1st Workout

mummy and daddy brought Zethan to Little Gym at Marina Square on sunday together with a few Jan mummies; Ophelia, Ange, Sue Lin to name a few. A pity only managed to take a photo with little Caleb who shared the same hatchday.

started off pretty well and Zethan showed interest in the music and movement activities as well as the different form of activities on motor skill, eye hand coordination etc. Zethan was picked for a demo which caught mummy by surprise and fortunately did not scare Zethan. Placed on the feet, adult roll back and flipped baby seated to the back. Mummy daringly attempt once as well!

enjoy himself with all the actions such as swimming, butterfly flapping, mummy carrying him running around, Zethan 'jumping' up and down.
so far so good untill a second demo which must have startled him sending him into a super cranky mood. mummy heart skipped a beat again.

for the rest of the activities, Zethan refused to be seated and 'sang' along showing his displeasure that it.
pacifier to the rescue, at least enjoyed the last bit of the class once again.
bubbles time, apparently Zethan did not focused / vision followed one bubble as supposed to be, he is looking everywhere.

winding down and it's time to say goodbye with the goodbye song.

guess mummy had a much more intense workout (oso read as much needed) than Zethan. Didn't managed to take a family photo since full month till now, will make a mental note to do so next week at Gymboree, hopefully.

Apple Puree

Mummy bought organic Fuji apples, core, steamed, de-skin and puree (not too smooth for a different texture). 6 apples produce about 4 baby cubes (70ml) and 3 ice cubes (about 40ml)

Yesterday Zethan had his 1st tasting session of the apple puree. Apparently Zethan did not enjoy it despite the puree tasting sweet and show rejection (vomiting actions) after a few spoonful which is fine, it might took repeated tries for him to like it.

p/s ~ yesterday is also the 1st time Zethan had a stroll with mummy and daddy in his stroller to the nearby mall for dinner. He is very curious (can also be read as suaku aka mountain tortoise) and busied himself looking and observing along the way. Funny as it sound, it is indeed the 1st time not going in a car.

Puree

Happy 6th month-sary to darling Zethan.

Zethan turn 6 months old today and finally daddy agreed to bring him for an outing without giving tons of excuses every weekend. Initial plan is to make a trip to either Botanical Garden or Marina Barrage as Zethan have not been close to nature as yet. Decide otherwise since these 2 days the quality of air isn't good and the haze is here. Will shelf off this plan till further notice then, hopefully not for long.

Lunch at IMM yes like again as mummy wanted to make a trip to FOX for the unresistable sales of up to 50+20% and of course shopping for Zethan's apparel. Zethan is very well behaved today as though he is aware it's his 6th month 'hatchday'. He was all cheerful and smiley without melting down, remain in his infant seat for more than 5 hours. He enjoy himself lots entertaining himself with people watching and refused to take a wink despite being really tired.

Cheapskate mummy went for the Mamil Gold exchange promotion whereby with a used empty tin of follow on formula, purchase Mamil Gold 2 and get another free. Mummy is initially skeptical is she might be successful and she is surprised to know that the response isn't very good.

Next will be quick lunch and off to FOX. Now the outlet isn't very baby friendly as they have lined up the pathway with display racks and it was so tough to manouver around. Anyhow left the place with a pair of pants and 2 pcs of long sleeve pullovers.

Now back to the intended post on Zethan's 1st puree attempt. Mummy went in search of organic butternut squash for close to 1 week (Jasons, Cold Storage, organic shops) but in vain. She managed to get it at Sunny Choice located at Railway Mall and was glad that they have quite abit of fresh produce and isn't too far off in terms of travelling distance.

From a whole butternut squash, they cut it accordingly to one's preference and required amount. Mummy bought half which should suffice since she is uncertain if Zethan will like it thus it isn't wise to puree in large quanities.

Mummy wash the butternut squash and scoop out the seeds cutting into slightly smaller pieces to be steamed. After steaming for about 15mins, it was left to be cool slightly before extracting the flesh and puree with handblender.

The end result is rather smooth and creamy and Zethan finish 1 tablespoon. Mummy think that Zethan enjoys it since he is waiting anxiously for next spoonful after the 1st though he show funny face after tasting it at first. Guess it's just a new texture and taste for him thus the funny face. In fact mummy like it too cos it taste sweet.

So for the next 4 days, Zethan shall have butternut squash for his dinner. Think he will enjoy it.

Final Jab

Yesterday Zethan went for his last vaccination of 6in1 or at least the last dose not taking the booster does in consideration.

Clinic wasn't that crowded thus the wait wasn't a very long one, say about 10 mins which is great in this current H1N1 situation.

Mummy checked with Dr. Wong if Zethan can be administered as he has just recovered from his flu. Good thing is he's not having fever thus will be able to go ahead otherwise wasted trip.

Started off with the oral vaccine of Rotarix (final dose of 2) and mummy warned Dr. Wong that it might not be an easy feat since Zethan is very cautious of feeding via syringe. To mummy's surprise he is very cooperative and had no trouble or fuss gulping and slurping down the vaccine.

Next will be Infantrix and mummy brought out his pacifier, ready to soothe him. This time it will be at the left thigh (alternate for the 3 jabs). Again Zethan behave out of the ordinary and threw another surprise at mummy with not even a whine! What a brave little guy, well done.

So, all went extremely well without a hitch and no more compulsory jabs untill 15th month for MMR. No fever so far which is a relief since Zethan develop fever for 1st 2 jabs.

Well, mummy most probably will be bringing Zethan for pnuemoccocal when he is 7th mth.

oh, on a side note, mummy is upset that Zethan's weight dropped to 7.6kg again. Not habouring any hope on increase in weight but the least is no more dipping.

Pearlie

BB Zethan sprout his 1st pearlie today or rather grandma spotted it today.

How very exciting, another milestone marked and coincidentally Zethan turns 6 mos in accordance to the lunar calendar!

hope that the sprouting process will be a smoooth one but tough luck as it appear to be giving Zethan discomfort as yesterday out of the blue he refused to feed, as though lose the ability to suckle, must be feeling really painful!

well, guess this is just the beginning cos more to come.

6th Month

* Drafted weeks back but updated and posted on 18 July 2009

how time flies, baby Zethan turn 6 months old (that is almost a week back). Done with his mandatory vaccinations and last weigh at 7.6kg and estimated 67cm tall.

A quick summary of the milestones till date

1. Flipping - back to tummy is peanuts both left and right. Zethan is rather agile and within seconds he's flipped. Tummy to back can be a little tricky as selectively he can do it while at times unable to. Even with obstacles around him (read as pillows and bolsters), somehow he can managed to wriggle out of place to a favorable position to flip.

Changing and diapering is such a challenge which end with his loud cries showing displeasure most if not all the times.New skill mastered, tossing and turning in the sarong before reluactantly drifting to sleep. Zethan managed to flip and turn 360 degrees in the sarong on his own (yes mummy did not get it wrong, 360 degrees before 'arriving' back to his orginal position).

2. Crawling - well not exactly crawling but showing signs of it or should put it as practising. Cute as he is, he does it in the reverse direction. Arch his backside real high but flop and move backwards. With some help / support, he can move forward with a hard push using his legs.

3. Grasping - Zethan is really good at this newly mastered skill of his. Even when hair are tied in a ponytail, somehow he will reach to the back and pulled real hard. Grab hanky which usually go into his mouth and another favourite pastime of his will be to grab mummy's blouse. However mummy tend to note that he is a tad lazy to reach out for things in front of him.

4. Toes grabbing - just one day Zethan realised that he can grabbed his toes when he curled his legs towards him though yet to discover sucking his toes (grandma beg to differ and say he did).

5. Standing - of course not quite possible at this young age but Zethan love to 'stand' while he's being carried and many a times refused to sit down, not to mention being in cradle position which he dread most.

6. Weaning - Zethan master the concept of spoon feeding rather well even at 1st attempt. Loves cereal over milk for certain. Mummy have decided to provide him with organic food to her very best if possible and so far Zethan have tried butternut squash and apple puree. Love the former and hate the latter.

7. Teething - 1st Pearlie (lower right molar) sprout and push through on his 6th mth (lunar calendar) but Zethan appear to be still experiencing the discomfort since the longest time; drooling, ear scratching, biting etc. not quite possible to take a picture of it, push down his lower lips gently and Zethan will stick his tongue out!

8. Babbling - Zethan is definitely going to be a talkative boy, well some say sociable which sound much more pleasant. Coo, scream, giggling and laughing out loud appear to be one of his favourite pastime. He will 'talk' to things he fancy e.g. fan, television program, sarong. Hear 'ma' and 'ba' occasionally when he's protesting during feeds.

Improvements needed in these areas

1. Fine motor skill - lazy to reach out to items unless it's given directly to him.

2. Car Seat - too active to be seated in the car seat but no choice would have to enforce for the sake of safety. Mummy yet to drive alne with Zethan all by herself, would have to try out one of the days perhaps starting with nearby locations, not to be too ambitious.

3. Milk feeds - still fluctuating like the stock exchange but what mummy is hoping is only for Zethan to consume the minimum of 600ml daily. Just a few days here and there Zethan did not meet so far.

4. Weight - mummy have been longing for Zethan to hit 8kg since 2 months back. She is not having very high expectation but gradual increase is more than sufficient to make her happy.

Never ending

why such a caption? as apparently mummy appear to have a never ending list of 'buys' every month just as it seem that she is almost done with baby stuff but looks like far from it.

whether it is 'needs' or 'wants', up to individual's discretion although so far as daddy is concerned most if not all are mummy's 'wants' and not Zethan's 'needs'!

anyhow mummy is affirmative this is Zethan and mummy's 'NEEDS', confirm, chop and signed!

thanks to Auntie Cindy for her help in purchasing these items at a steal....translating to significant savings for mummy.

Kiasu-ism at work again, stocking up on milk bottles and teats.

Getting all excited to preparing home cooked purees for Zethan however plans are shelved off till next week as BB Zethan still coughs with phelgm. Nevertheless very certain it will be an interesting experience for both mummy and Zethan.

Serving of Tea

Zethan have to had his penis (foreskin pulled back)washed with water once a day for hygiene purpose.

just last saturday, mummy placed him in the cot and washed him. bending down for better 'view' and facilitate cleaning, Zethan pee! shooting directly into mummy's mouth. >.<"

What a blessing. Looks like Zethan can't wait to serve mummy tea!

Cough

finally the 'UTI saga' ended with a successful urine collection and results are normal!

just when things are looking up with Zethan's feeds resuming back to normal or even better than before after switching formula to Similac, little guy was down with cough.

Started out with 2-3 coughs a day which sould be consider as irritation to the throat untill last sunday when he started coughing more frequently especially at night. Not wanting for the cough to worsen, pd visit again on Mon. Given rhinathol and was told probably viral infection. Took 1st dose in the night and apparently observe cough to worsen.

2nd day - frequency of phlegmy cough increases. Damn clinic not answering call despite 1hr before clinic closure.

3rd day - morning cough badly and puke out thrice milk + phlegm. Called pd and was asked to return for review. Given Singular and Sinupret and hope it clear after 3 days or so. Crossing fingers here.

little guy weighs 7.79kg.