Saturday, July 29, 2006
Whose Toys Are They Anyway? Baby or Daddy?
29-July-2006:
2. Fisher Price Musical Star Cot Mirror
3. Fisher Price Laugh & Learn CD Player
4. Fisher Price Snail Pail Shape Sorter
5. Fisher Price Smartronic Piano
6. Fisher Price Bat & Wobble Ball
7. Fisher Price Musical Star Stacker
Dominic's collection of toys are growing rapidly. SM is always telling me to buy him more toys. SM's favourite brand is Fisher Price. They have a higher resale value, it seems. To date, Dominic has:
1. The Fisher Price Kick & Crawl Ocean Wonders
2. Fisher Price Musical Star Cot Mirror
3. Fisher Price Laugh & Learn CD Player
4. Fisher Price Snail Pail Shape Sorter
5. Fisher Price Smartronic Piano
6. Fisher Price Bat & Wobble Ball
7. Fisher Price Musical Star Stacker
It seems like daddy and mummy played with the toys more often than baby. Dominic gets bored with a toy reaaallly fast. So we would keep some of his toys away and bring them out after a few weeks, and he would think that they are new. :-)
Beach Without Sand??
29-July-2006:
We went to Brighton beach. I had been warned prior to that that Brighton is not a sandy beach, but rather pebbly. But it didn't prepare me for what I saw. For the first time in my life, I saw a beach filled with pebbles ... like those that you'd put in the garden next to a coy pond.
It was Dominic's first time in a beach, but I don't think he enjoyed it at all. The water was too cold and he screamed at the touch of it. I think everything was so strange to him that he kept looking at the ground and there was a worried look on his face. The pebbles ... oh my God ... have you walked along one of those acupuncture stone paths? It was really painful. Even Dominic didn't want to get down onto the ground.
There was a pier that ran a few hundred meters out to sea and at the end of the pier was an amusement park, much like the Genting theme park. It was amazing!Monday, July 24, 2006
Dominic and the Giant Bowl Noodle
24-July-2006:
It was a beautiful weekend and we took a stroll at Greenwich. We had lunch at a Taiwanese restaurant and I was astonished at how huge the portion was. Here's a picture of what SM had. Dominic is in the picture because I wanted to show how small he was compared to that bowl of noodle ... :p It was soup noodle with eggs, crabsticks, prawns, mussels, fishball and vegetables.
And this is what I had and can you believe that I almost finished the whole dish? It was delicious! It was fried 'kuey teow' with roast duck and bean sprouts.
And Dominic only got to look but not eat ...
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Dominic On His Feet
23-July-2006:
Dominic can now stand on his own while supporting himself against something. His favourite spot is by the window sill, probably because the height is appropriate and also because he can look out into the back yard.
Ooops!!
Hahaha!!! That's why this is an interesting milestone for Dominic but it means less free time for SM and I. He demands to stand there all the time.
There are also some video clips of Dominic looking out the window at http://sukye.multiply.com/video.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Dominic On All Fours
20-July-2006:
Only photos today. No text. Too sleepy to write. Dominic has started crawling ... You get the idea.
Only photos today. No text. Too sleepy to write. Dominic has started crawling ... You get the idea.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
World Cup 2006 - The Closing Chapter
19-July-2006:
The 2006 World Cup has ended. It is the end of sleepless nights for some people back home in Malaysia and Singapore. Although the games were playing during "normal" hours here in London, I had the TV turned on most of the time but had never once sat down and watched a match. I would then ask "What's the score?" after the match has ended. And I would watch the match for a minute or two when something interesting was taking place, such as in the final match between France and Italy below, which according to my aunt will be the last thing we all remembered of this wonderful World Cup 2006. :-)
As seen by the Germans:
As seen by the French:
As seen by the Italians:
As seen by the Americans:
As reported by the press:
Monday, July 17, 2006
REALLY Sleep Through The Nite!
17-July-2006:
When Dominic was 1 month old, he was able to sleep through 5 hours straight during the night and I was already thankful for that. He went to bed at 11pm and woke up at 4am for his feed. Gradually, I shifted his bedtime earlier and earlier. By 4 months old, he went to bed at 10pm and woke up at 5am, which was 7 hours of continuous sleep (for me). I thought it was fine until two months later, he was still waking up at 5am. I tried different methods to get him to sleep in later, including putting him to bed later. It was strange because when I put him to bed at 8pm, he woke up at 5am. When I put him to bed at 10pm, he woke up at 5am too! I had no idea what the problem was because he used to wake up at 8-9am when we were back in Malaysia. And so I blamed it on the sun that rises 4-5am everyday.
Finally, I came upon this article below and I thought that if I had no choice but to wake up at 5am every morning, I might as well make my evenings free. And so I started to put Dominic to sleep at 6:30pm. Incredibly, he managed to sleep for 11 hours straight and woke up at 6am.
It has been about 2 weeks now and Dominic goes to sleep at 6:30pm everyday and he wakes up at 6am in the morning. Sometimes he would get up a little bit earlier than that but now he seldoms cries like he used to. He would play in his cot till I wake up at 6am to give him his feed.
Now, I am working on shifting his bedtime one hour later, hoping that he may awaken one hour later in the morning too! I'll let you know how it goes.
When I really think about it, Dominic is only awake for 8 hours in a 24 hour cycle. His schedule is as follows:
6am: morning wake-up
8am - 10am: nap
12pm - 2pm: nap
4pm - 5pm: nap
6:30pm: bedtime
Here's the article which I find quite useful and which inspired me to have my evenings free of Dominic. :-) He a;lso started to fall asleep on his own. It was like everything (well, most things) fell into place.
Early Bedtime Means Better Sleep
By Elizabeth Pantley, Author of The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night
In their efforts to encourage their baby to sleep better, one approach that many parents use is to put their baby to bed later in the evening. They think, “If he’s “really tired” he’ll sleep better, right?” Wrong! This often backfires because Baby becomes overtired, and chronically sleep-deprived.
In the majority of cases, a baby’s biological clock is preset for an early bedtime. When parents work with that time, a baby falls asleep more easily and stays asleep more peacefully. Most babies are primed to go to sleep for the night as early as 6:30 or 7:00 p.m. I often hear about how babies and toddlers have a “melt down” period at the end of the day, when they get fussy, whiny and out of sorts. I suspect that it’s simply a sign of over-tired children longing for sleep.
Early to bed, early to rise?
For babies, early to bed does not mean early to rise! Most babies sleep longer with an earlier bedtime. Many parents are afraid to put their baby to bed so early, thinking that they will then face a 5 a.m. wake up call. But keeping your little one up too late backfires, and more often, a late night is the one followed by that early morning awakening.
For babies, early to bed does not mean early to rise! Most babies sleep longer with an earlier bedtime. Many parents are afraid to put their baby to bed so early, thinking that they will then face a 5 a.m. wake up call. But keeping your little one up too late backfires, and more often, a late night is the one followed by that early morning awakening.
My youngest child, two-year-old Coleton used to go to bed at 9:30, the time when my three older children went to bed, because it was convenient for me. At that time in the evening, it would take him a long time to get settled. I never connected his inability to settle with his late bedtime. When I started putting him to bed at 7:00, he fell asleep much more quickly and slept more soundly.
What About Working Parents?
If you are a working parent, and your evening with your little one begins at 6:30 or 7:00, you may find yourself torn between keeping your baby up for some playtime and getting him right to bed. You may find, though, that when your baby goes to sleep earlier, and sleeps better, he awakens in a pleasant mood, eager to play. Because you have gotten a good night’s sleep, you can consider getting up earlier in the morning and saving some time before work to play with your baby, as an alternative to that late-evening play session. You’ll both enjoy that special morning time. Later, when your baby is consistently sleeping all night, every night, you can move bedtime a little later and judge whether the difference affects your baby’s sleep.
Finding Your Baby’s Best Bedtime
If you are a working parent, and your evening with your little one begins at 6:30 or 7:00, you may find yourself torn between keeping your baby up for some playtime and getting him right to bed. You may find, though, that when your baby goes to sleep earlier, and sleeps better, he awakens in a pleasant mood, eager to play. Because you have gotten a good night’s sleep, you can consider getting up earlier in the morning and saving some time before work to play with your baby, as an alternative to that late-evening play session. You’ll both enjoy that special morning time. Later, when your baby is consistently sleeping all night, every night, you can move bedtime a little later and judge whether the difference affects your baby’s sleep.
Finding Your Baby’s Best Bedtime
It can take some experimentation to find your baby’s best bedtime. If you have been putting your baby to bed too late in the evening, you can approach this adjustment in one of two different ways:
- Adjust your baby’s bedtime to be earlier by fifteen to thirty minutes every two or three nights. Pay attention to how easily your baby falls asleep as well as his awakening time and mood to gauge the effectiveness of the changes until you settle on his best bedtime, or
- Beginning at around 6:30 p.m., watch your baby closely. As soon as he exhibits any signs of tiredness (fussing, losing interest in toys, looking glazed, yawning) put him right to bed, even if his previous bedtime has been 11:00 p.m. When you do this, keep your home quiet and the baby’s room dark so that it resembles his usual environment in the middle of the night. If this bedtime is substantially earlier than usual, your baby may think he’s going down for a nap and awaken after a short snooze. If he does this, respond very quickly so that he doesn’t fully awaken. Follow your usual method for helping him fall back to sleep, such as rocking or nursing; keep the room dark and quiet as you do during the middle of the night.
Here’s what Tammy, mother of seven-month-old Brooklyn had to say about changing her baby’s bedtime, “I had been waiting until 10:00 to put Brooklyn to bed because that’s when I go to sleep. But your suggestion made so much sense that last night I put her down at 8:00. I loved having the evening to spend with my husband. We haven’t spent that much time alone together in months! And the baby actually had a better night’s sleep. I’m happy that all our needs can be met in such a pleasant way.”
It may take a week or more of adjustment to settle into a new bedtime, but once you do, you’ll find that both you and your baby are happier.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Dominic is Feeding Himself!
15-July-2006:
Yesterday, a German friend of SM mentioned that his son is also 6 months old and he's already drinking milk on his own. In fact, he is about 10 days younger than Dominic. And so I started training Dominic to drink on his own too. I propped him up on pillows, put the bottle into his mouth and closed his hands over the bottle. He would let go of his hands and the bottle will fall. It took about 4 - 5 times before he finally got the idea. By the end of the day, when SM came home from work, he was already feeding himself. Another friend mentioned that she wouldn't care when her baby does certain things, as any other man on earth can walk and talk - it wouldn't matter if somebody started walking earlier than others. I told her that it would make my life easier if I taught Dominic to feed himself. He had the capability to do certain things, but I had to show him how. I am pretty sure that if I had taught him to feed himself earlier, he would be able to do it. My life is indeed easier now. Dominic is feeding himself on every feed except the 10pm feed where I wake him up and feed him while he's still half asleep. I still need to be near him when he's drinking because sometimes he would become uninterested, drop the bottle and reach for his toy instead. Other times if he wasn't too hungry, he would throw the bottle away, as if he was tossing a ball. But most of the time, he would finish his milk while I took a nap next to him, read the newspaper, work on the computer or just sat there watching him.
Friday, July 14, 2006
Leeds
14-July-2006:
We took a train to Leeds, approximately 2 hours north of London. We left the house early in the morning and had breakfast on the train. The breakfast consisted of toasts, followed by a starter and then the main dish accompanied with tea. The starter was a selection of fruits, oatmeal, cornflakes, etc. For the main dish, SM had the great English breakfast (the most unhealthy) that comes with bacon, sausages, eggs and hash brown while I had smoked salmon with scrambled eggs. We were so stuffed after the breakfast that we did not have any lunch for the day.
Dominic did not get to eat anything at all. He was such an angel. He slept through while SM and I had our breakfast. :-)
Leeds is famous for several attractions (so I read on the Internet). First, there's the Kirkstall Abbey where monks used to live. I think it is just ruins now. We didn't visit the abbey as there wasn't enough time.
Then there's the Kirkgate Market. It was quite a huge market that sells anything: vegetables, meat, clothes, shoes, electrical items, books, toys, flowers and lots more. We walked around the whole market and only bought a book for Dominic at £1. Value!
And there was more shopping. Opposite Kirkgate Market was the shopping area. Victoria Quarter (or something like that). If you have plenty of money and would like to indulge in branded clothes, this is the place to go. There were also a bunch of museums but we weren't very interested in museums. Besides, we only visit places that are admission free. :-) We took Dominic on a bus ride around the city. While he was enjoying the view and the ride, I could hardly keep my eyes open. :p
Then we took Dominic to the Henry Moore art gallery; Quiet and peaceful ... the perfect place for Dominic to take his nap! After that we did more shopping. Then we went back to the train station where we had some bananas and cookies at the GNER first class lounge.
We had another scrumptious dinner on the train, which consisted of starter, main dish and dessert. After that I decided that I definitely need to cut down on food intake! This time, Dominic wasn't such a good boy. SM and I had to take turns eating our dinner while one of us entertained the little boy.
Picture 1: City Square
Picture 2: Kirkgate Market
Picture 3: Opposite Kirkgate Market - Shopping
Picture 4: Victoria Quarter
Picture 5: City Hall & Art Gallery
Picture 6: Dominic having lunch in the city
Picture 7 & 8: Dominic on Bob The Builder Steamroller, Roley
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Portsmouth
8-July-2006:
We took a train from the Waterloo station to Portsmouth. Portsmouth is about 2 hours train ride south of London. Two of SM's colleagues were bringing their mums there so we tagged along. As it turned out, Portsmouth is a shopping area for discounted branded goods such as Nike, Oakley, Levis, Adidas, Timberland and such. When SM's colleague told me that Portsmouth is famous for designer wear, I expected something like Prada, LV, Gucci, etc but we found no such things. SM bought two pairs of shoes and I bought a swimsuit and a bottle of perfume.
It was no doubt a most boring trip for Dominic. There was nothing interesting for him. There were only shops and shops and more shops. The best thing he could was to sleep in his stroller.
For the first time, Dominic showed signs of stranger anxiety. Or perhaps he simply did not like SM's colleague's mum who kept trying to hold him. It had been one of his crankiest day.
The next day, we went to the friend's house again where his mum cooked Rendang Chicken, rice dumpling, noodles and Rojak. The food was excellent. But Dominic wasn't. He slept for a while and when he woke up, he seemed cheerful ... until the friend's mum tried to pick him up again. And ever since then, he wouldn't stop crying and we had to leave the place early. The strange thing was that he kept quiet immediately after we got out of the place. I wished he could tell me what was bothering him in a language that I could understand. Early Saturday morning, the Waterloo station was already crowded with people.
The best part of the trip for Dominic was to enjoy the first 10 minutes of the train ride.
.
.
.
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Portsmouth is near the sea.
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Hair Cut
2-July-2006:
Dominic's hair was getting rather long. And SM needed a hair cut as well. So we decided to have a "hair-cut day". As it turned out, the whole family had a hair cut.
First, both SM and I gave Dominic his hair cut. He screamed bloody hell. It could be because of the hair falling on his face. It could be the sound of the clipper that he didn't like. He could be sleepy and so happened that he wasn't in a good mood. But boy, he really screamed. Even after we stopped messing with his hair. It was a tough time. It was early in the morning and his screams echoed through the entire neighbourhood. Then he wouldn't stop screaming after that when I had to bathe him to get the hair out of his body. And then he had a hard time falling asleep.
Finally, when he was asleep, I gave SM his hair cut. We were in the bathroom and Dominic was sleeping outsid, in the bedroom. He woke up and cried several times when I was doing SM's hair. I suspect it was because he heard the sound of the clipper and thought that we were going to mess with his hair again.
After I'd done SM's hair, I mentioned that I'd like to have mine cut as well. SM offered his service and I accepted. I regretted almost instantaneously. More so everytime I looked at my own photos. :-(
