Intelligence or separation anxiety

Don’t get too upset if your child is not super duper friendly with friends or family she is unfamilliar with. Don’t be too stressed if she cries and wants you when they try and cuddle her. She is not being difficult or ’sticky’ but is instead displaying INTELLIGENCE. She is reacting to the realization that the other party is not her main caregiver – clever right? Having said that, I am sure that she will eventually warm up to others in a safe environment (with her parents close by initially until she is comfortable to play with the other party with her parents out of sight).

Separation anxiety is normal and it is a phase so hang in there. When you look back years later, you will probably be glad that you got to cuddle your bubba heaps ..

Kate needs to put on more weight

Went for Kate’s 8-month check up at the Maternal and Child Health Centre. What usually happens at these appointments is that the nurse will check that Kate is developing properly by asking a series of questions, weighing her and measuring her height and head circumference.

Kate is currently banging her hands on things, throwing things (especially from her high chair), crawling, sitting unaided, putting herself into a sitting position from a crawling position and pulling herself up on furniture and letting herself down gently. On the food front, she is still eating pureed veges and fruits, rice cereal, chicken, pasta and some finger foods. I’m looking forward to preparing new foods for her next week (her paternal grandparents will be here for a visit and they can spend time with her while I busy myself in the kitchen). I never thought that I would actually enjoy cooking – oh but you are talking about cooking for my baby, would do anything for her!

Kate has lost a bit of weight since her last weigh-in 2 months ago (85gms to be exact). This is probably due to a combination of things – she is getting more active, I am recovering from a cold which might have affected the supply or quality of breastmilk, she seems to have caught a bit of the cold from Ken and I. So, my mission now is to plump her back up with more solids .. haha. Her current weight is 7.4kg. Height and head circumference is normal.

God answers prayer

Thank God for a much manageable day today.

Its challenging to look after a baby when you are sick – more so when they act up and your patience is running on negative. I had a tough day with Kate fussing pretty much the entire day (when she was not eating or sleeping). I felt so bad for losing my patience with her by evening coz she refused to eat, refused to bath, and just kept screaming in my face .. Was I glad Ken was at home to help.

Just before I retired for the night, I prayed for God to help Kate sleep through the night and not wake up arounf 3am like she has been the last few nights. I so needed my rest so that I can function properly the next day. Praise God for an answered prayer. Kate slept through until 9am this morning from 11pm. No prayer is too insignificant for our Lord coz He cares!

Kate is pretty well-behaved today. She was quite content to play on her own with me nearby. I guess she just wants to be close to me … aww how sweet!

Father & Daughter Bonding Time

Mommy went out for a girls’ night out on Saturday night and baby Kate stayed home with Daddy! Mommy was worried for nothing, both of them had a good time, enjoying each other’s company. Should do this more often eh? Haha

I changed, breast-fed Kate before I left the house and when I called about 1.5hours later, she was asleep. Well done Daddy. She woke up shortly after for her dinner (so proud of daddy feeding baby, wished I was home to video it). Daddy must have enterntained her for a couple more hours and when I returned home, I saw her asleep on her Daddy’s lap … ooh what a beautiful sight .. did I say what a beautiful sight??

Daddy said it was actually a very good bonding session and that he enjoyed the time at home with Kate. Also said that she was a very good and adorable girl and went on to say how much he loves her. I was over the moon …

Neh Neh

Neh Neh is the new word. Don’t think it is related to boobies coz she uses it even when she is not hungry or sleepy. Shall observe more when she uses it .. haha

When she’s tired, she goes Mmmmm Mmmm Mmmmm .. I wonder if she is saying “Mommy, sayang me”?

Developmental milestones

Grandma is asking why so long never update blog – how is Kate? What new things has she been doing? Sorry sorry been so busy with stuff … so here goes

Kate’s growth has been exponential. She is now on solid meals 2 to 3 times a day, depends on what time she wakes up. She loves fruits and sweet veges like carrots, sweet potatoes and pumpkins. Gave her some cooked through carrot sticks as finger food yesterday. Loves it, puts her left hand into the bowl and takes one out, suck suck bite bite and before she is done with that, the right hand goes into the bowl to take out another stick. Haha

As you would remember from my previous blog, Ken (erm I mean Kate) is now sleeping in her own room (both names so similar and both so close to my heart – haha). She sleeps through MOST nights, which is great. Sometimes she grizzles in the middle of the night or early in the morning, but is left to fall back asleep again. If she is still grizzly after 15mins or starts crying or screaming, she gets cuddled or nursed. Haha. She usually puts herself back to bed coz no one is going to rescue her. We sound so mean right but I think this is better for her and for us in the long run. We let her spend time with us downstairs, in her play area and when she starts rubbing her eyes and fussing, Daddy Ken will bring her upstairs and put her to bed. Its worked so far – but she sleeps at like 11pm!

I can’t stop talking about her sleeping habits. Her fav position is sleeping on her tummy. You put her down on her back and flips onto her tummy almost instantly. Everytime I go into her room to check on her, she is on her tummy. Then I have to stand there, hold my breath and make sure she is still breathing. In the mornings when she awakes and cries for me to go carry her, I find her sitting in her cot, kinda crying (the fake attention getting kind) and playing with her soft toy … cuteness!

Moving on to other developments. Kate is pulling herself up on furniture and crawling EVERYWHERE. Did I say EVERYWHERE? When you no longer hear the toys nor Kate babbling, you need to stop whatever you are doing and go search for her. Its so funny when you find her pulling things out of bags or trying to reach for the remote control on the coffee table or sucking on bag straps. Ooh .. must start child-proofing the house …