J's First Day at School

9 April 2012

Today is J's official first day at school. Last week was parent-accompanied orientation week. From today onwards, J is attending school like a big boy - all by himself. My only concern is whether a 2 year old is ready to attend school all by himself.

I do not recall crying when my Ah-Ma sent me to kindergarten at the age of 5. Perhaps I was too ignorant (in other words, dumb) to fear school. But there could be another reason, one which I tend to subscribe to - that is, I was mentally ready for school and I was not afraid. I knew my Ah-Ma would be at the door waiting for me when school ended. If this is true, then perhaps toddlers at age 2 are not mentally ready to face school all by themselves. I hope my theory is wrong, because regardless of what I think, I have made the overriding decision to send J to school.

So I am at work but can't stop thinking of J. I wonder whether he is adjusting well to his independent life, whether the teachers will notice when he hides at a corner to poop, how he will nap without his Ye-Ye or me, whether he will be able to chew his food properly without choking, whether the teachers will get him to drink more water,...

So many wonders and ponders, and no answers. If I could, I would drop my work, head to his school, and secretly observe him from a corner. But I can't. Sighz.

At least I know he did not cry when my in-laws dropped him off at school this morning. That is a good sign.

I really hope J will enjoy school, and the teachers will take good care of him. It is not easy to entrust my precious little one to a stranger, which is why I do not let the maid take care of J. And I believe J will benefit tremendously from going to school and interacting with other children, which is why I am starting him at school at 2 years old. I have chosen what I think is a pretty good school, because I want to be certain that the teachers will take good care of him.

For now, I'll just trust that I made the right choice, and hope that he adapts to school quickly.

First Words

26 Jul 2011

At 16 months old, my little J can say a variety of words, although his favourite language is still babbling.  Being a chatty boy who is full of expressions, he would go "orh orh orh" or "ng ng ng" when he doesn't know the actual words to say.  This is a little compilation of J's word of vocabulary so that I can remember his dearest first words:-

1. Bear - J's first word spoken on 5 Jun 2011. He looked at Berry (my pink toy bear) and said the magic  word. And then I showed him a picture of a bear (Eric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?), said "bear", and he repeated the word after me.  J was evidently very happy with his accomplishment, cos for the rest of the evening he was going  "bear, bear, bear..." non-stop, even at bedtime. Both A and I were delirious that our baby has uttered his first word!

2. Ball - This is J's favourite toy since he knew the concept of toys and playtime.  I heard him say the word on 16 Jun 2011, when he came home with his grandparents and a brand new ball. My in-laws later told me he can say "ball" - looks like J had charmed his grandparents into buying him a new toy! 

3. There - One of J's most powerful words because it gets him to places. The first time he pointed at a certain direction and said "there", his Ye-Ye did as he directed and J had extra time out of the house! 

4. Bus - Whenever a bus passes, J'll point at it and go "Oh!". When we ask him what it is, he'll say "Ba" - his very own pronunciation of his favourite vehicle.

5. Bag - Noticed J was pretty good at pronouncing words starting with B, so I showed him a bag, pronounced the word, and he immediately repeated the word after me. Clever boy! 

6. Bye - J can do a nice smacking goodbye kiss and say bye at the same time.  This little boy doesn't like to stay at home, and is especially enthusiastic in giving a flying kiss when it means he gets to go out! 

7. Bao - J pronounces this with an ang mo accent and outstretched arms whenever he wants someone to carry him. 

8. Names - J can scream Ye (for Ye-Ye), pronounces Nai-Nai as Ngair Ngair Ngair, says Da or Ba (for Daddy) if we ask him to, he can pronunce Gu (for Aunt), but doesn't call me unless he is crying. Occasionally, he will say "Ba" when I ask me to say Mummy, but there were a couple of times he pronounced Mama perfectly when he was in tears and wanted my attention.  I can't really figure out why, but it seems that my little darling pronounces Mama only when he really wants my attention. 

9. Complete the word - J can complete selective words/phrases too. If we say "question", he will add on "mark". "Motor" is completed with "bike" (which sounds like mark but it sounds so adorable nonetheless!). "Air" is joined by "Ple" for "Apple".

10. Car - J recently learnt to pronounce "car" on 17 Jul 2011. I pointed to a car, repeated the word a few times, and then J said "car" very softly.  This is the only time I have heard J whisper! 

11. Woof - J loves animals, and he goes "oh" (his personal mimiction of a bark) whenever he sees a picture of a dog. Just a few days ago on 19 Jul 2011, J went "moo" when he saw pictures of cows! 

Teething

19 Dec 2010
Hello to J's first tooth! Felt the tip of his first tooth while cleaning his lower gums in the evening. J has been drooling for a long time & I often wondered when he will start teething. I was secretly hoping he'll teeth later cos I've heard about babies biting their mothers, plus J still drinks milk at night. But at least he can go without milk for 5-6 hours at night now, so it's just timing his milk feed, getting him to drink some water, and cleaning his teeth if he sleeps right after his feed.

My hubby thinks that J will no longer be a baby once he has teeth. I was just staring at J as he napped on my bed this morning, and I couldn't help but notice how much taller he has grown. My little boy is growing up alright, but he will always be my little baby, my "small-cute-cute"!

J's Sleep Pattern

7 Dec 2010
After a few weeks, J slept through the night again! Well, kind of though...he went to bed at about 10:30pm last night after much struggling & wailing whenever my in-laws placed him on his cot. He finally slept when they placed him on my bed instead - J sleeps on the bed with us all the time now. The only times he is in the cot are during diaper change and for short periods of playtime. 

So he had solids at 8:30pm, drank milk at 10pm, slept at 10:30pm, got awoken when I tried to trim his nails at 12:30am. But he drifted back to sleep...and to my surprise, slept till 4:50am! So thankful I could sleep for 4 solid hours! 

I pray and wish that J can sleep through the night, cos honestly, the sleep deprivation is really taking a toil on me. I haven't slept well for 8 months, & sleep is sooo important for one's well-being. 

8 Dec 2010
J slept at 10+pm last night again - which was good cos I then had time to sort out my mails. He woke up briefly at 11:30pm and went back to zzz-land after I carried him for a while. 

He woke up again at 2:45am hungry & slept right after his milk feed. Changing diapers when he is in sleep mode is a breeze! Considering his last milk feed was at 9pm & he had solids at 9:45pm - it was almost 6hrs before he drank again - which was really good taking into account J's not-so-impressive track record where night feeds are concerned.

He woke up again at 6am- I latched him even though it was before his 4-hourly feed. I do that cos I am too tired to carry him. Anyway he drank and slept till about 8am. 

So I had 2 bouts of 3-hours uninterrupted sleep last night. I am still eagerly waiting for the days when I can sleep 6-hours straight...

All About Little J

18 Nov
I like to stare at him when he is sleeping soundly. My baby has 2 favourite sleeping poses - arms stretched wide open on his back or his thumb partly in his mouth while on his side. The former is my preferred pose, as I can better observe and admire his features, and I also dont have to concern myself with whether his ears are flapped inwards. When asleep, he looks more mature - I can almost guess how he will look like as an adult! His features loses the playful look he has when he is awake. 

I love staring at my baby - I can just sit there and stare, and all I care about is his happiness and well-being - above mine. I think I now understand what selfless love is, and how strong parental love is above all others. And then I realise how much my parents probably care for me, even though they are not perfect parents and I still wish we spent more time together when I was a kid. 

But above all, I take the love that I have for J and multiply it by 100x - that's the minimum width and depth of love God has for me! Simply amazing...that an omnipotent God can love me so deeply even though I have really nothing much to offer. I just pray that my little baby will grow to experience this perfect unchanging love and the immense joy and peace that comes along with it. God bless you richly, my little darling. Mummy loves you very very much, and God loves you so much more! 

22 Nov 
J finally slept 6 hours straight last night - what a relief! 

It started on Sat evening when he slept from about 9am to 245am, after his 830pm feed. On Sun, he slept from about 9-10:45pm after his last milk feed at 5pm and solids at 7pm. And he fell asleep while drinking his milk at 10:45pm! Slept through till 430pm for his next feeding and finally woke up at 8am this morning. 

I hope this continues cos not only is this beneficial for his growth and development, it also allows me to complete my daily tasks much faster. But the other side of me dreads spending less time with him on weekdays if he sleeps earlier. Ha, I always have to worry huh! 

24 Nov
Joshua is officially still not sleeping through the night. He has been waking up a couple of times in the middle of the night, but can't really be helped as he needs his middle-of-the night feed. I think we may need to shorten his feed interval in the day so that he doesn't need to feed at night - but it becomes more troublesome when we are out though. Really need to figure out what is best so that A & I can get a good night rest - God, please help!