthew is 7 months old today and went to see the doctor.
A recurrent eye infection and there goes about $150 (inclusive of consultation, taxi fare, medicine, eye culture test)
Will only get the test results after 3 days.
Well, it's for a piece of mind.
On 2nd thoughts, I should have opted for a cheaper doctor.
Having a baby is really not cheap nowadays.

My pump was only sold for $120. This trip to the doctor is more than what I managed to get back.
Sigh.
As long as Matthew is healthy and I still have enough to put food on the table, I guess we will do fine.
What matters most is that I must think positively and not worry about the upcoming financial problems.

Fish Porridge and Sentosa

2009-04-11T23:01:00.000-07:00

9 April 2009 - Matthew started eating fish porridge =)
10 April 2009 - Matthew went to swim at Sentosa with Mico. Had a great time and we all slept for the whole afternoon after lunch.

Started stopping bf since last week. Seems like I dun have to pump from today onwards.

Matthew can crawl very well by now.

Little Matthew has 2 front bottom teeth & can sit up

2009-03-29T19:28:00.000-07:00

As above, he has 2 front bottom teeth sprouting out.
Found him sitting up in his cot by himself after he woke up when I was showering.

Bumper mat

2009-03-25T01:46:00.001-07:00

My new play area

Sitting & crawling

2009-03-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

riding on Mico by holding onto Mico only

6 months old

2009-03-16T07:08:00.001-07:00

Gotcha, caught me sitting before I lost my balance again.