NO to Pacifiers

The use of pacifiers for babies have long been touted as an *easy-way-out* method to calm babies (read: shut them up). I guess that's why they call it the *dummy*. The usage of pacifiers causes nipple confusion especially in the early stages of breastfeeding, is easily soiled and just yesterday, I was saddened to read the news that it caused a 14-month old baby to choke to death:

Toddler chokes to death on pacifier
JOHOR BARU: A 14-month-old baby boy suffered for almost 90 minutes before dying, after he accidentally swallowed his pacifier at his babysitter’s house.
The victim, whose parents work as factory operators in Singapore, was sent to his babysitter’s house in Taman Johor Jaya here yesterday.
It is learnt that the parents have been sending the baby to the babysitter for more than a year.
Yesterday, the babysitter put the pacifier into the baby’s mouth when she went to prepare his milk at about 10am. When she came back to check on him, she was horrified to see that he had swallowed the pacifier.
She tried to pull it out but it was stuck in the baby’s throat. She rushed him to a nearby clinic but the people there could not extricate it. By the time he was taken to Sultan Ismail Hospital at 11.30am, he was pronounced dead on arrival.

I am glad that we have NEVER once used a pacifier with Ethan. Mom had also never used a pacifier for my brother and I when we were babies. Of course initially it was difficult because when Ethan needed to be calmed down, we had to talk, sing, soothe, rock and nurse by offering "the human pacifier" to him. It has all been worth every bit of the effort as there is no need to break him from the pacifier habit now.

Mixed Feelings

Yesterday evening when we picked Ethan up from the sitter's, she proudly announced that Ethan had begun to take his first baby steps. Although still wobbly, she said that he was holding on to a chair and then very gingerly let go and took a few steps towards her!

Pete and I were ecstatic! Imagine, from a non-mobile infant to a crawl-everywhere-and-opens-and-closes-all-doors baby and NOW to a soon-to-be-free-roaming toddler! Wow... next milestone! Check!

However, I can't help but feel that I would sometimes miss out on important milestones like these, being a working mom and all. So even though I am jubilating over his first few steps, I am a little sad that I wasn't there to see it. C'est la vie...

Ah well. Maybe, hopefully... I will be there to witness the first few REAL steps, not the unstable ones. Hehehe.... me being my kiasu self now.

Oh, by the way, yesterday evening after we brought Ethan back home, I saw him take 1.5 steps from one side of the cot to the other! So I'm happy. Hee.

Ethan: The First Year

Ethan Turns ONE Today!

The moment you came into our lives
My pain all vanished when I heard your cries
After our nine-month getting-to-know-you session
You really lived up to our every expectation!

When I first held you in my arms
I loved your smell, your closeness and your warmth
The tears I shed were definitely tears of joy
I couldn’t believe we now have a beautiful baby boy!

And so began our breastfeeding journey
You were a pro, even though you were so tiny
Cradling you while singing a lulling song
Our bond as mother and child grew strong

Diaper sizes from NB to S, then M and now L,
You turned into someone we knew so well
That cheeky grin and mischievous smile
We really got used to your “bulat” style!

First you rolled over, and then you were sitting
Before we knew it, you were an expert at crawling!
Cruising and then standing and babbling to talk
We’re now eagerly awaiting the day you learn to walk!

A year of sleepless nights we endured
Why you can’t sleep through yet, we’re not entirely sure
You certainly are a picture of energy
A chatterbox too, yes you’re a talkative baby!

You’re a food lover, you’re not at all fussy
Your favorite is of course, when you dine at Mommy’s
Now that you have 4 teeth and of course still counting
We anticipate days ahead of more yummy eating!

Our darling Ethan boy, as you turn one,
Daddy and Mommy are as proud as the sun!
For what we once called our bundle of joy
Has now been transformed into a big boy!

Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Yes, we will not be able to fully realize the immensity of God's love for us until we become parents ourselves. Putting ourselves in our Father's shoes, we come to realize the selfless sacrifice He made for us whilst we were yet sinners. Just imagine... sacrificing your precious son's life.

And as I sang Ethan to sleep just the other night, God spoke to me with the verse above. Then and there, I gave thanks to Him for blessing us with our Ethan boy, our pride and our joy.

Like a Stamp to a Letter

In the still of the night, there was nary a sound around when suddenly...

Ethan: Waaaahhhhhhhh....!!!!
Pete: (happily) I'll get it! (proceeds to go to Ethan's cot to cuddle and soothe him)
Ethan: Wawaahhhhhhh....!!! (starts sniffling and sobbing)
Pete: (picks Ethan up) Don't cry boy, don't cry....Good boy...
Ethan: (kicks and screams even harder) WaaaaaHhhh!!! Mamamaamamama.......!!!
Pete: Daddy is here, Daddy is here...
Ethan: Mamamamamaaaaa....!!!!! (kicking, screaming, stretching, the works...)
Pete: (frustrated liao) Nah, nah..Mommy is here ....
Me: (taking Ethan in my arms)
Ethan: (immediately making himself cosy in my arms and begins to fall asleep again)
Pete: (sighs) Magic.

Yes, Ethan still CANNOT sleep through the night. SIGH... We have tried countless methods, but still no results. The latest method we tried was the controlled crying method, which was really too heartwrenching for us as parents. This involved letting him cry for longer periods of time as opposed to going to him immediately when he calls. We succeeded for like 5 days or so and then gave up, more so cos we read that Ethan could very well be a baby of very strong and persistent personality and this method does not work well in these cases, according to Dr Sears.

Back when Ethan was but a month old, a good girlfriend of mine told me that soon I would see that Ethan would be sticking to me like a stamp to a letter. Even more so in my case, she continued... because I exclusively breastfeed Ethan.

Well that is becoming an apparent reality now as Ethan is now VERY attached to me. He sometimes lets out an urgent cry when he sees me leave the room. And he sometimes also hugs my hand to sleep. Yes... our bond as mother and baby has been strengthened many folds by the beautiful act of breastfeeding. And of course, it is an unwritten fact that babies tend to equate their daddies to playtime and their mommies to nurturing.

But when does this dependence end? I for one, choose to cherish it while it lasts...

Happy New Year

Since we'd already travelled for Christmas, we spent New Year's in Penang, in the comfort of our apartment. One of my New Year resolutions is to cook more frequently, since I have "ready" customers at home who relish my cooking. Heh... does wonders for the ego too, I might add. So to start the New Year off with a bang (pun intended), I decided to cook today. Pete was such a dear and he looked after Ethan while I dished out the goodies.

I'll have to admit I actually went kind of bonkers and dished out 5 dishes today, instead of the customary 3. The 5 dishes were:

• Stir-fry beef with celery and carrots (This was the first time I cooked this dish, let alone cook beef. I introduced beef to Ethan today, so since he only took a small portion of the beef, I used the greater part of the meat for this dish)
  
  

• Ginger & spring onion chicken
  
• Baked beans with eggs & bombay onions
  
  
• Stir-fry Baby bok choy
  
• Watercress soup

Of course, the dishes were served with a healthy concoction of red rice + Herbal Ponney rice + Energy Grain Mix (millet + quinoa + buckwheat).

Delicious or not, you'll have to ask Pete la...

So as we bid buh-bye to the year 2006, I fondly recall the many blessings God has bestowed upon us and the priceless episodes that have indelibly changed my life:

• I gave birth to our darling Ethan boy, sans epidural
  
• I changed diapers for the first time in my life. Now Pete refers to me as the expert...
  
• I experienced the beautiful bond of breastfeeding and am still cherishing the experience to this day
  
• Ethan's first giggle which was filled with such pure innocence and joy.
  
• I felt the wonderment of being a mother, and more importantly, of being a parent. Motherhood and parenthood really makes us appreciate our own parents more.
  
• ...And I witnessed how awesome a daddy Peter is. The way his face lights up when he looks at our little angel - that's definitely worth a million bucks.
  

The Beginning of Speech?

Lately Ethan has taken a liking to blubbering, i.e. puckering his lips, making the “brrrrrruuuuu…” sound (aka blowing raspberries), and using his index finger to flick his lips up and down. Then of course he will indulge in the baby blabbering. Occasionally we do catch a few words like deh-deh (Daddy maybe?) ….., mum-mum…, beh-beh (waving buh-bye) and just a couple of days ago, something which sounded remotely like “Mummeee….”. (yay!)

However, it is unfortunately an unwritten rule that girls mature faster than boys, and also that the fairer sex is more adept at picking up languages. Just a few days ago, I met up with a fellow breastfeeding mommy friend of mine for lunch, and she told me that her daughter (now 15 months’ old) can already count from 1 to 10! Amazing!

Well, we don’t know when our boy will start having conversations with us, but we certainly can’t wait… for now, we are constantly speaking to him like we would to another adult, and he would listen attentively, even laughing on cue sometimes. It’s true that babies can understand and mimic what adults say fairly easily, especially at this age, when their brain is like a sponge. Therefore, we need to remind ourselves (and also those around us) to be careful NOT to use words which we do not want him to pick up at this tender age. You'd be surprise what babies these days can absorb...

Now until that precious first word is spoken, we’ll have to content ourselves with:

Me: What did you do today, Ethan?
Ethan: Wa wa wa…bababa…..brrruu, bruuuu……!!!
Me: Wah....really? What else?
Ethan: Mamamummmm…..vavava…..bruuu, bruuuu…..!!!
Me: Have you learned to say “Mommy” today?
Ethan: Brruuuuu…bruuuuuu….!!!! (showing a toothy grin)

Christmas in our Hearts...

Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la…!!!

With Christmas about a week away, we are all in a Christmassy mood now. Festive decorations adorn the malls, Christmas trees are sprouting out everywhere and Christmas carols are played 24/7, transforming the hot and humid Penang into a “winter wonderland” of sorts.

This year’s Christmas will mark Ethan’s very first Christmas and we intend to make it as memorable as possible, for him and of course, for us too. The layman would easily associate Christmas with presents, and although we too visited the newly opened Queensbay Mall to complete our Christmas shopping, we would like to eventually inculcate the understanding of the true meaning of Christmas to Ethan.

Christmas isn’t Christmas till it happens in your heart, so the song goes. So really, the presents we exchange during Christmas merely represents the wonderful act of giving and sharing from the heart, which form the essence of Christmas: LOVE. I expect that Ethan would be thrilled with the presents he’d receive each Christmas from now on, but in the years to come, I hope and endeavor to draw his attention to that lonely manger in Bethlehem, many, many years ago where the very first Christmas was celebrated with the birth of Jesus Christ. That was where Christmas started and will forever stay in our hearts.

Well, as a start, I have been singing him Christmas carols almost every day now: Joy to the World, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, O Come All Ye Faithful….you name it, I’ve sung it. I do it all the time, while changing him, while nursing him or even when riding in the car with him… I’m glad he is enjoying my renditions…maybe cos I have a sweet voice.. ahem!

We will be spending Christmas Eve in Taiping (Pete’s hometown) and Christmas Day in Ipoh (my hometown). I know everyone is looking forward to Christmas this year. So are we.

Life’s Lessons

Before we had Ethan, I was told that having kids would teach me patience. Well, apart from patience, Ethan has also taught us many priceless lessons. Some of the lessons serve merely as a reminder to us, as we may have forgotten them due to the humdrum of our daily routine and busy life.

Perseverance
Better known as the “Never Say Die” attitude, Ethan exhibits this daily. Since becoming mobile, he is a champion at proclaiming this cause. For example, when he is free to roam on the living room floor, he will very rapidly crawl to our TV cabinet, move himself to standing position and watch TV – AT CLOSE RANGE! Of course, we’ll tell him “No, Ethan….don’t do that!” and carry him away from the TV back to the floor. But immediately he will move to the TV again. Same thing happens in his cot. He will grab the sides of it, stand up and start chomping on the cot ends, but not before he flashes a mischievous grin. His cot railings are covered with plastic protectors on both the lengths of the cot, but our incredibly “smart” boy will only chomp on the uncovered wooden ends! Affinity for wood, you’d think? Go ask the woodpecker/woodchuck…

Demonstrative
When you love someone, show it, right? Ethan shows affection by BITING.
I really honestly believe that he thinks that he is being affectionate when he bites and sucks my chin, shoulder, arm, finger and just yesterday night, my leg!!!

When all else fails, SMILE!
Ethan will still be smiling even though he has a fever or cough. His smile is so infectious that he makes us smile too. Thank you Ethan boy for reminding us of the power of a smile.

Parenting and parenthood is all about learning, I believe. It works both ways. Just as we impart knowledge to Ethan, in the same mysterious way, he teaches us wonderful things every day.