 |
| Sitting by himself at the other end on top of the picture |
 |
| At the most left from this angle |
Tuesday, 10 July 2012
Second Week in Playgroup - 5th Jul'12
Selina feedback that IZ is getting better in school... **beaming in pride**
Third Day in PG – 27th Jun’12
I decided to let Selina send him to school while I went to Mc’D to get my breakfast. Partly so IZ get used to not having me around, partly so I can eat breakfast in CS. If I were to leave my spot for a while, I would have no place to sit to wait till he finished school.
Happily, I brought my Mc’D breakfast up, and was surprised to see Selina and IZ sitting at the reception area as teachers were not ready. And IZ started crying seeing me. Duhz!
He started off crying once the door was closed. But teacher did make it easier, staying with him initially and let him by himself.
 |
| Teacher stayed close |
He was ok by Montessori time, but still cried when the class was dismissed.
 |
| Independent during Montessori time |
I bought a Groupon deal for Build A Bear, building one bear at only S$9.90. I thought there’s no better time to build one for him, as I will not be going to school with him from tomorrow onwards.
 |
| Rub little heart |
 |
| Kiss and may all his wishes come true |
 |
| Place the heart into the bear |
 |
| He adores the bear |
Second Day in PG – 26th Jun’12
He started crying at temperature checkpoint, I asked Selina to send him in, I followed halfway.
I went down for prata breakfast to take a breather from seeing him crying and went up again to be tortured.
 |
| Supposedly yummy prata |
Just like the first day, he was engrossed in Montessori material that he forgot about crying for that short while.
 |
| His fave Montessori time |
 |
| Guided by teacher, holding on to his water bottle |
 |
| Standing on the most right - hanging on to his comfort item |
From the CCTV, I saw that he cried on and off and hang on to his water bottle the whole time. He finished the whole bottle at the end of school.He cried when he came out from class.
 |
| Still hanging on to already emptied bottle |
 |
| Knocked out after school |
First Day in PG – 25th Jun’12
As I mentioned in my post on Last English Class in MLG, we are moving on to Playgroup (PG) in CS Montessori, located just opposite our place, on roof top in NEX.
I have applied for 3 half days to company him to school. I had mixed feelings about it, to let go completely so he’ll not cry or not miss anything in his childhood. Thus, I have decided to bite the bullet and “enjoy” his crying moments in school.
On the first day, he was still sleeping at 7.40am. School starts at 8.30am, I had to wake him up and prepare him to school.
 |
| Sleeping prince |
 |
| Ready to go to school - not knowing what holds |
We arrived pretty early to school, at about 8.20am, temperature checked and cleared. Then we waited for our turn to check mouth, hands and feet. Teacher Susan took off his socks and checked. Quite detail I would say.
Then Teacher Susan sent him into the room, and asked him to wave bye to me. There he started crying. I asked Teacher Susan to quickly close the door. I couldn’t bear seeing him crying. Selina (our helper) already started to tear. I was too depressed to feel anything.
Then I watched from the CCTV, he was crying so badly and kept pointing to the door. Forgive me, there’s not much photo from all the crying as my heart broken into pieces, I felt weak all over I didn’t think much of taking picture.
As time flies, he settled down during Montessori time. He was able to sit and do something. I was quite proud of him at that point of time.
 |
| IZ sitting on teacher's lap |
 |
| Crying at the start of Montessori time - at the most right standing |
 |
| Teacher guiding IZ at the top of the pic |
 |
| Doing it himself |
 |
| Made a friend |
 |
| Returning the material to the shelf - top right corner |
When class ended, he was crying all over again.
Lesson B for Bear - 24th Jun’12
It is quite difficult for me to do classes and take photo the same time. I have to rely on the dad, who are not doing a good job, but better than none. Hahaha..
We woke up, and he wanted to sit on his table. So I asked if he wants to do some work. He nodded his head. So I grabbed my stuffs out and started.
 |
| Waiting in anticipation |
I started off by letting him trace the capital and lower case of B using marker.
 |
| Guiding him to trace |
Then I asked him to take out B items from the bag, naming each as he took them out, and when he placed them back in.
 |
| Blue ball! |
 |
| B items! |
Then I took out the bear mask and asked him to put glue. He enjoyed putting glue on, and then placing the brown papers on the mask.
 |
| Putting the glue on |
 |
| Pasting brown paper |
I put the mask on him after, took a picture of him and showed him. He was happy. I tried to read Goldilocks and the 3 Bears to end the class, but he wanted more.
 |
| IZ wearing bear mask he made |
 |
| Unsuccessful story reading |
I didn’t prepare for more, so I grabbed a piece of drawing block and asked the dad to draw a bear face and let him paint with blue.
 |
| Painting the bear blue |
 |
| Blue Bear |
 |
| Display his work |
PS: You may want to follow our Lernen-Reise on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/IzLernenReise
Past Lessons:
Lesson A for Apple - 14th Jun'12
Lesson A for Ant - 18th Jun'12
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Lesson A for Ant - 18th Jun'12
As I will be on business trip for 3 days, I decided to do this lesson with IZ before I left.
He was still pretty interested in the greeting song, especially the part I pointed to him and when I sang his name.
I made a pair of feely letters A and a and guided him to trace along. He somehow uttered “a”, I wonder if it’s the letter or his “eh”. Hahaha.. anyway, it was good beginning.
Then I made him pull A items from the “improvised” bag, but the bag appeared to be too shallow that he wanted to peep into it while he pull them out. Hahaha.. Cheeky boy I have. I asked him not to peep, he could understand, he straightened his head and just reached out his hand and pulled, but not for long before he was tempted to peep again.
 |
| Added "Angry Bird" |
I tried to teach him to spell ant on the white board but he was not interested, so I had to move on quickly to art & craft, his favorite.
I tried letting him colouring the smaller ants but he merely scribbled some. So I changed my strategy, I gave him the bigger ant to colour. Asked him to choose a colour, he chose dark blue and he started colouring. I was very impressed, as he managed to colour mostly on the ant instead of anywhere else!
But his concentration didn’t last long as expected, he wanted to change colour pretty often, and here’s the end result! Hahaha.. not bad for a 18 months old, I am very proud of him!
 |
| Very proud of this work of his |
And I continued to colour the 3 smaller ants and put on the sticks Jann provided. IZ liked the ants on the sticks so much he didn’t want to put all of them on the wall, he held onto one and ran here and there.
 |
| Do you see his scribbling? |
 |
| Obssessed with ant on the stick |
I guess I’ll have to continue with this impromptu way of teaching him, and keep re-strategise during lesson to accommodate his age right now.
 |
| Putting up work for display |
 |
| Additions to IZ's Corner! |
Past Lessons:
Lesson A for Apple - 14th Jun'12
Monday, 18 June 2012
3rd Phonics Class - Rescheduled
It was supposed to be my 3rd class with Jann on Sat but I was totally exhausted after MLG’s last English class. Didn’t sleep well the night before as IZ once again woke up at about 2am, couldn’t sleep again coz it was too hot, and how he refused to wake up to MLG, rushed through my breakfast, late for class and then we were on the way to Kwan Yin temple. I planned to pray, eat lunch and rush to Jann’s place, then rush to Tan Tock Seng Hospital to visit my senior who has just got his brain tumour removed. Thinking about all the plans already exhausts me.
It felt like godsend when I received a text from Jann asking if we are NOT attending class. I quickly arranged for a replacement, thank goodness I opted to pay in full when I started class, then I have the privilege for replacement. So, mummies who are interested to join can bear this in mind.
I am looking forward to Jann's class this week.
I am looking forward to Jann's class this week.
Last English Class in MLG - 16th Jun'12
We have decided to call in a quit in My Little Genius (MLG) since IZ is going to start Playgroup on 25th Jun. As the classes conducted are alternate English and Chinese, we had the last English class on Sat.
Both his father and I admit MLG did teach him a lot, although can’t say the same about Chinese class. That, I’ll touch in my future post, about IZ and Chinese.
IZ could follow through instructions in MLG class now; he doesn’t need assistance or guidance from me. He would return materials to teacher and clap his hands. Occasionally he would follow teacher’s actions in song & movement. Bear in mind, all these are done seated on a chair, doing work on a table, with a parent companying behind them.
The one thing he couldn’t sit still was the flashcards section. The most he could concentrate was 2-3 topics and he would start to wander around the class.
The skeptical feeling on how he could sit still entire class diminished. He has been able to sit on some days and not on some. Well, he is only 18 months old afterall, I do not expect him to be seated there like a piece of stone. Then, he would really be missing his childhood.
PS: Do you realize I do not have any pictures of MLG classes since we registered? I was told no photography is allowed. Haha.. I was lucky to be able to snap some when we went for trial earlier on.
My Little Genius @ Upp Serangoon Road
I first brought IZ to MLG for trial classes when he was about 8 months old. Back then, he was learning how to crawl. The activities, at that point of time, were pretty exhausting (for me), as he was not capable of doing anything, except placing everything and anything into his mouth and there were only 2 students in a class, kind of defeated the purpose of sending him to classes for social skills. Although I should have been more appreciative coz he was not as mobile as he is now!
 |
| MLG's 1st Trial |
I didn’t sign us into the program then, coz I thought he would not be able to benefit from it.
It wasn’t until almost 11 months old that I finally wanted to get him into some class, to mix with other kids to minimize “one child syndrome” again. This syndrome is always at the back of my head.
We registered with Baby Jumper Gym (BJG) in Kembangan. If you Google about it, you’ll notice they are no longer there. Anyway, experience in BJG will be something I shall share next time, this post is about MLG.
To cut story short, I finally convinced hubby to register with MLG January this year. We signed for one term, and then continued for another term as we saw positive result.
 |
| Putting everything into his mouth phase |
 |
| Mesmerized |
 |
| Chinese lesson - dragon boat |
 |
| Learning to crawl |
Thursday, 14 June 2012
Lesson A for Apple - 14th Jun'12
I was a little anxious to start our lesson, thinking if he is to learn an alphabet every 2 weeks; it would take him a year to learn A to Z!
So I started the lesson, half expecting him to run away the moment I ask him to sit down.
Surprisingly, when I started to sing our greeting song, he was mesmerized, especially by the actions I did! Jann’s right! He watched me till finished, and gave me a round of applause. **beaming**
Then I guided his hand to trace the upper case A and lower case a just like in My Little Genius’ class. I have not prepared any feely card to be honest. I hope this could be covered in CS Mont when he starts there end of the month. **wink wink**
 |
| Tracing the letter |
Then I asked him to take out items from the reusable bag. A little unfortunate the bag is a little too deep for his little hands to reach (I made a mental note to change the bag for next lesson), he took out items I placed inside and was all excited! And he had no problem when I asked him to put the items back into the bag. He was playing along with the lesson! **happy** Happier as he could say APPLE.
 |
| A for apple (green & red), asparagus & aeroplane |
As he got a little tired (woke up from nap since 2.30pm), I had to quickly end the lesson.
I introduced the apple craft Jann prepared for us. He liked the craft, but insisted on using the glue stick himself. He had difficulty pasting the red on the apple initially as the reds sticked on his little fingers, but he got the hang of it in the end. I finished up pasting for him, coloured the stem and leaf, taught him how to spell APPLE while I wrote it at the back. I gave him a STAR stamp on his work as compliment and asked him to paste on the wall together with me, reciting APPLE. **beaming again**
 |
| His APPLE craft |
 |
| STAR reward and APPLE on the back |
 |
| APPLE craft pasted on the wall with his past MLG work |
Then, to end today’s lesson, I showed him The Ants Go Marching video and did the actions (without the ants) but he was only interested in the ants on the screen. **sulking**
I reckoned today’s lesson as merely passed, but hey, that was a brand new lernen-reise for both of us!
Mommy's Lernen-Reise
I came across a BP thread in Motherhood forum, on phonics class conducted by a SAHM (stay at home mom) some time end of last year when he just turned one year old. Jann told me the class she conducted is more appropriate for 2+ and above, but some portion of the teaching can still be learnt by younger ones.
I was not exactly sure when I developed this eager-to-home-teach feeling, but the desire got stronger and stronger that I finally enquired on slot availability somewhere March this year. The earliest Jann was available was in Jun.
For the past 2 Saturdays, I have been a very hardworking student. I came home with saturated brain, full of inspirations and ideas on how to guide him better in learning. I can’t wait to complete all the 6 classes.
The lesson plan in Jann shares is basically pretty standard, for all the lessons from A to Z:
Greeting Song
Introduce Letter (show feely card, trace and say)
Introduce Phonics (listen and do action)
Introduce Letter items (pull out from a bag)
Show words that start with the letter
Prompt and spell the word
Song & Movement
Craft 1
Craft 2
Summary
Closing Song
It was shared that different kids have different concentration span, and I honestly do not expect him to be able to sit throughout all the activities.
He could learn phonics only after he learnt all his ABCs anyway, thus I decided to change Jann’s lesson plan a little to cater to this 18 months old.
Secret: I was assured that Jann has got recognition from a blog Learn the Fun Way. The mother shared how she conducted her classes, and I was more inspired!
The start of his lernen-reise..
In case you are wondering, "lernen-reise" is "learning journey" in German. This blog is specially created to pen down his learning journey.
I’ve always remember the saying about newborns are like a piece of white cloth, and it’s really important the parents to take on the role to paint on them, as colourful, as beautiful, as meaningful it could be. Such heavy responsibility falls on us.
Being brought up in a conservative family, my mother has always taught us that education is important, and that we should go to university to secure good jobs etc. She is not wrong, but perhaps this mentality doesn’t work well nowadays.
The first word he uttered when he was 7 months old, was “bear”. We thought he has the ability to speak early.
Second word was “ma” when he was 8 months old, his grandmother was very happy.
Third word was “pa” when he was 9 months old, his father was very happy.
He finally meant calling me “mama” when he was 13 months old, I was very happy.
And then he stopped saying anything new. Everything else was “pa pa pa pa” or “ma ma ma ma”. His father got worried. While some of the kids his age could already recite ABC, he was still limited to the few words.
He has just turned 18 months barely 2 weeks ago. Turning 18 months marks a remarkable milestone in his life; he’ll be going to a playgroup soon.
Just a month ago, after his father’s numerous rounds of worried remarks, suddenly he was on what my friend joked “words spurt”.
He could say bird, dog, cat, and even more than one syllable word like circle, butterfly, rabbit, nana (for banana). His father is now beaming; at last, our dear son has did it.
Yesterday evening, I brought him down for a stroll in his tricycle. On the way back, we saw a dead snail. I took the opportunity to show him how a real snail looks like. He was very excited, almost got out of the tricycle himself. He touched the snail and uttered snail, repeating after me. I am thankful of this opportunity.
Back home, we had durian, and he had fun playing with the thorns on the shell and learned the word “durian” again.
I am thankful for being given a chance to paint this piece of little white cloth, hopefully his learning journey will be filled with wonderful, beautiful and meaningful experience.
Let’s walk with me, in this beautiful learning journey.
I’ve always remember the saying about newborns are like a piece of white cloth, and it’s really important the parents to take on the role to paint on them, as colourful, as beautiful, as meaningful it could be. Such heavy responsibility falls on us.
Being brought up in a conservative family, my mother has always taught us that education is important, and that we should go to university to secure good jobs etc. She is not wrong, but perhaps this mentality doesn’t work well nowadays.
The first word he uttered when he was 7 months old, was “bear”. We thought he has the ability to speak early.
Second word was “ma” when he was 8 months old, his grandmother was very happy.
Third word was “pa” when he was 9 months old, his father was very happy.
He finally meant calling me “mama” when he was 13 months old, I was very happy.
And then he stopped saying anything new. Everything else was “pa pa pa pa” or “ma ma ma ma”. His father got worried. While some of the kids his age could already recite ABC, he was still limited to the few words.
He has just turned 18 months barely 2 weeks ago. Turning 18 months marks a remarkable milestone in his life; he’ll be going to a playgroup soon.
Just a month ago, after his father’s numerous rounds of worried remarks, suddenly he was on what my friend joked “words spurt”.
He could say bird, dog, cat, and even more than one syllable word like circle, butterfly, rabbit, nana (for banana). His father is now beaming; at last, our dear son has did it.
Yesterday evening, I brought him down for a stroll in his tricycle. On the way back, we saw a dead snail. I took the opportunity to show him how a real snail looks like. He was very excited, almost got out of the tricycle himself. He touched the snail and uttered snail, repeating after me. I am thankful of this opportunity.
 |
| Curious |
Back home, we had durian, and he had fun playing with the thorns on the shell and learned the word “durian” again.
 |
| Ouch! But it's fun! |
Let’s walk with me, in this beautiful learning journey.
Wednesday, 14 March 2012
We are proud..
Issac is 15.5mo now.
I am still thanking God and counting my blessing every single day, for blessing us with such a wonderful child. He may be cheeky, he may be naughty, he may be too active, he may move non-stop, he may be slow in uttering any, but he is our precious.
I wouldn’t want to list what he can or cannot do at this milestone to give him pressure, but I need to jot it down somewhere to reminisce shall my memory start failing soon.
But we were pretty impressed when he could recognize Buddha statues or any statue or figures related to our religion. Then, his hands will clasp together, gesture the bai-bai aka praying. I intend to send him to Sunday school to learn Dhamma and values, but Dhamma classes will not be opened for young toddlers, probably after 4 years old.
He showed a lot of progress recently. He could place similar puzzles onto each other, try to stack, say “step” and lookout for step carefully, sit down and try to take off his sandals when you tell him “take off your sandals first, Issac”, will nod his head when you ask him he wants more, will point to his head when you ask, occasionally mix up nose and eyes and mouth, will pull your hands to take whatever he wants, either open door or take his toys box or things that are difficult to reach, he would also hum and clap to some of the rhymes we play in the car.
In MLG class, he could follow teacher’s simple instruction, like take a piece of feather and blow, or feed the animals. He says “dog” when he sees one and “duck” when he sees anything with a beak, that including birds and ducks. Hahaha.. and both dog and duck actually sound the same from his mouth. Nevertheless, I am happy as he didn’t call anything with 4 legs a “dog” or anything with 2 legs a “duck”.
In music class, he loves to play the wooden instruments, or anything that make nice and soothing sound. Recently he learned how to march and jump, so he will dance and march and jump in the class, to the music and all. Past 2 lessons, teacher guided him on the piano, I could see he loves it coz he didn’t pull his hands back. Usually he refused to be hugged by anyone, but last weekend, he caught everybody by surprise, by hugging everyone including the teacher, Keith gor-gor and his dad.
He loves drawing using marker, crayon, pen and anything that can leave a trace behind. Probably the next in the to-buy list is an easel for him to learn and draw. That will have to wait till he goes to school and we shall see where his interest is heading to.
For now, we bought the study desk and chair. He loves to act like a big boy, bring a chair, sit on it, take a marker and look for a piece of paper to draw. He is learning very fast, we have to make full use of his current potential lest more difficult to cultivate him in the future when he has his own point of view.
I am looking forward to the days when we can sit down together and have some fun learning. :-)
I am still thanking God and counting my blessing every single day, for blessing us with such a wonderful child. He may be cheeky, he may be naughty, he may be too active, he may move non-stop, he may be slow in uttering any, but he is our precious.
I wouldn’t want to list what he can or cannot do at this milestone to give him pressure, but I need to jot it down somewhere to reminisce shall my memory start failing soon.
But we were pretty impressed when he could recognize Buddha statues or any statue or figures related to our religion. Then, his hands will clasp together, gesture the bai-bai aka praying. I intend to send him to Sunday school to learn Dhamma and values, but Dhamma classes will not be opened for young toddlers, probably after 4 years old.
He showed a lot of progress recently. He could place similar puzzles onto each other, try to stack, say “step” and lookout for step carefully, sit down and try to take off his sandals when you tell him “take off your sandals first, Issac”, will nod his head when you ask him he wants more, will point to his head when you ask, occasionally mix up nose and eyes and mouth, will pull your hands to take whatever he wants, either open door or take his toys box or things that are difficult to reach, he would also hum and clap to some of the rhymes we play in the car.
In MLG class, he could follow teacher’s simple instruction, like take a piece of feather and blow, or feed the animals. He says “dog” when he sees one and “duck” when he sees anything with a beak, that including birds and ducks. Hahaha.. and both dog and duck actually sound the same from his mouth. Nevertheless, I am happy as he didn’t call anything with 4 legs a “dog” or anything with 2 legs a “duck”.
In music class, he loves to play the wooden instruments, or anything that make nice and soothing sound. Recently he learned how to march and jump, so he will dance and march and jump in the class, to the music and all. Past 2 lessons, teacher guided him on the piano, I could see he loves it coz he didn’t pull his hands back. Usually he refused to be hugged by anyone, but last weekend, he caught everybody by surprise, by hugging everyone including the teacher, Keith gor-gor and his dad.
He loves drawing using marker, crayon, pen and anything that can leave a trace behind. Probably the next in the to-buy list is an easel for him to learn and draw. That will have to wait till he goes to school and we shall see where his interest is heading to.
For now, we bought the study desk and chair. He loves to act like a big boy, bring a chair, sit on it, take a marker and look for a piece of paper to draw. He is learning very fast, we have to make full use of his current potential lest more difficult to cultivate him in the future when he has his own point of view.
I am looking forward to the days when we can sit down together and have some fun learning. :-)
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
Issac Turns 1!
13th Dec’11
I decided to start posting here on Issac’s development. In case my memory fails on me when I aged. It is already not good to start with.
This morning when hubby and I were all changed for work, Issac came to my feet and tugged my skirt, wanted to be carried. I lifted him up, and he waved bye to helper. Hahahaha… he was so cute! He thought we were going out!
He hung on to me, only to grab me harder when helper tried to pull him away. He protested and started screaming, had to insist that we are going to work and not out gaigai, and I kissed him bye and left without looking back.
Separation anxiety attacked me again. I really wonder if I could live with separation anxiety when it’s time to send him to school in 6 months or less. Such a useless mother I am.
Talking about school, just when we thought we have decided to send him to MMI Kovan, a friend told us that she heard some kids couldn’t adapt to the conventional teaching when they enter Primary school.
Hubby and I have a lot to consider!
Issac’s 1st Birthday Celebration
It has been some time since I last posted. The year went so eventful that I hardly had the time to sit down to do some readings on my own, what to say blogging.
Issac officially turned 1 on 3rd Dec’11.
We had a simple celebration in a very cosy café called With A Pinch of Salt. We invited close family and friends to join in the celebration. Birthday boy was at the peak of strangers anxiety, he hung on to us, refused to be carried by any other people.
At the end of it, hubby planted a kiss on my lips and says “well done, dear”.
Hope Issac grows up a healthy and happy boy.
I decided to start posting here on Issac’s development. In case my memory fails on me when I aged. It is already not good to start with.
This morning when hubby and I were all changed for work, Issac came to my feet and tugged my skirt, wanted to be carried. I lifted him up, and he waved bye to helper. Hahahaha… he was so cute! He thought we were going out!
He hung on to me, only to grab me harder when helper tried to pull him away. He protested and started screaming, had to insist that we are going to work and not out gaigai, and I kissed him bye and left without looking back.
Separation anxiety attacked me again. I really wonder if I could live with separation anxiety when it’s time to send him to school in 6 months or less. Such a useless mother I am.
Talking about school, just when we thought we have decided to send him to MMI Kovan, a friend told us that she heard some kids couldn’t adapt to the conventional teaching when they enter Primary school.
Hubby and I have a lot to consider!
Issac’s 1st Birthday Celebration
It has been some time since I last posted. The year went so eventful that I hardly had the time to sit down to do some readings on my own, what to say blogging.
Issac officially turned 1 on 3rd Dec’11.
We had a simple celebration in a very cosy café called With A Pinch of Salt. We invited close family and friends to join in the celebration. Birthday boy was at the peak of strangers anxiety, he hung on to us, refused to be carried by any other people.
At the end of it, hubby planted a kiss on my lips and says “well done, dear”.
Hope Issac grows up a healthy and happy boy.
Friday, 17 December 2010
Post Delivery
10th Dec'2010:
My mum came from KL the nite before. We picked her from bro's place before heading to TMC to visit zaizai and also gynae appt. On the way to pick her, I called TMC nursery to arrange for breastfeeding, as in, ask them not to feed him first, wait for me. I was told by the nurse that Baby Chow could be discharged. I was so over the moon, "really? that's really great news!" I exclaimed.
Then I got all excited, and worried. Damn.. I disassembled his cot the nite before, coz I was so upset, I even thought some soul or spirit were lying on his cot, so comfortable that it doesn't want zaizai to be home. And I prayed to KuanYin that I will go pray to her and eat vege for 3 days after confinement if zaizai is discharged. Prayers came true. :-)
Nurse pushed zaizai to us, I couldn't help grinning from ear to ear. :-D And we were really told that they were waiting for Dr. Anthony's instruction to discharge him that day. :-) :-) So, we played with him for a while, and then bro went to work, we went for gynae appt.
Was so anxious coz Dr. Anthony normally calls at 9-ish to inform of zaizai's status, but it was 10-ish, but no news from him. Then I saw his missed call, asked hubby to return the call. At first he was reluctant, but I insisted while I went in to get my dressing changed.
I lose 6.8kg the first week! Voila! Was so happy.. and the wound was healing nicely, they showed me using a mirror. Gynae asked if I have been pumping bm while waiting for zaizai to be discharged, I say yes.. and she asked me how much now.. I told her about 100ml.. she says "good cow!" hahahaha... Next appt will be in a week time...
11am: Went out to hubby and mum, hubby says Dr. Anthony approved zaizai's discharge and we have to get the procedure done! Yippie! So we went back to the nursery and asked for the procedure. Apparently discharge documents could be ready only at 12pm... So we told them that we'll be back at 12pm...
And so hubby brought us to KuanYin temple to pray. Unfortunately, mum says, I can't pray in the temple coz I have just delivered a baby, I could only pray from the outside. So, I told KuanYin that I'll bring zaizai to pray to her when I completed my confinement, and I will eat vege 3 days. :-) :-)
I also called home to helper and MIL to clean our room once again to ensure cleanliness before bringing zaizai back. Hubby also cleaned the baby car seat once again to ensure no dust.
Back to hospital at about 12pm, hubby got the discharge procedure and payment done. Then zaizai was released to us, at 2.995kg, hubby settled bill with gynae and we were on the way home.
Put zaizai on the car seat, and he didn't fuss! Though a bit too straight up, he slept throughout the journey, and hubby was driving like a tortoise.. :-D
Felt so good having zaizai at home.. I didn't mind the sleepless nite.. no confinement lady, we had to do everything by ourselves.. :-) :-)
Zaizai will cry when he wets his diaper, and I will latch him once we changed for him. Every 1.5 hrs to 2 hrs.. it's such a bliss to be able to breastfeed him.. :-) Luckily it is over the weekend, thus, hubby can lend a helping hand too. Poor hubby deprieved of sleep when he goes to work everyday.
13th Dec'2010:
Zaizai's first PD's appointment is with Dr. Keoy as Dr. Anthoy is away for 2 weeks vacation. Helper and I put him in the stroller when we reached Novena Medical Centre. He didn't fuss too! Good beginning! Everything with him is fine, weight is 3.21kg. Jaundice only at the face, and Dr. Keoy says jaundice will subside in 2-3 weeks time, god bless us. Gave us some cord powder to dry up his umbilical cord, and we headed home directly.
15th Dec'2010:
CL came today. And I felt so upset with her and her talking.. so much so I cried. But hubby came back from work, and we discussed, he asked me to give her another chance so I can get to eat some tonic. No choice, hubby has been insisting to get this help. Now, we are overloaded with helpers at home.
Good thing about having her here is I do not have to change zaizai's diaper, just pass to her, and she'll do the rest. Some time down the road, I will have to teach our helper how to do it too. So I can go out for my facial and shopping for CNY.
Hubby got the list of names from the geomancer, and after much of discussions and considerations on the pronunciations and meanings of the names, we finally decided on Issac Teo Kai Hong. Hubby likes Kai Hong, and I like I-Z, but hubby was the one who chose I-Z with a double S instead of the common I-Z with a double A, Isaac. :-) And we worked through the night to fill up the birth registration form and also the baby bonus.
16th Dec'2010:
Hubby dropped me at TMC at 8.30am as the counter opens at 8.30am. Got a Q number, the 2nd in line, and the birth registration completed within 15 mins! Then I settled the baby bonus application. As we chose Stand Chart as the bank, we could pass the forms to TMC instead. :-) :-) Super efficient system I can say.
Zaizai's name is officially Issac Teo Kai Hong! Many many happiness.. :-)
Waited so many hours to see gynae at 11.30am, I decided to go to the clinic earlier to try my luck. Gynae says wound has healed properly and that I do not look like post-op. Hehehe.. I forgot to praise her skills.. :-P And so the next appointment will be a month later, for pap smear. Was given a pc of silicone gel to paste onto my wound to avoid keloids. Ya, I guess I need that as my skin is not so good... :-)
My mum came from KL the nite before. We picked her from bro's place before heading to TMC to visit zaizai and also gynae appt. On the way to pick her, I called TMC nursery to arrange for breastfeeding, as in, ask them not to feed him first, wait for me. I was told by the nurse that Baby Chow could be discharged. I was so over the moon, "really? that's really great news!" I exclaimed.
Then I got all excited, and worried. Damn.. I disassembled his cot the nite before, coz I was so upset, I even thought some soul or spirit were lying on his cot, so comfortable that it doesn't want zaizai to be home. And I prayed to KuanYin that I will go pray to her and eat vege for 3 days after confinement if zaizai is discharged. Prayers came true. :-)
Nurse pushed zaizai to us, I couldn't help grinning from ear to ear. :-D And we were really told that they were waiting for Dr. Anthony's instruction to discharge him that day. :-) :-) So, we played with him for a while, and then bro went to work, we went for gynae appt.
Was so anxious coz Dr. Anthony normally calls at 9-ish to inform of zaizai's status, but it was 10-ish, but no news from him. Then I saw his missed call, asked hubby to return the call. At first he was reluctant, but I insisted while I went in to get my dressing changed.
I lose 6.8kg the first week! Voila! Was so happy.. and the wound was healing nicely, they showed me using a mirror. Gynae asked if I have been pumping bm while waiting for zaizai to be discharged, I say yes.. and she asked me how much now.. I told her about 100ml.. she says "good cow!" hahahaha... Next appt will be in a week time...
11am: Went out to hubby and mum, hubby says Dr. Anthony approved zaizai's discharge and we have to get the procedure done! Yippie! So we went back to the nursery and asked for the procedure. Apparently discharge documents could be ready only at 12pm... So we told them that we'll be back at 12pm...
And so hubby brought us to KuanYin temple to pray. Unfortunately, mum says, I can't pray in the temple coz I have just delivered a baby, I could only pray from the outside. So, I told KuanYin that I'll bring zaizai to pray to her when I completed my confinement, and I will eat vege 3 days. :-) :-)
I also called home to helper and MIL to clean our room once again to ensure cleanliness before bringing zaizai back. Hubby also cleaned the baby car seat once again to ensure no dust.
Back to hospital at about 12pm, hubby got the discharge procedure and payment done. Then zaizai was released to us, at 2.995kg, hubby settled bill with gynae and we were on the way home.
Put zaizai on the car seat, and he didn't fuss! Though a bit too straight up, he slept throughout the journey, and hubby was driving like a tortoise.. :-D
Felt so good having zaizai at home.. I didn't mind the sleepless nite.. no confinement lady, we had to do everything by ourselves.. :-) :-)
Zaizai will cry when he wets his diaper, and I will latch him once we changed for him. Every 1.5 hrs to 2 hrs.. it's such a bliss to be able to breastfeed him.. :-) Luckily it is over the weekend, thus, hubby can lend a helping hand too. Poor hubby deprieved of sleep when he goes to work everyday.
13th Dec'2010:
Zaizai's first PD's appointment is with Dr. Keoy as Dr. Anthoy is away for 2 weeks vacation. Helper and I put him in the stroller when we reached Novena Medical Centre. He didn't fuss too! Good beginning! Everything with him is fine, weight is 3.21kg. Jaundice only at the face, and Dr. Keoy says jaundice will subside in 2-3 weeks time, god bless us. Gave us some cord powder to dry up his umbilical cord, and we headed home directly.
15th Dec'2010:
CL came today. And I felt so upset with her and her talking.. so much so I cried. But hubby came back from work, and we discussed, he asked me to give her another chance so I can get to eat some tonic. No choice, hubby has been insisting to get this help. Now, we are overloaded with helpers at home.
Good thing about having her here is I do not have to change zaizai's diaper, just pass to her, and she'll do the rest. Some time down the road, I will have to teach our helper how to do it too. So I can go out for my facial and shopping for CNY.
Hubby got the list of names from the geomancer, and after much of discussions and considerations on the pronunciations and meanings of the names, we finally decided on Issac Teo Kai Hong. Hubby likes Kai Hong, and I like I-Z, but hubby was the one who chose I-Z with a double S instead of the common I-Z with a double A, Isaac. :-) And we worked through the night to fill up the birth registration form and also the baby bonus.
16th Dec'2010:
Hubby dropped me at TMC at 8.30am as the counter opens at 8.30am. Got a Q number, the 2nd in line, and the birth registration completed within 15 mins! Then I settled the baby bonus application. As we chose Stand Chart as the bank, we could pass the forms to TMC instead. :-) :-) Super efficient system I can say.
Zaizai's name is officially Issac Teo Kai Hong! Many many happiness.. :-)
Waited so many hours to see gynae at 11.30am, I decided to go to the clinic earlier to try my luck. Gynae says wound has healed properly and that I do not look like post-op. Hehehe.. I forgot to praise her skills.. :-P And so the next appointment will be a month later, for pap smear. Was given a pc of silicone gel to paste onto my wound to avoid keloids. Ya, I guess I need that as my skin is not so good... :-)
Thursday, 9 December 2010
Zaizai's birth story
Thought of writing what I can remember for now while waiting for zaizai to be discharged from hospital. Guess I will not have much time when he comes home.. :-)
2nd Dec 2010:
am: Received call from Dr Yvonne's clinic that NIL by mouth at 9am, coz c-sect scheduled to be at 3pm. I asked her why not 2pm, she says gynae has got another operation before that. :-( 11am to 3pm is good time, but not after 3pm.. but hubby said "no choice"..
pm: Received text message from TMC to remind that operation is scheduled the next day at 3pm, to pre-admit 3 hours before operation. So high-tech..
Birth story - 3rd Dec 2010
8.00am: Started NIL by mouth
10.10am: We turned up at Dr Yvonne's clinic for CTG
10.40am: Done with CTG and told to be pre-admitted with all the documents
11.30am: One bedder is full, thus we were admitted straight to labour ward, into Observation Room 3, given gown to change into, no panty, no bra allowed. Asked me to pass urine, didn't have much, thus asked to pass later.
11.45am: Hubby went to get car to be parked in TMC instead of HDB and had his lunch. I have been complaining about being hungry since an hour or so ago!
12.00pm: Blackout! The mummy in next bed was grumbling about middle of jab and her jab wound is not even plastered! Duhz... Was thinking, they should have some back-up in OT hoh, otherwise, midst of operation, then how?
12.15pm: Staff nurse complete all documents and signing, etc and says how can we be so relax like going on holiday, not gan cheong at all.. what to gan cheong about since I won't experience labour pain? Duhz..
1.30pm: Given enzema to clear bowels, and asked to keep them in for 10 mins.. cannot! they were like squeezing out, and I didn't want to make a mess there, so I asked "if cannot stand how? can I go and release?" Nurse says, "can stand one la.. but if really cannot then go lor".. I tried for 5 more seconds, really cannot.. ran to the toilet, and just in-time to release! Duhz! What a relief! Really salute those who can stand for 10 full mins.
2.30pm: Suddenly a stretcher is brought over by an Indian lady and the nurse says "ok ok, time to go OT".. I was like.. "er.. can I go to the loo first?".. then pass urine for one more time.. I was asked to go up the stretcher.. I wondered why.. "why need to push me? I can walk there myself" and the nurse says "NO!!" and so hubby followed behind me and he was asked to pass our bags to the counter, I reminded him about the camera and he quickly got it before too late.. duhz.. this hubby!
2.40pm: Dr. Loh, the anaesthesia introduced herself. She explained the epidural procedure, exactly like what described in the books, and that she'll put a drip prep on my left wrist, in case emergency during operation. She also took 25ml of my blood for the cord blood donation, god, it took so long to get that 25ml, till my left hand was so numb "pumping"...
2.50pm: Hubby changed into "jumpsuit" and wears hair net. Asked him to take pic of me. :-D
2.55pm: The lady before us pushed out, not concious, and the baby cot pushed out but covered with green cloth. I am not sure why, but it felt creepy then. Did the lady lose her baby? Coz just when we came in, they were saying there's complication? I can't be too sure either.
3.00pm: I guess this was the time I was pushed into the OT, without hubby. They said hubby will be called when gynae is about to operate. Saw gynae sitting at a corner looking at the process. I was transfered from the stretcher to the operation bed, top with 2 big head lights like in tv. Then I was asked to curl like a prawn to administer the epidural and was told I'll feel numb from tummy to legs. Exactly, I felt my legs just got heavier and no feeling then. They helped me to lie straight and put in urine catheter, I could feel nothing! Then gynae walked over and they were saying call hubby in, call hubby in. And they put the operation screen right in front of my tummy. Hubby came in looking straight into my eyes, dare not look beyond the operation screen. Hahaha.. and sat beside me talking to me. Gynae asked if I could feel what she was doing, I said no.. and then felt some tugging and pulling, and more tugging and pulling that I started to frown. Hubby asked if it's painful, I said not really painful, but it was harsh! Then Dr Loh helped to push from my side of operation screen! With a few push more, zaizai was out. Gynae says "good choice to do caesarian, you'll not make it with natural labour".. felt so relieved to hear that.. And so the nurse cleanse zaizai. I asked hubby to take pictures, he refused coz zaizai was still purplish. Then nurse says "ok, want to take pictures?" I insisted hubby to start taking pictures. And after cleansing, and swaddling him, nurse put him on my chest. Gosh, that was a miracle moment. I was wondering who zaizai looks like. For few mins, I stared at him and hubby took some pics, and then nurse says will do measuring, and asked hubby to follow. Hubby didn't take any pics there... :-( But zaizai is fated with many many THREES!
Born on 3rd Dec 2010
Time: 1522hrs
Weight: 3.33kg
Head circumference: 33cm
Length: 51cm
4.30pm: I was not sure when I fell asleep, but when I was woken by the Indian lady, she was saying "please take a deep breath, your BP is dropping"... and I took a deep breath, losing control over where I was and etc.. and she did it 3 times, coz my BP was dropping.. must have scared the hell out of her..
Then I was pushed to the 2 bedder ward Room No. 621B coz 1 bedder still full. From then, slowly I recovered, with salt and glucose drip. Was so thirsty but will not be given anything till 9pm, MILO! gosh, I was really hoping they will give me a jar of milo instead of a cup. :-(
Hubby came back, bro and SIL came to visit, and then they went for dinner at Delifrance. Then they left as hubby not allowed to stay the nite at 2 bedder ward.
8.50pm: They delivered a jug of plain water and a flask! I asked for warm water and given a straw to suck from.
9.00pm: They served milo! just a cup, ceh!
9++pm: Hubby called to ask how I was doing and if I've got drink.
Later I drifted in and out of sleep. They asked if I want to latch zaizai middle of nite, I said yes, while the mummy beside me said no. So, each time the drip needs to be replenished, and each time zaizai needs to be fed, I will have to wake up.
4++am: I couldn't sleep, I log on to the internet. One of the staff saw and came to wash me up, changed my dressing and changed my pad seeing that I was awake. Replaced the urine catheter as well.
6++am: another staff came to clean my face, body etc..
7++ am: Gynae came and checked on the wound says our own binder not good, she'll get her gal to bring us one. She also warned me not to be too active coz I sat up without the bed assistance. Gynae asked if I want toast for breakfast or crackers. I said I want toast. So, gynae gave instruction to the senior nurse to give me toast for breakfast, porridge for lunch and mee sua for dinner. The sound of the food made me felt havenly already.
7+++am: Hubby called to ask how I was doing.
10++am: Hubby came with MIL and helper while I was breastfeeding zaizai.
11++am: Hubby sent MIL and helper home. I got 2 nurses to help check if 1 bedder is already available. Nurse came to remove catheter.
12++pm: Hubby came back, but no news about 1 bedder. Hubby went for lunch while I get nurse's assistance to go toilet to pass urine for the first time.
2++pm: Finally got our 1 bedder, Room 635. Felt much more comfortable, and hubby could stay the nite!
Continued to breastfeed zaizai.. every 3 hourly.. hubby did the counting, I lose count..
5th Dec'10:
Morning: Dr. Chee came to inform us that zaizai is generally OK except for being G6PD deficiency. He asked who has the history. I said me, coz my bro is one. And zaizai's blood group is A, followed the dad's.
Evening: Nurse says zaizai has slight jaundice, will see what Dr Chee says the next morning.
6th Dec'10:
Morning: Dr. Chee came and informed he took blood from zaizai for testing. Result will be out by 11pm.
10.00am: Nurse came to inform that zaizai needs to undergo phototherapy about 12pt. Dangerous level is 20pt. But due to he is G6PD deficiency, he has to be closely monitored not to overshot.
7th Dec'10:
Morning: Dr. Chee informed that top and bottom phototherapy works to bring down jaundice to 9.4pts. Will do top only light and monitor.
8th Dec'10:
Morning: Dr. Chee informed that top only light should bring down jaundice level for normal case, but zaizai remained at 9.6pts. Although 0.2 increase is not significant, it has to be monitored closely for zaizai's case.
9th Dec'10:
Morning: Dr. Chee informed that jaundice increase by another 0.1pt, to 9.7pts. Couldn't bear the stress, I broke down over the phone. Wonder if Dr. Chee realised. He said he'll be away for 2 weeks, but his colleague will monitor and update daily as usual.
Really wish zaizai to be home. I don't mind sleepless nights, I will never complained about sleepless nights, all I want is zaizai to be home to his mommy.