He begged me to carry him in the shopping mall yesterday.  Oh dear, he is so much heavier than he was the last time I carried him 9 months ago. He is now 15kg.

His vocab has improved a lot. That makes our conversation more understandable and enjoyable. Now, he is able more willing to follow you read or sing. He can answer your questions and tell you stories from pictures or retell the tv shows he had watched. His favourite tv show is Special Agent OSO.

Since the arrival of Samantha and with her condition that requires more care and attention, I spent less time with Jonathan now. I could only watch him play on his own. Missed putting him to sleep and snuggling beside him. Missed our bathroom fun time. I missed our bonding time so much!

With a new baby in the family, he is learning to behave like a brother.  He is a great lil’ helper and “runner”. He has the brotherly instinct in him naturally. Whenever Samantha cries, he will put aside whatever he is doing and be the first running to her little sister, comforting her. He watched how I take care of Samantha. He reminds me when I forget her handky. He imitates how I express breastmilk. He even use a handky to wipe his chest as how I clean my nipple every time I finished expressing milk. *slap head*

Tell me you like his new hair style. I love it but many want to chop off his “tail”.

Two weeks ago, on a Saturday night that was 27/3/2010, Darling initiated the mission which I was doubting if we could sustain. It was a tough night for Jonathan boy. Initially, he asked for his peh peh with his manja voice as usual but his request was rejected by us. Then he started to whine, then cried, then thrown tantrum by rolling on the bed, kicking here and there. We kept telling him ”no more peh peh“, “Jonathan big boy already”, “peh peh for baby only”, “peh peh shame shame” but he still can’t accept it.  After sometime, he drifted into dreamland with tears.  Oh, my poor boy. In the middle of the night, he woke up once to look for his peh peh and cried when he can’t find them.

The second night, he went to bed without any fuss as he was too tired because he didn’t take his afternoon nap. Phew……we thought tonight is an easy night. Who knows, it was Chap Goh Mei! He was awaken by the firecrackers and it turned an easy night into a horrible night. He cried so terriblely as though having a bad dream.

The following nights, Darling was on night shift. I warned him that if I couldn’t bear with Jonathan’s act, I’ll give in. (Guess I am not as firm as him or not as patience as him)  I was praying hard that Jonathan won’t give me a hard time each night. Hehe….he was very co-operative indeed.  Few nights in the beginning, he requested for his peh peh and I kept telling him “no more peh peh“, “Jonathan big boy already”, “peh peh for baby only”, “peh peh shame shame”. It was really a brainwashing session. He didn’t cry or throw tantrum but just whine a little. I gave him his milk bottle or water bottle with teat to soothe himself.

One week gone. Occasionally he still ask for it.  He nearly wanted to pull out the toy pacifier from one of the doll. The following week, he began to understand and accept it. He never asked for his peh peh anymore. We browsed through the photos in my camera and when he sees himself with pacifier, he said, “Jonathan shame shame”.  When we asked him if he still wants peh peh, he said, “Peh peh for baby.”

Many asked me before this, when would I want to wean him off from pacifier. I couldn’t gave an answer because I was afraid to see him “suffer”.   If you ask me now, how to do it, I can only share with you what we had been through.  It really depends on your child, how you handle the situation and perseverance is very important. Some parents had to perform tricks (like cutting off the pacifier in front of the kid), some kids need to be encouraged with some “bribe”, and like my son, I think he just need to be brain-washed. (Now I’m wondering if he will easily get influenced by others when he grows up. Hmmm…..)

Not forgetting, all credit goes to Darling, for being a very supportive husband and a firm Daddy.  And also Jonathan boy for being a very understanding and well-behaved boy.

I used to say: “Come boy, Mommy carry you.”

When he wants me to carry him, he would say: “Mommy, carry you, please.”

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I would ask him: “Jonathan boy, Mommy make milk for you, ok?”

When he wants milk, he says: “Mommy, make milk you.” (Notice too that the “for” is missing here)

When he made this mistake, I would stare at him with a smile. He can read my expression and then corrected himself.  But suprisingly he won’t get the “I” and “You” or “Me” and “I” mixed up. He knows when to use them.

Such as: “Daddy, I want egg.”  and “Daddy, you want egg?”

                  “Give me.” and “I want.” instead of “Me want.”

I try to use nouns and names when speaking to him but often forget ’cause we are so used to using pronouns in our daily adult conversation.  Nevertheless, it’s so cute sometimes when you hear the mistakes they made.

… the remote control is out of battery.

… my remote control car refuse to move on its own.

… the arms of my Ultraman dislocated.

… my shoe has a “buaya” mouth.

… I don’t hear any sound from my computer while playing games or watching my favourite VCD.

…there is no light shining from the torch light.

Many more mishaps happened due to my naughtiness curiosity at this age but Daddy got all that fixed.  That’s not all.

…Mommy sees a lizard. She will be screaming, “Darling! Come and catch this lizard away.”

…I see baby cockroaches running inside the car. I’ll scream, “Daddy, catch!”

Isn’t my Daddy great? And I shall now call him Handy Daddy. Hooray!

In the bathroom after shower…

Jonathan: Mimi, I want put up there. (Wants to hang the shower head on the handle)

Me: It’s ok. Mommy help you to put up there.

Jonathan: No, no…I want put up there. *Started to throw tantrum*

Me: You are so heavy. Mommy can’t carry you. (Imagine a 6 months preggie carrying a 13kg object up to the sky)

Jonathan: No… I want Mimi carry.

Incident #2

Jonathan in the bath tub with Mommy watching beside…

Jonathan: Attempt to reach high up to the soap holder hanging on the wall. Eeeik…..successful! The soap drop in the bath tub. Happily, pick up the soap and start rubbing it on the bath tub, bath toys and wall.

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One night, my conversation with Darling…

Me: Darling, you let Jonathan hang the shower head ar?

Darling: Yup. Why?

Me: No wonder. You know, he ask me to carry him to hang the shower head. How to carry him with a big tummy like this lar.

Darling: *Smile*

Me: Then must be you who let him play with the soap.

Darling:  Ok mah…

Me: As if. He took the soap and rub it on the bath toys lar. If didn’t clean up the soap, it will leave stain on the toys.

Darling: *Smile*

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I know after Darling read this post, he will say the same to me… “Mommy teach naughty stuff too. Eat junk food right after meals.”

Ok, back to the topic. As I am expecting #2, I need calcium. After finishing all the milk samples I received, I bought a tin of Wyeth Mama and placed it together with Jonathan’s milk powder.  I am the one who ensure we have sufficient stock and replenish Jonathan’s milk powder when it runs low.

The drama happened last week. It so happened that Jonathan boy had not been asking for milk before bed time for 2 days and so I did not check if there are still milk powder left in the tin.  The following day, no more milk powder left in the tin and MIL had to open a new tin. You see, Wyeth milk product in tin came with a BLUE lid.  MIL noticed a tin of milk powder with blue lid at Jonathan’s food area and thought that was Jonathan’s milk powder and coincidentally it was still unopened. When she opened it, she was wondering why the scoop is different which is bigger and different in colour. She thought it’s a new formula and continue to make milk for Jonathan.

When I came back from work, I saw Jonathan’s empty milk powder tin and a foil cover in it. I can sense something is not right so immediately open my Wyeth Mama.  Jackpot! It was opened and the foil cover was gone. So Jonathan boy had been drinking Wyeth Mama for the whole day today!  And yet he gulped down everything. 

This is what happen when you are not a fussy eater! *ROFL*

My MIL can only read simple Chinese character and she didn’t really notice the picture on the tin…a pregnant lady vs. a lion.

Rule #2.  Have meals always on the high chair and not in front of the TV.

Rule #3. Buckle up when you are on your high chair. (more of Daddy’s rule)

Rule #4.  Wipe your dirty hands and mouth with a hankerchief and not your clothes. (Do you wipe your tongue too? He does!)

Rule #5.  No wasting of milk and bring the bottle to the kitchen after you had finished it. (But I wonder why they always left 1 or 1/2 oz milk unfinished)

Rule #6.  Keep the toys before you go out kai-kai and before leaving the living room for bedtime. (But not all the time coz sometimes I don’t have the patience to wait for him or when we are short of time)

Rule #7.  Abide when daddy or mommy says “Let’s go”. (Else there comes the “magic stick”)

Rule #8.  Wear your shoe when you are out from the house and make sure you wears it right.

Rule #9.  Sit in the shopping cart always and no running around the supermarket.

Rule #10.  Stand up by yourself when you tripped/fell.

Rule #11.  Put your dirty clothes in the laundry basket.

Rule #12.  Take and eat the biscuit one at a time. No eating like a Garfield.

Rule #13.  Always on your car seat. Cry and fuss will not release you from it.

Rule #14. Clear your toys that are in the bath tub after bath. (He sticks the fish foams on the wall and put the rest in the basin)

Rule #15. Comb your hair after bath. (I used to comb for him but beginning to let him comb himself now. Of course I still have to complete the job for him)

So, how well did he scores? I’ll give him 95%.  What happened to another 5%? Well, that goes to his tantrum, temper, laziness and not paying attention.

It has been 2 years now…Two years ago of this day, Jonathan boy was diagnosed with Pyloric Stenosis and went through a surgery.

It all started when he was 2 weeks old.  He started to vomit forcefully (projectile vomitting) after each feeding.  During the first visit to the paediatrician, he suspected air in the stomach and so gave us some colic medicine. Two days later, we went back to the paed and he said it could be reflux or allergy. But Jonathan boy was fully breastfed and breast milk has never been not safe to a baby. Nevertheless, we listened to him and I stopped BF temporary and gave him anti-regurgitation milk as recommended for the reflux by paed. We were told to monitor his urine and bowel movement too.

Despite all these, his condition persisted and worsen. Still vomit forcefully, no intake of milk and his urine and bowel movement reduced. He was restless and slept most of the time. Losing weight and had sunken eyes. My mom, sis and MIL didn’t know what was wrong and had never experienced such condition in our family nor heard of it. Seeing him like that, I have the feeling of losing him and kept praying to God for mercy.

I looked through all the baby reference books I have and searched through the Internet but couldn’t solve this mystery puzzle. Every time, day and night, I was never at peace when feeding him as he may vomit anytime.  It had became phobia. I had to be prepared with container, clothing and mop.  I lost my appetite and lost weight during my confinement.

I looked through again at Dr. Spock’s baby and childcare book, page by page and word by word. God hears me and fix my eye on a subject called Pyloric Stenosis. I later confirmed this medical term on the Internet. Jonathan boy had exactly all the signs and symptoms mentioned. But to confirm the diagnosis, he may need to go through X-ray, barium swallow or ultrasound. The first two is too much to bear for a baby and so I was hoping that the ultrasound alone can confirm the diagnosis.

The next day, we brought him immediately to the paediatrician and told him if Jonathan could be suffering from Pyloric Stenosis. He was not convinced of that because he didn’t feel any abnormality during his physical examination as usually, you can feel an “olive” at the abdomen. And usually, the symptoms only showing when baby is 3 weeks old. Moreover, it is unlikely to happen among the Chinese, based on the statistics. No wonder he didn’t diagnose this earlier. Good thing the paeditrician was compassionate and he was willing to schedule for an immediate ultrasound to rule this out.

While waiting for the ultrasound report, I was praying to God that the ultrasound could diagnose his medical condition and let it be Pyloric Stenosis so that our mystery puzzle can be resolved. Really praise God that the ultrasound report came back positive to rule out that Jonathan is suffering from Pyloric Stenosis. Immediately, he helped us to make arrangement to see the best paediatric surgeons at SJMC.

We thought things would be fine now since we know what was wrong with Jonathan boy. But not really. They had to put him on tubes and the worst was putting a tube through his nose to drain the fluid from his stomach.

We heard his suffering cries from outside the room. It was so heartaching. When the nurse brought him out, my whole heart fell and tears rolled down. We didn’t expect and wasn’t prepared to see him this way. There was another tube for the saline at his foot as that was the best place they could find after trying from his wrist.

The surgery was scheduled for the next day. That night, both of us couldn’t sleep. He was cranky because of hunger. I can only pacify him and wet his lips with water. The next morning, I was allowed to accompany him at the ops theater recovery area because of his age. Praised the Lord that the surgery went well and the surgeon confirmed once again that it was Pyloric Stenosis and he had fixed it!

That same night, he was cranky. He was not allowed to drink yet. He was only allowed to drink few teaspoons of glucose the next morning just to monitor his digestion. I was only allowed to BF him later in the afternoon. It was such a relieved then.

The above pic was taken one his fullmoon which was 1 week after the surgery. It left a scar on his abdomen. Just a thin and very light line about 5cm long. I didn’t apply any anti-scar oil. Let it be there as something to remember. Anyway, the scar is not so obvious and appear on covered area.

Now, whenever you watches him eat, you  never lost your appetite. And he never stop eating. Praise the Lord!

See…beautiful and priceless isn’t it?

Another happiest person seeing this is me!  Haha….coz I’m a patch work lover but I don’t sew. My ever faithful blankie and pillow case made from simple patch work by my mom many many years ago.  And my CG members gave Jonathan boy a homemade patch work quilt on his fullmoon.

Although Jonathan boy doesn’t know how to appreciate it now, but he sure loves the pillow especially the cartoons and his name sewn on it. Each night, I’ll recite to him the spelling of his name on the pillow. At times he will show and tell me where is Mickey’s car, nose, ear, hat, etc.  So this is not just a pillow or bolster but a pillow book!

Ethan boy, say thanks and give your Grandma a kiss on behalf of Jonathan boy. Not forgetting Aunty Merryn too. Jonathan loves you! *muaks*

Last year, Mommy put the candle on his cake. This year, he tried to put the candle on his own cake but smudged the cream.

Last year, he couldn’t tell/show his age. This year, he tried to say and could show that he is 2 years old.

Last year, his cousins help him to blow off the candle. This year, he blew off the candle by candle all by himself but with multiple tries coz his blow was too gentle.

Last year, Daddy and Mommy help him to cut the cake. This year, he wouldn’t let go the knife but didn’t do a good job coz the fondant was too hard for him.

Last year, he ate the cake. This year, he ate only the sugary sweet little car and big airplane.

Last year, he face was full of chicken pox. This year, his face is as smooth as Mommy.

He loves pressing the sound button and the Ultraman will shout out “Fire, Fire! Don’t move. Put down your gun!” accompanied by the gun shooting sound. Sound so fake…we know Ultraman doesn’t talk, right?

The last he had his formula milk is last Friday afternoon and he finished 8oz as usual.  Then on Saturday night, before bedtime, he took a sip and rejected it. I thought he was still full from all the junk food he ate. On Sunday morning till today, he still refused to drink and pushed away the bottle from me. 

Changed to a fancy milk bottle, sippy cup, pour into his favourite cup with straw, added ice cubes, chilled……Many ways I tried to coax him but failed.  Darling suggested that perhaps it’s time to add milo to his milk. Maybe he’s following my footsteps…I grew up with milo! I don’t think so and I’m not doing that for certain reasons.

I’m not too worried about this change as Jonathan boy is still eating his solid well. He will still ask for BM but I am not producing that much anymore.

Is this a phase? How long will this last? I’m wondering, staring at the stocks of formula milk I have.

And so we ended up at Taman Pertanian Bukit Cahaya (previously known as Bukit Cheraka) and Wet World Shah Alam.  Darling wants to see how much Bukit Cahaya has changed after 10 years and I want to bring Jonathan for a bicycle ride. And we thought a dip in the water will be satisfying after being under the hot sun and so we decided to go to the Wet World Shah Alam.

Here are some photos to share and more photos were posted in Facebook.

That’s baby cocoa. So many ripe ones not being harvested and got eaten by squirrels. I am so tempted to pluck the ripe ones to eat.  Those were the days when I helped my parents in the orchard planted with cocoa and banana trees.

We were proud of Jonathan as he is full of energy. He walked with us without whining much. He did asked us to carry once a while but we diverted his attention. Whenever he was tired, he stopped and squat/sit on the ground. 

Both Darling and I will continue to walk, pretending not noticing him, but he didn’t fall into our tricks.  He knows Daddy and Mommy won’t leave him there. And so we encouraged him to stand and continue walking. 

At certain juncture, we will carry him as he deserved to be carried after a long walk by himself.

Half way the walk, he was really restless and he slept in Daddy’s arm. He missed the animal farm and bicycle ride so that means, we are going to be back there again!

With body full of sweat, we headed to Wet World Shah Alam for a dip. More of for Jonathan to enjoy the waters. No pic as I don’t have a water proof camera. Entrance per adult is RM10 and children is RM7  (free for those below certain height). We find it reasonable if you are looking for a water place for the kids and not expensive. But let me warn you that if you are looking for extreme activities like what you have in Sunway Lagoon, this is not the place for you.  They do have but not only a few. And also the children slides are not well maintained. We did not complain about it because all we want is just a water place for Jonathan to play by himself and of course, not expensive.

We had a fruitful weekend and how I wish for more!

First, he got angry with me then he pretended to cry and next, he lied on the floor.  Sometimes I’ll just walk away and tell him that he’s not going to get what he wants if he behaves that way. 

Recently, he refuses to change clothes or lie down quitely during diapers changing time no matter how I coax him. Now he has learned to climb up the tables! Up the dining tables to reach for snacks. Up the computer table to play with the laptop.

Other than his mischieviousness, he is an obedient boy.  He follows and understands our instructions very well.  He is fast in picking up new things.

A positive note…my boy is growing up. 

One night,  he pointed the bottle teat towards my mouth trying to force me to drink from his bottle.  Frankly, I’m not one mommy who is willing to eat her children’s leftover biscuit which is full of saliva. So, to avoid Jonathan from “feeding” me, I told him to feed Ginger.  Who is Ginger? Well, he’s my cuddly soft toy, a black dog.

One fine morning, to my surprise, I caught him doing this…

So cute…and I immediately grabbed my camera phone. I guess Ginger is not co-operative and not drinking so Jonathan had to lift up his head by pulling his ears. Poor dog… Luckily Jonathan didn’t get upset and knock Ginger’s head with the bottle.

WordPress Theme - Simple Jonathan

Do leave your comment on how I could improve it. This theme is version Alpha 0.1.

I would expect him to speak some words at this age but unfortunately, not yet. Either he refuses to or he thinks he might get his tongue twisted.   But he sure can make us contented with his latest act.

Ish! – When he wants something he sees, with his hands reaching out trying to grab it from the table top.  He’s trying to say “please”, I would say.

Shhh… – He said it with his index finger pointing to his lips or sometimes his nose. Once, my baby niece was crying and he did this.  That was cute. But when I showed the “Shhh..” action during church service, he made even louder noise. *Slap head*

No more – He understand this means nothing is left. The cutest part is when he can’t suckle any more milk from my breast, he says “no more”.  Sometimes when he finishes his porridge, he will hand me the bowl and says “no more”.

Fuff… – When his food is hot or when I warn him the food is hot, he knows how to blow.

Bom! – When I say, Firecracker… He will go, “Bom!!” He learned this from the firecrackers sound during CNY.

Pom! - He understand this as “fall down”. He will tell me this when I warn him to be careful while coming down from the stairs.

*Pen… – You sure know what he wants when he say this. The “O” is missing from here.

Whoaww… – When I ask him how does the lion roar, he roars for me with his hands raised and palms open wide.

Woof! – When I ask him how does a dog bark, he gives me a soft “woof”.

Despite the above, this boy has started to drive us up the wall. He is getting mischievous and throwing tantrums.  When he is angry or refuse to obey our instructions, he will throw anything that is around him.  Sometimes, he will raise his hands and trying to beat us.

When he wants something but we refuse to give him, he will “commit suicide”.  Haha…I sound a little dramatic. Well, his “commit suicide” act is whine and lie on the floor. But he is smart to know that the floor is hard and he should not bang his head so he lies down very gently. He is wrong in anticipating that Mommy will raise her white flag.   Dunno where he learn this from.
 

Look at him…how can I resist loving him despite all his nonsense?

He is showing us the “GOOD” sign with the Gong Pian (a type of Hock Chew biscuit) in his mouth and turning his head away refused to look at the camera.

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED? Yes.

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? Yes.

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? Thankful and happy but uncertain if this pregnancy is viable despite my previous experience.
 
4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU? Never.

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 29.

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? Missed the monthly thingy and the pregnancy test kit says it all.

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? The baby’s Daddy…my Darling lor.

8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? Definitely.

9. DUE DATE? 3 October 2007.

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? Thankfully no except for heart burn and indigestion throughout the whole 9 months.

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? Nothing specific but I did asked for red bean soup quite often.
 
12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? No one and nothing.

13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD SEX? Boy.

14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? No. Praying for my 1st to be a boy all these while. God listened…
 
15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? Can’t remember. I think around 20+kg. I remembered my gynae commented that I am overweight towards my 3rd trimester. 

16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? More of a thanksgiving party after what the little one had been through.

17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? Are you joking? I was the event organizer.

18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? Had slight staining in the beginning so afraid it may be a miscarriage again.

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? Arunamari Specialist Hospital in Klang.
 
20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? On the day I suppose to be induced, little one already poo poo so was scheduled for a C-sect.

21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? My Darling.
 
22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? My gynae and nurses.
 
23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? C-sect.

24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? Didn’t have the chance to feel the pain.
 
27. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 3.99kg.
 
28. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ? 8 October 2007.

30. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Jonathan…”Gift of God”.
 
31. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY? 16+ months.

Kinda like this tag after all. Sis, you want to try?

You sure can guess what is that white stick he was holding.

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Ok, I know, I know…I shouldn’t had introduced that sweet little round lolli to him but was thinking of keeping him still in his stroller while I shop around.

Every kids love sweety stuff. Whenever he got the chance to hold an unwrap lollipop, he will put it straight in his mouth.

Don’t worry…I don’t do that often. In fact, that was the only time he tasted lollipop. I still have one in the fridge which has yet to be discovered by him. Shhh…. *wink*

Don’t know what triggered the bleeding. Could it be body heatiness? Food? Hem…the only new food I gave him yesterday was the Apollo choc stick wafers which he likes it a lot and walloped 3 packs?   Besides that, I started yesterday in giving him formula milk before bedtime. Before that, I BM him before going to bed.

Hope he has not inherited his Daddy’s nose bleed problem…