28th - 29th Jan Ryann and his mum mum

As i was working late, i only manage to reach home at about 11pm. Ryann was asleep already. I went to peek at him, only to find him tossing and turning around. I thought I heard him mumbled something. Guess what i heard?

Ryann said:"mum mum" In his sleep!!!!

This little boy is really so hungry? Can even dream about asking for food in his dreams.
Make me laugh. Mum said that was not the first time already. He said that in his sleep once at mum's place before too.

I really cant help laughing at him. So cute.

This morning, we had breakfast before leaving for work. Ryann as usual asking for his mum mum again. I asked him to kiss me then i will give him mum mum. And he really kiss me!!!! That was really rare! Although his kisses were not those sweet type (more on those wet with mouth open type) but it was enough to melt my heart.

However certain tricks can only be used for a couple of times, soon it didnt work anymore. =(

** Draft blogs finally updated in previous post.

26th Jan - 28th Jan CNY

We always had new pyjamas every year and on the eve of CNY, we will put our Ang Baos in the pocket. Of cos we brought new pyjamas for Ryann but we could find one with pockets thus all his Ang Baos are kept under his pillow instead.

New Winnie the Pooh matching bed sheet with us and new pyjamas. CNY is always fun for children but not for adults.

This is the first year we cant celebrate CNY. Thus we were mostly at home for the first day until late afternoon when we went over to my grand ma house at AMK. We cant go visiting but most of my relatives will be visiting my grand ma thus we meet up there.

Ryann as usual got pretty upset when he saw so many people in the house but after a while he started walking around the house already. This year is considered the first CNY for him cos last year he was just a baby in our arms. This year he is already a walking toddler. How fast time flies.

He cant wear the yellow top i brought for him for new year thus i dressed him in camo green set. He is wearing 18months - 24months set. Blame it all on his tummy. =p

For 2 days, Ryann only napped once a day. By the time 8plus he was already pretty cranky already.

And one reason why Ryann is called Ah beng in SMH forum, this was how he behaved in a coffee shop.

Overall, CNY was very boring but working was boring too as i have to work till 10pm to cover my foreign colleagues who went back to their hometown.

I hope next year will be a much better year ahead.

28th Jan Goodbye Shin

This is a last minute blog post although i still have a couple of posting which was left as draft post because i didn't have time to finish blogging those.

I have just got to know Shin left us yesterday afternoon peacefully in her sleep. She have fought hard and strong. Her strength and determination amazed me each and every time i read her blog. I have been following her blog for quite some time already. Together with Molly's blog and Fleur's blog.

Shin is a proud mother of 2 beautiful kids, Toby and Josie. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in Dec 2005. Through her journey of fighting the cancer, she found more tumors in other organs. Despite all these, she still fought her own way. She never give up on any chance to improve the quality of her life with her husband Tony and her dearest children.

In her blog, she shared many of her heartfelt feelings about facing death and how she live her life with cancer. Most importantly, she shared her amazing love she had for her family. She wrote letters for Josie and Toby so that Tony can passed it to them when they reached a certain age. She already brought their birthday gifts ahead. She had videos recorded so that Tony can show Josie and Toby when they start college. I really wonder how much courage she need to be able to do that.

She is very good at writing and ever since the birth of Josie, she started writing a diary about bits and pieces of her life so that one day when she is gone forever, Josie and Toby will know more about their mother.

Her blog never fail to give the motivation and encouragement every time i had a bad day. As compared to what she have been suffering from physically and mentally, all my little unhappiness seems so small and uncalled for.

Her amazing fighting spirit and determination will stay forever. I am sure Tony, Josie and Toby will be so proud of her. She have fought a long journey and she didn't lose the battle as her fighting spirit is already imprinted in many of our hearts. And i believe this will continue on forever.

25th Jan Ryann's 3rd class at GUG

Today is CNYE but class as usual at GUG. One thing different is hubby came along as he need not work today. That was a rare opportunity for him to have some bonding time with Ryann but i didn't know what he was thinking, he rather not go in. Anti Social fellow.

Today, Ryann did very well in class. He didn't cry at all. maybe it is because i manage to learn some of the songs and practise with him at home. Thus he doesn't really feel insecure.

Today we learned about D. D for Dee Dee Deer. Teacher Russell and Teacher Arze taught the Dee Dee Deer song as well. I realized that basically they share the same tune of music thus it is pretty easy for me to practise in advance with Ryann.

Some other words they introduced was Dot, Dog, dragonfly and Drum.

One observation is that usually they will repeat the same type of songs during the warm up and the last segment. Today i managed to learn few more songs.

First would be the Sit down song. (Tune similar to London bridge is falling down)

When you are ready, sit down, sit down, sit down

When you are ready, sit down on the mat

When you are ready, tap the mat, tap the mat, tap the mat

When you are ready tap the mat, tap the mat.

Second would be the Special Song (Tune similar to Where is thumb kin?)

You are special

You are special

Take a look

You will see

Some one very special

Someone very special

And that's me (You)

And that's me (You)

During the art segment, we were given this dragonfly cut out and Ryann should try to decorate it with sticker dots and special dots markers. We were asked to encourage our kids to peel off the sticker so as to train on their usage of the thumb and index fingers.

Ryann wasn't much interested about painting the dragonfly, he is more interested with playing with the paint.

This is last week's Corn art work.

So far i am keen to continue the class until they complete the full 26 alphabets. I guess i just have to work harder to pay GUG. They are really not cheap.

I am still procrastinating if i should buy the zoophonics card from GUG or from Zoophonics school. Will share more about that soon. Hopefully, Ryann will benefit from this class.

22th Jan Cry baby Ryann

Ryann was crying when i left him at mum's place for work. Seeing him cry makes me feel like taking leave to stay at home for him. However i know i cant.

Ryann have been showing his emotional mood swing recently. Throwing his tantrums when he doesn't get his way.

This active little boy cannot stay still even in the taxi. After telling him to sit properly for so many times, he still ignored me. Then i sort of scolded him in a stern voice, then he quietly sat on my lap and dozed off after a while. I love to use the ''Love Parenting Style" but this little one really super hard to handle recently. Phew....

Some pics of him at plaza singapura today. Cheeky boy loves to 'drive'.

20th Jan Ryann knows how to walk back home

Ryann knows how to walk back home himself. He walked to the lift lobby today and waited for the lift. He loves pressing the lift buttons. There was once he pressed the bell. Luckily i managed to stop him on time. Of course we were the ones who pressed the level 4 for him.

When the doors of the lift open, he will walked towards our unit himself and stop right in front of the door to wait for us to open the front door. So happy to see that. Ryann is really a big boy now.

19th Jan 300ml of milk

This morning i fed Ryann with about 230ml of milk before i go to work. Ryann cried even after he finish the whole bottle. Thus i fed him another 70ml. He gobbled them all in. It is a good 300ml of milk.

With formula milk powder, I can really see how much i have saved over the 16months of breast feeding.

Today brought Ryann for shopping at heart land mall and compass point. Ryann really enjoys walking around the mall. He like to walk to every shop and pull us in. He like to touch almost every single thing at sight. Soon, he will most likely be telling us what he wants. and if we say no, he will throw his tantrums and cry out loud. I wonder how to handle this situation. ** Great imagination =p

18th Jan Ryann's 2nd class at GUG

Today is Ryann's 2nd class at GUG suntec.

Every thing was still ok during the toys playing session. Ryann played with teacher Russel and teacher Arze. He played with his class mates as well. Today we got to know some new friends in the class. He was definitely more warmed up then last week.


But the moment Teacher Russell started singing the clean up song, Ryann started crying. He seems to be scared. I am not very sure the real reason why recently he seems to cry a lot more then normal. After a while, he seems better already. When the teachers are drawing cars on the board to introduce the number 10, he simply cant be bothered. When we sing the 'special song', 'hello song', he cried a little but after a while he was better.


After some singing, we started our zoo phonics. Today, they introduced the letter C. C for Catina cat. Ryann was a bit distracted during the puppet play but luckily teacher Russell manage to catch his attention. We sang the Zoophonics Song again. I was trying really hard to remember the actions and the names, only managed to remember some.


The song they sang:"cartina cat goes C C C, C C C , C C C. Catina cat goes C C C, all day at the zoo" The tune is similar to the wheels on the bus song.


Inside the bag were more things that starts with the letter C. We had crayons and teacher Russell advised us to encourage our child to take just one. This method can be used to introduce numbers. They gave us some papers to let the child scribble and draw. Ryann seems to be using his left hand more often. I tried letting him hold his crayon on his right hand but he refused. Most of the time, i see him using his left hand more. But the funny thing is, hubby and I are both right handed. Maybe, he see Rhys using his left hand, thus he follow suit.

The last thing they intro is a cup. By that time, many babies are cranky already. I know there should be some activities for the cup but they cut that out as it was quite chaotic.

This class i am in is quite messy. Unlike the trial class i attended with sept mummies, this class is pretty hard to handle. The parents either not participating at all, letting their child sit elsewhere or let their child wander around with out pulling them back. It can be quite distracting. Some even leave their maids in the class instead of them coming in themselves. One boy in particular was practically crying almost half of the class. Hopefully the situation will improve.

We had our water break. Caelen's maid took out the biscuits container and Ryann tried to grab it from her. This cheeky boy really not shy at all. Luckily i brought along some biscuits for him.

2nd segment of art work. Teacher Arze introduce the work Corn. She pass the corn around for all babies to feel and touch the texture. After that we are off to do our art work with the corns. We dipped the corn with blue and yellow paint and started stamping on a piece of paper. The color turn out green. As I tried to get Ryann to do the art work himself, he was pretty excited initially but soon, he started using his hands instead. I stopped him on time before he made a mess. Next week, i am going to bun up my hair and dress him down so that i can allow him to explore.

Today teacher taught us 2 new songs. First was the Little Arabella Miller.

Little Arabella Miller, had a fuzzy caterpillar

(We point our index fingers on our palm.)

First it crawl up on her mother

(walk our fingers up to the arms and tickle our child)

Then it crawl up on her brother

(walk our fingers up to the arms and tickle our child again)

They say:"Little Arabella Miller, keep your fuzzy caterpillar"

(Hide both your hands behind your back. )

Ryann enjoyed the tickling alot. He was all smiling away.

Second song is Fly little bird. This song is used to build the child's confidence and also to try to improve their vocab.

Fly little bird , through the window

Fly little bird, through the door

Fly little bird, through the window

Fly little bird and touch the ***

*** is replaced by wall, chair, table etc.

We were practically flying around the place during this activity and Ryann enjoys it too.

After this we sang the wheels on the bus,we are going to the zoo, twinkle twinkle little star and if you are happy. Ryann enjoys the last segment most.

Overall, today was a bit better then last week . Hopefully, it will be better. Oh by the way, this is Ryann's first art work. Or i should say mummy's first art work too. =p

p/s: Ryann have been a cry baby recently. He have been crying pretty often. Little things can trigger his cries. I really wonder why and what happen. He seems to be suffering from separation anxiety also. Whenever i leave the room, he will cry. And he is very much attached to his smelly pillow recently. I guess it is his comfort object. He seems to be going through growth spurt too. He often cries after he finishes his milk. Thus i will be increasing his intake tomorrow. Mmmmm, really hard to understand why.... Hope mother instinct really works.

17th Jan Ryann's updates

Been really busy at work thus not able to update Ryann's blog.

Ryann just turned 16 months few days ago.

He is 10.8kg and 81cm tall last measured 2 weeks ago.

Ryann have got only 6 teeth so far, four upper and 2 lower. Slow bloomer i call him.

At the sight of any food, he will say 'mum mum' which is practically the only thing he have said so far. He still talks in his own language but in a pretty funny way.
Every time we tell him not to do certain things, he will reply us in his baby language like talking back at us. (I can really see the younger version of a argumentative delinquent. =p)

He will use his facial expression to show us his pitiful face so that we will not scold him anymore and the moment we stop scolding him he will smile almost immediately as thou showing us the 'I manage to make you stop scolding me again!' face.

After scolding him, he will run to find grand ma and my maid for rescue. *Faint

He knows how to keep his toys himself but he knows how to make a mess better.

He loves Elmo since young. He enjoys watching Elmo's world Vcds.

He cant live without his smelly pillow. Every time i tried to keep his smelly pillow aside before going out, he will cry.

He will get jealous when grand ma is hugging Rhys but that never happen to me. (**ARgh... So much of feeding him breast milk for 16 months. )

He loves flipping the pages of the books but was never seriously reading the content.

He loves peek a boo books and his first gigantic Ginger bread man book.

He loves bathing and water. He will often go to the room, grab his towel and walk to the toilet himself. That is the method he use to tell us that he wants to bath.

He is a milkaholic. The sight of the milk bottle will make him go all excited and he will chase after you, whining at the same time. At mum's place, he will grab the cushion himself and lay on the mat himself to wait for the milk. At home, he will run to the bed room, climb up my bed and lay on the pillow waiting for the milk.

He loves and enjoys music. He will dance to the music and babbles as thou he is singing some times.

He never fail to give me joy. He is my anti-depressant, my de-stress antidote, my joy and my pride. No matter how much tiredness or unhappiness i felt at work and at home, the moment i reach home, seeing him smile at me is more then enough to melt my heart. I thank God for giving him to us.

11th Jan First class at GUG suntec

Just before going to GUG class.

Ryann's first class at GUG suntec today was pretty messy. Unlike the previous time, Ryann started crying at the beginning of the class. Maybe it is due to unfamiliar faces plus he was a bit cranky as he was feeling abit sleepy. And there was another little who was crying throughout.

Coincidentally, it was the same teacher Arze who was at the trial class at united square. Together was teacher Russell. From the way they teach, I can see that teacher Russel is more experienced. She was able to catch the kids attention by using different tone of voice. Her facial expression was more interesting but apparently, Ryann was more afraid of her which i dunno why.

As usual, we sang the clean up song. Ryann kept his toy himself. Good boy. And we sang the sit down song. Today's letter is B. B for bubba bear. As usual, there were things that starts with the letter 'B' in the zoo bag. Bubba bear, balloon and the word butterfly. Songs and activities were used to introduce them. As the class size is rather big, it was quite chaotic during the balloon passing activities. All the babies were like snatching the balloons. I am so afraid it might just burst. For butterfly, we started walking around and carrying our babies to fly. Tiring for mummies and daddys. Followed by full set of Zoophonics which is really hard for me. I was trying to learn it myself. It is really not easy. But Ryann enjoyed it.

2nd segment was art work led by teacher Arze. She is pretty soft and i guess quite inexperienced that why she didnt get much attention from the tods. They used bubbles to introduce the letter 'B'. This time round she used detergent which is of cos harmful for tods. Few babies went forward and almost got their hands filled with detergent. Luckily teacher Russell quickly came to her rescue. And soon the class went on. What we did was mix detergent and water, then add coloring to it. Place the plastic cup on a piece of paper and blow until the bubbles overflow. Soon the paper will be painted with colours. Allow the tods to explore by poking the bubbles. And that was Ryann's first piece of art work. Or i should say my art work as all Ryann did was make a mess out of everything and start pulling the table cloth. I must say at this point of time we must not be particular over our tods getting dirty. We should not restrict them from exploring something new. Of cos immediately we went to wash our hands. Will collect his art work next week. Will post it next sunday.

3rd segment was boxes. By then Ryann was warmed up and he started sitting right in front of teacher Russell just like an attentive child. Each child was giving a box with something inside. The child is asked to open the box. This activity help to train a child's motor skills. The child will also be curious what is found inside. I allow Ryann to shake the box and i told him there is something inside. Gave him some instructions and he managed to open the box himself. At the end of the activity, when teacher asked them to keep the boxes, he was the first one to put the box back to the tray. Good boy.

Last segment was singing again. Teacher Russell came in with a guitar and we started singing Wheels on the bus and If you are happy. I would say i prefer the trial class whereby there were more songs.

Overall the class was ok. Not as fantastic as i expect but as long as Ryann likes it. I must really try to remember those songs in the class. Oh forgot to add, there were 2 Ryan in the class. (I told hubby that it is a common name.) Luckily our spelling is different, Ryann. And Ryann was accidentally hugged by a sweet little girl. Ha ha ha.

I saw one of my client Peck Har in the class and her son is born on the same day same month same year as Ryann. Such coincidence.

Ryann fell asleep right after the class. Hopefully next week would be better.

Seems so tired.

Carrying his Elmo school bag.

9th Jan Naughty Ryann likes to push Rhys

Ryann's terrible two prelude is here. He will not allow other people to share his grand mother and his auntie Tri (my helper). Whenever Rhys is hugging mum, Ryann will walk over and try to squeeze his way in between them. He will just use his hands to sort of push Rhys aside. Whenever Rhys is playing piggy back with my helper, Ryann cannot take it. He will walk to her and join in as well. Most important thing is, this doesn't happen to me! =(

Mummy is jealous that Ryann is not jealous when i hug Rhys. But he is still so cute. Make me laugh.

Another thing about Ryann is he is pretty afraid of my sister. Whenever my sister say 'no' to him, he will show the pathetic face again and keep looking at us as though using his eyes to communicate with us so that we can save him. Some times as he walk pass my sis, he will peek at her to see if she is looking or not. That kind of expression is really price less. So funny.

However he never look at us with eye contact. He will always avoid our eyes whenever we are talking to him or scolding him. Hopefully this situation will improve soon.

p/s: Today is the first day i am going to go without expressing my milk for the whole day. =p

8th Jan My breast feeding journey ends here

Today may be the last day i hand express breast milk already. I thought of doing it till the 12th to make it a full 16 months but today only very little supply so i think most likely by tomorrow i wont have much left. But still i am happy that i managed to breast feed for 16 months. This is something i am very proud about.

Ryann is still coughing. Last night he started having disturbed sleep again from 11 pm onwards all the way till morning. I really knocked out already by the early morning hours and i was almost late for work.
And i was really angry with hubby as he took Ryann's antibiotics (which was suppose to be kept in the fridge) to mum's place and he left it in Ryann's bag. Now Ryann cant take the antibiotics already. I am so angry with him as the antibiotics was never brought to mum's place at all thus i do not understand why did he do that. Every time when Ryann is not well, he doesn't bother to understand what is wrong and how does the medicine works. He doesn't even know what are the things we should avoid. Why cant he as the father take a bit of responsibility in parenting as well? I really do not understand.

7th Jan Neb again

Yesterday night was terror for me. Ryann couldn't sleep as he was really coughing away and trying to catch his breath. I was so worried that he might get an attack of asthma and i really dunno what to do. Hardly slept at all last night.

This morning immediately went to see Dr Tan and gave Neb to Ryann. Next week need to go back and check again. Poor Ryann. He struggled so hard to break free during the neb. He is really angry but i have no choice.

Hopefully Ryann would be able to get well by Sunday so that he can start his term at GUG.
I am really tired now, need to go.. more updates tomorrow.

P/s:
Ryann weight at 10.8kg (Lost weight again) and standing at 81cm tall.

6th Jan Scary Syringe

Every day we will feed Ryann his vitamin C and his lung supplement using the syringe. Initially, Ryann is not afraid of the syringe. Every time we put the syringe in his mouth, he will open his mouth wide and drink the content from the syringe willingly. However, after suffering from croup, feeding him medicine or supplements is a chore.

Ryann will start to whine and make noise at the sight of the syringe. He knows that it is medicine time. Often we will have to force feed him. He will struggle and scream at his top of his voice showing his anger to us.

Now, he is not receptive to any new food at all. When i tried to feed him Gerbers prune using his usual spoon today, he tighten his lips and reject even before tasting it. He must have thought it could be some medicine. He used to be able to finish 1 bottle of prune. Now, he doesn't even want to eat them.

Hopefully his diet will be back to normal soon. He lost a bit of weight. Weighing at 10.8kg.

When he is feeling tired but he couldn't get to sleep because he is coughing, he will start to cry and come to hug me asking for comfort. Feel so bad that mummy cant do anything to relieve his cough. God, please heal Ryann and make this coughing croup over soon.

5th Jan Croup

Haven got time to do much updates as Ryann wasnt feeling very well for the past few days. Went to Doc Tan this morning after 3 days of persistant fever up to 39 degrees which refuse to go down after brufen and paracetamol. On Sunday, sis called me and told me that she found lots of red spots in Rhys's mouth and suspect hfmd. One of his classmates in his CC got hfmd too.

My heart sank when i heard that. When Ryann's fever didnt go down, I was so worried and i kept praying and praying to God that he will heal Ryann. Ryann couldn't sleep at night as he was coughing and the fever was making him real uncomfortable. Every time he cough he will start to cry. Poor boy. It is so painful to see him like that.

After seeing Dr. Tan, she diagnosed Ryann to have got Croup. I seriously have no idea what it is thus i am sharing this information here after doing some research.

Croup is a swelling of the voice box (larynx) and windpipe (trachea). Croup can be caused by allergies, bacteria, or inhaled irritants, but usually it's the result of a virus.

Most children with viral croup are between the ages of 3 months and 5 years old. The illness shows up most frequently between the months of October and March. Most cases of croup today are not serious, but a severe case can require hospitalization.

Croup is characterized by a loud cough that may sound like the barking of a seal and may be accompanied by fast or difficult breathing and sometimes a grunting noise or wheezing while breathing.

At first, a child may have cold symptoms like a stuffy or runny nose for a few days and may also have fever. As the upper airway (the lining of the windpipe and the voice box) becomes progressively inflamed and swollen, the child may become hoarse, with a harsh, barking cough.

Dr. Tan gave him medication that contains steroid which helps to reduce the swelling of the windpipe and vocal cords, and thus relieves the breathing difficulties
Dr Tan mentioned that croup conditions might move downwards to the lungs if left untreated. This might lead to bronchitis. I really hope Ryann will recover soon.

I hope it is just pure coincidence that Ryann fell sick the moment i stop breast feeding. This thought certainly hurt me alot. It gave me lots of guilt. I may not be able to supply enough breast milk for Ryann but i am definitely giving lots of tender loving care to Ryann.
Please pray for Ryann's speedy recovery.

p/s: Thank God, Dr Tan checked on Rhys. it is not hfmd. Phew....

1st Jan 2009 Welcome 2009

Today is the first day of a new year. It actually marks a new start for everyone.
We should all try to make this year a better one compared to the previous year.

Ryann started his new year with some sneezy spells. Guess he might have caught the bug from hubby cos hubby was not well too. What a way to start the year. Went to mum's place as hubby went to work today.

Ryann pooed today. Usually he will poo every 2-3 days, which is of cos not very healthy. I brought the gerber prune and Ryann loved it cold. He ate a bottle that day but it didnt make him poo. I stocked up a few more bottles. Hopefully it will work for him the next time.

Ryann is not talking very much yet but his first word and his favourite word now is 'mum mum'.
While watching Elmo's world, He started saying 'mum mum' when Elmo was holding on to a banana. And when we asked him where is banana, he will walk to the kitchen and just stand and look up at the bunch of bananas hanging on top. Whenever we are eating something, he will always come to us and start saying 'mum mum' non stop. This little one sure feels hungry.

I wonder when will he start calling ma ma instead of mum mum. I hope it will be very soon.