If G thought Chen An was throwing tantrums before, she is so wrong.
Chen An was just giving a preview of the mayhem he can create...he is now a walking tantrum machine.
Tear his bread into half - scream!!
Not letting him eat gummy bear cos it's dinner time - scream scream!!
Took his toy away cos he threw it on the floor - scream scream scream!!!
For reasons unknown to everyone - scream! kick! roll!
G has reached the end of her sanity by the time Chen An reaches the last stage. And indeed, that's what a tantrum really is about.
Unreasonable, but enough reason for a mother to break down. G came very close to losing it all...very very close. Fortunately, with that last bit of sanity, G manage to walk away and took a time-out for herself.
Now, everyday is a matter of trying to keep Chen An as calm as possible. Minimal tantrums is the aim...no tantrums is a dream.
Everything happens for a reason, and so G believes that a combo of disruptions of Chen An's routine has led to this season of screamingkickingrolling. Firstly, the 2 weeks in away in Melbourne, including the flights might have kickstarted the whole process. In an unfamiliar land, doing unfamiliar things and eating unfamiliar food...and meeting unfamiliar faces. That's gotta be quite scary for an almost-2 year old.
And then upon return, his beloved sarong has been stored away and transiting into napping on a mattress...then in a matter of days, he no longer sleeps in his cot at night, but on the mattress in G's mother's room.
Then to top it all off, school holidays started and he no longer gets to go to school after his morning milk. In the midst of trying to find his bearings, he fell sick.
Disruptions everywhere...no wonder he's cranky.
And now being 21+ months old, Chen An is starting to learn that he is an independent person, with his own mind and therefore, he starts to try to exert his control over the adults. The fight for independence has begun...
All the reading has helped G understand these points. But understanding is one thing, to apply the strategies is another. Besides, many of the strategies don't work...at least not consistently. And among the family, everyone has their own method of dealing with the tantrums.
So the inconsistencies is yet another disruption which Chen An is taking full advantage of to fuel his tantrums.
Terrible twos...and some say it last till the kid hits 4-5 years old. G can feel herself hyperventilating...
On a happier note, J and G are expecting their 2nd little panda (which J now refers to as MK-II...apparently an improved version). Currently at 16 weeks, and EDD is on G's birthday - 22 Nov 2014 :)
Might be age, or just the G is not as fit, but this pregnancy is very different from the first. The nausea and bloating (and retching and belching) are much worse, the aversion of meat extends to all types of meat, the backache has already kicked in and the cramps are starting to bother G at night. On top of that, G is dealing with the usual symptoms - mood swings, frequent need for toilet and poor sleep. Overall, it's been a trying period, especially with Chen An clambering for G's attention all the time. G is also desperately trying to avoid carrying Chen An to prevent straining her already sore back and wrists...but that little panda has morphed into a little koala, clawing his way up G no matter how much she try to avoid it.
Nonetheless, despite all the discomfort and emotional roller coaster, G is glad that MK-II seem to be doing well so far. In a month's time, G will be going for the detailed scan...and this time round, for the benefit of Chen An (and J's parents), J and G will find out the gender of MK-II. Kind of takes the element of surprise away...but it will be easier to prepare Chen An (and to stop the endless gender-related questions that's been asked since the day G announced her pregnancy...)
Exciting days ahead indeed...hopefully G will start to feel less sick and more upbeat...and Chen An will slowly ease out of this volatile phase soon...
Thursday, 5 June 2014
Saturday, 3 May 2014
Entering the terrible twos
Chen An turned 20 months old in April 2014. And even though he is still 4 months away from being an actual 2 year old, he is very definitely smack in the middle of the terrible twos
From what G can recall, the terrible twos probably started when he turned 18 months old. The tantrums, the increasing need to force his independence and the escalating clinginess (and separation anxiety)
Chen An is a very vocal kid. G is constantly amazed by how much he can talk, and now, he is even stringing fairly complete sentences. Though still not 100% accurate, a few sentences has wow-ed his adult audience:
奶奶家在 Ang Mo Kio
没有 star/moon/狗狗/猫猫
Where is (enter object)?
(enter object) is there!
He has gotten into a habit of asking questions - what is this? where is _____? Fortunately, he does answer the questions himself, though a few times, G got stumped by his question e.g. when he pointed to a heavy vehicle on the road and G has no idea what is the proper name of vehicle.
This vocal nature is best pals with his endless and boundless energy. He can talk and talk and talk, while climbing and running and pointing out a dozen items to ask. He is also a master of mimicking. Not just the words, but also the tone. He hears it once and then next thing you know, he comes up to you and mimics exactly what you have just said.
On a good day, he calmly waits for a response from the adult - be it answering his question or praising him. On a bad day, ignoring him or being slower to respond results in a full-blown tantrum.
On a brighter side, at least Chen An limits his tantrums at home...for now. In public, he does some screaming and crying, but so far, he has not tried the sprawling on the ground and kicking his legs act besides on the play mat at home.
Physically speaking, he is very agile and active. However, his sense of danger and safety fails to improve, and being easily distracted doubles his risk of tumbling and falling. Also at the age to test the adults' limits, the most frequent line heard at home is "Chen An, NO! You can fall/get hurt/break the (enter object)". G is still convinced that he has some form of ADHD - a mild form which manifests as being easily distracted and not able to sit still for more than 2 mins. J argues that all kids are like that...hopefully J is correct and that Chen An will eventually grow out of this phase.
The terrible twos has begun early. G hopes that it means the phase will pass and end early too. One can only hope...
From what G can recall, the terrible twos probably started when he turned 18 months old. The tantrums, the increasing need to force his independence and the escalating clinginess (and separation anxiety)
Chen An is a very vocal kid. G is constantly amazed by how much he can talk, and now, he is even stringing fairly complete sentences. Though still not 100% accurate, a few sentences has wow-ed his adult audience:
奶奶家在 Ang Mo Kio
没有 star/moon/狗狗/猫猫
Where is (enter object)?
(enter object) is there!
He has gotten into a habit of asking questions - what is this? where is _____? Fortunately, he does answer the questions himself, though a few times, G got stumped by his question e.g. when he pointed to a heavy vehicle on the road and G has no idea what is the proper name of vehicle.
This vocal nature is best pals with his endless and boundless energy. He can talk and talk and talk, while climbing and running and pointing out a dozen items to ask. He is also a master of mimicking. Not just the words, but also the tone. He hears it once and then next thing you know, he comes up to you and mimics exactly what you have just said.
On a good day, he calmly waits for a response from the adult - be it answering his question or praising him. On a bad day, ignoring him or being slower to respond results in a full-blown tantrum.
On a brighter side, at least Chen An limits his tantrums at home...for now. In public, he does some screaming and crying, but so far, he has not tried the sprawling on the ground and kicking his legs act besides on the play mat at home.
Physically speaking, he is very agile and active. However, his sense of danger and safety fails to improve, and being easily distracted doubles his risk of tumbling and falling. Also at the age to test the adults' limits, the most frequent line heard at home is "Chen An, NO! You can fall/get hurt/break the (enter object)". G is still convinced that he has some form of ADHD - a mild form which manifests as being easily distracted and not able to sit still for more than 2 mins. J argues that all kids are like that...hopefully J is correct and that Chen An will eventually grow out of this phase.
The terrible twos has begun early. G hopes that it means the phase will pass and end early too. One can only hope...
Wednesday, 29 January 2014
Zoom zoom: Chen An turns 17 month old
Yikes, G forgot to update this blog...Again!
Let's see, Chen An turned 17 months old last week. From the last post till now (3 months), he has achieved lots more.
Mobility:
Now a very steady walker, he cannot be bothered to walk most of the time. He runs, and on every kind of surface imaginable. Concrete, grass, sand, bed, sofa, wading pool. U name it, he runs on it.
These past couple of weeks, he is trying to jump. For now, he will bend his knees and then try to propel himself up. G reckons it will take about 2 more months before he can master the jumping action. And he is also walking on tippy toes occasionally, as if trying to strengthen his calves in preparation for jumping. (Not to mention he has really nice calves which G is very envious of).
And climbing up and down obstacles is so easy for him...which makes taking care of him very tiring. Everywhere, no matter what is in his way, he climbs. Now, he has mastered the art of climbing up the computer chair (resulting in a few near falls and 1 rather serious bump on the head). Playgrounds, his favourite location to train his art of climbing, is fast becoming not much of a challenge for him. Up the slides (even the spiral ones), down the platforms which are twice as tall as him. But both J and G feels that it is much easier to look after him at the playground. Cos we only need to watch for his safety, make sure he doesn't fall off or try to pick up stuff from the ground and put it in his mouth. At home, it sounds like this:
"Chen An, no no! Don't touch that! Put that down! What is that? I say give it to me...put it back! NnnnooooooO!"
Speech:
He is one talkative kid. He talks...all the time...and at socially unacceptable volumes :P He also likes to sing. Recently, he has learnt to finish off the lines for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star...as well as the last few words of the 青蛙 (frog) song. Goes something like that...
G: Twinkle Twinkle little.....
XXM: TAR!
G: How I wonder what you...
XXM: R.....
G: Up above the world so...
XXM: I!
G: Like a diamond in the...
XXM: S...Ky!
G: Twinkle Twinkle little.....
XXM: TAR!
G: How I wonder what you...
XXM: R.....
G: 一只青蛙一张嘴，两颗眼睛四条腿。扑通...
XXM: gu gua gu gua...pu tong! xia xia shui! (跳下水)
Now that his vocabulary has build up to about...dunno how many words.... he is starting to put words together. Sing some more, Go playground, 喝 (drink) juice :)
Social:
Never a shy kid, Chen An is a popular figure in the neighbourhood. In fact, J and G reckon that Chen An actually knows more people than they do...
He has also reached that stage where he thinks he owns everything. That proves to be a problem when he tries to snatch toys from kids at the playground. Most of the time, he willingly return the toys...but he always goes back to the same kids and try to take the toys again :(
Chen An is also learning that by screaming and crying (i.e. throwing a tantrum), he can get his way (sometimes). For a period of time, G was driven mad by his tantrums. Luckily, the frequency seem to be dropping a little...and he usually calms down after some soothing. The tantrums also prompted G to start reading up on parenting...esp since Chen An is fast approaching the terrible twos stage. Tantrums, sleep regressions, and the much dreaded 'Why' stage is coming...
Scary times ahead...stay tuned for more :)
Let's see, Chen An turned 17 months old last week. From the last post till now (3 months), he has achieved lots more.
Mobility:
Now a very steady walker, he cannot be bothered to walk most of the time. He runs, and on every kind of surface imaginable. Concrete, grass, sand, bed, sofa, wading pool. U name it, he runs on it.
These past couple of weeks, he is trying to jump. For now, he will bend his knees and then try to propel himself up. G reckons it will take about 2 more months before he can master the jumping action. And he is also walking on tippy toes occasionally, as if trying to strengthen his calves in preparation for jumping. (Not to mention he has really nice calves which G is very envious of).
And climbing up and down obstacles is so easy for him...which makes taking care of him very tiring. Everywhere, no matter what is in his way, he climbs. Now, he has mastered the art of climbing up the computer chair (resulting in a few near falls and 1 rather serious bump on the head). Playgrounds, his favourite location to train his art of climbing, is fast becoming not much of a challenge for him. Up the slides (even the spiral ones), down the platforms which are twice as tall as him. But both J and G feels that it is much easier to look after him at the playground. Cos we only need to watch for his safety, make sure he doesn't fall off or try to pick up stuff from the ground and put it in his mouth. At home, it sounds like this:
"Chen An, no no! Don't touch that! Put that down! What is that? I say give it to me...put it back! NnnnooooooO!"
Speech:
He is one talkative kid. He talks...all the time...and at socially unacceptable volumes :P He also likes to sing. Recently, he has learnt to finish off the lines for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star...as well as the last few words of the 青蛙 (frog) song. Goes something like that...
G: Twinkle Twinkle little.....
XXM: TAR!
G: How I wonder what you...
XXM: R.....
G: Up above the world so...
XXM: I!
G: Like a diamond in the...
XXM: S...Ky!
G: Twinkle Twinkle little.....
XXM: TAR!
G: How I wonder what you...
XXM: R.....
G: 一只青蛙一张嘴，两颗眼睛四条腿。扑通...
XXM: gu gua gu gua...pu tong! xia xia shui! (跳下水)
Now that his vocabulary has build up to about...dunno how many words.... he is starting to put words together. Sing some more, Go playground, 喝 (drink) juice :)
Social:
Never a shy kid, Chen An is a popular figure in the neighbourhood. In fact, J and G reckon that Chen An actually knows more people than they do...
He has also reached that stage where he thinks he owns everything. That proves to be a problem when he tries to snatch toys from kids at the playground. Most of the time, he willingly return the toys...but he always goes back to the same kids and try to take the toys again :(
Chen An is also learning that by screaming and crying (i.e. throwing a tantrum), he can get his way (sometimes). For a period of time, G was driven mad by his tantrums. Luckily, the frequency seem to be dropping a little...and he usually calms down after some soothing. The tantrums also prompted G to start reading up on parenting...esp since Chen An is fast approaching the terrible twos stage. Tantrums, sleep regressions, and the much dreaded 'Why' stage is coming...
Scary times ahead...stay tuned for more :)
Friday, 18 October 2013
Toddling into toddlerhood
4 more days to Chen An's 14 month birth"day"
In the past couple of months, he has achieved quite a fair bit. The most significant of all is that he is able to walk, without assistance, for as far as 20m at one go.
It is hard to pin point exactly when he took his first unassisted step...though G did upload a video when he took 4 unassisted steps. When he grows up, he will just be told that he started walking at 12 months.
And now, he not only walks...at time, he even tries to run (or maybe he is just trying to catch himself from falling forwards so he looks like he is running). And when he is really happy or excited, he does this cute little rapid step-on-the-spot. Then when he is really upset, he stamps his feet too (yes, like a little girl throwing a tantrum...something which G hopes he will not do when he is older)
Separation anxiety is slowly escalating...on an extreme day, he refuses to let G out of his sight. A few times, G has to sneak away to go to the toilet to attend to her business while J distracts Chen An...and a couple of times, distraction fails and he runs after G, screaming and banging on the toilet door. When the anxiety peaks (some sources say that happens usually at around 18month mark), G suspects he will throw himself against the door to try and barge his way through...
Besides physical milestones, he is also achieving a fair bit in terms of language. He can now "accurately" say the following:
Car
Bus
Brroom brroom (motorcycle)
Png....(aeroplane, with hands outstretched)
Mao (cat),
Gou (dog),
Guckguck (duck)
Bearbear (bears)
Kao (Cow)
Meh eh (Goat or sheep)
Gahgah (to go out - Gai gai in Cantonese)
Shehsheh (thank you in Mandarin)
Peh (please, while he is signing it)
Pa pa (scared, while signing it)
Yahyeh (paternal grandfather)
Nainai (paternal grandmother)
A-gerng (maternal grandfather)
Popo or Wa-po (maternal grandmother)
Lah lah (spicy)
Ott (Hot)
Mek mek (milk from bottle)
Ngeng Ngeng (to latch on for breast feeding)
Tiak (to press the button for traffic light)
Tek (while pointing at TV, means he wants to watch his children songs DVD)
Up (to be taken out of the sarong)
Pabao (to be carried)
Kwa kwa (when G's mum is playing mahjong game and she loses)
Mai mai (don't want, in Hokkien)
These are the more consistent ones...many times, Chen An just babbles to himself. The sounds he make are cute and G wish she can just record it all down and listen to it.
Health-wise, Chen An caught his first flu bug and had a pretty bad case of URTI. For 4 nights in a row, he coughed so badly that he threw up...and many times, he woke himself up when he gets a coughing fit. Poor little guy seem to have lost quite a bit of weight over this period of time. Luckily, the coughing has reduced and no more vomiting since yesterday.
And so, while Chen An toddles ahead, growing more independent (and therefore less obedient while he develops a sense of self), J&G continues to blindly find their way through parenthood. It will be a while more before they can even contemplate doing all these all over again...
In the past couple of months, he has achieved quite a fair bit. The most significant of all is that he is able to walk, without assistance, for as far as 20m at one go.
It is hard to pin point exactly when he took his first unassisted step...though G did upload a video when he took 4 unassisted steps. When he grows up, he will just be told that he started walking at 12 months.
And now, he not only walks...at time, he even tries to run (or maybe he is just trying to catch himself from falling forwards so he looks like he is running). And when he is really happy or excited, he does this cute little rapid step-on-the-spot. Then when he is really upset, he stamps his feet too (yes, like a little girl throwing a tantrum...something which G hopes he will not do when he is older)
Separation anxiety is slowly escalating...on an extreme day, he refuses to let G out of his sight. A few times, G has to sneak away to go to the toilet to attend to her business while J distracts Chen An...and a couple of times, distraction fails and he runs after G, screaming and banging on the toilet door. When the anxiety peaks (some sources say that happens usually at around 18month mark), G suspects he will throw himself against the door to try and barge his way through...
Besides physical milestones, he is also achieving a fair bit in terms of language. He can now "accurately" say the following:
Car
Bus
Brroom brroom (motorcycle)
Png....(aeroplane, with hands outstretched)
Mao (cat),
Gou (dog),
Guckguck (duck)
Bearbear (bears)
Kao (Cow)
Meh eh (Goat or sheep)
Gahgah (to go out - Gai gai in Cantonese)
Shehsheh (thank you in Mandarin)
Peh (please, while he is signing it)
Pa pa (scared, while signing it)
Yahyeh (paternal grandfather)
Nainai (paternal grandmother)
A-gerng (maternal grandfather)
Popo or Wa-po (maternal grandmother)
Lah lah (spicy)
Ott (Hot)
Mek mek (milk from bottle)
Ngeng Ngeng (to latch on for breast feeding)
Tiak (to press the button for traffic light)
Tek (while pointing at TV, means he wants to watch his children songs DVD)
Up (to be taken out of the sarong)
Pabao (to be carried)
Kwa kwa (when G's mum is playing mahjong game and she loses)
Mai mai (don't want, in Hokkien)
These are the more consistent ones...many times, Chen An just babbles to himself. The sounds he make are cute and G wish she can just record it all down and listen to it.
Health-wise, Chen An caught his first flu bug and had a pretty bad case of URTI. For 4 nights in a row, he coughed so badly that he threw up...and many times, he woke himself up when he gets a coughing fit. Poor little guy seem to have lost quite a bit of weight over this period of time. Luckily, the coughing has reduced and no more vomiting since yesterday.
And so, while Chen An toddles ahead, growing more independent (and therefore less obedient while he develops a sense of self), J&G continues to blindly find their way through parenthood. It will be a while more before they can even contemplate doing all these all over again...
Thursday, 22 August 2013
Xxm turns o.n.e.
Last year, at this very moment, G was in the 2nd stage of labour..with a very stubborn xxm refusing to crown. (And xxm's gender remains a mystery)
Now, at this very moment, xxm (a very active little boy) is fast asleep after a day of fun and special treats...
Special treat 1: walk to nature park and play on playground that has sand.
Special treat 2: no porridge for both lunch and dinner. Instead, G's mum cooked mee sua for lunch and ate out for dinner - din tai fung noodles!
Special treat 3: Baskin Robbins ice cream cake for dessert!
No wonder he's exhausted...
Xxm also gave us a special treat today: taking steps by himself...though it's only 3 steps, it was gratifying to see that all the effort to train him to walk is finally showing some results :)
One year old...it has not been an easy year for everyone. Taking care of a baby is like going on a trip which you have no idea where and how to get there. Lots of trial and error, mishaps, unexpected discoveries, nasty shocks and pleasant surprises.
As Chen An enters the next phase of his growing up years, may he always be happy and healthy :)
Happy birthday, Chen An!
Thursday, 15 August 2013
Baby panda morphs into a koala
Xxm turns one year old in a weeks time!
Had a rather successful bbq party over the national day long weekend. Despite the rather ulu location and unpredictable rain, many guests came and J&G are very grateful for that :)
Feedback from guests were good too. G's jiemeis were happy with the goodie bags, while others liked the food.
And, Chen An too is very grateful for the presents and ang pows! Though he did had a rather embarrassing moment of wailing out loud after stepping onto his treehouse cake...
Now that the chalet is done and over, Chen An seem to have "grown" suddenly in terms of his awareness and "language"
Most obvious sign is the boy is now super clingy to G. G cannot step away without him throwing a crying fit or frantic chase after her. His morning routine now includes a banging fest on J&G's bedroom door while G is changing to go to work. And not only is he mire clingy, he has become more whiny too. Even when G is carrying him, he still gets episodes of crying fits for no apparent reasons. Teething, maybe? Or just the growing awareness that he is an individual, which leads to a form of unknown fear (that he will be abandoned?)
Basically, this little panda behaves more like a koala and G is the only eucalyptus tree in the house.
On a less tearful note, Chen An is starting to "talk".
Buses, cars and motorcycles are known as "aaaaaahhhhhh!"
His ring stacker with a bear head is known as "bah....bear"
G is known as "mm...ama"
Hummingbird that flies to balcony window is known as "jeeeee!"
Children, regardless of age, are known as "ge...gorgor" and "zei...chei"
Bubbles are the one thing he can "say" most accurately, known as "bub per"
Rest of the time, he babbles and babbled which no one can understand, but it's such a delight to hear these cute sounds. Last night, all of a sudden, he started repeatedly babbling "dabada...bada!". G got it down on recording and listening to it makes for good stress relief
G is quite sure it's just a clingy phase he's going through...but how long will it last?
Not too long hopefully...cos G's arms are already aching from all the carrying!
Saturday, 3 August 2013
August has arrived!
Oh dear dear dear...
G needs to start paying more attention to this blog!
Last entry was 4 months ago...and now, xxm is turning 1 year old in less than 3 weeks time...
This little guy is really painfully adorable. Now, he is crawling so fast, and cruising so well, the living room is his playground.
One moment, he's on the playmat banging his toy, next thing you know, he has climbed up the sofa and cuddling his soft toy. And then before you can blink, he scrambles down and crawls to the bedrooms.
Not one moment of quiet time...except nap, breastfeeding and occasional breaks he takes.
G is anxiously waiting for him to take his first unassisted step...he can walk quite well when he pushes a stool or the walker toy..but once he is hands free, he will drop down to crawl. Lack of confidence perhaps...
Feeding solids have progressed to porridge which need not be blended. G is now trying to teach him to feed himself with finger food. He should have been able to do so probably 2 months ago, but no one taught him and he got too used to being fed. He actually learnt pretty fast, only problem now is he doesn't know how to let go, so many times, the food goes into his mouth then he takes it out again without leaving the food inside. Then he lets it go and drops onto the floor...to sum up, a messy affair. Nonetheless, it's fun to watch him...and that self-satisfied look he gives when he succeeded in feeding himself one piece of food is worth the mess :)
To celebrate his upcoming 1st birthday, J + G are gonna have a bbq at changi chalet. Hopefully it'll go smoothly and xxm will have loads of fun and plenty of photos to look at when he is older.
On a side note, many of G's friends are expecting or have just given birth...G is starting to miss being pregnant, especially feeling the little one kicking and squirming inside. But...are J & G ( & xxm) be ready for xxm2....?
Leave it to the hands of fate :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)