Sibling Sickness

Shoti is now 8 months old and Maddy’s turning 3 next week. And grabe this season of coughs and colds! The kids have essentially been alternating it since Sept! Maddy will pass on a virus from sch and both of them haven’t fully recovered until now. Off to see Dr Glenn today actually as Nolan’s Cimex antibiotics and Ventolin ended 10th day yday and he’s still not fully well. There’s bothersome cough here and there. Same with Maddy!!!

He still doesn’t have teeth, and yayas think that’s the reason why he’s still prone to colds and coughs. 

He hates to be on the high chair, does not seem interested in food at all! Barely have any success with babyled weaning or even spoon feeding! He seems to like chewing on meet though.

Maddy’s vocabulary is expanding but this one is really hard headed. Am trying face the wall already a couple of times. I’ve hit her so hard before that I’ve caused bruising!

Nolan @ 6 Months: SOLIDS TIME

This time around, I knew I wanted to change something about feeding. Maddy subsisted on mostly jarred baby food, purees. I wanted to try baby led weaning, or at least partially. Let them get used to different textures early on, and to grasp what they want.

For Nolan's first meal, it was blended squash. He didn't seem to like it.

Actually, he hasn't like that much food so far. I've given him baked pear slices, pureed apples, he did like a bit of steamed carrot stick. He especially liked sucking on a rambutan.

Just recently bought Cerelac. So will do:

Morning: Cerelac
Lunch: Jarred baby food or purees from Healthy Options
Dinner: Baby Lead Weaning stuff like carrot sticks, potato sticks. I really should try avocado next.

The sweetest I love yous

Maddy is 2 years and 9 mos old. A few months ago, she’s started suddenly hugging you or holding your face and saying I love you Mommy. Or she’ll say I miss ya mommy. She’s super clingy and Maddy, sometimes I get caught up in how annoying it is that I forget how fleeting this Wall all be. I forget that in just maybe 10 years from now, I’ll only get a reluctant I love you out of her once prodded. I’ll have a moody teenager, who won’t want to hug me or cry for me to hold her hand or carry her.

It’s amazing how fast she learns things (I was trashing her 1-10 in hokkien!) and how fast her vocabulary is going (“I have an idea” “it’s a sunny day!”) She’s also almost fully potty trained already, except when she she’s sleeping. She can hold her pee longer especially when we’re out and we’re nowhere that near to a toilet. In school she also rarely wears a diaper anymore and tells the teacher if she wants to pee.

(look Ma, no panty!)

Shoti on the other hand is such a good natured baby and wants to sit up or stand already. He finally learned to roll over on his own just a few days after he turned 5 mos! No thanks to me after daily practice.

I was able to fly to Manila last weekend - JUST THE TWO OF US!Considering that it was the hell weekend where a NAIA 1 runway closed for 36 hours because a Xiamen airline plane that got stuck when it hard landed. Our 9am flight to Manila was moved to 1pm, which I only found out because I kept checking the site’s flight status. When I got to the airport at 12, he flight was delayed further to 2. When we got on the plane, the captain announced our flight would be at 4.40pm!!!

I survived with just my Ergo carrier! No stroller woohoo! Stayed with my parents for 3 nights, the longest I remember staying in Manila since I got married. It was a good bonding time, sayang lng the 22nd wasn’t declared a holiday like we all thought.

Also, shout out to hubby for finishing strong on the bike relay of the recent Cebu 70.3! Now it's my turn!!!

And also, Erni resigned na. Another team member gone!

Day 3 Potty Training: AMAZEBALLS RESULTS

Potty Training

Now, Maddy more or less tells us if she's going to "wiwi", even if she's wearing diapers! We only let her wear diapers if she's out of the house (for school, mall, restaurants) and when sleeping. But even if we're out and she's in diapers, she'll want to pee in the toilet and tells us ahead!

- We were just very very consistent. Pee 10min after she drinks something or after meals, again 30-45min later. And again and again every 30-40min. As in I sound like a broken record, but every half hour I'll pester her, "Wanna pee? Wanna wiwi? Wanna go to the toilet? I'll pause what you're watching, we'll be very fast."

- I made sure to sit her down on the Mellow Kids bed protector sheets when she's on the sofa, or bed. I have three now - a Medium one meant for shoti's crib, a Small blue one we use now for the sofa, and a Small yellow one I've left in Dona Rita. I've ordered more, specially a big L-Wing one for the bed when she eventually needs to learn how to pee during the night. I've ordered several more small ones for the car or stroller.

Now I have to buy more disposable toilet covers for when we go out, and my MIL wants me to buy a portable toilet too...found one in Lazada!


Back to School: Toddler Class

She's also started school. It's Day 2 today and she's back to crying when I drop her off. Teacher has to peel her away from me, literally. But she's fine naman na daw a few minutes later and calms down. I make sure she pees right when I pick her up, before we leave school. The nice thing with Discovery Camp is they have this teeny tiny toilet for kids like Maddy!

Puzzles

She's also started to enjoy putting together puzzle pieces already. She's been playing with one every night before bedtime and can put it together already on her own!

So I've bought her two more jumbo puzzles off Lazada.

Ballet

She's been enjoying ballet a lot. We had planned on just enrolling her for the summer, but we're deciding to continue her classes throughout the school year. Her recollection of the moves and what Teacher Mai teaches is amazing. She really remembers the steps. "Letter V feet!" "Pick a flower, and put it in basket!" "Rainbow hands" "Like this!"

Day 1 of Potty Training Maddy

Day 1 started midday actually. By the time I got home, she had 3 panty changes already. She also peed a little on the sofa.

I figured, a lot depends on how disciplined the yaya is too. So I told her she'd get a bonus if Maddy potty trains before November. Aba, biglang nagka sigla.

I know how being disciplined can help, because as soon as I got home, until this morning (of course she was in diapers for the night), she had no accidents. I made sure to bring her to pee 10 min after she drank water and 45min after meals. I took her every hour also regardless if she drank or ate anything.

you'd be surprised (and she was surprised herself) that she'd be able to pee in the toilet. There was one time, she was sitting there and told me, "No wiwi." Then she suddenly peed and exclaimed, "Oh there! Wiwi!"

Day 2, less accidents. What I want is for her to just indicate she needs to pee. That's the turning point!

What Are Maddy's Favorite Books?

0-6 months     Nothing really, high contrast books and books that are more of for me to read out loud to her

7-12 months    She loves flap books or peak-a-boo books, like those of Rod Campbell's and Where's Spot books. In fact, for the longest time, super favorite nya Dear Zoo and Where's Spot by Eric Hill! Paulit ulit! Also texture books.

1-1.5                Sound books, books with songs, Incy Wincy Spider. Books where you can help her identify objects or pictures. Essentially one shoe in the more academic side now.

1.6-2 years old     A lot of Sandra Boyntons,  A Very Hungry Caterpillar! Story books with more pictures than words. Shorter stories like Peppa Pig

Now she's beginning to appreciate books with longer stories, like Goldilocks, Little Red Riding Hood, 3 Billy Goats, fairy tales, Little Golden Books, Berenstein Bears! She likes stories now rather than just identifying pictures.

Nolan at 3 Months Old

Fourth Trimester - DONE! I'm over the worse of the sleepless nights and adjustment period, I've been back at work for a month already, and I'm proud of the progress I've made post-partum compared to the time when I just gave birth to Amadine.

1. I've been hitting 5kms weekly, and trying to hit more for my long runs on Sundays. I've been swimming twice a week, and just recently been keeping it at 1200m mileage every session. My abs are returning too, as long as I keep up with my no/minimal rice intake!

2. Nolan is more awake and longer too. He'll usually nap for a while after his morning bath, and be up for 2-3 hours, then nap again. He'll go to "sleep" around 9/9.30pm, which gives me time to hang out with Maddy (while she watches Paw Patrol) until her bedtime of 10:30pm.

3. Nolan is up by 6:30am or so, at which point I hand him to Yaya Jean while I work out or while I take another hour of sleep.

4. He's discovered his hand/thumb to his great delight, and will.not.stop. sucking on an entire fist! I have to keep reminding the helpers to move his hand away from his mouth.

5. He's also moved up to Pampers Medium already. MYGAD. I've started fitting him into the 3-6mos old onesies actually when he was just 2.5 months old.

6. Maddy's been taking Art Classes with Hannah Florendo every Wednesday at 10am, which she  semi likes, Swim Classes with Teacher Ellen TTH, which she doesn't like so much, and Ballet Classes at Turning Point Montebello every Wednesday and Thursday 3pm, which she loves.

7. I feel guilty that I don't take Nolan out as much as I probably did with Maddy at the same age. It's just such a big production when we do! That's two yayas, two strollers, two diaper bags. DIBA?! It was easier to plop down anywhere and breastfeed when Maddy needed, but now with Maddy as a toddler, it's harder to just sit and feed shoti and make Maddy wait.

8. It is entertaining to see Maddy really owning it as a big sister. She's so bossy and she loves being bossy. She's so dedicated to doing things herself now (putting on her socks, shoes, handing me a towel, pushing the co sleeper inside the room) and to ordering shoti around. I tell her to make sure shoti doesns't suck on his fist, and then I'd regularly hear her go, "No no no, no hand. Boob only!" But the good thing with this is that she's too busy being bossy to feel jealous. I try not to put her in situations where she'd get jealous. If I wanted to talk to shoti, I'd make sure to talk to him about her, within her earshot.